Thurs, May 5/11 - Zeebrugge/ Brugge -up at 6:30 and upstairs for breakfast by 7:30 -G caught a nice sunrise when she went up to watch our approach -by 8:30, we were headed off the ship for the shuttle provided by the port authority, taking us to Blankenberge, from which a train runs each hour to Brugge and points beyond -this was great news last night. I had read of a coastal tram by which we could get to Blankenberge but was delighted that we need not find it. Smart move on the part of the port authority -we were in Blankenberge by 8:50 and they dropped us right by the lovely church next to the train station Baltic April-May, 2011 80
-being quick on our feet, we were able to buy return tickets for Brugge and get on the 9:11 train -it ran smoothly, taking us past lovely farms and small towns in the country side, on a beautiful sunny day, and we reached Brugge in about 15 minutes -we followed the route of a walking tour that I had found on the web. It was quite informative and included all the sites I had identified in the Lonely Planet guide book for us to see, so it worked really nicely -the tour started from the railway station, which was handy, since that was where we arrived in Brugge -we crossed the main street, walked over a bridge and turned right on to a path called the Begijnenvest which ran alongside the canal very pretty area Baltic April-May, 2011 81
we soon reached the Powder Tower which had been part of the defensive line surrounding the city in the Middle-Ages -we took the longer route around the Minnewater after which we went over to see the old castle at its edge that is now a family owned French restaurant Baltic April-May, 2011 82
-fellow tourists took a picture for us after we had done this for them, to prove that we were both there. The weather was perfect all day. -daffodils were completely finished though the plants still showed on unmowed lawns, but we did see some tulips at one point early in our walk Baltic April-May, 2011 83
-in Vineyard Square, we saw some of the swans with a very interesting history in a revolt against Maximiliaan, emperor of Austria, in the 15 th cenrtury, citizens of Brugge had killed his administrator. One of their punishments was that they had to keep swans in the canals as a sign of repentance, since swans were in the emperor s family crest -the Beguinage was a particularly interesting site on our walk, with a quaint entryway that has 1776 clearly marked on the gate Baltic April-May, 2011 84
-the Beguinage was established in 1245, so it has been a residence for women for over 750 years. Back then, many women were unmarried because of the death of men in the crusades and other wars, and class rules about marriage. The oldest remaining buildings on the square date from the 15 th century -there are not many Beguines these days, but we did see one walking across the square Baltic April-May, 2011 85
-there was a nice little Beginhof chapel -once back on the street, we saw numerous stores selling lace, as one would expect in Belgium, since lace making as we know it started here during the middle ages Baltic April-May, 2011 86
and there also many chocolate stores, with prices that did not compare well to the bars of Belgian chocolate we buy from Superstore -about 11:00, we passed a small shop selling Belgian waffles and enjoyed one with chocolate on it Baltic April-May, 2011 87
-houses along the streets of Brugge reminded us very much of styles in Amsterdam, though generally smaller. It is a beautiful medieval city -the large buildings that were once St. John Hospital, founded in the 12 th century, now house the Memling museum Baltic April-May, 2011 88