Brugge

Ah Brugge, if you have the opportunity to come here, you must. Any movie with a medieval setting could be filmed here. The town is designed like a wagon wheel and in the center of town is this incredible cathedral (Notre Dame). The tower was being repaired, but we were still able to walk through the interior of the church. Oh my gosh, the statues were so real and intimate. Is was as if they were connecting with you. There were renaissance paintings that were hundreds of years old depicting saints and religious themes. It was a powerfully dramatic church that displayed the crucifix of Jesus behind the altar rising to the ceiling. If one didn't believe in a God or the power of the Spirit, I would think they would now. Just the essence of the church breathes with a reverence and a sacredness that can't be denied. But I must say that there is a heaviness to this. A sadness. Like centuries of people praying with desperation or determination. It is as if their souls are left behind to tend to the weary or the despaired. That is what it feels like here. For some reason it is like the past cannot be left behind.

Our hotel, The House of Peelhardt, is pretty cool. It is adorned with traditional provincial style furnishing and baroque paintings, beautiful chandeliers and oriental rugs. I enjoyed sitting in the parlor area after breakfast sipping a cup of coffee with the sun filtering in through the floor to ceiling windows covered with shears and heavy tapestry curtains. It is very serene with the traditional American 50/60/contemporary music (must be a thing for Europe), playing in the background. This was a mixed blessing for me. I felt like I was in old movie in a town where you could spend days just wandering the brick pathways, window shopping for Belgium lace or chocolate. The art museums and galleries are in abundance as well as artist sitting alongside the pathways painting and sketching the towers and buildings of justice. I could be Lauren Bacall or Kathryn Hepburn, sitting waiting. For what I don't know, but I certainly enjoyed the calmness.
We took a ride on the canal that wraps around the city. Even though the weather was a little blustery, it seemed warmer by the water. The buildings are amazing with their little apartments that people adorn with window pots of geraniums and roses. Their patios had pots filled with trees and flowers. The churches were magnificent. It is definitely the main theme of these European cities; to place the churches in the center of the town square from where everything else filters. They are tall and beautiful edifices dedicated to their God, their heritage, and their way of life. There were gardens with swans and bridges where people were standing and holding hands and just breathing. Time here is standing still.

We met a couple from England. Nikki and Mac. They were such a nice couple. Mac had cerebral palsy and was a bit handicapped. Nikki owned a Harley Davidson shop in a small town near Strattford England which is where Shakespeare is from and close where we plan to visit when we travel through England. We connected really well. They thought that I looked exactly like her best friend and we all took pictures so she could send them to her. Nikki had been in Denver for a HD convention last year and she loved Colorado. She commented on the air and the sky and the mountains. It made us a bit homesick knowing that this is the most beautiful time of year. I try not to think about that too much. I feel more like a time traveler on my quest for the Holy Grail. It was not really our destination, but when you see and feel these churches it definitely touches you in a special way.

Our stay in Brugge was a short one, but definitely a pleasant one. If we ever have the opportunity to travel to Europe again, this would be a place to stop. Just stop. We departed early the next day traveling on the train back to Brussels. Our next stop -- Thessaloniki. "Here's looking at you Kid!"