The Bruges Blog

Kathy and I spent three days in Bruges Belgium in April.  We rented a nice apartment just a few blocks from the Markt. One of the top rated restaurants in Bruges, Ribs n Beer, was just across the street.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from Bruges.

This statue of Papageno, the bird catcher, stands outside of one of the best preserved theatres in Europe.

Rosary Quai shot about midnight after the crowds had long disappeared.

Two lovers on a bench waited patiently for the photographer to leave. There are lots of canals in Bruges. The city lights the bridges and key buildings at night.

Basilica of the Holy Blood.  The basilica is best known as the repository of a venerated phial said to contain a cloth with blood of Jesus Christ, brought to the city by Thierry of Alsace after the 12th century Second Crusade. Kathy and I were fortunate enough to visit at a time when the phial was on display.

A picture from inside the Basilica.

Years ago a mayor of the city removed all of the asphalt in this area so that the original cobblestone streets were once again exposed.  In the early morning you can see two man crews maintaining the cobblestone streets and sidewalks

Ezelpoort - One of the original city gates.  I tried to position myself to hide the construction cranes behind the tree on the right.  There was quite a bit of construction work taking place in the city.

This was once the canal where all goods arrived in the city.  The merchants built fine homes along this canal.

There are four windmills remaining in the city. They were built on dikes.

The St Sebastian's Archer's guild is an exclusive club. The Queen of England is a member.  The guild is over 600 years old.

Typical city street in the center of Bruges.

Cargo was transloaded onto barges and brought up this canal.  The customs house is at the end of the canal.

Minnewater lake

Kathy and I passed this patio daily on our walk to the city Markt. 

Bruges was founded in the 9th century by Vikings. Supposedly a bear was the first resident.  This is a statue of the Bruges Bear.

A few night time shots.

By shooting this picture at night you get good reflections but the main reason for a night shot was the red construction barricade tape across the bridge is not so visible.

This is the oldest continuously operated tavern in the city.

Do you like the B&W or color version better?

Kruispoort city gate - Napoleon and the German army entered Bruges through this gate. 

Sunrise picture of the Rosary Quai.

The Church of our Lady is the second tallest brickwork tower in the world. It is 122 meters tall. The bridge in the foreground is known at the smallest bridge in Bruges.

Early morning reflections.

Bruges must be a little safer than Amsterdam. Most of the bicycles weren't locked.

My beautiful wife.

The city Markt is lined with restaurants. There was a carnival in the city square during our visit.  This made getting a good picture of the square a challenge.

There are lions holding the Bruges coat of arms throughout the city. The lion is from the coat of arms for Flanders. If you look carefully you will see two young ladies in the green boat trying to hide from the photographer.

This is my last blog for this trip to the Netherlands and Belgium. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.