It is late June and the early morning light softly casts an amber sheen on the ancient buildings. It’s easy to imagine we are lost in time, but my husband I are just starting a week of discovery in the postcard-pretty Belgian city of Bruges (pronounced brooj). They say it is the most perfectly preserved medieval city in Europe. I believe it. The architecture looks as though time has passed it by with buildings reflecting that reflect the wealth and prosperity that Bruges enjoyed as the economic capital of north-west Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries.
As we make our way through the narrow alleyways, the muted sounds of a city getting ready to start a new day are unfolding. First, it’s the sound of chairs scraping against centuries old cobblestones. Next comes the “whoosh, click, kathump” of table umbrellas opening up in quick succession, one after the other. I recognize these sounds. We are getting close to restaurants just getting ready and opening up for business. A short five minute walk from our 16th century “holiday house”, we find ourselves in the middle of the Market Square. The “Markt” as it is known, is the heart of Bruges. Once the scene of great trade fairs, grand jousting events and public executions, today it is ringed with outdoor cafes and souvenir shop. We choose Café Craenenburg at the corner of the square for breakfast because it has a good view of the soaring Belfort, a bell tower with a 47-bell carillon. We soon discover that it peals out over the city every fifteen minutes. After a breakfast of croissants (better than in Paris!), we linger over coffee and consider how to spend the day. We toy with the idea of climbing the 366 stairs up the bell tower, but still jet-lagged, decide instead to explore the city further.
Bruges is small and intimate enough to visit entirely on foot, so abandoning any notion of a real plan we start walking. There’s enough to see and do within a few blocks to easily fill the day. We don’t get very far. Our first stop is just across the Markt to the ornate, gothic Stadhuis or Town Hall. Built in the late 1300s, it is the oldest town hall in Belgium. Inside, impressive wall murals depict highlights of Bruges’s history. A spectacular vaulted oak ceiling features scenes from the New Testament. Still in museum mode, we check out the nearby Gruuthuse Museum. Originally the home of a wealthy beer brewer, the house is filled with everyday things the gentry of times could need or want…even a guillotine.
Next stop was the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Though the Romanesque architecture is stunning, the Basilica’s claim to fame is a fragment of cloth stained with what is said to be the coagulated blood of Christ. Evidently it was wiped from his body after the crucifixion by Joseph of Arimathea. As the story goes, the relic was brought to Bruges at the time of the Second Crusade. Kept in a vial on a side altar in the upstairs chapel, it is brought out regularly and ceremoniously for the faithful to honour it by kissing it. We were either too late or too early for that ceremony.
For the next couple of hours we amble along canal-lined streets, criss-crossing our way through the city over charming small stone bridges. I’m easily distracted by the quaint shops we pass and feel the urge to shop. Walter doesn’t really know the meaning of the verb “to shop”, but is a good sport and indulges me for the next couple of hours. I’m torn between dallying in the lace shops selling the handmade treasures that Belgium is so famous for, or the chocolate shops that are everywhere. The Belgians are connoisseurs of chocolate and there are windows displays of this heavenly confection all over town with samples generously offered by every proprietor. Chocolate wins and we step inside every chocolatier shop we pass. Walter is beginning to like shopping! All the high end factory brands are represented in Bruges, though my favourite is a small, family run place called Dumon where all chocolates are hand-made. Still in a chocolaty mood we opt to visit the Choco-Story building, a chocolate museum laid out on three floors. Here the story of chocolate is told starting with the Mayans and Aztecs up to the present day. The best part of course is the demonstration of chocolate making and getting to sample the results.
By now it is mid-afternoon and it’s too late for lunch and too early for dinner. But it is just the right time for afternoon tea. The Hotel De Orangerie (www.hotelorangerie.com), a former 15th century convent and now cleverly converted into a very charming canal-side hotel proved to be the perfect choice for our tea break. On the hotel’s terrace overlooking one of the most picturesque canals in the city, we enjoyed the fare typical of a fine English High Tea… fancy sandwiches, savouries and pastries, all presented very elegantly in this very romantic atmosphere. While pricey ($50 each), there was plenty to eat and the view and ambiance alone were worth the cost (I promised to go easy on the budget for dinner).
Dotted throughout the city, tucked in between the ornate buildings, are groups of tiny, simple whitewashed homes dating back to the 15th century. Each complex has a single entrance that opens from the road to reveal an inner courtyard. Known as almshouses or godshuizen (“houses of God” in Flemish) in medieval times, these tiny homes were refuges for widows and the poor. Today, most of these complexes are owned by the city and are occupied by senior citizens. Many of the courtyards contain stunning gardens that are beautifully maintained by the residents.
It is early evening now, and as we make our way back to our temporary home for the week, a sliver of light drawn from the setting sun dances playfully across the still water of the canal. Somewhere in the distance we hear the clip-clop of horses’ hooves as the carriages amble through the cobblestone streets. Bruges is a step back in time. We both agree you’d be hard pressed to find a more romantic city in the world…a perfect vacation spot for couples to relax and unwind. It’s a place where you can fill your days strolling along ancient avenues, enjoying a cruise on the canal, taking in the museums, visiting gothic churches, browsing through unique little shops, indulging in famous Belgian chocolates, sitting in a café and drinking one (or more) of the hundreds of different kinds of Belgian beer. Or, you can do little more than sit on a park bench, slurp an ice cream and just absorb the sheer beauty of the place. Life just doesn’t get any better.