Day 3

Hello its Adam again!

Believe it or not, today was somewhat of a relaxing day. We all slept fairly well and breakfast was comprised of leftovers and various items we got from the grocery store yesterday. The morning was the busy part of the day, so we headed into town to make the most of our 72-hour museum passes that we bought yesterday. 

First on the list was the Cathedral of our Lady. When Jessica and I visited Bruges back in 2010, this cathedral was somewhat not impressive and in need of much restoration work. But, when we arrived today it was clear that a lot had changed. The interior was a shining white and the brickwork had been completely redone. Still remaining was the famous "Madonna and Child" statue which is one of the few sculptures of Michelangelo to ever leave Italy during his lifetime. After being stolen twice (including once by the Nazi's during WWII. The marble statute sits calmly in one of the cathedral's many chapels. 

After visiting the church a break was needed for little Luke after sitting in his stroller for too long. We went out into the courtyard behind the cathedral to a nice grassy area overlooking a canal where he was able to run around and expend some energy. 

Next up was the Gruuthuse Museum which holds artifacts from the history of Bruges. We saw many paintings, coins, and relics from the long history of the city. Most unfortunate was the fact that this museum had many sets of spiral staircases, so we could not bring Luke in his stroller. Also, he loves to climb stairs as fast as he can and run away from us - so this made for a quick experience at this museum. 

Back in the museum courtyard Luke was getting out more energy, running around and chasing a semi-stray cat (someone had left out a water bowl for it). By now we were all getting hungry, but still had an hour until our lunch reservations at De Halve Maan Brewery. We tried to make the time pass by walking through the Beguinage - a convent for Benedictine women, and the to Lake Minnewater and nearby park. At this point our legs were throbbing from too much walking and we had to sit down on a bench. Luke was in the opposite state (restless), but we did not have the energy to chase him around, so we let him watch one of his TV shows while we recovered. 

After this quick rest, we got up and walked back to De Halve Maan Brewery for lunch. Starving, we walked in hoping that our Covid passes would work this time without issue. Luckily, they didn't even check! Soon enough I had some beers and the meals were served - chicken/mushroom with puff-pastry and salad/fries for Jessica and I had the Flemmish beef stew. Everyone was satisfied (even Luke), and we walked out of there in good spirits, but also getting sleepy. 

After making the walk back to our B&B, Luke went down to sleep without any issue. Jessica had told me she was also interested in potentially taking a nap. Sadly, I was also very tired, but simultaneously very interested in maximizing my Bruges Museum Pass. I decided upon the latter and headed back out into the town on my own. First stop was to climb the Belfry Tower. In any picture taken in Bruges, it is highly probable that you can see the Belfry Tower in the distance. Having been built in the 1200s it is always a bit scary starting the ascent. But, it seemed sturdy enough as I made my was up the staircase. At the top, there was some great views of the city along with some entertainment from the bells tolling. 

Back at the bottom, I decided to make one more stop at the Sint-Janshospitaal. This was a hospital that was built in the 1100s and was one of the first organized hospitals in Europe. On display were many paintings of the events that took place (many were quite gruesome), along with many medical instruments of the time. I wandered through fairly quickly, and being exhausted and feeling like I was missing out on a nap opportunity, I hurried back the to B&B. 

I was too scared to go upstairs and risk Jessica and Luke waking up from their naps (and suffering the corresponding wrath from that), so I curled up on the small couch in the living room and took a quick 45 minute rest. 

Once everyone was awake, we hung out in the B&B for a while and took a nice break. Luke was playing with his dinosaurs and Jessica and I were just kicking back. Still fairly full from the lunch we had, we decided we didn't need a large dinner and that a waffle would suffice. So, we wandered back out into town and went to our favorite waffle stand for a nice and easy dinner treat. Shortly, we were back at the B&B eating our "dinners". Luke was exhausted and had no trouble falling asleep around 7pm. Jessica and I are also just about ready to head to sleep as we have a long travel day ahead as we make our way to the Alsace region of France. 

Goodbye for now!