In Bruges

"In Bruges."  A great movie with Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson.  

Here is the official trailer:

"Bruges is the most preserved medieval city in all of Belgium."  -Ken, In Bruges
So I decided I wanted to check it out. 

It was an hour train ride from Brussels, I spied the St Salvatores Catherdal and there was a proper downpour upon my arrival at the train station.  No problem, I ducked into an Italian restaurant to formulate a game plan to visit some of the main sites from the film.

 

OK.  I'm not retarded, but I like Bruges.

My first stop in this UNESCO World Heritage city would be the 13th century belfry, and yes the steps were very narrow.  In a poem, the belfry was immortalized by Longfellow: 

In the market-place of Bruges stands the belfry old and brown;

Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town.

Americans.

"I wouldn't go up there.  It's really narrow!"  366 steps!

Some of the 47 bells that make up the carillion.

Views from the top of the belfry.  Bruges is derived from the Dutch word for bridge.

Another glimpse of St Salvatores.

So a random group of kids approached me and asked me if I would be in a picture with them.  They were just trying to get their picture with lots of different people.  I was happy to oblige as long as I got a picture with them too.

A bad panorama of the Markt

In the Basilica of the Holy Blood.

Church of Our Lady as seen from the canals.

It's not that bad!

Old fish market.

This building with the pelican over the door was built so poor people would have a place to live.  It is still for poor people today.

You can see this doggy in the first 4 minutes of the movie.  He literally just hangs out the window on his pillow all day long.

This guy is playing a musical instrument invented in Switzerland in 2000 called a Hang.  The thing he is blowing into is called a didgeridoo.

 And here is some video

 

The Church of Our Lady again.  Its tower is 122.3 meters high which makes it the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world (the tallest being St. Martin's Church in Landshut, Germany.  It contains the famous "Madonna and Child" by Michaelangelo.

Another shot of St. Salvatores after the skies cleared up.

A stroll along Minnewater Lake

The day was drawing to an end.  I didn't have time to visit all of the sites from the film, but I got to see quite a bit today.  Maybe I'll have to come back.

 That's a wrap!!