Bruges, Belgium and the Burches

Bruges, Belgium is a picturesque medieval city with cobblestone streets, canals, horse-drawn carriages, and chocolatiers.  Kevin, Rusty (Kevin's brother), and I spent a long weekend exploring this city.  We enjoyed all the finer things of life like...








fondue,

chocolate,

and beer.

We met an interesting Dutch couple on the canal ride who pointed out "tea houses" and "wall anchors".  Tea houses overlook the canals and can be enjoyed with a cup of tea when the windows are open during the summer.  Wall anchors are needed because of the water surrounding the buildings and are long steel reinforcements inserted into buildings to provide stability.  The couple also recommended that we visit the Bruges City Hall and the Red Light district of Amsterdam.  We haven't made it to either and I'm not sure that we ever will.

Wall anchors are the black stripes on the buildings
(especially seen on the maroon building).

Swan in the
"Lake of Love"

We did, however, see some of the natural beauty of Bruges.

We went from the innocence of Bruges to the horror of Breendonk.  Fort Breendonk was a concentration camp in Belgium during World War II and confined 3500 prisoners.  Around half of the 3500 prisoners did not return from camp alive.  We visited this memorial and spent more than 2 1/2 hours soberly walking through the halls of the barracks, through the kitchen, into the torture chamber and around the mote past the execution area.  The trip was a healthy reminder of what we humans are capable of.  It's awful.

German SS

Flemish SS

Gallows

Torture chamber

Our time in Belgium did not end with Breendonk as we headed a bit north to Antwerp, the final stop.  The city especially the Cathedral and the train station were a reminder of the creativity and splendor we humans have the potential to accomplish.