A Day In Medieval Bruges
After spending the morning on our own we boarded our charter bus, bound for Bruges, Belgium - about a 90 minute drive away. It was a bright, sunny day which was misleading because the temperature outside at it's "best" was around freezing. Much of the day it was M-U-C-H colder. But, it simply added to the winter vibe and the Christmas spirit. Not too many stories today, just many good photos. Three quick stories......first, Bruges is apparently known (or at least they like to say) as the "Venice of Europe" because of it's many canals....
Second, when Empower Maximillian - from Vienna, one of the many Hapsburg rulers - came to Bruges (and he was not well liked, not being a native Belgian) he demanded a parade in his honor. So the locals gave him one, but made up entirely of jokers and clowns. So he forever after nicknamed the people the Bruges Stupids - and so that has become their very best and famous beer label! The beer became so popular that when the brewery wanted to expand they had to build their bottling building across the town. Well, Bruges is a UNESCO protected town and the idea of trucks driving the beer back and forth while tourists were visiting just didn't sit well. So UNESCO approved the brewing company building A PIPELINE under the cobblestone streets for their beer! (see pipeline in the inset photo)
Third.....the FIRST time Emperor Maximillian came to Bruges he was captured and held prisoner by the people of the town. When he was finally freed he put a "curse" on the town and said that they would forever have swans in their canals (because a popular leader he had executed had had a long neck, like a swan), and he said that if ever the number of swans in town dropped below 54 - the age of the executed man - a terrible catastrophe would befall the city. Well.....last year there were 128 swans. A flu swept thru them and then are down to 62.....uh, oh! Some local concern....
Finally.....many years ago when I first started going to the races regularly at Calder Race Course, the analyst was a young guy named Todd Schrupp. Well, he's risen through the ranks and is now THE main guy for TVG/FanDuel television - the leading broadcast network of thoroughbred racing. He and my son Jeff met at the Florida Derby two years ago and became social media friends, so last winter when he was in town to broadcast the big day of races, my son Jeff, and my buddy Keith and I all went up to say hello since we all follow one another on Twitter. I tell you all this because today, our guide through Bruges was indeed Mr. Todd Schrupp......or at least he LOOKED like him! - so I had to have a photo :)
Here are the rest of the photos from a fabulous day......tomorrow we leave Brussels at 8:30 am in the morning and have an excursion in Antwerp, then continue on to Amsterdam where we'll board our Viking longship to begin our Rhine River cruise!
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