Pillsbury Press: Day 2: Bruges: Cathedral, Christmas Market, Cultural Center

Last time I was in Belgium I asked Lieve, Yoran's mom, which was her favorite Belgian city. She instantly said Bruges. Liege is on the other side of the country, and with the erratic train problems (which I since understand better now that I use the app instead of Google Maps), I decided it wasn't happening in April.

Fast forward to this trip and Bruges felt like the perfect day trip from Antwerp. Located on a direct line from Antwerp, the 90 minute ride is easy and relaxing. Don fell in love with their train system. The app tells you which track the train will be on, even trains hours into the future, which track it comes in on, and (if necessary) which track to go to for a connection. Every country's train system should be so well organized.

We took the 9:06 am train. Off-peak starts at 9 am. We were not the only ones with this plan. An hour into the ride, a group of ten women got off to enjoy the day together in Ghent. At that point, Ghent was not in our travel plans. The intergenerational group spoke a language I did not recognize. I wanted to know more about them. In my head I was making up stories. It felt good to relax and let my mind wander.

My notes for Bruges were scant:

Christmas Market
Market Square
Belfry Tower
Canal
Old Chocolate House for hot chocolate
Groeningemuseum of Flemish primitive art
Concertgebouw, concert hall, modern building
Freit Museum, museum of French Fries
Windmill, Sint Janshuis Mill

Then I promptly ignored the list.

Instead we wandered and went wherever our feet took us on cobblestoned streets. It is a Medieval city that was not destroyed as it aged. Instead, it was preserved. I could picture life centuries ago as we walked closer to the market square.

We followed what seemed to be the path into the center of town. Along the way we passed Saint-Salvatore Cathedral (Our Savior), the head of the Episcopalian church in Bruges.

I wish I could wax poetically about the church, but the only way I could do that would be to research what we saw. Instead, I'll share my pictures.

By now we were ready for lunch. We nearly bought soup from a deli when we realized there was no place to sit -- indoors or outside, so we kept looking. We found Wasbar on the Market Square. I know the rule of thumb is to find a restaurant away from the tourist scene, but this place had exactly what we wanted at the price we were willing to pay. I just wanted a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. Oh, and a clean bathroom and an outlet I used to charge my cell phone. We had that, plus a view of the Market Square, which was filled with the Christmas Market.

As we relaxed we regrouped for the rest of our day. I booked a walking tour called "The Dark Side of Bruges," decided to visit the City Hall, and climb the 366 steps to the top of the belfry.

The day had typical Belgian weather -- dreary, but in the 50s. I carried an umbrella I only needed once the entire week. Then I was glad I had it with us in Ghent.

As I walked past the vendors I eyed up Alpaca socks (3 for 10 euros) and a warm scarf (also 10 euros). We continued our walk to the Stadhuis, the former city hall and current cultural center. I'm glad we climbed the wide stone spiral staircase as the rooms upstairs were majestic. I eyed up the ballroom thinking this would be the perfect place to hold the Colonial Ball, especially since there was a viewing room on the floor above with plenty of space to mingle and nosh, all while having a birds' eye view of the dancing. The Masonic Temple in Trenton is majestic, but it is crowded for the non-dancers.

I smiled when I saw their collection of busts of kings and queens of Belgium. The ones in the same material are married to each other. They really don't have a lot, and they are not creative in their names. As I understand it, their next monarch will be a woman. The daughter of the current king.

Albert I, Leopold II, and Baudoin are represented here with their wives.