First off, Bruges is just an amazingly beautiful city.  It really is like a fairy tale, as mentioned in the movie “In Bruges”.   The canals, bridges, cobblestone roads, and well preserved medieval monuments and churches completely transport you to another age.  Bruges is truly one of the most picturesque cities I’ve ever been to, I’ve been just about everywhere.  It’s also pretty small, almost entirely walkable, so it has a quaint, comfortable feel to it. 

Although it was really cold, we did manage to walk most of the city.  I’d say the best day was when we taxied to Bonne Chiere Molen, which is the oldest of the four windmills at the north border of the city.

The windmills sit along a canal, next to a bikepath and walkway.  It’s very quiet and serene up there, away from most of the tourists.   You can walk along the canal and visit all four windmills and take some great pictures, and even stop at a little pub along the way to warm up (which is what we did!).

If the weather is warmer, you can easily bike up to this area from the main town area.  You can pretty much circle the entire city and go anywhere by bike.

The bell tower or Belfry is the centerpiece of the city next to the main market square, Markt.  There was a long line to climb the 350+ stairs to get to the top of the Belfry, and the steps were small, and the corridors very narrow.

If you are a big person, or claustrophobic in anyway, you may want to skip the climb.  But if you make it to the top, you can get great views of the entire city.

There are several museums, but only one that really stands out, and that’s the Groeningemuseum.  Conveniently, it’s located right next to the best hotel in Bruges, the Hotel de Tuilerieen.

The Hotel de Tuilerieen is a 15th century mansion that’s been well preserved and now offers 45 rooms and suites to guests. It sits on one of the prettiest canals in Bruges.

During warm weather, you can hop on the canal cruise right at this canal here.  Try requesting a canal view room, it’s awesome, but you may want to bring some ear plugs as the hustle and bustle of the street can make its way up to your room.

Oh, also, be sure to stock up on Belgian chocolate!  There are chocolatiers on just about every street corner, and the chocolates are killer.  Check out Dumon, which is one of the more famous chocolatiers.  Of course, Belgian Waffles are also amazing.  Waffles are more of a desert or snack item, not a breakfast item, so they are not typically available in the morning at a breakfast spot (as we found out!).  Finally, Belgian beer is outstanding.  There are a lot of different types of beers, you’ve got to try as many as you can.  Great, great beer.

Can’t wait to go back!  But this time, during warm weather…

Ok, and here are Gina’s pictures from Amsterdam in slideshow format:

http://www.vacationprints.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=8&pid=346&slideshow=2500

Or you can browse her album here:

http://www.vacationprints.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=8

So those are all the pictures from this trip, from both my (Tyson) and Gina’s cameras.  I’ll post about some of the highlights from this trip next time!

Damn it’s cold!  I’ve uploaded the few pictures I took, you can view the slide show here:

http://www.vacationprints.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=6&pid=207&slideshow=2500

I still need to upload Gina’s pictures, I think she took a few more than I did, but it was very cold in Amsterdam, and snowing at times, so we opted to stay indoors a lot.  In fact, one of the days Gina spent all but 4-5 hours in bed LOL!  I’ll write up more about the trip soon!

Our first trip on Vacation Prints!  I’ve just put up the pictures from Bruges, you can see a slide show of Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 by clicking on the links below:

Bruges Day 1:

http://www.vacationprints.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=2&pid=11&slideshow=2500

Bruges Day 2:

http://www.vacationprints.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=5&pid=113&slideshow=2500

Bruges Day 2 & 3:

http://www.vacationprints.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=7&pid=248&slideshow=2500

Or browse all the Photo Albums here:

http://www.vacationprints.com/photos/

Any picture may be clicked on to see the full, high-resolution version.  We will update soon with pictures from Amsterdam!