Europe 2019 - Day 14

20 May 2019, Monday

We woke up late as our bus was only at 12.45 p.m., had Maggi instant noodles for breakfast (!), said goodbye to our host and went to the bus station. My nose was all blocked and I was sniffing away trying to breathe, and in the tram on the way to the bus station, a really sweet man offered me a tissue. Why things like this never happen to me in my own country I will never know. 

Brussels to Bruges is really near, about 1 hour 20 minutes by bus. A dorm but LUCKILY no one in so we took the downstairs beds. The people at the hostel were not really friendly which makes our holiday that much more unenjoyable. When you are far away from your comfort zone, your whole life reduced to a backpack, in foreign lands, the hospitality of the locals makes all the difference. 

Bruges (spelt Brugge locally) is a bit disappointing in the sense that there were really not too many places to see, so that I think perhaps it would’ve been better if we just stayed in Brussels and went on a day trip to Bruges. Anyway, it was already a bit late so we decided to walk to as many interesting places as we can today, and whatever we can’t finish we will do tomorrow. 

The entire town of Brugge is about 2 km across and luckily our hostel was situated at a strategic location. First we went to the Grand Place or Market Square, known as Markt locally. This is like a town square where you can see most of the prominent buildings in Bruges such as the belfry. From there we walked to the old quarter overlooking a canal. From the 13th to 15th century, Bruges was an important trading crossroads in North-West Europe. Here was the place where the embassies of the trading nations and the mansions of the leading merchants were once located.

Then to Burg Square which housed the City Hall, a building dating back to the 14th century, the Liberty of Bruges (former civil registry) and the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The latter was closed so we had to come here again tomorrow. Then to a specific place to take a lovely picture of Bruges town, with the belfry in the distance. Very pretty. 

Walked some more and passed the Groeninge museum in a building with Flemish designs, St John’s Hospital and the oldest parish church in Bruges, the St Saviour Cathedral. Then the Church of Our Lady but this too was closed so we had to visit it again tomorrow. Lastly to the St Walburgha Church, a collegiate church for the Jesuit Brothers. It was erected in the Baroque style in 1619 and completed in 1643. The church is devoted to St Francis Xavier, a missionary of India and Japan. 

And then we were done for the day and headed back to the dorm. A Colombian couple joined us and I tried a little of my broken Spanish as usual. How fast you forget a language when you don’t use it!