Beautiful Bruge

It was a beautiful day in Belgium, and we all loaded up on a tour bus at Kleine Brogel and headed out to Bruge for the Christmas Market. The added bonus of the day is that Bruge is also the home of the Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival, featuring Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs! If you've never had the chance to take a bus tour, you are truly missing out. It's the best way to travel to different cities in Europe. You don't have to worry about where you are going, where to park, or anything else. You just get to relax and enjoy the ride!The first thing we did when we reached Bruge, was go to the Ice Festival. It was lots of fun. The entire thing was inside a big thermal tent, with a constant internal temp of 21 degrees F. The snow and ice were carved with everything from spades and knives to chain saws. Everything was made from ice and snow, including the walls and stairs. Walking through the maze of sculptures was like walking through the movie. To enter the building, you get "eaten" by a big dinosaur!Here is Sid, the sloth, carrying the dinosaur eggs out so he can be a Mommy. Ellie and Manny are nearby. Trying to figure out what the heck Sid is doing. The dinosaur bones trapped in the ice cave wall were awesome. You could see them from both sides of the wall. The attention to detail was fantastic!You can't blame Sid for wanting to adopt these three baby dinosaurs. They were adorable!Momma dinosaur wants her babies back! Sid doesn't look too concerned with the situation. But then, Sid never does. Here are Manny and Ellie with their baby. I just thought this wall was beautiful! Again, the attention to details was amazing!Brandon went up the ice stairs to the back of the giant dinosaur. They made the back and tail into an ice slide for the kids. Now Brandon can say that he's slid down the back of a dinosaur during the Ice Age!After you go through the ice maze, you end up in the ice bar. Everything was carved out of ice. I loved the bookshelves with their nicknack's. Very elegant. The flowers were beautiful. This is the ice bar. The bar, stools, and tables were all ice. I think that even some of the glasses were ice. Can you imagine how cold the bartenders were at the end of their shifts?The polar bear was near the exit to say good bye. He was animatronic, so his head swung back and forth as you walked by. A beautiful canal at the edge of Bruge. When we were through touring the ice sculptures, we headed toward the center of town where the Christmas market was taking place. The old buildings and cobblestone streets were beautiful. There is a lot of history here.
There were several small markets tucked here and there in the city. They sold everything from Christmas decorations to food.

This is Sint Salvatorskathedraal. It was a beautiful building.
This statue in front of the Cathedral was so pretty with it's light covering of snow.
This is the main part of the square called The Market. There was an ice skating rink in the center of the square, and lots of little booth selling their wares all around it.

This statute in The Market commemorates local heroes Pieter de Coninck and Jan Breydel, who led a violent revolt against the French in 1302.

It was a very popular place to spend a Saturday.

This is the Belfort Tower. It was 366 steps to the top of the tower. We didn't get a chance to climb them this day, but we plan on going back in the Spring and giving it a try. They promise a beautiful panoramic view of the city from the top. If you have seen the movie "Bruge", you might remember this. (It's a funny movie, but bad guys cuss a lot, so be warned. It's not a family film. It does show a LOT of the city, though.)

I think that these buildings are on just about every tourist pamphlet about Bruge. You can see why. They are very pretty.
It was getting late, so we started wandering back down the streets and to the bus. This was a pretty little are down one of the streets near the Market. It's a nice place to relax with a cup of coffee and just people watch.
This is Belgium, so here is your chocolate picture. This chocolate fountain had both white and dark chocolate, and I found that pretty impressive. If you are like some of us and haven't finished your Christmas shopping yet, I'd like one of these. What? I'm just saying...