In Bruges and In Brussels

There were only 25 in the "Romantic European" tour which left the London hotel at 5:45 am sharp bound for Dover. We arrived at Dover in misty conditions and the ferry then arrived in Calais about 90 minutes later. We adjusted our watches (forward 1 hour) and boarded the bus for Bruges in Belgium. The first thing we noticed was the fantastic roadway we were on and these highways and freeways would be the normal thing throughout Europe. The roads are extremely impressive. They basically follow the routes set out by the Roman road builders from 2000 years ago.


Bruges is a picture postcard city showing the best of medieval Europe with cobblestone streets, large city squares, canals, historic buildings, churches, cathedrals and all so picturesque. Remember to click on the pictures for a larger view, then hit "Back" to return to this page. The day had warmed up a little so we were able to enjoy a two hour lunch stopover here. We had the first of many Salad Rolls or Panini for our lunch while in Bruges.

It bears out what was said in the recent movie "In Bruges" which captures this city's beauty very well indeed. As we watched the movie we remembered the spots in the city where we had been. Chocolate making is a favorite pastime here and there are chocolate shops scattered throughout the city.

Some more of Bruges below (can you spot me?):


We arrived in Brussels later in the afternoon and took a quick walk through the city. There were rows and rows of restaurants, street entertainers and more cobblestone roads, city squares, chocolate shops, churches and cathedrals too. There were numerous souvenir shops as well. This is an arcade below which the group strolled through.


World War Two has had a huge impact on Europe. Each place we visited had stories to tell from times of the German occupation. In Brussels there is this small statue of a little boy twinkling from on high! It is said to be a monument to remind everyone of the resistance and disdain the Belgians had for the German Occupation troops. This statue is symbolic of a little boy urinating from above onto an occupying German soldier.

The hotel we stayed in was not the original hotel for the tour group. Instead we had been moved (and subsequently upgraded) to a 5 star hotel. It was just wonderful! We enjoyed our first evening meal in Europe in an outdoor restaurant. It was a one night stopover with Amsterdam our next overnight stop!