DAY 6 
BRUGGE

The train to Brugge.
From the window of the train.
A Belgian farm.
The Hotel de Tassche. The foundation of the building was laid in the 13th century. There were parts of the building upgraded over the years (walls from wood to brick, the roof from thatch to tiles), with the most recent change in 1718. In other words, it's old. It has been an inn since 1682.
My room.
The view up the Oude Burg from my window.
There is a little street with this great archway next to the hotel.
The Halles and Belfort. It's not a church or anything, just a tall tower and belfry dating to the 13th century. It is right on the Grand Place.
This building isn't actually that old, but it was built in the gothic style.
Horse-drawn carriages in the Grand Place.
I think these guys founded the town or something.
City Hall on Burg Square.
Old Recorder's House. This is where they keep all the old recorders. Not really. I think it's just city offices. Imagine going to work in a building like this.
Basilica of the Holy Blood, built in the 12th century. That's over 850 years old!
Inside the upper, more ornate chapel.
Inside this alter is apparently some of Jesus' blood. A lot of churches claim to have some holy relic brought back from the various crusades. But here's the story behind this one. It seems that several drops of Jesus' blood was preserved in Jerusalem. In 1150 the patriarch of Jerusalem gave the blood to a Flemish soldier and crusader called Derrick of Alsace as a thanks for liberating the city from the Muslims. As legend has it, the dried blood miraculously turned to liquid, which it apparently did every Friday for a couple of centuries.
The lower, more humble chapel.
This used to be a fish market. I think it's just a regular market now.
A little square with cafes and such.
The guide book said this was a great photo spot. It sure is. In fact I saw a trio of women here with the same guidebook on the same walk.
The duck on the right just sneezed.
I took this boat ride through the canals.
It was a nice ride. The pilot gave lots of interesting information, most of which I have forgotten.
The city from the canal.
Had to turn around here. A dead end.
I think this was the canal that went toward Gent.
If I remember correctly, this is the oldest bridge in Brugge.
Here we are on the boat.
I really like this photo.
On a bridge across a canal. This probably looked pretty much the same several hundred years ago.
I have no idea what that building is, but I thought it looked great. It's probably a hotel now or something.
This is where the boats coming into town used to have to unload from the larger vessels into smaller ones to navigate the canals.

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