Bruges

For the second stop on our mini-euro-trip, my roommate and I took a bus from Amsterdam to Brussels and immediately, we didn’t take to the city. We had heard so many good things from so many people about how much they absolutely loved Brussels, and we just couldn’t figure out why. We walked around the city, and while the main square was beautiful, the charm didn’t take long to wear off.

Image credit: blogger; Pictured: La Grand Place, Brussels

It was surprisingly difficult to find food which always ended up being very expensive, the city was very grimy in comparison to pretty much every other city, and we couldn’t find much to occupy ourselves with. We looked into traveling to Paris or back to Amsterdam, but after hearing recommendations from friends and family, we decided to go to Bruges.

Image credit: blogger

Bruges is in the northwest part of Belgium, and looks like it has come straight out of a fairytale. It is a small town filled with canals, churches, and (because we were there in November) Christmas shops.

Image credit: blogger

Bruges very easy to get to – you simply take a train from the Brussels train station to Bruges, which costs 12.00€ round trip, and takes about an hour each way. It’s about a 15 minute walk from the station in Bruges to the center of the town, which has lots of restaurants, shopping, canals, parks, and churches. I would recommend buying the ticket at the Brussels station – everyone working there will kindly help you find your way!

Image credit: blogger; Pictured: Markt

Needless to say, we spent all of our time in Bruges. It is one of the most charming towns I have ever seen, and we walked around with smiles plastered on our face the entire time.

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We didn’t go there with a plan – we spontaneously went and walked around, and I wouldn’t have changed that at all!

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My parents, who had visited Bruges years ago and gave the initial suggestion to visit, remembered a church that had a Michelangelo sculpture. We did some research, and it turned out we had actually walked into the church that was home to the statue the previous day!

Image credit: blogger; Pictured: Church of Our Lady

We returned to the Church of Our Lady, bought a ticket for 1€ to see the statue, and wow was it worth it.

Image credit: blogger; Pictured: Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child

This sculpture, in the middle of the picture above, is one of the few Michelangelo sculptures outside of Italy. The cost of the ticket goes towards the restoration of the church – which has sadly fallen to pieces over time, but is certainly worth a visit none-the-less.

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While we didn’t take to Brussels, Bruges certainly made up for that between its quaint charm and beauty. I would recommend visiting this town over and over, as it’s truly beautiful and timeless.