Brugge, Belgium!

Brugge is an awesome city. The buildings have so much intricate detail, and the canals and cathedrals in the city make it really charming. It is a smaller city (pop. 117,00), and it was a nice change from seeing two huge cities. Can't get lost in Brugge! When we first arrived, we found out that we had a free upgraded room!!

We were so excited that we started a photo shoot.....

After this, we decided to go explore the town.

Our hotel was located right off of the main square. Hil did a great job of booking this place.

Here is a picture of us in front of the city hall building.

We decided to get a Bratwurst with mayonaise (very popular in Belgium) from a stand in the square, it was awesome. We walked around a little more, and saw some of the canals throughout the city. Along with Amsterdam, Brugge is known as "The Venice of the North" because of its many canals. Bruges got its city charter on July 27, 1128 and built itself new walls and canals.

Belgium is known for its chocolates, and Hil took advantage.....

The next day, we got up and had some awesome breakfast in the awesome hotel we stayed in and then walked around the city again. We found that it had snowed, and that the canals had a layer of ice on them.

Around every corner, it seemed like we saw another church temple, or tower. Below is a tower of the Church of Our Lady, whose brick spire is one of the world's highest brick towers/buildings. The sculpture Madonna and Child, which is in the church, is believed to be Michelangelo's only sculpture to have left Italy within his lifetime. Along this street we found a nice little dungeon bar, where we got tipsy off of one beer each (beer seems to have a higher alcohol content in Brugge) and had some french fries with mayonaise.

We saw a lot of cathedrals on the trip, but they don't seem to get old, and they were usually a good break from the cold. They are so detailed! We came across a church that was built in the 12th century, The Basilica of the Holy Blood, that holds an interesting relic.

The church has a relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land. It was awesome to see. It was moving to see an artifact that may contain the real blood of Christ. Below is a picture of the church, Hilary praying over the relic, and a picture of the relic.

Brugge was a fun city to see. It is small enough that it only takes one or two days to see everything. I would love to go back. Next, we were off to.........Amsterdam!