Aug 3, 2022 - Bruges, Belgium

 First, I’ve seen the spelling of the name of this town multiple ways - Brugge, Brugges, and Bruges.  When I was in Geneva trying to get a train to Brugge, I showed the ticket agent my intended travel so he could give me a seat reservation for the train.  I purchased a Eurail Global Pass which basically allows me to travel within 33 countries in Europe for 3 consecutive months on any train I want (it’s been fantastic and mostly trouble-free).  But, you often have to get a seat reservation at no cost or at a small “up charge” - a fraction of the actual price of the train ticket.  The agent could not find the route I had selected and instead had me going from Geneva to Paris, then to Bordeaux, then to Bruges, which made absolutely no sense.  He kept trying over and over again when I insisted that I didn’t need to go through Bordeaux.  Finally I said, “there has to be a train that at least takes me to Brussels from Paris.”  He looked at me strangely and said, “Wait, you want to go to Belgium?”  “Yes, Brugge is in Belgium.”  Evidently, there is a town in France also called Bruges (spelled this way), not far from Bordeaux, while the Bruges in Belgium is spelled Brugge by the French in France and Switzerland and my Rail Planner App for Eurail kept spelling it Bruges (the city in Belgium).  All that to say, I have no idea what the official spelling is for this town, but I’ve always spelled it Brugge.

Ok, now, flashback 30+ years - USAir (not yet called USAirways back then) announces their first international direct flight from Pittsburgh to Paris for $177 round trip.  My friends and I plan a trip immediately to visit Paris and then to take the train to Ghent, Belgium to visit my friends Stan and Philip.  Stan was so excited to show off his city of Ghent and the famous 15th Century Van Eyck Altarpiece called, “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”.  After showing us the town of Ghent and the Cathedral, we drove to Antwerp and Brugge to see the home town of Jan Van Eyck.  I fell in love with the city back then and had always wanted to return.

Yesterday, when the cab driver brought me through the main town square to my AirBnB accommodation, I fell in love all over again.  I was nearly in tears as I began walking through the streets right after he dropped me off.  I felt like I was home.  I’ve only ever felt that way about 2 cities - the first one was Pittsburgh when I visited it for the first time in 1985 and the second is this city of Brugge in Belgium.  I’m pretty judicious about what photos I add to this blog among the thousands of photos I take.  Tonight, I honestly don’t know what to post and what to keep.  I love every single one of the pictures I’ve taken.  It is one of the most picturesque cities in the world, in my humble opinion.  

Last week we were talking about the architecture in Europe and how wonderful it is.  I was telling Charissa and Tim that I have one book that is probably my most valuable possession.  Many years ago (another lifetime ago) when I owned a used bookstore, a book came into the store that was published in 1910.  It is just a little smaller than a standard paperback, but thicker and of course a hardcover book.  The entire book is filled with Home Plans from the 19th Century!  If there was ever a different profession that I might have pursued, it might have been as an architect.  I simply love architecture!  And Brugge does not disappoint.

Just a little something about Brugge.  The Golden Age for Brugge was from the 12th - 15th Centuries and thanks to preservation and no destruction to the city from any of the wars that followed, Brugge remains pretty much intact as an ancient Medieval City.  As a strategic port it became one of the most significant trading cities in the world and although there was significant decline over the past centuries, it is now considered the European Capital of Culture and welcomes over ten million tourists each year.  It has a number of canals and tiny bridges that span them.  It also boasts, at least, 25 Cathedrals.  I only went to a few of them.  Two of particular interest.  

Church of Our Lady houses the only Michelangelo sculpture that ever left Italy during the artist’s lifetime.  By comparison to other sculptures he has done, this one is quite small.  It is known as the Madonna and Child.

Here are a few other photos from this church.

The other church that I photographed is called Church of the Holy Blood.

I also took a class on making Belgian Waffles and tasting some Belgian Beer - the red beer is made with cherries in the barrel.

And my last comment for tonight:  I’ve done a test taste of French, Swiss, and Belgian Chocolate to discover which is the best chocolate in the world.  Here are my comments.  French Chocolate is BEAUTIFUL to look at with swirls and colors that mesmerize the eyes, sometimes flecked with gold dust or a cosmic flourish.  But French Chocolate to me is mostly just pretentious.  It looks wonderful but the taste is usually too sweet for me.  Swiss Chocolate hands down is the winner in its silky smoothness.  Swiss Chocolate is like liquid gold.  The “mouth feel” is beyond anything else on the planet.  Belgian Chocolate has a bit more “tooth” to it then Swiss Chocolate, but the tastes are beyond compare.  Galler is one of my all-time favorite chocolates thanks to one of my students, Michele, who is from Belgium.  And to think less than 4 years ago, I didn’t even like chocolate.  But, all I’d ever had was Hershey’s which is gross and doesn’t come close to REAL chocolate.  Now, having Galler chocolate I’m spoiled and…I’ll admit it, a bit of a snob.  Trying to figure out how to ship packages of this stuff home: