Bruges is what happens when a medieval trading empire retires and lives off its looks. In the 13th and 14th centuries this Flemish canal city grew fabulously rich on English wool and cloth, hosted the glittering Burgundian court, and briefly ranked among the wealthiest places in northern Europe. Then its link to the sea silted shut, the merchants drifted to Antwerp, and Bruges simply stayed put—cobbles, stepped gables, swans, and a belfry that still watches the Markt as if the Hanseatic fleet might sail back any minute. The result is less a reconstruction than a city that never quite got the memo that the Middle Ages had ended.
So over we came to check it out. Teena did great as our driver, I’ve been relegated to navigator 😦 (She calls me the drivers Ed teacher she never hired!)
Hotel is nice and despite the quality, the cost is less than a Hilton in BTV or way less than in Baltimore, which was ouch!
Driving the narrow streets here is another story. Can’t wait for the van to fit in here… not!
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