Bruges (aka Brugge, Bruges & Brügge) is a place we’ve longed to see since a 1996 work trip brief stop. Our late Mom the travel agent’s favorite. So that draw eased the pain of leaving lovely Haarlem so soon. We had a few hours of Trains ahead of us: Haarlem to Amsterdam to Antwerp to Bruges. We got up early and where the market had delighted and the concert had surprised us, the town square was now preparing for something new.
102607 What Next?
Haarlem’s canals were even quieter this time of day, silently asking why we hadn’t hired a boat tour.
103636 Beckoning Silence
With a bit of time remaining we explored at random, so I got more building ornamentation pix.
6188 Barbera?
Could the name at bottom-left of the above photo be about the unctions of Saint Barbara, or a guest house where the people in bed cubicles along the right are getting haircuts? Regardless, it’s intriguing for me along with the repaired cracks. Below is a last impression of our Haarlem collection from that day, and our reflective mood moving between worlds.
6219 Contemplative Mermaid
A Belgian friend suggested a visit to Antwerp, so even though we only got a brief layover, the station (inside & out) and glimpse of the surrounding streets puts it on our bucket list.
6222 Antwerp Yearning
The DVD for the 2008 In Bruges has an extra feature of quiet music background of an early morning canal tour. We got there in late afternoon on a busy tourist day, so the scene was different yet still charming.
6238 Return to Bruges
The fanciful new bridge at right, ancient buildings, and neck release at left frame this memory of our long walk from train into the old city core. Are you surprised that I spotted building ornamentations along the way?
6244 Tong Workers
Worker images portray a city of trades and crafts, and I wonder what this pair is doing. In the main square there was a lull in the crowd as everyone except crazy Americans was enjoying a delicious dinner.
6270 Sidewalk Cafe Entertainment
Looking right from that view is this imposing structure, with a sculpture near top-center.
6274 It’s a Bird, it’s…
I love zoom lenses, because they enable checking out stuff like this without carrying lots of heavy and bulky gear. So in a few seconds I got this closer look.
6276 George?
Could this be depicting a version of Saint George and the Dragon where he has wings? Perhaps the oldest and most enigmatic dated building ornament I saw on this trip was in Bruges.
6302 Scissors and ???
Walking to our B&B, this moment on a bridge over a canal reified memories of our first visit (and that DVD extra).
6307 Remembered Essence
Now recalling back to the town square, another 90 degrees to the right of the big building with George & Dragon was the famous carillon clock tower aka “Belfry of Bruges.” I call it a carillon because we heard several concerts and saw one being filmed by a Japanese crew inside its small open courtyard. I’ve put it here at the end of this post so it can be full width and you can scroll to view if it doesn’t fit your screen.
6279 Bruges Carillon
John & Anne Wiley 
You must be logged in to post a comment.