Christmas spirit in Bruges
Bruges is a UNESCO protected city meaning that every building must remain unchanged from its’ original gothic state. Within a few minutes of walking around you find yourself oohing and aahing at the architecture and pretty canals.
Two nights is perfect for a quick break; it doesn’t do it justice to try and see it all in a day, you need an evening to experience the atmosphere properly once all the day-trippers have gone home and the city takes on a different feel.
We snacked on frites, moules (mussels), waffles and chocolate; we drank Gluhwein and lots of beer- well it would be a sin to miss out on the local specialities. Although it was hard to choose between the 200 listed beers on the menu, we sampled a few (honey and lavender was a favourite) and on our way home passed a bar that had over 2000 beers on the menu, stupidly we felt like we’d missed out!
There are many churches in Bruges and it’s hard to choose which ones to visit when you’re on a short time scale but St.Salvator’s cathedral is pretty amazing, it dates back to the 10th Century and has amazing art work inside. The Basilica of the Holy Blood is a 14th Century church that holds a vial of ‘holy blood’ believed to be drops of blood washed from the body of Christ, which is shown to the public on certain days of the week. The church itself has a richly decorated façade and inside doesn’t disappoint either; the chapel upstairs is filled with murals and stained-glass windows.
There were museums we missed; The Groeninge which give you an introduction to Brugian Art and the Memling museum which houses relics and religious paintings. The Alms houses located on the edge of the city and also the Minnewater; a quiet lake with walkways around would have been peaceful places to go. There’s only one thing for it, plan another visit! There are always those 1990 beers we didn’t have time to sample.