In Bruges in winter ...

... it is gray, and often wet, seldom blue.  Cold.  Or moderately cold, I guess you could say 45° or so.

But we are in Bruges, the sign on the train says. The language is Flemish, a sort of blend of Dutch and Low German, so we can understand a lot that's written, no so much with the spoken.

However, that's not a problem since kids have four FOUR F O U R languages in school - Flemish, of course, at first, then in 3rd grade they add French, then in 5th grade they add English and then in 9th they add German.  Everyone goes to school till they're 18.  Most anyone who is under 50  can speak reasonably in each language.  Amazing.
 
And it is an enchanting place, beautiful and rich in art and history.

Our (charming, of course) little hotel had a lovely view of the church across the street, established in the 13th c.,

and a stairway that was challenging.  No accommodation here for those who can't climb steep narrow stairs!  Frankly, ours at home are not as steep or narrow!

We arrived in rain and left in rain, though in between there were a few breaks in the clouds.  So we took our umbrellas wherever we went. Sometimes, that didn't work out so well. Wind!  Eeek!

We'd arrived mid-afternoon, checked in, took a look around (in the rain) and scoped out a place for dinner. No comment on that - it was a pizza place.

Belgium in general is known for chocolate, lace making, and beer, and we had our first of several different beers stretched over those four-plus days.  Our first pub bragged  on the menu of 100 different beers, but later we saw pubs with 500 different beers - all Belgian, many local. Yow.  How long would it take to sample them all???

Names of beers ranged from traditional (Leffes) to cute (Delirium Tremens - please!) but even those "off brands" were sometimes from traditional breweries hundreds of years old.

Full Day One looked pretty good weather-wise, so off to the Belfry.  You can't go higher in Bruges than the Belfry. How lucky we were - some blue sky shining through! We had to wait a bit to go in since they only allow 70 people at a time in the Belfry.  I can imagine summer could mean a really, really long wait!  For us it was only 30 minutes, then the ticket seller so politely asked:  You know it is 366 steps?  Yes, we do, thank you very much.

Tell the truth, I was a bit nervous, but - piece a' cake!  I guess all those sessions at the gym pay off.

Fascinating!  Stairwells,

 clock hands from the back side,

 bells - such big LOUD bells that rang while we were up there,

 

the biggest music box ever!!! ,

and then incredible views. An incomparable view of the city with a bell concert. I couldn't tell what it was playing just then (cacophony), but during our days there I recognized a short "Ode to Joy" and "It's a long way to Tipperary." Yes, that's what it was. There were others I didn't know.

Frankly, going down is sometimes harder than climbing up. The steps at the very top are so narrow, I really had to take a deep breath before taking the first step. 

 

But, really, not so bad.  We made it down.  So cool. I would do it again.

THIS IS DAY TWO

Walking along a quiet street we saw a guy come out of a house and so I asked about a place to have lunch.  I have lost a lot of my inhibitions about asking strangers questions. Too old for that. And really, they are usually so nice and helpful!  And he was - and this guy owned a restaurant even!   And I have to say that was the same all over the town whenever we approached anyone with a request or a question.


But first back to the main square and a bus tour of the town.  Never a bad idea. We got a good overview, a little more orientation, and time off our feet.

Agenda Day Two was St. John's Hospital (Sint-Janshospitaal), then the Church of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwerkerk) and the art museum.  It sort of worked:  the Hospital was closed for renovations, the Church of Our Lady was half-closed.  The museum was open.  So it is in the off-season.

The outside of the hospital was grand,

and in the inner courtyard of the Hospital we found the herb garden and the blooming rosemary wondering what season this is.

The Church of Our Lady was only partially open, but enough to give us an impression of her beauty.

Her crowning glory is this statue of Madonna and Child by Michelangelo.  We had to stand so far away, but her beauty still shines.

There are also the tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold (16th c) quite regally lying over their tombs. 

Then, ART. The art museum houses many Flemish treasures. Jan van Eyck is the premier artist, but he is not alone.

Sadly, no pictures from the inside, but I have pictures in my head, the incredibly beautifully detailed 15th century paintings of human a skinning, judgement given to a judge who took bribes.  Living in the middle ages was not for the faint of heart.

Building details are always interesting to me.  Know what this is? We need one at our terrace door.  It's a doorbell, totally mechanical.  I've got Werner working on one for us even as I write.

And though I have said, YOU ARE DONE WITH HATS, WERNER!, he's not.  Found a hat.  In his defense, his old floppy whatever-you-call-it is quite ratty looking and a replacement was in order.  When you find the right one, just do it!

Full Day Last - St. Anne's, the lace museum, the Jerusalem Chapel, the Church of the Holy Blood.  Again, partially successful.  St. Anne's was closed (!! what !!)  and the Church of the Holy Blood (so called since there is some of the Holy Blood there, brought back from one of the crusades...) closed at 11 am.  But we filled our time!  As as we ambled along the street, we heard children singing.  January 6, Three Kings Day, day for the Sternsinger - children who go around in costumes of the Three Kings and sing for alms.  We stood there and the teacher asked Can we sing for you?  Are you kidding??  Of course you can! (You'll notice the non-PC blackface, still sometimes done to represent one of the Three Kings.)

Next stop:  The Jerusalem Chapel,  begun about 1472 after a trip to Jerusalem since the owner wanted a copy of the Temple of Jerusalem to house his relics (a part of the True Cross and a part of the sepulcher).  It became a place where the builder and many generations of the family were buried over the centuries. 

Besides the relic of the cross,

and the tomb of Anslem and his wife,

there were TWO della Robbias, both in serious need of a cleaning, but still dazzling.  I am in love.

And there was a painting on the wall near the coffee room of children sitting and doing bobbin lacework, a convenient segue to our next stop, the Lace Museum.

There are lace shops all over Bruges and much of it is bobbin lace. 

The museum itself was too dark for picture taking - certain light damages the fragile fibers -  but after that we went upstairs where the ladies were working.  Centuries ago, the town was famous world-wide for lace and it was a way for orphans and women to earn some pennies.  Of course, it's all hobby now, but some of the women were quite up there in years and had likely done it for pay as young women.

 We're left with impressions of fascinating buildings and canals and bridges.  I want to come back. 

 But next time, I want to do it when the railroads are not striking.  Just sayin'.

That said, when we arrived much later than anticipated, our little cozy house was so welcoming.  Always good to get home.