Ice Ice Baby

Too cold...

We visited the Ice Festival in Bruges (Brugge, whatever) several weeks ago.  The theme was magical stuff...Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Hobbit.  I'm not familiar with The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, but as beautiful and impressive as these ice formations were, I couldn't find anything that had to do with Harry.  There were some ice dwarfs so I'm guessing that's the Hobbit influence.  Really though, it was so beautiful, and every last detail is carved out of ice.  The festival is held in a huge climate controlled tent that you wander through on a path.  There was a castle with real stairs you could climb, and an ice slide that wasn't slippery, it was actually work to get down it but the concept is impressive.  I didn't get a picture, but there was even an ice bed with fur blankets for those that needed to rest after struggling to lug their weight down the "slide".  

Ice Dwarfs

Yes, a frozen toilet with ice toilet paper.  Brrrr

Chillin'  

Ice table with ice beer and other frozen things

Is that Brian trying to steal the ice beer?

Ok, that ice thing is Harry Potterish

Up on the castle

A real ice bar with your choice of beverages

Gearing up for the wild slide ride

Once you come out of the frozen portion of the tent, you enter into this huge, beautiful room complete with hardwood floors and chandeliers.  Cozy booths, a carousel and lots of Belgian treats to be had.  This place was thrown up for just the month of the festival...so pretty and awesome.

Love this town

Belgian waffles everywhere

The lens of the camera was steamy but I like this mainly because of the look on that girls face.  It seems Kate stole her  polar bear away from her.  

Get off my sled and away from my polar bear girl

Off the sled and under the polar bear.  The girls on the sled spoke different languages but the message was clear and Kate stepped off.

If you ever plan to travel in Europe, definitely put Brugge on your list of must-sees.  It's a truly a gem of a town, in a country that doesn't get the recognition it deserves.  More Bruges tomorrow.  I can't decide which spelling I prefer (French or Flemish) so I'll just keep alternating.

Happy New Year!