Brugge, Belgium July 20, 2012

As tired as we were last night, we both just slept OK. Still adjusting to the time change. We kept rolling over and finally got up and out around 10:30. Todays plan was to do some museums. However, it is always most important to feed Carol so we stopped for some (what else) Belgian waffles. They are denser then what we are used to but very tasty and filling with real fresh whipped cream on top. Now that Carol is happy, we went to the Groeninge (pronounced hhhroon-ih-guh) Museum to see some Belgian masterpieces. Some like the judgement of Cambyses were interesting. It showed Cambyses, a crooked judge being skinned alive, and hung in the city hall as possible discouragement to other public officials. Maybe we need copies of this in our politicians offices.

Only Michelangelo Outside Italy

Since we bought a 15 Euro pass that got us into 16 museums, we hit the Gruuthuse Museum next. This museum showed period furniture and household items as well as a very gruesome guillotine. It also used to house nobles and had a room that looked into the attached Church of our Lady so the pretty people did not have to mingle with the general populace to attend mass. Church of our Lady was next where we saw the only Michaelangelo statue to ever make it out of Italy. It was bought by a wealthy businessman who is buried beneath it. This church also houses the tombs and markers of Charles the Bold ( one of my new names) and Mary of Burgundy. Next up was the Memling museum, another famous artist who helped fund the hospital that now houses the museum. It had interesting displays on not so modern medicine of the 1400-1500 era as well as his artwork. After they chopped off the heads of prisoners, they used the bodies to dissect and learn things. Perhaps some pictures of this in the prisons would be nice. On a roll, we decided to climb the Belfort ( bell tower), only 366 steps to the top. Winding steep stairs and great views. We visited the town hall to end our day and off we went in search of beer and food.

In De Garre Pub

We were looking for a place called Degarre and knew right where it was supposed to be on the map. We walked up a street one way and back again before on the third time, we realized what they called a street( stratt) was in reality an alleyway. So down the alley we go and walk right in. Quite a crowd so the owner asks this couple if we can sit with them. Order two house beers and say hello. We soon are having great conversation and laughs with our new friends from Holland. After an hour or so, they go change their dinner reservations elsewhere so they can hang out with us longer. What a privilege to meet such nice people. Arum ( pronounced Ah-hum for us phonetically challenged Americans) and Linda ( how easy) are in their late twenties and made us envious with their tales of travel to Peru, Bolivia, South Africa, China, and upcoming travel to India and Nepal. We wish them well and as we exchanged information, may meet again in our future travels. They left for their dinner and we moved on to find ours. We walked a little across town in a quiet section to locate the oldest pub in Brugge. Established in 1515, Herberg Vlissinghe Pub served simple Italian and Belgian Food. We went for the cheap angel hair with bolognese sauce and ham and cheese macaroni. Both were good and a bargain at 8 Euro. Of course we tried two more beers so we could sing and walk home. We managed to get back to the room around 10 PM again, pretty tired but happy with our day.

CNC Expenses                                                                                                                                           5.50E-Waffles and Cream                                                                                                                             30E-Museum Pass                                                                                                                                        15E- 3 Degarre Beer & 1 Trappist Roquefort ( made by monks)                                         53.00E- Hotel                                                                                                                                                   21.30E-Pasta Dinners and 2 Beers at Herberg Vlissinghe Pub                                                           Miles walked 7.9