Bruges, Belgium: 2014 Christmas Market

Moving right along...and finally getting to the day for which we actually drove to Belgium, that last weekend of November!

I'm totally going backwards from when this all happened.  I started with Veere, NL, which we stopped to see as we drove home.  Then I showed you what happened on the day of our coastal tram ride.

Today is when we took the train to Bruges from our hotel in Ostend, a 15-minute no-brainer, no-hassle ride to the outskirts of city center.  And we weren't the only ones visiting Bruges that first weekend of their Christmas market, Saturday, November 29.  (We first stopped at the ice festival outside the train station, but that's another post, coming up.)

Immediately, walking into city center, we noticed how autumny it still was on a gorgeous day.

And of course, I started snapping away at all the architecture that still enthralls me.

That meant also noticing all the niches everywhere.

Remember that Belgium is Roman Catholic (while Holland is mostly Protestant).

 Speaking of Roman Catholic, here's Bruges' city church, St. Salvator's Cathedral.
In the 10th century it began as a parish church, becoming a cathedral in the 19th century.
It wasn't open as we entered city center...but it was as we left (see end of post).

The gable stones even in Belgium never disappoint.

As I mentioned on FaceBook, the bottom-right one is a typical "gaper head" (literally:  yawner) 

depicting the place as a pharmacy (see the pill?). They always make me laugh.

 Don't forget the weathervanes and manhole covers....

 ...and the roof toppers/ornamentals, very special to Bruges, and surely meaning something.

 When we see the organ grinders, we always want to take pictures,

so we toss in some coins and snap away.

Sometimes I even remember to take a video.  Short but sweet.
(You can even see the perforated scroll like for player pianos, which I always loved.)

 Once at the market square, we took our bearings...to remember what we both had seen previously,
even if separately, in our past lives.  Yes, this is Bruges.

But first, we took a side street to find this café for lunch:  Beethoven.
What a quaint little place, serving French cuisine for up to 20 patrons.  Delightful.

Every time we go to Belgium, Astrid tries to get mussels...and these were the BEST, she said.
Since I'm not a mussels nut, I chose something I rarely have these days:  beef stew.
(Notice that my "stew" wasn't stewed with veggies but it still melted in my mouth.)

After lunch, we were on a mission!
We walked on the outskirts of the Christmas market in the square, to save it for late afternoon.
This Provincial Court building from 1294, on the square, is a masterpiece.

We wanted to get to the canal for a boat ride before it was too late.
But see that long line (top right)?

We decided to just hoof it around (on foot, that is) and get the main points,
always with the 12th century Belfry tower from the square looming overhead/behind.

When we wound our way back to the Christmas market, we window-shopped along the way.
Surely you know Belgium is known for its lace....

 ...and did someone say BELGIUM CHOCOLATE???
(just like the Dutch, the Belgiums can take a joke!)

By now, late afternoon, it was time to pay attention to the Christmas market.

After all, this is what we had come for.

HO-HO-HO

Fun, irreverent, Christmassy Belgium.  How can you resist it!
Half a moon (as we left) was better than no moon at all.

And as we walked back to the train station, St. Salvator's Cathedral was open for Vespers.
Half a peek was better than no peek at all.

As we neared the train station, the morning's ferris wheel was all lit up.
It seemed an appropriate Good-Bye for what had been a delightful, sunshiny day.

TRIER, Germany: Part 2

So, to carry on from my last post, here's what we saw the rest of our day in Germany's oldest city, Trier.

Besides the Porta Nigra and the Kaiserthermen Roman baths, it was the Dom, Trier's Church of Our Lady cathedral, where we spent our most time.  It is Germany's oldest cathedral, from the early 4th century, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.

Before we saw it up close and personal, we saw it from afar all day long.

 Later, when we stood in front of it, we couldn't get it all in one frame!  It's HUGE.

And as you'd guess, there's a lot going on all around it, no matter where you are.

Like a wedding, for example, when we passed by in the trolley car!

Inside, of course, is something else.

The nave, towards the altar, shows the Baroque chapel above,

supposedly holding the Seamless Robe of Jesus, from shortly before his crucifixion.
See all the people waiting in line to peek in!

Like all the other tourists, we climbed up behind the altar to the chapel but weren't allowed to go in.

We used the opportunity to look back to the opposite end of the nave, to the west-end choir.

Back down on the main floor, we were able to view the choir's Baroque 1196 stucco-work in the vault.

How many times have I told you that the museums we go to in Europe are these cathedrals!
What more could you possibly need?

It's true!  We're always short of eyes.

We briefly went outside the main nave to the cloisters, to get a different vantage point.

But it was this boy with his mom inside the nave who stole my heart that day!

I thought of grandson Nicholas, now 13, lighting a candle for someone...maybe for me?

 The rest of the day we wandered around and saw more churches, of course...

St. Paulus Church (left), St. Irminen Monastery (top-right), the New Synagogue from 1957 (bottom-center), and the former Clarisse convent of St. Mary Magdalene (bottom-right).
Just glimpses.

And since I'm on the subject, niches everywhere in Roman Catholic country....

...sacred and secular.

And gable stones...

...and other fun stuff.

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

...even if I do show an image more than once in 2 different collages.  HA!
It's true:  I often don't know if I'm coming or going.  :)

By now it was time to go back to the car, but first, we wanted to see the Moselle river
with its Römerbrücke Roman bridge from the 2nd century AD--Germany's oldest bridge.
The bridge itself, of course, is much newer but the pillars beneath are O.L.D.
Nearby, a railing along the river bank sported a few love padlocks...something I now "collect."

 And then walking a bit further down the river, we found one of 2 old treadwheel cranes
for loading and unloading river cargo, this one from 1413.
Doesn't it remind you of a windmill, kinda sorta?



And as we say in Dutch, Dat was het.  That was it.  Trier.

We got in our car and drove into Luxembourg for the rest of our trip...

Good-bye, Trier.  Hello Luxembourg!

And now the Luxembourg Trip is done!  In case you missed the other posts (in order of posting but not in order of when we saw them on our trip), nine posts altogether from our 4 days, including this one :

Eschfeld, Germany: the St. Luzia Parish Church
Clervaux, Luxembourg: the Church and the CastleBELGIUM: Bastogne and La Roche-en-ardenne
The Luxembourg-Trip Picnics
LUXEMBOURG: Echternach
Germany and Luxembourg Border Skirmish
Luxembourg City
TRIER, Germany: Part 1

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

As an FYI, Astrid and I fly to America on Saturday for our annual trip to see family and friends.  (Now you know why I wanted to finish this Luxembourg trip!)  We'll be gone for almost 3 weeks, back on October 23rd.  And if I'm lucky,  I may even post something before we return, but if not...you'll know why!

Viking's Grand European River Cruise: Bratislava, Slovakia

Viking River Cruise, Day 13:  Bratislava, Slovakia (Facebook collage)

(click any collage to enlarge)

Are we really coming to the end of this cruise?!  Yes, we are.  And after just one day/stop in Austria (Vienna, last post), we now have one day/stop in Slovakia.  Formerly part of Czechoslovakia, it has been independent since 1993. Bratislava is its capital...and did we ever fall in love with it, in spite of being there for only 3 hours!

 You know the drill by now.  

Snap pictures from the boat, get on the bus and snap some more.

In the distance we could see the Bratislava Castle to which we were heading.

It has stood on one of the Little Carpathian hills since the 9th century.

And on a good day you can see Austria and Hungary from it.

See the snow?  It was still very cold.

John (top right) from Australia really got his education about "cold."

And maybe the young lad and lady in shorts also?

From the castle we went down the hill to the main square of the city for a walking tour,

starting with the St. Michael Gate, built ca. 1300.

It's the city's only gate that's been preserved from its medieval past.

The old town hall, from the 13th century, is nearby on the square.

It's one of the oldest stone buildings still standing in the city.

And while we saw other architecture to whet our appetite...

...it was all this crazy stuff that captivated us!

There are 4 "quirky statues" for which the city is known.

This one is Cumil (the Watcher)...and the most popular.

The French army soldier is also there (bottom right),

as is Schoener Naci (Beautiful Ignaz), an elegant symbol of the city life of the early 20th century.

The one we didn't see, except in the shop window, was Paparazzi with his camera.

Gotta love the competition, right?

After all, we tourists are the ones who keep such towns afloat financially, sad to say.

In spite of much delapidation, there was beauty.

 Gable stones.

Niches.

Statues.  Etc.

And more etcetera.  Impressions.

And because we had seen the steeple, we walked to find St. Martin's Cathedral from 1452.

We weren't able to enter because it was jam-packed with standing-room only at a late-morning service.

This was the Thursday before Easter, so we're assuming it was a Maundy Thursday service?

How can you not just eat them all up!

Don't you wonder what they'll grow up to be?

Every city has them...signs, bikes, trash.  We're all the same!

And transportation for your own tastes.

It was time to go back to our ship on the Danube, near the New Bridge from 1967.

"It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane."  (Wiki)

All of that in the course of 3 hours.  No wonder we were hungry for lunch!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Next and last stop?  Budapest!  

But first...I'll be taking a 4-day break from image processing to help entertain dear friends from England who'll be visiting us tomorrow, Friday, till Monday afternoon:  Bill and wife Ange.  Bill is one of our photographer friends from our Shutterchance blog, where Astrid and I met virtually back in 2007.  It still amazes me that we've gained so many friends...through photography and our blogs...and have met so many of them!

Who knows.  Maybe one day we'll meet YOU!?!  :)