moe & fred in brugges

Brugge is a lovely little town north of Brussels. It is full of canals and takes no time to walk all over, but plenty to explore. The Venice of the East. Fly into Brussels and take the train.

other places

There are some lovely canals, and a tour is the best way to wander through them & see the city.

BELOW is the local brewery as seen from the canal. The beer, Zot, is tasty & only slightly bitter. We returned later for a tour & tasting.

And here is the brewery.

LEFT, one of the mash tuns.

RIGHT, stacks of empty bottles.

RIGHT, compartments where the brew is aged.

BELOW, Fred tries out the old bottling machine.

LEFT, sacks of hops & barley.

RIGHT, view of city from top of brewery.

Double Dragon: the first beer to be put into aluminium can.

Belgium is known for good, strong beer. At about 6 to 9%, it's twice as strong as the average.

Hmm, Hoegaarden!! Moe's favorite. A whole litre of it. Do you believe she finished it on her own?

Belgian beer is some of the tastiest in the world and should be drunk in large quantities as seen above.

A lovely dinner in a traditional Flemish dinner along the canal.

Brugges is famous for the beautiful laces that it makes. Ladies tediously weaving strands of silk thread based on pre-drawn patterns. They're beautiful, intricate, and expensive. It looked challenging enough that we thought we'd have a go.

And within the lace museum are these burial things. Don't know which is creepier, the sarcophygus of the couple (RIGHT) or the skull & bones (BELOW).

Moe with a wooden statue of a lady weaving lace.

The Christian faith is a huge part of the culture & history in this little city. Among the many churches in such a small city, is also a drop of Christ's "blood."

Church stuff above and below.

Moe's been watching too much Looney Tunes

One of the few Michalangelo's to leave Italy: Virgin Mary and Jesus

Here's the Markt.

The day we got to Brugge this huge party was going on at the market. The was guy on stage playing famous song (famous 25 years ago) like the best of Abba and the crowd sings along. It is really cheesy but fun. Children would be on stage singing and dancing. Our favorite song was Conamerra which is a Irish place that was sung in French, but the Flemish.

WINDMILLS!!

Yes, there are four of these on display at the northern edge of the old city. They are no longer in use, and only one is accessible to the public.

After it picked Fred's nose, we wandered up one. For €1 each, we got to go inside & look around. It was pretty cool to see the mechanics of these relics.

The windmills were used to grind down the grains that were used to make flour. Seems like a lot of effort but flour was and still is a big part of the diet.

Along the main road that separates the old city from the new is the canal. A barge was floating down when we passed. The bridge is being lifted for it to pass.

Architecture

ABOVE: 17TH Century Gable style

BELOW: Fish monger seal

Our b&b, Hotel Nicolas. Just around the corner from Markt.

Here's the view outside our window, and then a close up of the church tower in the background.

other places

Brugge is a lovely little town north of Brussels. It is full of canals and takes no time to walk all over, but plenty to explore. The Venice of the East. Fly into Brussels and take the train.		other places

		There are some lovely canals, and a tour is the best way to wander through them & see the city.

		BELOW is the local brewery as seen from the canal. The beer, Zot, is tasty & only slightly bitter. We returned later for a tour & tasting.




	And here is the brewery. LEFT, one of the mash tuns. RIGHT, stacks of empty bottles.
RIGHT, compartments where the brew is aged. BELOW, Fred tries out the old bottling machine.

	LEFT, sacks of hops & barley. RIGHT, view of city from top of brewery.
Double Dragon: the first beer to be put into aluminium can.
	Belgium is known for good, strong beer. At about 6 to 9%, it's twice as strong as the average.
Hmm, Hoegaarden!! Moe's favorite. A whole litre of it. Do you believe she finished it on her own?
Belgian beer is some of the tastiest in the world and should be drunk in large quantities as seen above.
		A lovely dinner in a traditional Flemish dinner along the canal.


Brugges is famous for the beautiful laces that it makes. Ladies tediously weaving strands of silk thread based on pre-drawn patterns. They're beautiful, intricate, and expensive. It looked challenging enough that we thought we'd have a go.
And within the lace museum are these burial things. Don't know which is creepier, the sarcophygus of the couple (RIGHT) or the skull & bones (BELOW).
	Moe with a wooden statue of a lady weaving lace.
	The Christian faith is a huge part of the culture & history in this little city. Among the many churches in such a small city, is also a drop of Christ's "blood."

Church stuff above and below.

Moe's been watching too much Looney Tunes		One of the few Michalangelo's to leave Italy: Virgin Mary and Jesus

Here's the Markt.

The day we got to Brugge this huge party was going on at the market. The was guy on stage playing famous song (famous 25 years ago) like the best of Abba and the crowd sings along. It is really cheesy but fun. Children would be on stage singing and dancing. Our favorite song was Conamerra which is a Irish place that was sung in French, but the Flemish.


	WINDMILLS!! Yes, there are four of these on display at the northern edge of the old city. They are no longer in use, and only one is accessible to the public.

			After it picked Fred's nose, we wandered up one. For €1 each, we got to go inside & look around. It was pretty cool to see the mechanics of these relics.
		The windmills were used to grind down the grains that were used to make flour. Seems like a lot of effort but flour was and still is a big part of the diet.




		Along the main road that separates the old city from the new is the canal. A barge was floating down when we passed. The bridge is being lifted for it to pass.
	Architecture


ABOVE: 17TH Century Gable style		BELOW: Fish monger seal

	Our b&b, Hotel Nicolas. Just around the corner from Markt.
Here's the view outside our window, and then a close up of the church tower in the background.
		other places