Bruges

Last week I went on a short holiday with my family to Bruges.  It was a really great holiday but it was a bit cold.

Bruges is such a pretty city, with its cobbled streets, canal through the centre, and beautiful old buildings.

We were on a Riviera tour so we had many activities already planned for us but we also had a fair amount of free time to see the city at our own pace.

A visit to Ypres was one of the scheduled outings.  It was amazing to find out that the whole city was just rubble after WW1 but has been completely rebuilt since (see picture below). 

We also saw some real trenches from the war that have been preserved.  No wonder trench-foot was common as, due to the Flanders clay soil, they all contained water even though it hadn’t rained for several days.

On a lighter note, we managed to sample some of the local Flanders cuisine – chocolate, beer, chips, and waffles.  On the last day we visited one of the 3 chocolate shops in Bruges that still makes its own chocolates (out of over 60).

One of the things we did in our free time (besides eat waffles) was going to a Harp concert.  At first I was a bit sceptical, especially when the man said he was playing songs he composed himself, but it was much better than I expected and a very relaxing way of spending time.