Bruges and Cologne

For such a small country, Belgium has a great number of interesting cities to see. My most recent inter-Belgian day-trip was to Bruges (Brugge) in the North West region of Belgium. Belgium has three official languages: French, Dutch, and German (in a very small corner of the country close to Germany). Brussels is pretty much the dividing point between the northern, Dutch-speaking region (Flanders) and the southern, French-speaking region (Walloon). Brussels is located in the Dutch-speaking region, but French spoken by most people here. Luckily, almost all residents also speak English in Brussels. Bruges and Ghent are both located in the Flanders region and do not speak much English, making communications with the locals quite difficult. However, as I’ve documented previously they’re fantastic cities to visit.

Bruges is often called Belgium’s “Venice of the North,” because of the extensive canal system within the city. This was a totally new experience for me, as I’ve never been to a city with canals like these before. I must say, I was impressed. Engineering buildings and bridges in a city with so much water is mind boggling. The group took a boat tour, which was probably the most effective way to see the city and its sights.

A common theme for every European city I’ve visited thus far has been spectacular cathedrals and churches. The trend was continued in Bruges (and then thoroughly trumped in Cologne…). This picture is of the Church of our Lady. This church boasts the second highest brickwork tower in the world and is the tallest structure in the city. It is also home to one of the few works of Michelangelo outside of Italy. The Madonna and Child seen here is a huge tourist attraction in the church. I think the fact that it was created by Michelangelo is more impressive than the actual sculpture. I guess I have a very limited appreciation for art.

Pictured here is St. John’s Hospital. Dating back to 1188, it is one of the oldest hospitals in all of Europe. I was shocked to learn that it was actually in use until 1978. (How a building that was built in the 12^th century can still be competitive in 1978 is beyond me) Like most institutions of this nature, it was supported by nuns and monks for the majority of its life. However, the purpose of this hospital was a little different than what one would expect. It was primarily for travelers and pilgrims, and would only house the sick if their ailments were not serious or contagious. After 1978, the hospital became home to a museum. The picture here was taken from the canal on our tour boat.

Bruges is also famous for their hand sown lace works. I wasn’t incredibly thrilled or excited about these, but I did get to witness a woman knitting them, and it was quite intense. We saw a few Christening gowns and garments that the girls on the trip were quite impressed with. Personally, I preferred to admire the chocolate and architecture.

On Saturday, we ventured out of Belgium to the German city of Cologne. We traveled by train, which seems to be the most efficient means of European travel in this area. With the European Union’s efforts to eliminate borders within the EU, we were able to easily travel from Belgium to Germany with no customs checks or stops. Quite convenient. It was also very interesting cool to take a 2 hour train ride and be in another country with a different language and different culture. Brian is easily amused.

Immediately when we got out of the train station, the first thing we saw (after Starbucks of course… a sight for sore eyes) was this enormous cathedral. It was by far the most impressive I’ve seen since coming to Europe. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the picture taken at sunrise. I just included that for a decent picture. I was not able to get the whole building in one camera frame. I did however include this other picture with people on the steps so you can see how massive this church is.

So what do Americans do when we see really high structures? Go to the top of course. This was quite an undertaking. From the ground level, it was 509 stairs to the top of the cathedral. I can tell you honestly, that was a lot of stairs. It didn’t help that these were not normal staircases, but rather tightly wound, spiral staircases with people moving both up and down the tower. Why were there people coming down you ask? Everyone knows you just take the stairs up and the elevator down right? Wrong. No elevator. So after walking up 509 stairs, you must then walk down 509 stairs. Needless to say, when we got out of the Cathedral, my legs were a little shaky. I’d like to think that under different circumstances (shall we say some athletic shoes and a decent American meal in my stomach?) I would not have experienced this fatigue. Although the trip to the top was quite the climb, the views we got of the city were unparalleled.

In the afternoon, we visited a museum about the Nazi Party’s rise to power in Germany. The museum was converted from one of the buildings used by the Nazi’s to house prisoners. The first hour was quite interesting, as we got to see prison cells where the Nazi’s held pretty much anyone that was not a Nazi. It was really interesting/ disturbing to see the messages the prisoners wrote on the walls of their incredibly undersized prison cells. The rest of the museum was also interesting, but my attention span didn’t allow me to make it through the whole thing. After 3 hours, I was convinced that this museum held every piece of information there was to have about the Nazi party and decided my time in Cologne would be better spent seeing the city. All in all, Cologne ended up being fantastic for a day, but I’m not sure I would have wanted to spend more than a day there. On the other hand, Bruges was awesome, and I'd like to to attempt another day trip there to see the city in more depth.