More pictures!
Here are my pictures from Belgium -- Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. Bruges was definitely my favorite of those three cities, though I prefer Italy to all three. Bruges is known as "The Venice of the North" because of its canal system (which isn't quite as extensive as that of Venice, which is actually just constructed on the water).
BRUSSELS:
A street off of the Grand Place, the city's biggest and most important piazza. You can't tell from the pictures, but the whole thing is set up with this gigantic Christmas display, that includes a life-size stable with living sheep and piped-in children's laughter.
A building within the Grand Place.
Another, gold-trimmed Grand Place building.
Another Grand Place building.
The Manneken Pis, a fountain of a little toddler taking a pee :-D
A cool statue I passed by a few times.
GHENT:
A building in Ghent. It was SO foggy that day, I'm surprised these pictures turned out as well as they did.
A spire.
An attempt to dodge the fog -- a church and belltower.
A cathedral in Ghent, which houses a relatively famous painting by the van Eyck brothers.
BRUGES:
A house in Bruges. Bruges were at the height of its prosperity in the middle ages when its direct connection to the sea (and thus, its ability to trade) was cut off. As a result, the city lost its wealth and its ability to change the city. So, today, Bruges is a perfectly preserved Medieval city.
Houses lining a canal in Bruges.
And again.
Buildings along the city's main waterway.
A swan in one of the canals. For some reason, Bruges had an enormous amount of swans roaming around. It was pretty.
I'm pissed off because Jeti and I couldn't talk today due to internet problems -- he kept getting signed off of AIM. We tried to talk for about 40 minutes before I told him to forget about it, go have dinner, and that we'd try again tomorrow. I hate that we couldn't talk today though, because it's something I've come to look forward too and I really like it -- I feel like if we talk for at least a half an hour or so, it's more or less like we're together in the same space (although, obviously, being an ocean apart puts the breaks on many, many things). Yesterday, we talked online for about 2 hours though, and it was fun and nice. So, anyway, hopefully he and I can talk tomorrow and in the meantime, I need to buy a new calling card.
-- Karen
BRUSSELS:
A street off of the Grand Place, the city's biggest and most important piazza. You can't tell from the pictures, but the whole thing is set up with this gigantic Christmas display, that includes a life-size stable with living sheep and piped-in children's laughter.
A building within the Grand Place.
Another, gold-trimmed Grand Place building.
Another Grand Place building.
The Manneken Pis, a fountain of a little toddler taking a pee :-D
A cool statue I passed by a few times.
GHENT:
A building in Ghent. It was SO foggy that day, I'm surprised these pictures turned out as well as they did.
A spire.
An attempt to dodge the fog -- a church and belltower.
A cathedral in Ghent, which houses a relatively famous painting by the van Eyck brothers.
BRUGES:
A house in Bruges. Bruges were at the height of its prosperity in the middle ages when its direct connection to the sea (and thus, its ability to trade) was cut off. As a result, the city lost its wealth and its ability to change the city. So, today, Bruges is a perfectly preserved Medieval city.
Houses lining a canal in Bruges.
And again.
Buildings along the city's main waterway.
A swan in one of the canals. For some reason, Bruges had an enormous amount of swans roaming around. It was pretty.
I'm pissed off because Jeti and I couldn't talk today due to internet problems -- he kept getting signed off of AIM. We tried to talk for about 40 minutes before I told him to forget about it, go have dinner, and that we'd try again tomorrow. I hate that we couldn't talk today though, because it's something I've come to look forward too and I really like it -- I feel like if we talk for at least a half an hour or so, it's more or less like we're together in the same space (although, obviously, being an ocean apart puts the breaks on many, many things). Yesterday, we talked online for about 2 hours though, and it was fun and nice. So, anyway, hopefully he and I can talk tomorrow and in the meantime, I need to buy a new calling card.
-- Karen