We arrived in Bruges in late afternoon, a town whose name comes from the Viking word for wharf. A trading center in the 11th century, the city grew wealthy on the cloth trade. When the harbor silted up and trade routes shifted, goods soon flowed through Antwerp and then Amsterdam. The economy collapsed in the 16th century and Bruges began four centuries of economic decline. The city was eventually mothballed and became a mysterious and dead city.
A new port called Zeebrugge in the 19th century renewed vitality to the area. And eventually, this beautiful Flemish town was discovered by modern-day tourists with plenty of money to spend, which explains its current affluence. The first tourists were Americans and Canadians who came to visit the graves of loved ones in nearby WWI cemeteries. In fact, those cemeteries--Flanders Field--is where we're headed tomorrow.
Currently, Bruges is one of the wealthiest cities in Belgium; 20% of its income is from tourism. And boy, can you tell by the cars in the city. It seems like every one is either a Mercedes, a BMW, Audi, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo, or Jaguar. Amazing.
Walking through the city is a treat--calm canals with swans, lots of art, and pointy guilded architecture--as long as you can avoid the bikes!
After checking into our hotel, we had some time to meander around the neighborhood before meeting the group for a neighborhood walk. Sam and I took off to find something to drink and we ended up at the Jan Van Eyck Plein (or square), not too far from our hotel. Hey, we just saw his famous altarpiece in Ghent!
We liked this little café so well that we came here both afternoons while in Bruges, the second time for a fancy waffle, our favorite European tradition--the afternoon "coffee and cake."
All in all, I think this was my favorite city on the tour.
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