Our Day in Bruges
Good Morning
No, we are not back in Belgium - we're still here in Gothenburg.
Yesterday we spent all day at Liseberg amusement park hanging out with most of the team and our new friends from Jitex soccer club. It was a fun day.
Most of the NorCal girls are leaving today - if they have not already left.
We're leaving on Tuesday as we were not entirely sure when we should leave when we first made or travel arrangements. The bad part of this is that the girls are missing home, and with the fun of hanging out their team mates or new friends from either Jitex or Onsala not possible, they'd rather head home.
The good news is that it gives us two last days to actually see the area. While my friend David Isaksson tried very hard to give me a quick tour in his Volvo, for the most part our experience of Gothenburg has consisted of the same 5-6 block area around Heden Center or up to Kviberg Soccer park about 20 minutes north on the #6 Tram.
Today the weather is good, albeit it tad windy. So I think we are going to take the advice of just about every Swedish person we've met and explore the archipelago just off the coast of Gothenburg.
I can't believe it was a full 10 days ago that we hopped on a train from Brussels and headed west to Bruges.
I had wanted to visit Bruges since my buddy Jamal had gone there nearly 20 years ago after he finished college. I think this is when he had bough his first digital camera, so it could probably hold like 40 photos at most.
In any event, we got going a little later than originally hoped, but made it to Bruges around mid-day after the hour long train ride from Brussels which was quite full. In fact we had to stand in the aisles for the first half of the trip, but thankfully most people exited the train in Ghent because this was the first day of the music festival.
Upon arrival in Bruges, we had trouble similar to Ghent in determining which bus route took us to the center - a mistake in Ghent would be bad since it is a city of considerable size. Bruges really is not that big and it turns out just about every bus makes its way to the center. However, not wishing to make a mistake, we hired a taxi and we were in the center in about 5 minutes.
Bruges is a very medieval town, fairly well preserved. It had at one point been the center of Belgian lace and textile trading, its monarchy had ruled over most of the land. So Bruges had prospered and wealth was abundant.
The main point in Bruges is the main city square which is dominated by the large Belfort and surrounding guild halls and other buildings that look like palaces rather than merchant shops. It is as stunning as they come - each building so ornate and visually stunning. In the center are a half dozen or so horse and buggy operators who will take you on a 30 minute trek around Bruges for around $50. Seemed a tad steep to us so we decided to head out to our points of interest.
As was common on this trip, my points of interest generally involved large churches/cathedrals whereas the ladies liked to shop or eat or shop while eating or shop for food that could be eaten later. So in between eating and shopping and shopping for eating - we popped into some churches. I think "just indulge me for this one time" kind of became my plea. But really they never complained. So I thank them for tolerating my pious curiosities and hopes to find beautiful in-situ art.
Bruges has two biggies for those like me who like Cathedrals, history, and art all wrapped into one. The problem is, having centered myself in the main square in Bruges, I could see no less than 4 large church spires over the tops of the surrounding buildings and guild halls. Which one were the two I was wanting to make sure I found?
Which two you may ask... The two I really cared to see and the main reason for my person trip to Bruges were a) Church of Our Lady and b) the Basilica of the Holy Blood.
Let's stop here for a moment... when I have traveled abroad previous and found myself church and cathedral hunting, usually the names are either really long and descriptive or they are very simple almost one word.
Examples: In Rome we had San Giovanni in Laterano, San Pietro in Vincoli, Santa Maria Maggiore... or we had The Vatican (San Pietro).
In Firenze they just cut to "Il Duomo" or in Milan you have "Il Duomo".. not to be confused with other Duomos.
Paris has Notre Dame. London St. Paul's. Venice - San Marco.
So you either know who or you get some really long descriptive name.
Bruges kind of toes the line in between. Without being specific, you get to the point.
Church of Our Lady. Okay. Not the Church of Our Lady of the Perpetual Holiness, no the Church of our Lady of Fatiima. Just... Our Lady.
And then with the Basilica of the Holy Blood - you pretty well take the guess work out of what is here.
So lets start with Our Lady (if you aren't Christian or maybe even Catholic, then forgive the inclusive "Our" - these days I have to be inclusive, but then some times being inclusive offends people who don't want to be included. I can see it now with some blog fan out there "Well, she's not MY lady so why is it "Our" lady. And why a lady? I mean, can't a man do this job?). Anyway, Our Lady obviously (?) refers to our Mother Mary - the sweet virgin, the mother of Christ, etc. The church was building during the 1300-1500s and its tower which looms over the city remains the 2nd largest all brick church tower in the world.
So with that, you'd think it was easy to find Our/My Lady. It was, except that was not the first place I intended to go. Not able to distinguish one spire from the next and without a reasonably good map of Bruges, I found a nearby hotel so the ladies could use the restroom (travel tip #45 when looking for a clean restroom in a big city, find a reasonably nice hotel and they always have a restroom in the lobby somewhere). I had a crude map of Bruges from the Tourist Info desk at the train station and approached the lady at the hotel counter. I asked her about the Basilica of the Holy Blood which I where I really wanted to go first and she seemed confused. The more I asked about the church, the more she seemed certain and pointed to a place a few blocks away and down a few streets. "Can't miss it! Large tower". So off we went. To Our Lady. Thinking we were going to see the Basilica.
Upon arrival to the church which I thought was a Basilica... we poked inside and I figured there would be an entry fee to see what I was there to see. So seeing a lady at a counter, I walked up and asked if there was a fee to see the relic - and she said to my surprise..."This is not that church - you are at Our Lady." Oh... well I wanted to see that one too. So back across the street to a museum where you buy the inexpensive ticket (the admission goes to preservation of the 800 year old church) and then back into the Church. Of Our Lady. To see Our Lady, in statue form.
As for the church itself, it is quite large and with the tower so tall, you would think you could see it for miles. You can, but within Bruges not so much. Bruges is a nearly perfectly persevered medieval city complete with cobble streets and walkways and tight, narrow roads. So while you can see the
spire at different turns and alleys, you cannot always see it. Furthermore, unlike any other major church I've been two, this one does not have a large, expansive square or piazza in front of it. In fact the buildings across the street are barely 2 car widths from the front of the Church making it next to impossible to get a nice photo of the Church. Still, the stone and brick work is beautiful and amazing. It is kind of interesting why the city itself is nearly perfectly preserved. It has to do with money, but not how you might think. In fact it has to do with lack of money. The city was the center of commerce, trade, and a powerful economically backed kingdom that once ruled most of Northern Europe (hence the relics and art here), but enemies silted up the port to the North Sea, commerce moved to Ghent or Antwerp, people moved out, and Bruges became a ghost town. For centuries in fact. After World War II - and with Ghent and Antwerp and Brussels and just about any other major city in the Benelux zone destroyed, Bruges was rediscovered as a tourist destination. And so we have it today as it is... an absolute marvel and treasure to behold.
Besides being the center of Bruges spiritual life and the final resting place for Bruges aristocracy
from centuries past, the Church of Our (mostly) Lady houses... a statue of Our (mostly) Lady. But not just any statue. This is THE statue... the big one, the famous one, the one that is not maybe as famous as the other ones in Rome or Florence, but still famous.
Known as the Bruges Madonna informally, the statue's proper name is Madonna with Child and was made out of that wonderful Carrara marble by none other than Michelangelo Buonnaroti himself. The statue was believed to be meant for the cathedral in Siena (St. Catherine) but was purchased by weather Bruges merchants in the 1500s and brought to this church.
The statue is believed to be the only work of Michelangelo that left Italy during his lifetime - purchased by two wealthy Bruges merchants and brought back to present to the reigning family. Since the Church of Our Lady backs up to what were former royal residences, the royals had their own back entrance into the Church and in fact built their own box suite to the left of the alter for prime viewing of Mass and close proximity to the alter. In doing so, they need not worry about entering the church with everyone else... just come in through their own entrance directly into their luxury box.
In terms of stunning beauty, the Church of Our Lady is not the most ornate church I've seen. It has its own charm, but is fairly plain inside compared to those found in Italy where every nook of the wall or ceiling seems to be painted or has a mosaic. I guess when the greats of the Renaissance are in your back yard, you benefit. The Church of Our Lady was built during the early Renaissance and well before the Dutch masters had left their mark on the art world.
One last tidbit about the Bruges Madonna - it has been stolen twice. Once by French revolutionaries and once by the Nazis in an attempt to smuggle it back to Berlin where it would join the Ghent alterpiece and thousands of other great works of art from around the world in the Fuher's grand museum of civilization. The statue was stored in a salt mine in Austria where it was recovered by brave soldiers of the Allies at the end of the war and just prior to the Soviet Army's arrival looking for the same. I thought of this as I was poking around the church and imagining the Nazis arriving here and walking around, stealing the statue and probably harassing or threatening or both the clergy and religious folks who had sworn to protect Our Lady from ruin.
So moving on from Our Lady, I still had to find the Basilica of the Holy Blood, but we also had interest in taking a canal tour of Bruges and doing some shopping. So we did that next as well as found a simple lunch at a panini shop (I love panini shops... there should be a lot more of them everywhere).
Bruges was a major port hundreds of years ago, but the port was silted in and Bruges is now left with an array of canals that either connect to the sea or travel further inland - in fact there remains a canal that eventually connects to Ghent. Today the canals are primarily scenic in nature and allow for the booming business of scenic canal rides. There are 3 or 4 companies and all charge the exact same price. It was mostly a matter of the smallest line and the most convenient departure location for us. So we found our tour and off we went on a 30 minute glide through Bruges.
The tour was fun, our guide was lively and gave information in both English and German as those were the only two languages on board. I sat near the front so I could hear a lot of his little silly comments to those sitting closest to him. The guided tour was kind of a weird mix of historical fact and Disneyland Jungle Cruise sarcasm. But it was fun and almost too relaxing.
Our tour, shopping, and lunch were done and the girls had one item on their agenda while I had still not found the Basilica. So we decided to head to their goal and that would re-center me in an attempt to surely what must be the most grand building in all of Bruges (can you feel the set-up here...)
What was the girls' goal? To climb the Belfort tower back at the main square.
This spire (as seen in the above photo) can be seen from most places in Bruges and is well over 300 feet high. It has an ungodly amount of steps to the top, but probably not as ungodly as the amount to the top of St. Peter's in Rome. But they were up for it and so we went.
Thankfully for my sister and I, there was a cozy and shady area to rest and watch as the ladies went up into the clock tower. About 40 minutes later, they emerged quite pleased and energized - the had conquered the Belfort clock tower of Bruges.
No, we are not back in Belgium - we're still here in Gothenburg.
Yesterday we spent all day at Liseberg amusement park hanging out with most of the team and our new friends from Jitex soccer club. It was a fun day.
Most of the NorCal girls are leaving today - if they have not already left.
We're leaving on Tuesday as we were not entirely sure when we should leave when we first made or travel arrangements. The bad part of this is that the girls are missing home, and with the fun of hanging out their team mates or new friends from either Jitex or Onsala not possible, they'd rather head home.
The good news is that it gives us two last days to actually see the area. While my friend David Isaksson tried very hard to give me a quick tour in his Volvo, for the most part our experience of Gothenburg has consisted of the same 5-6 block area around Heden Center or up to Kviberg Soccer park about 20 minutes north on the #6 Tram.
Today the weather is good, albeit it tad windy. So I think we are going to take the advice of just about every Swedish person we've met and explore the archipelago just off the coast of Gothenburg.
I can't believe it was a full 10 days ago that we hopped on a train from Brussels and headed west to Bruges.
I had wanted to visit Bruges since my buddy Jamal had gone there nearly 20 years ago after he finished college. I think this is when he had bough his first digital camera, so it could probably hold like 40 photos at most.
In any event, we got going a little later than originally hoped, but made it to Bruges around mid-day after the hour long train ride from Brussels which was quite full. In fact we had to stand in the aisles for the first half of the trip, but thankfully most people exited the train in Ghent because this was the first day of the music festival.
Upon arrival in Bruges, we had trouble similar to Ghent in determining which bus route took us to the center - a mistake in Ghent would be bad since it is a city of considerable size. Bruges really is not that big and it turns out just about every bus makes its way to the center. However, not wishing to make a mistake, we hired a taxi and we were in the center in about 5 minutes.
Bruges is a very medieval town, fairly well preserved. It had at one point been the center of Belgian lace and textile trading, its monarchy had ruled over most of the land. So Bruges had prospered and wealth was abundant.
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| Alyssa and Simone in Bruges' main square |
The main point in Bruges is the main city square which is dominated by the large Belfort and surrounding guild halls and other buildings that look like palaces rather than merchant shops. It is as stunning as they come - each building so ornate and visually stunning. In the center are a half dozen or so horse and buggy operators who will take you on a 30 minute trek around Bruges for around $50. Seemed a tad steep to us so we decided to head out to our points of interest.
As was common on this trip, my points of interest generally involved large churches/cathedrals whereas the ladies liked to shop or eat or shop while eating or shop for food that could be eaten later. So in between eating and shopping and shopping for eating - we popped into some churches. I think "just indulge me for this one time" kind of became my plea. But really they never complained. So I thank them for tolerating my pious curiosities and hopes to find beautiful in-situ art.
Bruges has two biggies for those like me who like Cathedrals, history, and art all wrapped into one. The problem is, having centered myself in the main square in Bruges, I could see no less than 4 large church spires over the tops of the surrounding buildings and guild halls. Which one were the two I was wanting to make sure I found?
Which two you may ask... The two I really cared to see and the main reason for my person trip to Bruges were a) Church of Our Lady and b) the Basilica of the Holy Blood.
Let's stop here for a moment... when I have traveled abroad previous and found myself church and cathedral hunting, usually the names are either really long and descriptive or they are very simple almost one word.
Examples: In Rome we had San Giovanni in Laterano, San Pietro in Vincoli, Santa Maria Maggiore... or we had The Vatican (San Pietro).
In Firenze they just cut to "Il Duomo" or in Milan you have "Il Duomo".. not to be confused with other Duomos.
Paris has Notre Dame. London St. Paul's. Venice - San Marco.
So you either know who or you get some really long descriptive name.
Bruges kind of toes the line in between. Without being specific, you get to the point.
Church of Our Lady. Okay. Not the Church of Our Lady of the Perpetual Holiness, no the Church of our Lady of Fatiima. Just... Our Lady.
And then with the Basilica of the Holy Blood - you pretty well take the guess work out of what is here.
So lets start with Our Lady (if you aren't Christian or maybe even Catholic, then forgive the inclusive "Our" - these days I have to be inclusive, but then some times being inclusive offends people who don't want to be included. I can see it now with some blog fan out there "Well, she's not MY lady so why is it "Our" lady. And why a lady? I mean, can't a man do this job?). Anyway, Our Lady obviously (?) refers to our Mother Mary - the sweet virgin, the mother of Christ, etc. The church was building during the 1300-1500s and its tower which looms over the city remains the 2nd largest all brick church tower in the world.
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| The brick tower of Our Lady |
Upon arrival to the church which I thought was a Basilica... we poked inside and I figured there would be an entry fee to see what I was there to see. So seeing a lady at a counter, I walked up and asked if there was a fee to see the relic - and she said to my surprise..."This is not that church - you are at Our Lady." Oh... well I wanted to see that one too. So back across the street to a museum where you buy the inexpensive ticket (the admission goes to preservation of the 800 year old church) and then back into the Church. Of Our Lady. To see Our Lady, in statue form.
As for the church itself, it is quite large and with the tower so tall, you would think you could see it for miles. You can, but within Bruges not so much. Bruges is a nearly perfectly persevered medieval city complete with cobble streets and walkways and tight, narrow roads. So while you can see the
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| Peering up at the entrance to Our Lady |
Besides being the center of Bruges spiritual life and the final resting place for Bruges aristocracy
from centuries past, the Church of Our (mostly) Lady houses... a statue of Our (mostly) Lady. But not just any statue. This is THE statue... the big one, the famous one, the one that is not maybe as famous as the other ones in Rome or Florence, but still famous.
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| The Bruges Madonna |
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| Royal Luxury Box |
In terms of stunning beauty, the Church of Our Lady is not the most ornate church I've seen. It has its own charm, but is fairly plain inside compared to those found in Italy where every nook of the wall or ceiling seems to be painted or has a mosaic. I guess when the greats of the Renaissance are in your back yard, you benefit. The Church of Our Lady was built during the early Renaissance and well before the Dutch masters had left their mark on the art world.
One last tidbit about the Bruges Madonna - it has been stolen twice. Once by French revolutionaries and once by the Nazis in an attempt to smuggle it back to Berlin where it would join the Ghent alterpiece and thousands of other great works of art from around the world in the Fuher's grand museum of civilization. The statue was stored in a salt mine in Austria where it was recovered by brave soldiers of the Allies at the end of the war and just prior to the Soviet Army's arrival looking for the same. I thought of this as I was poking around the church and imagining the Nazis arriving here and walking around, stealing the statue and probably harassing or threatening or both the clergy and religious folks who had sworn to protect Our Lady from ruin.
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| Alyssa with the Bruges Madonna |
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The apse of Our Lady had stunning stained glass and ornate columns
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| Bruges Canal Boat Tours |
The tour was fun, our guide was lively and gave information in both English and German as those were the only two languages on board. I sat near the front so I could hear a lot of his little silly comments to those sitting closest to him. The guided tour was kind of a weird mix of historical fact and Disneyland Jungle Cruise sarcasm. But it was fun and almost too relaxing.
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| Our guide was fun, if not perfect for the Jungle Cruise |
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| Canal views in Bruges |
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| Bruges' Belfort |
This spire (as seen in the above photo) can be seen from most places in Bruges and is well over 300 feet high. It has an ungodly amount of steps to the top, but probably not as ungodly as the amount to the top of St. Peter's in Rome. But they were up for it and so we went.
Thankfully for my sister and I, there was a cozy and shady area to rest and watch as the ladies went up into the clock tower. About 40 minutes later, they emerged quite pleased and energized - the had conquered the Belfort clock tower of Bruges.
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| CONQUERED! |
Their prize? Waffles of course. (this time on a stick)
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Belgian waffles on a stick, covered in chocolate, or caramel, or strawberry,
or vanilla, or mocha - and then with candies or nuts or ... oh man.
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There remained one last task... one final push to find the Basilica of the Holy Blood. I felt like Indiana Jones - how hard could this be? So with a renewed sense of exploration and a belly happy with a strawberry dipped waffle with crunch things on it, I looked at my crappy Bruges map, turned it 37.6 degrees to align with the Belfort tower, read the sun, checked the wind, and realized - the Basilica was literally a block away. But why could I not see the church? Where was the majestic tower or cupola or something??
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| Which was the Basilica?? |
We left the main square and the Belfort behind, popped down a very commercialized street filled with chocolate and waffle shops (because that is what we sell is Belgium), and found ourselves into another large square ALSO bordered on 3 sides by very ornate buildings - these palaces and grand halls. The walls were white inlaid with gold and other bright colors... which one was the Basilica? The buildings touched wall to wall to wall... and then I found it. Not at all what I would expect for a building that houses the Blood of Christ.
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| The Basilica of the Holy Blood |
Tucked in the corner of this secondary grand square was a dark, black and grey building. One would not notice it is a church at first, but then you notice the spire and the cross and other Christian emblems. Okay.. it is a church, but A BASILICA? I mean the title Basilica surely is only reserved for the most grand of all churches or cathedrals, right? Well, no. The Basilica of the Holy Blood is actually quite small and in fact dark. It actually houses two different churches - the upper has the relics while the lower church appears to be the original church and much older.
We chose to go up first and see the relics - I was told there would be a fee to see the relics, and that was fine. So we made our way up and sure enough there was a small desk to purchase your tickets to see the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ. So we paid our fee and went into the small "museum". There it was - as glorious as could be. A large, gold "box" was the central point of the one-room museum. A video played next to it showing local celebrations and holy days when the relic was taken from its safe location, loaded into this golden ark and paraded around town. I had been warned that the actual vile of blood may not always be visible... Fridays for sure, but random other days. So if this was what we'd see, then so be it. Inside this gold box was the relic and that was pretty close for me.
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The Golden ark that housed the vile of
Christ's blood
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We exited the museum and figured we would pop into the actual Basilica to see inside. It was dark, but beautiful. It was filled with people but not crowded. There was silence and reverence. The alter was gorgeous. We sat to have a moment and take it all in. I was happy to have seen the relic but a bit sad we did not see the actual vile. Then, Alyssa tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to an area to our right where signs were up telling us not to take photos. I already had taken photos and felt bad, but then she told me the signs were not for the area we were in, but whatever was beyond those signs. Then she says "There is a priest over there".
So we walked over to this area and sure enough... there was as side chapel, a priest of at the alter and a small line of folks (maybe 4 or 5) waiting to go up and what looked like have a prayer with the priest....except he was sitting in front of something. Could it be?
Yes... there was the vile of Jesus' blood!!! So we got in line, donated our pocket change to the preservation collection box, and took our turn going up to have a moment of prayer in front of the vile of Jesus' blood. It was amazing. And we nearly missed it - I think we were the last who were allowed through before they took the relic and returned it safe keeping behind the alter. No photos allowed, but an amazing experience.
The vile of blood had made its way to Bruges during the crusades of the 1300s. Locals in Jerusalem had given the vile to the Belgian crusaders for rescuing them for the invading Muslim armies. Those crusaders returned the vile to Bruges and presented it to their Cardinal. The Basilica was erected over the existing church built hundreds of years prior. The relic has been here for nearly 1000 years.
We took our time to say some prayers and also visit the lower church which was much older but has a statue of Christ in chains awaiting his punishment at Pilot's palace.
The rest of the time in Bruges was mostly shopping or poking around. We had an overly priced dinner with lousy service and then walked back to the train station (it was about a mile) and caught our late train back to Brussels.
Bruges was an amazing place. I would love to go back and spend the night as there was so much more to see and do. Maybe next trip....
Here are some photos of both churches:
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| The interior of the Basilica of the Holy Blood |
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Side chapel behind which the relic of Jesus' blood is stored.
My sister, Simone, and Alyssa are writing prayer requests into
a book at the foot of the alter.
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| Another side chapel in the Basilica |
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This statue of Christ in chains awaiting punishment at
Pontius Pilot's palace was pretty stunning
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