FRIDAY IN BRUGGE - AUGUST 12, 2005

We had some problems getting to Brugge. Our navigation system insisted that we take a northerly route that didn’t look too promising on the map but after getting hopelessly lost because many of the roads have been renamed since the tunnel was opened and I no longer knew where we were or even what direction we were heading we meekly followed instructions and it took us almost two hours to get there. The trip back was 20 kilometers shorter and on much better roads, but there is no denying that Gent is a lot closer.

                                                                              

                                                                              
The market square

                                                                               

                                                                              

I was surprised at how large Brugge seems. I was expecting a much smaller town. We headed for the Tourist Information Center, which seems to be a fata morgana. Evidently they have moved from the town hall but after looking around for quite a while following varied instructions, we finally gave up when a taxi driver in front of the town hall told us it was about two kilometers away. No wonder we hadn’t found it! We had already decided not to take a walking tour this time but to go to a museum instead so we gave up on the I-center.

                                                                            

                                                                              

The Town Hall

                                                                              

                                                                              

The first thing we decided to visit was the Beguine community “De Wijngaard”, now run by Benedictine nuns.

                                                                              

The buildings were all grouped around this center garden.

                                                                            

The Beguines were a spontaneous movement by women started in the 12th century in Belgium devoted to a return to a more simple life of early Christian values half way between the secular life of a wife and the cloistered existence of a nun. The lay sisterhood spread over large parts of Northern Europe, each Beguinage completely autonomous but devoted to helping the sick and the poor.

                                                                            

                                                                              

The living quarters looked quite comfortable.

                                                                              

In a way they were the first feminists because they rejected the authority of the male world and created their own environment. They were never officially recognized by the church, merely condoned because of the value of the work that they did. They built communities with small individual houses around a church and often a hospital and many of them still exist today as lovely islands of peace and tranquillity. In Brugge there is a museum in one of the houses, showing what life was like for the women and how they lived.

                                                                               

They took vows of chastity and obediance, but not of poverty.

                                                                              

After a light lunch with the obligatory French fries and a walk through different parts of the town we made our way to the Groeninge Museum with its large collection of Flemish art. They had a special exhibit of 15th and 16th century portraiture with a number of paintings by Hans Memling, who is considered to be a Flemish artist even though he was born in Seligenstadt in Germany, which I drive by every week on my way to see my daughter and grandsons. The portraits were amazing in the way they seemed to convey the character of the subject.

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                

Portrait of an old woman

                                                                                                               

Of course, no trip to Brugge would be complete without visiting a chocolate shop, of which there are many. I was looking for a birthday present for a friend who loves dark chocolate and the shop lady put together a lovely box of hand-made pralines for me. (You could watch them being made on a large table at the back of the shop.) I also bought a box for our neighbors and another friend. Unfortunately they don’t keep forever or I would have bought several more as gifts and maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t. The temptation would probably have been too great for me.

                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                

                                                                                                               

Basilica of the Holy Blood

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                               

While I was admiring and photographing the outside of the Basilica of the Holy Blood, a 12th century Romanesque chapel, Frank frantically began to wave me in as something was starting and he thought it might be a concert. It turned out to be a church service in English for a group of young people, mostly I think from Spain, who were on their way to the World Youth Day in Cologne next week. They sang a Spanish spiritual complete with hand and arm gestures, out of tune but touching nonetheless. Over a million pilgrims are expected for the World Youth Day, which actually lasts a week, including the new German pope. We have to drive by Cologne to return home on Tuesday and I hope the traffic is no worse than usual (which is snarled at best). Maybe it will even be much lighter since everyone in his right mind will be avoiding Cologne. We’ll see. Later on our way back to our car we saw another group of young pilgrims dancing on the square in front of the new concert hall. If these two groups are any indication, the week in Cologne will be full of good spirits.

                                                                              

They were dancing and singing spirituals, but I'm not sure what the language was.

                                                                              

Altogether we liked Brugge best of the three Flemish towns that we visited. We didn’t begin to see all there was and it would be nice to return on Sunday for a second day, but it’s not easy to get to from where we are staying and I think we will probably visit Gent a second time instead. Brugge is on my list though of towns I would like to spend more time in. Maybe we can go there for a long weekend sometime. It’s not that far from home.