This blog comes to you late (as I'm writing it at the end of September) but it's worth sharing any way :).
Very early on Saturday, Aug. 30, Stephen and I got up and out of the house to catch our coach bus at 7am to Brussels, Belgium. The bus ride was a little more than 4 hrs but in the end, we found ourselves in the Capital of the European Union.
The city was filled with historical sites, monuments and beautiful architecture. In a couple of the photos I posted, there is a main square with the MOST beautiful buildings I have ever seen. These are the offices of the labor unions (masons, wood workers and MANY other skilled craftsmen). These buildings were built in the 1400's (I think) and they embodied the belief that from honest work, comes honest wealth - and this WAS the case in Brussels. The people of Brussels were very wealthy and became so on the hard work of a blue collar profession. Quite different from today's standards, eh?
The next morning we were off early again on an hour long bus ride north to the medieval city of Bruges. OMG! This city is filled with even more beauty than Brussels! Back in its Hay-Day (again around the 1400's), Bruges was a major city of commerce. At the time, they were directly connected to the North Sea and were the regional center for international trade. This made the city extremely wealthy. As the years went on, major shifts in political power and environmental factors literally killed the city. The sea port silted in, the people in power made some harsh decisions and the people of Bruges had no way to earn money. The city essentially was preserved by its death. Very few people lived there for a long time and those that did, had no income. Fast forward a few hundred years and the city was discovered by tourists. Preserved entirely in its original medieval state - due to the city's inability to upgrade ANYTHING - the city was infused with new money from tourism. Today, it stands nearly exactly as it did in the days of its most prosperous times. The photos are spectacular but the city is best experienced in person.
No comments:
Post a Comment