In Bruges

I really need to devote several postings to Bruges, which was every bit as amazing as I had been led to believe that it would be. Anyone who has seen the film In Bruges will have some sense of what a magical place it is. It ended up being one of those little side trips that makes the entire trip wonderful (although I loved Brussels itself, and have more to say about my time spent there as well). To start off, it is ridiculously easy to get to from Brussels - a train runs from the Central Station every half-hour all day long, and it ended up only costing me around 14 euro for the round-trip, although I went on a Sunday and that made it a little cheaper. As is seemingly my wont, I ended up going there on the 4th of July, and I may now start planning annual trips to foreign sites for every 4th of July - they always turn out well, and it probably adds to my ex-pat resume. I'll add a lot more text when I post on the central squares, the cathedrals, the canals, and the belfry. At this point I just want to post some pictures to give some sense of my initial emotional responses to Bruges. I spent the entire day walking around, stopping only a couple times for snack breaks, and just fell in love with the place - and can't wait to go back. It was crowded (as you can tell from the first picture - I had to stand in the compartment between the cars, and I got an early start, although, to be fair, it was a Sunday) but not uncomfortably so, and very touristy but even that had a quirky feel (note the museums dedicated to chocolate and Belgian fries, respectively). Much more in a few days.