Bruges

After spending two days in Brussels, it was off to Bruges, another city in Belgium. Honestly, I hadn't ever really thought of visiting this city until Matt had told me he heard it was quite beautiful. As it was less than an hour from Brussels, it fit into our travel plans perfectly.

We arrived by train in the morning. We walked around the (tiny) town, making sure to hit all of the notable tourist spots along the way. The whole town is so beautiful! You can definitely notice the medieval influence on much of the architecture. There also is a small canal system that runs through the town, so it almost feels like a miniature Venice with French and German characteristics as opposed to Italian. Both Brussels and Bruges are a really unique mix of French and German influence. We took a ton of photos because everything was just so beautiful.

We had lunch at a small French-ish cafe (I say French-ish because while it feels French, it still has a lot of mixed characteristics). After lunch, we went on a canal cruise on one of the small boats. It was very interesting to see the city from this perspective. Matt did an awesome job of snapping photos, despite the Asian man sitting in front of him with the humongous camera (who took like 1,000 photos on a 30 minute boat ride).

Later, we stopped by a local brewery, De Halve Maan (Half Moon), for a tour. It was really interesting to learn about the techniques that are specific to Belgian beer. We also learned why the Bavarian beer served in Munich has no variety--there are actually "purity" laws prohibiting the use of extra ingredients. So no spices or seasonings can be used. Belgian beer, however, can have these ingredients added, which is why there are so many varieties (similar to the U.S.). We also went on the roof of the brewery, where we had a great view of the entire town.

At the end of the tour, we also got a free beer to enjoy in the brewery's cafe.

One other interesting stop in Bruges was our visit to the Basilica of the Holy Blood. This tiny Roman Catholic chapel in the city center houses a phial that is said to hold a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ. Supposedly, it was brought to Bruges around 1147-1149 by Thierry of Alsace. Legend has it that he was presented with the cloth by his brother-in-law, Baldwin III of Jerusalem, as a reward for his services. Every year, there is a ceremonial procession through the town with the phial. It's a pretty interesting story and I couldn't pass it up.

We enjoyed a delicious meal at a Greek restaurant in the city, then headed back to Brussels on the train. Here are a few more photos...

Amsterdam tomorrow!