Two Belgium cities in one day...

Our third and last day in Belgium consisted of two small train excursions outside of Brussels to the cities of Bruges and Antwerp.

Bruges was our first stop and with good reason is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Belgium. Bruges is an unspoiled medieval town with winding streets, picturesque canals and well preserved buildings. The streets here are well maintained, there are no signs of high rises or billboards (as of yet) and traffic is heavily regulated. One sees horse drawn carriages and bikes here more than vehicles. It was a wonderful small city to explore and as we walked through the streets, you could only imagine what it would have been like centuries ago.

The Markt – medieval gabled houses line this 13th century market square at the heart of Bruges, which still holds a market each Saturday

The Belfort – built in the 13th century, the Belfort is a stunning octagonal tower which rises 83 m (272 ft) above the square

The Stadhuis which can be found in the Burg (another square a few metres from the Markt) – one of the oldest and finest town halls in Belgium and a popular venue for Bruges weddings…what do ya think Dub & Ton?? :)

My man with a view of the River Dijver, medieval buildings and towering Belfort in the background

Alley of the Blind Donkey – an attractive arched path which leads from the Burg area to the open-air fish market

Typical cobble stoned medieval street in Bruges, horse carriages and all

Now this is what you call innovative…a public bathroom on wheels….Nat could have used that in Strasbourg

Probably the only modern architecture we saw in Bruges – the newly built concert hall

Two of our favorite buildings in Bruges would have to be the Heilig Bloed Basiliek and the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk.

The Heilig Bloed Basiliek can be found in the southwest corner of the Burg and is the Basilica of the Holy Blood as it holds one of the most sacred relics in Europe – a sacred phial which is supposed to contain a few drops of blood and water washed from the body of Christ by Joseph of Arimathea. It is said that the phial was brought to Bruges from Jerusalem by a Flemish Crusader, Diederik of Alsace in 1150 and is still the object of great veneration. Chris and I are not very religious but we entered the church and did walk up to the altar where a priest was sitting with the phial of blood and wiping the glass down after each person placed their hand on the flask and performed a prayer. As I walked up to the phial, recollections and scenes from the movie, Passion of the Christ, came into my head. The unwarranted pain and torture that Jesus Christ was put through kept flashing before my eyes and I couldn’t help but be in awe at the fact that here I was placing my hand on a vial of his blood. Blood that was shed for no reason and was shed for the greater good of people. I made a small prayer and continued on my way. This church was very overpowering, more so than many of the others I have been in. I am not sure if it was the phial itself, the images I was having in my head or the main altar, which was quite intense. Whatever it was, Chris and I sat in the church for quite some time. No words had to be said, we were just pondering the past and what it must have all been like.

The exterior of the Basilica of the Holy Blood

The main altar of the Basilica of the Holy Blood

Another favorite of ours was the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, the Chuck of Our Lady. This church took over 200 years to build and the interior was a little different compared to most other churches. It’s white walls, stark columns and black and white tiled floor gave the church a medieval simplicity. The church’s artistic highlight and what made Chris and I visit the church was Michelangelo’s sculpture Madonna and Child (1504-1505). This beautiful marble statue was imported by a Flemish merchant and was the only one of Michelangelo’s works to leave Italy during his lifetime. We stood there for a while admiring the fine details of this beautiful sculpture and the varying lights that were shining in on it from the church windows. A must see if you are in Bruges.

The Church of the Lady stands out in the skyline

The main altar of the church with a looming cross above the organ

A piece of original art

We spent most of the morning and afternoon in Bruges and as we entered the station in Brussels again, we decided to keep going and hopped on another train to Antwerp. Antwerp is Belgium’s second largest city and is the centre of the international diamond trade. Most of the sites of interest are in a cluster surrounding the Grote Markt, yet another pedestrianised market square. We spent a few hours walking through Antwerp and pretty much admiring most of the buildings from the outside as many of the churches and museums had already closed. The train station and the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Cathedral were two of the most interesting things we saw. Other than this, there wasn’t too much more to see in Antwerp and is a place that we could have done without but decided to go to as we had time. For those travelers though travelling through Belgium, in our opinions, Antwerp isn’t a must see as indicated in the books. Definitely hit Bruges and possibly check out Ghent, which is said to be over-shadowed by its neighbour, Bruges. We were unable to visit Ghent and think this would have been a better place to visit rather than Antwerp.

The interior of the train station as we were getting off the train – one of the best train stations we have seen thus far

The exterior of the train station – just as brilliant

One side of the Grote Markt – series of guildhouses each of which is decorated with gilded figures

Brabo fountain is one of Antwerp’s noted landmarks and can be found in the middle of the Grote Markt – it depicts the fearless soldier, Silvius Brabo (said to be the nephew of Julius Caesar), throwing the hand of the mythical giant, Antigonius, into the River Scheldt

Stadhuis, town hall which was built in 1565 and flanks the Grote Markt

Largest Gothic cathedral in Belgium, this building occupies a 1-ha site in Antwerp’s centre

Maritime Museum is located in this gatehouse of Antwerp’s original fortress, the oldest building in the city

After three jam-packed days in Belgium, we headed back to Brussels for our last night in our oh so NOT comfy bed. The next morning, we are to head back to the lands of the French where we will be visiting a few small cities that we didn’t have time to see with Natty. Until then…