Brugge, Belgium

We took a road trip with Adam and Melanie to Brugge, Belgium over Columbus Day weekend. The roughly 5 hour trip from Mainz went pretty fast and we arrived in Brugge around lunchtime on Saturday. After winding our way through the tiniest cobblestone streets you can imagine, we took advice from Rick Steves and ate at a cute little Italian restaurant called Pili Pili. After lunch, we toured the Halve Mann Brewery, the only brewery still producing beer in Brugge, and enjoyed a Belgian Blonde Ale afterwards. The tour guide was very animated and we enjoyed learning how beer is good for us and how to enjoy a beer, not just guzzle liters down like the Germans. In the late afternoon, we went on a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city. The driver pointed out different sites and some of the meanings behind the architecture. For instance, many of the buildings had angels above every door and window to keep out bad spirits.

Brugge, Belgium

On Sunday, we toured Choco-Story, The Chocolate Museum. The museum was really interesting and we learned a lot about the history of cocoa and it's role through the ages from about 600 B.C. to today. Since the fog hadn't burned off, we made our way to the Diamant (diamond) museum. It was rather unimpressive, although we did get a sample of synthetic diamonds. After lunch, we climbed the 360 steps to the top of the bell tower and were at the top while the bells chimed which was a neat experience. After a boat tour through the canals, we made our way to Brugge's four windmills. They are placed along a canal, and it was a pleasant walk slightly away from the hustle and bustle of town. We also visited Brugge's Church of Our Lady which houses Michelangelo's Madonna and Child sculpture. This sculpture is said to be his only sculpture to leave Italy during his lifetime and one of the few outside Italy today.

On Monday, we drove about 30 minutes North to Zeebrugge to see the North Sea.

Zeebrugge, Belgium

On the way home, we stopped in Brussels for lunch. We were very impressed by the architecture in the market square as well as the chocolates!

Brussels, Belgium