Bruges

Yesterday we were greeted with the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Bruges. The day began with driving from Ypres to Bruges which took about an hour. Upon arrival into Bruges, we said goodbye to Julian, our bus driver, and headed towards the city. We marched through construction zones and down many streets and finally ended up at the Bruges canal tours. The tour was absolutely beautiful. We winded down the canal and got an amazing view of the city.




After the canal tour, we were given a few hours of free time. 2 fellow classmates and I decided that we would climb the Belfry tower. After a long line up and many debates over pricing (under 24 and over 64 were charged 4 Euros and the ages in between were charged 8 Euros) we began the climb. After 15 minutes or so and 366 steps, we made it to the top! The view of Bruges was breathtaking.

After winding back down the stairs and getting back to ground level, lunch was in order. A great thing about Belgium is, of course, their waffles. As well, in Bruges, they have walk-up windows so you are easily able to access these delicious treats. After waffle-eating and window shopping, we wandered through the streets of Bruges (not getting lost I might add!) and met up with the group again. We were then given a 2-hour walking tour through the city, highlighting the interesting places of Bruges. Post-tour, we were given another little bit of free time. After a bit of shopping we all got back onto the bus and headed back to the hostel. It was a day well spent in Bruges!
--Lisa Hutchcroft