Up this morning and over to Exki. This is about the only place open at 8am. Even Starbucks is not open. After our breakfast, we headed over to St. Nicholas Church. We sat and listened to a man playing the organ. They had just had an early mass and were cleaning up after. While we sat there, a man told us he was locking up. The church would reopen at 10am. So we walked around the square for a bit and then came back to the hotel to pack, etc.
Our plan was to take the tram to the train station but because the streets here are all cobblestone, we will take a taxi. We do not want the wheels of our luggage to fall off bumping over the stony streets and sidewalks. We checked out at had the desk order a taxi. It came pretty quickly and the ride to the station was unevenful.
The board said the train to Brugge was 10 minutes late so we were able to get on right away. At first it appeared there were no seats but Bob was able to put our luggage up over head and then a young man picked up his back pack and I was able to sit. Bob also found a seat. The ride over took about 30 minutes. We decided to buy our return tickets while at the station so we found the counter and did just that. We will be first class on the way back to Amsterdam.
We got a taxi to the hotel and it reminded me of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I am not sure how many people he almost ran over. Plus he took the long way around the city. But we got here and checked in. Room was ready so we unpacked and then headed out to buy some vodka and chips. Had lunch in a small cafe on a square. Bob had fish soup which he said was the best he has had. I had cheese croquettes
and salad. Okay. We both enjoyed a beer. When in Belgium drink beer.
We walked back to the hotel and took our nap. Gosh, we are getting old.
After we got up we decided to take one of the walking tours the hotel has mapped out for us. This took us through part of the city we had not seen before. As it was after 5pm, most of the churches were closed but we did get to see a few of them.
As we step out of our hotel, we get a great view of the belfry. We will visit it tomorrow on our second walk. Today our walk was of "The Unknown Bruges".
We found this in Ghent as well as Brugge. It appears the owners put up these spikes in order to keep the birds off the ledges of their homes.
During our walk we passed this statue. It is of Jan Van Eyck. He was the artist who painted, with his brother, "The Lamb of God" which we visited in Ghent.
Amsterdam is not the only city with canals. And the views from the canals are wonderful.
As we continued our walk, we passed the Jerusalem Church. It was closed so we may have to come back tomorrow.
Next was St. Anna's Church. This church was also closed but we did get to see some of the exterior which was beautiful.
And as we continued our walk, we looked back and got the entire view of St. Anna's.
Our next stop was Queen Astrid Park. These are some of the trees that line the park.
This gazebo is in the center of the park. Lots of people were lying around enjoying the beautiful weather. Finally it is warm and sunny.
And look, tulips. Wish Judy and Anne could see them. They are beautiful.
Next we came to Magdalena Church. A gothic exterior but when you go inside, wow, what a difference.
This is the inside of Magdalena Church. This is a symbolic baptismal pool. They do not use it for baptisms. But there are cushions and I guess the people can sit around the pool.
There are neon lights that spell out "Yes Here Now". It is causing the blue, green and red hues.
At the end of our walk we came to the fish market. All cleaned up today. Maybe tomorrow they will be selling fish.
This is a restaurant across from the fish market. I found the figure fishing with the fish amusing.
This is our hotel. A great location. I booked it with Capital One points. So far, all of the hotels I picked are great.
We returned to the hotel to clean up for dinner. Not sure where we will go. So much to choose from.
Well we decided to eat at the hotel cafe. Had a discount card and it is so convenient. Ate light and now back in the room watching CNBC news. Enjoying a vodka. Getting ready for another wonderful day in Brugge.
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