In this episode of @marygoesroundtheworld , we visit one of Mary’s all-time favorite spots, Belgium’s hypnotically captivating city of Bruges in Belgium. This destination should be a bucket list destination for every traveler. It’s everything one would want in a travel spot: scenic, safe, walkable, photogenic, diverse, and great cuisine.
She opens with a hover camera shot (mini drone) as she introduces us to the city from the photogenic Boniface Bridge.
She stops for a quick bite to eat… a variation on the traditional Belgium waffle.
Next, we take a canal boat ride from Bruges by Boat and learn a bit about the history and the role canals played in the establishment of Bruges.
We then visit the Basilica of the Holy Blood, a church that dates back to the 1100’s and is where some believe houses the blood of Jesus Christ. The exterior of the church doesn’t prepare visitors for the ornate and colorful interior.
But that church isn’t the only one that visitors should check out. The Cathedral of Our Lady houses a Michelangelo statue, a miniature version of the Madonna and Child.
In a city that looks like it came out of a fairy tale, Bruges has no shortage of stories and Mary tells us one about the origin of the many swans that grace the canals.
Belgium is known for beer and she takes us to the De Halve Maan Brewery that installed a beer pipeline with the help of the community.
We then visit a unique residence that dates back to the 1200s, a campus known as a beguinage.
Just outside the city, we go to a park that is home to a set of old windmills. Mary tells us their importance to the community and its role during World War II.
We then go up the city’s belfry tower for a behind-the-scenes look at a clock hundreds of years old, while getting a spectacular view of this well-preserved medieval city.
Mary tells us about the century-old book that put Bruges on the map and made it on the bucket list for tourists the world over.
She makes a brief stop at the Mary’s Chocolates, one of the best-rated chocolate places in town.
Walking around the incredibly safe city is a treat for architecture lovers, with brick gothic and wooden houses from the Middle Ages. Mary explains why windows are missing from some of those old buildings.
Bruges’ role in commerce led to the first stock exchange being established there.
While it doesn’t take much imagination to picture what Bruges looked like 500 years ago, a virtual reality museum called the Historium gives visitors a memorable look at this city that is also an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Mary finishes up the episode of one of her bucket list places with her usual tip about how to save a little money.
By Circle of Étienne Colaud – Marie-Blanche Cousseau, Étienne Colaud et l’enluminure parisienne sous le règne de François Ier, Rennes/Tours, Presses universitaires de Rennes/Presses universitaires François-Rabelais, coll. « Renaissance », 2016, 374 p. (ISBN 978-2-86906-412-6), p.200, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56375371
By Fethullah Çelebi Arifi (historian, poet and painter) and/or Matrakçı Nasuh (painter of landscape) and/or other painters at the court of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent – Süleymanname MS. H. 1517, f. 149a, Topkapi Lib. Istambul; scanned from reproduction in “A story of history” by Arnold Toynbee, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2600016
By Gerard David – Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6101730
Uplifting Acoustic Tune with a Bright, Positive Vibe by Nancy_Sinclair — https://freesound.org/s/751877/ — License: Attribution 4.0. Need to include this for attribution