Trip to Europe: Brugge, Belgium

As it got late on 12/30, we realized we wouldn't be making it to Maastricht, The Netherlands, early enough to find cheap accommodations. Christine had a vague recollection that Brugge would be an interesting site to visit; that was because a fellow Stanford student had visited Brugge and spoke highly of it. By contrast, Toli, the cultured European, had never heard of Brugge. So, he trusted Christine, who navigated us successfully to this old medieval town in Belgium. We got in late, and headed for the tourist bureau where an old man was kind enough to delay closing up while we used the computer system to locate and call up possible places to stay. We found a place for one night, which also happened to have a restaurant on the premises, and we called it a day.

The next day, we found a nicer place, Pension Ardewolf, just a pleasant 20 minute walk from downtown. We parked the car, and ourselves as well, having a strong desire to rest and just be... Sure, we did a couple of walking tours of the city, but we primarily rested and filled our tummies with Belgian food: German quantities, French quality, and served with fries. Heck, we even slept through New Year's, after having a picnic in our room with European bread, Dutch cheese, and French pastries. It was heaven (well, except for the cold weather).

12/31/03
Oost-Proosse street
Christine and the windmill behind Pension Ardewolf.

12/31/03
Oost-Proosse street
Christine does her impression of a windmill.

12/31/03
Going south on Potterierei street, along the river
Christine poses on one of the bridges, with the spire of the Church of Our Lady and the belfort (belfry) in the background, as we head from our pension to the town center.

12/31/03
Going south on Potterierei street
The canal along Potterierei street (on the left, and Langerei street on the right), with the spire of the Church of Our Lady and the belfry in the background.

12/31/03
Markt (market square)
The cloth hall and its belfry: the cloth hall (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
The cloth hall and its belfry (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
The cloth hall and its belfry: the belfry (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
Markt: the cloth hall (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
Markt: ice skating rink on the square (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
Markt (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
Markt: the statue of Jan Breydel & Pieter De Coninck (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
Markt (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
Markt: the provincial government palace, and the refreshment stands for the ice skating rink (panorama).

12/31/03
Markt
Markt (panorama).

12/31/03
Tom Pouce Restaurant, Burg (castle square)
Christine. Surprisingly, all the central restaurants in Brugge had a non-smoking floor, which is definite cause for a big smile!

12/31/03
Tom Pouce Restaurant, Burg
Christine.

12/31/03
Tom Pouce Restaurant, Burg
Christine digs into a kilo of mussels. No, she did not finish the whole thing. And yes, we did change tables to get a view of the square.

12/31/03
Steenstraat
Christine in front of the Tintin Shop. This is where I bought my own Tintin, whom I've just moved next to the window where she was displayed. For non-Europeans, the store's Tintin is a well-known cartoon character, while my Tintin is Bibi's (Christine's sister's) name for Christine.

12/31/03
Steenstraat
Christine in front of the Tintin Shop.

12/31/03
Town center
A live statue on stilts posing outside a church (probably the Church of Our Lady).

1/1/04
Oost-Proosse street
Christine poses beside our car covered in snow, near Pension Ardewolf.

1/1/04
Town center
Christine.

1/1/04
Vismarkt (fish market)
Toli the fish struggles for air on the stone fish market counters.

1/1/04
Huidevettersplein (square where animal skins are greased)
The square.

1/1/04
Town center
Christine, with the spire of the Church of Our Lady in the background.

1/1/04
Begijnhof (Beguinage)
In medieval times, single women or widows in Belgium could commit their lives to God as beguines without becoming nuns. Beguinages such as these would house them, and this famous one in Brugge has ironically become home to an order of nuns. The church was heated, which was a wonderful respite from an unusually cold day. (Panorama)

1/1/04
Beguinage
The grounds (panorama).

1/1/04
Outside the Beguinage
Christine, with the Beguinage grounds behind her; the entrance is through the bridge to the right.

1/1/04
Town center
A creatively-designed bassinette in a shop window, photographed for future reference in case Christine wants Toli to build one.

1/1/04
Town center
A creatively-designed bassinette in a shop window.

1/1/04
Near the Church of Our Lady
Christine with the church in the background (panorama).

1/1/04
Near the Church of Our Lady
The church building, which houses Michaelangelo's Madonna and Child - the only sculpture by him that was taken outside Italy during his lifetime (panorama).

1/1/04
Near the Church of Our Lady
The spire, the second-highest tower in Belgium (panorama).

1/1/04
Near the Church of Our Lady
One of the four horsemen of the apocalypse (Death), with a snowman hitchhiker. Death has company.

1/1/04
De Vier Winden, Markt
Christine peers out the window before enjoying another delicious Belgian meal (coq au vin, served with fries, of course).

1/1/04
De Vier Winden, Markt
Christine.

1/2/04
Oost-Proosse street
Before leaving, Christine poses with Toli's impromptu snow sculpture on the car, and the Pension Ardewolf in the background.

1/2/04
Oost-Proosse street
Christine.