The only thing better than a day in Bruges is an afternoon in Bruges without kids, generously sponsored by Mango and Papaya (my parents). It chafes me to say that it was a once-in-a-lifetime date, but it probably was.

We are perpetually terrible at arranging babysitters and escaping our children. Even when family is in town, we often fail to arrange the outings we’d like to take sans kiddos. It’s easier for us to have a little bit of time together after we put the kids down for bed. We really enjoy that down time at the end of the day, and on this extended trip where there is little respite from childcare, it’s been even more of a necessity to have a moment to breathe and relax each night. It has been annoying to not be able to actually do anything or go anywhere just the two of us, but we are accustomed to that completely. And I think the impossibility of arranging a babysitter while traveling makes it even more desirable now that it’s truly out of reach.

With my parents here, though, we’ve been able to walk, Christmas shop, and spend an afternoon in Bruges with no kids. Hallelujah! We’ve also run errands with only Jude and could finally feel and look very European with our one child and close proximity to middle age. Ha!

We used our precious alone time in Bruges to climb the Belfort (belfry), a thirteenth century tower that leans a meter to one side. When the train approaches Bruges, you can’t help but notice the assortment of ancient towers rising above the otherwise low skyline. The Belfort stands out with its bulky, imposing shape. Chiming the time every quarter hour, the tower presides over Bruges and demands to be noticed. We climbed the 366 narrow steps on a very windy and cold day. We enjoyed reading about the world’s largest brass drum that contains the music that plays on the bells. The whole mechanism is like an enormous music box. We stuck around long enough to watch the mechanism play a melody and to hear the bells chime from the top of the tower while we looked out at the view of the Belgian countryside and down at the charming tangle of a well-preserved medieval town. Beautiful!

We also ventured to the Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed (Basilica of the Holy Blood), a small Roman Catholic church famous for being the repository of a phial that holds a piece of cloth said to have Jesus Christ’s blood on it. Look up the story for an interesting tumble down the rabbit hole of reliquary and such things.

We couldn’t take any pictures of the blood-soaked cloth, but we did indeed take a look at it. Most viewers crossed themselves in front of it, and some seemed quite affected emotionally by the experience.

I have always loved visiting old churches and cathedrals, but this trip I’ve been more drawn than ever before to the art found in these churches. It has been interesting to find familiar and more obscure Bible stories in the paintings and to look at details of how the artists portrayed emotion in the faces of figures from stories I know so well, like Jesus’s crucifixion. I’ve also enjoyed seeing themes in religious art that I’m unfamiliar with and later looking up some information to understand something new about Catholic or Eastern Orthodox tradition. Many of these cathedrals house some amazing art, and they’ve been almost entirely free to enter.

We returned from our date night energized and refreshed. Thank you, Mango and Papaya!!