Part 1
As soon as I entered the
peaceful city of Bruges, I felt, I was transported into a medieval era with old
world charm!
Yes, indeed, Bruges is one
of the most beautiful and best preserved medieval cities in Europe. No wonder this city has been listed as a World
UNESCO Heritage site. And the criteria has been: interchange of values,
significance in human history, heritage associated with events of universal
significance.
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| Picture perfect scenery! |
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| Beautiful houses. |
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| Houses along the canal |
I happened to visit
Amsterdam in June, this year. From there I took a tour via Lindbergh Excursions. The
tour duration was 11 hours (it started at 9.30 am in the morning) and though the price was a bit steep (80 Euros/person) it
was worthy to visit this heritage city. Most of the tour group members comprised of couple and families. I was was the only person travelling solo.. Well, it is good sometimes to be on your own. However, it is always better to have company...
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| Many 'cool' cafes dot the surroundings. |
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| The serene canals |
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| Perched along the canals are beautiful abodes |
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| Fairytale settings... |
We travelled in a comfortable coach, which took us to Bruges, and parked us at a place called Minne Water (the parking space for most of the tourist buses) From the guide took us around and showed us the main parts of this charming town. Later, we had around 3 hours to explore the beautiful locales. There were many tourist around as the weather was perfect, sunny and around 25 degrees centigrade.
The city of Bruges continues
to retain it medieval look with flowing canals, edged with pretty gabled houses
and cobbled streets! The town seems to be very quiet with very few cars around.
Most of the locals including the tourists walk around. As the town can be
easily navigated on foot and one can best admire its beauty by walking around. An
occasional charming horse driven carriage passes by which takes the tourists around the major sightseeing places
around the town.
It is indeed a splendid
town, with ancient architecture. It is also an unparalleled artistic centre
where lacemaking flourished in the olden days. This medieval town has retained its
historic fabric, evolving over the centuries! There are many original medieval
Gothic structures around this town.
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| The houses where the bells chime.... |
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| Parked myself! |
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| The clock tower and the belfry. |
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| Charming locales... |
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| Peaceful lanes |
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| Serene and charming alleys... |
Here are 10 quick facts
about the charming city of Brugges:
1)
Bruges is the
capital city of West Flanders area of the Flemish speaking Belgium.
2)
The first
inhabitants who settled on the shores of the Zwin, between the 7th
and the 9th century, called it Bruggia.
3)
The town
developed around the fortress called Burg (Borough)
4)
It was built by
the Counts of Flanders and became a world port in the 13th century.
5)
The Belfry was
built around 1240, and houses a municipal Carillon comprising of 47 bells.
6)
From 1815 to
1830, Bruges was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Since 1830, it
has been a part of Belgium.
7)
In the 13th
century, it was the main link of the Mediterranean trade.
8)
The church of Our
Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk) has the highest brick tower in Europe.
9)
Moules frites (dish of mussels and fries) and chocolate are
Belgian specialties.
10) The population of this charming town is around
117000.
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| Wheels on the go.. |
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| Some from our tour group... |
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| Pristine gothic buildings.... |
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| The market square! |
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| Summer is fun! |
Note: This is first post
about my travels around the world (other than India), watch out for many more
to come…
The festival
season has set in!
