We got off the bus in Brugge (after two hours on the harrowing highways of Belgium, through which I slept the majority because I was forced to awaken at 7am and wasn't co-ordinated enough to operate my french press) in front of this strange modern structure, just a little ways down from the train station. We crossed a bridge just on the other side over the Minnenwater (I know I'm spelling that wrong) which was commonly called the "lovers river" but actually from the old Dutch means something more like "the ghost of the water." From the bridge we could see this other big beautiful building that turned out to be a hotel/restaurant, and this tower that used to hold gunpowder safely away from the city center. We walked through this area outside the city that used to be a community of religious women, (I believe Benedictine nuns) and there was mass going on so we couldn't go into the church. The whole area was very hushed except for the plethora of tour guides, and the cobblestones were very uneven due to their being incomprehensibly old.

For the most part, that was when I stopped listening to the tour guide. He wasn't bad, but it didn't really make a difference to me what he was saying. I took pictures mainly for you guys, because you're not here. So what follows (above) is really just pictures upon pictures, and you can take them as you will, just like I did. My one real regret about Brugge is that I didn't see the modonna and child by Michaelangelo. But hey, it's only two hours away and I'm going to be here for another 9 and a half months! Please enjoy...