Two days in Bruges – Day 1

Road trip! We hopped in the car this morning for a two day trip to the medieval town of Bruges in Belgium.

After checking in to our hotel, we had a late lunch and then explored the historic town centre, which has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site because of its importance as a centre of international cloth trade in the Golden Ages, and because of the gothic architecture and well preserved medieval buildings that line the narrow winding cobblestone lanes. It was an interesting throw back in time to wander where some of the streets and buildings date back to the 13th century.

One such building was the Belfry of Bruges where we climbed 366 steep narrow stairs to reach a height of 83 metres and admire the views from the top. This photo was taken in one of the wider parts of the staircase, but it was still steep! As we climbed higher, the stairs narrowed and seemed to wind ever more tightly. We stopped for a few minutes at the floor with the bell ringing equipment, then passed by the bell ringer’s floor as well as many bells of varying sizes. The view from the top was spectacular.

We also checked out the lace and chocolate shops, the gardens of the Church of Our Lady, the architecture of the 12th century Sint-Jan-Hospital, and the view of the scenic Minnewater Lake. Afterwards, we dined on Flemish stew.