Kevin Runs Europe: Day 11

Day 11 - May 26

Rest day

My ankle still wasn't feeling 100 percent, so I decided to take the day off from running. Unfortunately there was still plenty of necessary walking. We rode our bikes to the bike rental place, returned them, and spent the morning walking around Brugge for the last time and it's two largest churches, the Cathedral of San Salvator and the Church of Our Lady, the latter of which houses a Madonna and Child statue by Michelangelo.

I didn't really want to say goodbye to Brugge, the "Venice of the North," but we figured we might as well see another Belgian city on our way to Paris. So we walked to the Brugge train station once more and, unlike our rough night when we arrived in Brugge, we didn't have to lie to anyone about our intentions to go to Gent. We bought our tickets and were quickly on our way.

When we got to Gent, Brugge's rival Flemish city to the south, we took the tram to our hostel and were pleasantly surprised to find that it had the best view in the city (for a pretty low price!). We chose a bunk right next to a window overlooking the St. Michael's Bridge and it's famous view across the canal. Ghent's historic city center is very pictaresque (not so much as Brugge's) and very small (much smaller than Brugge's) but it's still worth going there to spend some time walking around. That's basically what we did. We popped into the major churches, including the cathedral, which was spectacular inside but didn't allow pictures so you'll have to take my word for it. We also went to the top of the tallest and probably most elaborate belfry in Belgium, which is adjacent to the Cloth Hall (Gent had very rich cloth merchants in the Middle Ages). I had the best waffle of my life, and we ate at a cheap but pretty authentic Turkish restaurant. We retired to our hostel early, tried a couple of excellent Belgian beers (Belgium is known for having the best beer in the world... and it is so true), and I did some work on the computer.

It felt strange not running all day, but I needed it.

Church of Our Lady in Brugge

Inside Church of Our Lady, Brugge

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, Brugge - notice Mary's hand on her lap is making a "live long and prosper" or "M" sign. That was Michelangelo's signature.