Rajeev's World: A Bright Morning At The Markt...

After dropping off our bags at our hotel, in Bruges, our first priority was to see as much of this medieval city as we could, or as the weather would permit. We had been warned that Bruges has a poor reputation for its weather - it's unpredictable and lot more colder and damper than Paris, given its proximity to the North Sea.

And when we saw the bright blue skies, we were encouraged to move on.

We headed to the Markt, the historic city centre...

Bruges is an ancient city. It is believed that Bruges was founded in the 9th century by a group of Danish Vikings. Origins of the the name 'Bruges' is believed to come from the old Norse word Bryggja, which means 'landing stage', or 'mooring place'.

By the end of the 9th century, the city was fortified to protect it against other raiding Vikings. Over the years, Bruges developed as a port, directly accessible from the sea until about 1050 AD. When the waterways silted up, Bruges remained connected to the sea through the Zwin canal until the 1400s, though via outports like Damme and Sluis.

By then Bruges had emerged as a major textile manufacturing and trading centre in Europe, along with Ghent and Ypres.

In 1300, the Flanders region was annexed by France. In 1302, onerous taxes were enforced on Flanders. To add to the insult, the French took two sons of the Count of Flanders as hostages. This caused great unrest in Flanders and on 18 May 1302, the citizens of Bruges murdered all the Frenchmen in the city. The massacre is known as "Brugse Metten" ("Bruges' Morning").

The French retaliated and sent 10,000 armed knights to punish the citizens of Bruges, but they were defeated by a Flemish militia near Kortrijik in July 1302.

In the 1300's, Bruges became the headquarters of the Hanseatic League of 17 cities - a league of mercantile cities across Europe. Bruges' prominence made it a cosmopolitan town and one could find almost any exotic product here. The golden age continued into the 1400s and the city attracted Flemish artists, as well.

In the 1500s, the Zwin canal had now completely silted and as a result the headquarters of the Hanseatic League shifted to Antwerp. In 1584, the region split from the Netherlands leading to further decline of Bruges. From the 1600s till the 1900s, Bruges stagnated. But in 1907, the construction of the Baldwin Canal between Bruges and Zeebrugge, 15 km north, gave the city a new life.

Bruges' rich history and mercantile heritage has been preserved in its architecture, which has been recognised by UNESCO. A significant part of Bruges has been declared as a World Heritage Site and we were out to see all that.

Bruges is a small town and cycle friendly, with very few cars to be seen on the roads. Voila! We should hire a bicycle to make most of our one day here...

Making "hay" as long as the sun shines...

Dutch influence on local architecture is quite visible...

Looking back as we head to the Markt...

We'd been told we can rent cycles there...

That's where we picked up a few magnets for our fridge...

Seems like a lovely morning to have breakfast outdoors...

The flag of Belgium by the canal...

Statue of Jan van Eyck, a prominent Renaissance artist of the 15th century, who had lived in Bruges...

Approaching the Markt...

We pray we are blessed with sunshine throughout the day...

We fell in love with the charm and quaintness of the place...

The Belfort or the Belfry of Bruges, is a landmark of Bruges. The 83 metre tall Belfort once housed a treasury and the municipal archives and served as an observation post for spotting fires. Originally built in 1240, the Belfort had been rebuilt three times over due to fires and lightning strikes...