Well, It's that time again!
Time for updates and pictures from our Holiday travels.
As most of you know we spent our Holidays in Belgium.
We started off in Bruges on Christmas day.
Bruges / Brugge is known as "The Venice of the North"
It is a very picturesque village surrounded by beautiful canals, churches and buildings.
We stayed at the Hotel Ter Brughe
The building dates back to 1470 and is on a beautiful canal between 2 bridges.
We ventured out to the Grote Markt, one of the 2 Christmas Markets in Bruges
We were surprised to see most everything open and the town filled with lots of people on Christmas day. We had to try what Belgium is best known for:
waffles, beer and chocolate.
waffles, beer and chocolate.
For our "Christmas Dinner" we decided on Sushi. I know its not the traditional Christmas dinner but it had been awhile since we have had sushi and it was wonderful.
Nightime at the Grote Markt and Ice Rink
really felt like Christmas, it was a beautiful site to see.
Belfry Tower
The Belfry of Bruges, or Belfort, is a medieval bell tower in the historical centre of Bruges, Belgium. The belfry was added to the market square around 1240
It was a scary climb to the top of the 83-metre-high building. The stairs were a narrow, steep, spiral staircase of 366 steps. With people going in both directions having to pass one another in very narrow places, sometimes only 24 inches wide.
But, the view from the top made it all worth it.
'De Halve Maan' Brewery
6 generations of the brewing family succeeded each other since 1856
Brugse Zot Beer
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View from the top of the brewery
The Church of Our Lady
Its tower, at 122.3 meters in height, remains the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world
The altarpiece of the large chapel in the southern aisle enshrines the most celebrated art treasure of the church—a white marble sculpture of the
Madonna and Child created by Michelangelo around 1504.
Brussels is the both the Capitol of Belgium and of the European Union and with a population of around 1.2 million it is also the largest city. Judging by the crowds, I think they were all out wandering the streets for the holidays.
Grand Place
The Grand Place is one of the most beautiful Town Squares in Europe with architecture from 3 different eras (Baroque, Gothic and Louis XIV)
The Grand Place at night was an amazing sight to see. The lights were set to Holiday music, and was truly one of the most beautiful things that we have ever seen.
Mannekin Pis
A famous Brussels landmark of a
sculpture depicting a naked (usually) little boy urinating into the fountain's basin, created in 1618. Someone dressed him in the local football club's clothing for the day.
We took the Hop on Hop off
double decker tour bus around the city to see the sights.
Royal Palace of Laeken
The official residence of the King and Queen of the Belgians and their family
Leopold I monument
At Dynasty Square in the park of Laeken
Japanese Tower
Royal Palace Of Brussels
Where the King works
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
The city streets were scattered with art exhibitions. The metal arch corridor lit up in various colors and play tones as people walked through.
The shipping container was a unique piece. They say art is supposed to make you think; it made us think about what happened to our household goods on the way over here.
We wandered around town and found some interesting places to eat and shop. We were told we had to try the mussels and we are glad we did, they were delicious.
New Year's Eve was a quiet affair, we hung out at the hotel lounge with some fellow Americans who were there on holiday. We were looking forward to a relaxing evening after dealing with the crowds for past few days.
Sorry we were a little late getting this out. January was a hectic month but we are already working on the next update of our travels with our first house guest, CJ's cousin Candy.
Cheers, Sending much love from Scotland!
John and CJ
Cheers, Sending much love from Scotland!
John and CJ
