F'kin Bruges

And so here we are in Bruges. As previously mentioned, I love the crenellated house fronts (or crow-stepped gables as they are apparently officially known), so there will be plenty more of those, starting here...

We dumped our bags at our accommodation and headed straight out into the town. Our first stop was, obviously, a brewery, and we stumbled down a side street to De Halve Maan (The Half Moon).

Can't escape it: pictures for Dad

Among the many little shops lining the streets was this hole in the wall waffle window. Many reviews claim it serves the best waffles in town, but all places probably boast that.

The statue in the Walpein Square just outside the brewery is called Zeus,Leda, Prometheus en Pegasus bezoeken Brugge by the sculptor Jef Claerhout. It is meant to be a whimsical and facical tribute to the traditional coachmen of Bruges, blending Greek mythology with a local, humorous twist, depicting Prometheus driving a four-wheeeled carriage pulled by the winged horse Pegasus while Zeus (disguised as a swan) 'pursues' a lounging Leda in the back. Because nothing is as jolly as aiding the rape of a young woman who has clearly spurned the advances of a powerful man in disguise.

The brewery is the last authentic, working family brewery still operating within the city walls of Bruges, and is one of the town's most popular tourist attractions. In 2016 De Halve Maan completed a 2 mile beer pipeline from its brewery to its bottling plant to avoid having to send trucks through the narrow cobbled steets of Bruges. The pipeline was partially crowdsourced, and those who contrbuted funding received free beer from the brewery.

De Halve Maan brews Brugse Zot (Bruges Fool) - blond and dubbel - and Straffe Hendrik (Strong Henri). of course we all tried the Brugse Zot.

Our next stop was for lunch. Trying local specialties is always one of the highlights of any trip to somewhere new, and we all know that moules-frites is the traditional dish of Belgium, right?

 

Other notable dishes are of course, stews and croquettes. And chocolate. it does not escape my notice that it is nearly Easter, and there are chocolatiers everywhere with displays of luscious and lascivious confectionery in every other window.

We spent most of the day just walking the streets and admiring the buildings and canals.

For Calamity Sue

Appropriately enough, the statue of Simon Stevin presides over Simon Stevinplein (or Simon Stevin Square). According to the Visit Bruges website, he was a mathematician and pyhsicist who 'invented the decimal system for fractions and created the mathematical basis for the contruction of fortifications'. I love a town that is bold enough to celebrate its maths geeks. 

Everywhere in town is preparing for the start of the Ronde van Flaanderen in a couple of weeks. in the past, the race left from the 'city of bridges' from 1998-2016. From 2017-2022 the start was moved to Antwerp, with a return to Bruges in 2023. It will be back here shortly, and so will we. 

We paused in the old Market Square to view the buildings and for a quick beer, as you do. 

There's lots of dragon-killing business in Bruges

Statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck (two popular local heroes who in 1302 played a major role in the Flemish resistance against the French king leading to a Flemish victory at the battle of the Golden Spurs)

The weathervane-type structures on top of the buildings are all delightful. As was the Duvel, Leffe and Kwak we enjoyed while watching the bustling scenes.

As the evening began to draw in, we went to head for supplies for dinner (mainly cheese and cold meat) plus beer, of course, and we came across more chocolate, an amazing array of matching belts and shoes, lace and books.

In the middle of the Nepomucenusbrug (The Nepomucenus Bridge) is, appropriately enough, the statue of Saint Joanne Nepomucenus, the patron saint of bridges, cradling a crucifix and bearing a five-starred halo. Sculpted by the Flemish artist Pieter Pepers in 1767, the statue was thrown into the canal in 1795 by Jacobins in the French Revolution, but resurrected and returned to its pedestal in 1811. 

And on the other side of the bridge across the canal is a rather wonderful bookshop. It features three floors of books including foreign languages in the basement. Here I picked up three books in English which are set in Bruges, so I shall add them to my reading matter while I'm here. 

Back at our accommodation, we relaxed and compared notes - a good day in a beautiful town.

I have no comment to make about the blurriness of this image

The next day began with a walk into the town for breakfast before more tourist activities. 

I call this one Bedside Table in Belgium

Belgian hot chocolate for breakfast

Again,because of the fabulous film, In Bruges, several of us felt that we had to go up the Belfort (bell tower). A sign at the bottom of the tower informs and cautions, "This tower is 800 years old. That is (much) older than the Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben. So please do not damge the walls. Thank you for your understanding and respect."

Behind these two wrought iron doors stood the sturdy padlocked chests, in which the city charters and other important documents were stored. This masterpiece is made by Erembald de Smid (c1290) and there are ten locks on the doors. Eight of the keys were held by deacons of the guilds and trades. The remaining two were kept by the head of 'Sint-Janszestendeel', a district in the city, and the mayor. None of these dignitaries could consult or replace the documents without the collaboration of the nine others. Consequently, the doors were only rarely opened and such an occasion always involved a certain measure of pomp and circumstance.

Further placards inform us, "In a medieval city the sound of bells ruled the lives of its citizens. Bells were used as a way of organising the choatic daily life in the city. In Bruges the preferred bell tower was the belfry. The ways in which the bells were rung (ringing, chiming or tolling) inferred a different meaning to the signal. The combination of pitch and the time of day enabled the city's residents to interpret the signal. One important bell was the work bell which marked the start of the working day. The noon bell was also known as the 'papklok' in Bruges (time to break for lunch or 'pap'). The city gates were closed after the ringing of the evening bell. 

"The ringing of the bells also marked special occasions. The 'banklok' or great bell was used to call the citizens to battle. But this same bell also served as a fire bell and also rang out when the decrees of the town were proclaimed, during public executions or at the beginning or end of a market. The great bell was also used to announce good news. In that case the sound of the great bell was then amplified by the bells in other towers across the city. The sound of bells pealing across the city would contribute to the festive atmosphere. In Bruges the great bell is also known as the victory bell.

"Bells were an important means of communication in the Middle Ages. The towers were considered indispensable lookouts. The tower guard would use a signal on a horn or clarion at regular intervals to inform the population that all was safe. But the guards also spent their time in the tower usefully, practicing a trade. During certain periods cobblers even worked in the belfry. The tower guards also used other communication tools besides bells; in Bruges a fire trumpet has been preserved, which was used to alert citizens that a fire had started.

"The drum was cast in brass in one piece by Antoon de Hondt (Antwerp, 1748) and is 2.5 metres long with a diametre of 2.06 metres. It is the largest brass drum in existence. It is thought to weigh nine tons and has 250 rows of 122 square openings, amounting to a total of 30,500 openings for the pins. These operate the 122 clappers on the  outside of the 37 heaviest bells. The drum plays a melody on every quarter of the hour; every half quarter is indicated with a short musical signal. The music is changed every two years. The clock in the belfry was made in 1748 by Jan and Antoon de Hondt from Antwerp and is operated by a 3-metre long pendulum, weghing 78kg."

"Authors of numerous publications praised the Flemish belfries and their carillons for the wonderful music that they spread across the city. The warm, vibrant sound of Dumery's carillon, which he completed in 1748, was praised as soon as it became operational. In the nineteenth century several artists paid homage to the Bruges belfry in their own inimitable way.

"Around the 1850s the emerging tourism provided a new impetus for Bruges. The imposing belfry in Markt contributed to the city's authentic and appealing (I see what they did there) atmosphere. At the time the city already organised carillon concerts on summer evenings. Several artists were inspired by the belfry and its sound and wrote odes about it in novels, poems, and operas. The best-known examples are Henry Longfellow's poems, Belfry of Bruges and Carillon, which he wrote in 1848, and the novels by Georges Rodenbach, Bruges la Morte (1982) and Le Carillonneur (1897)." [I have, of course, made a note to purchase these books.]

View from halfway up

"The carillon was and continues to be an impressive instrument. Its sound can be heard across the city and the ingenious system which is used to operate it continues to appeal to people's imagination. On the one hand the carillon is similar to a musc box. The drum, a round cylinder with pins, or nootjes, is connected to the clock. Thanks to levers and cables, each pin can lift one hammer, which is positioned on the outside of the bell. On the other hand the carillon can also be played with its keyboard, consisting of pedals and wooden batons. The batons are used to move the clappers against the bells. 

"Today the belfry and its carillon continue to be relevant for Bruges, both for the city's inhabitants and for tourists visiting the city. The automatic chime on the quarter of the hour is one of the sounds that is frequently identified with the city, and the maintenance of the carillon requires a continuous investment on behalf of the city."

But who was the stadsbeiaardier/ city carilloneur in the latter half of the sixteenth century?

"In order to be able to uniformly divide the day into time units the tower guard had to be able to measure time. From the end of the thirteenth century onwards, mechanical movements were developed, bringing about a major change in the perception of time: the evolution from unequal to equal hours. The tower guard's duty was to ring the bell on the hour. 

"A clock was probably installed in the Bruges belfry in the early fifteenth century. This movement could only indicate the hours, not the minutes, and consequently the dial only had one hand. This timepiece was also equipped with some small bells, which sounded an alarm (chime) before the hour. Over time this became a mechanical movement. The number of small bells was increased and so the mechanical carillon evolved from an 'alarm' into a 'music box'. As a result, each hour and each half hour were preceeded by a recognisable melody. The large drum was connected to the clock. 

"The bells were connected to a keyboard in the early sixteenth century. The earliest known carilloneur is Adriaan van der Sluss. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the number of bells was extended to thirty. After the carillon drum broke in 1675 Melchior de Haze from Antwerp was commissioned to cast 35 new bells. Praise for the new magnificent carillon was unanimous. In April 1741, however, the tower was struck by lightning and as a result of the ensuing fire, the tower collapsed and the drum, the carillon bells and the great bell were destroyed. 

"The Antwerp clock founder, Georgius Dumery, received the commission to cast a new carillon and city bell. Together with Antoon de Hondt he also supplied a new clock and drum for the belfry. The new 47-bell carillon was completed in 1748."

The views from the top are expansive and impressive.

Back down at ground level, there are jigsaw puuzzles and bronze models.

The town is justifiably proud of its belfy and another sign raptures, "The Bruges belfy is part of an impressive thirteenth-century halls building. In the Middle Ages the hall was used for storing and displaying the much-coveted Flemish cloths, as well as other goods. Today the former sales hall is used for organising events, exhibitons and trade fairs. 

"In its present form, the 83-metre high belfry is made up of three building layers. The bottom two square sections in brick were built during the thirteenth century. The top, octagonal lantern tower in Brabant limestone was built between 1482 and 1486.

"Belfries are typically found in Flanders, Northern France and in parts of Wallonia, in the south of Belgium. UNESCO recognised the exceptional universal value of the belfries in 1999 by including 32 Flemish and Walloon belfries on its world heritage list. In 2005 the belfry of Gembloux in Wallonia and 23 belfries in Northern France were also added. 

"With this recognition UNESCO wishes to draw attention to the symbolic significance of the belfries as testimonials of the prosperous and autonomous late-medieval cities in this region."

Of course, some people are more interested in the bikes and the introduction of the teams to the crowd before the Sprint Classic Brugge-de-Panne, which is occuring later today.

We walked back through the town to the station past more dramatic buildings and chocolate shops. 

This is the lace museum. We didn't go in because, although I appreciate the skill of lace-making and the designs, it's not really my thing. And also because there is an utterly terrifying-looking mannequin in the top window. 

I took a short diversion to De Burg, a public plaza filled with food stalls and surrounded by magnificent buildings including the Stadhuis or City Hall.

 

I also popped into the Basilica of the Holy Blood.

The church purports to house a relic of the Holy Blood collected by Jospeh of Arimethea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders. This is the relic featured in In Bruges that Ken (Brendan Gleeson) wishes to admire, but Ray (Colin Farrell) does not. Of course he doesn't have to. For the record, I didn't either, although I did accidentally get caught up in the queue of people waiting to venerate it. Not wanting to look disrespectful by backing out of the queue, I pretended I was all overcome with emotion and had to sit down. No one was in the least concerned. So much for Catholic compassion.

Brilliant though this scene undoubtedly is, it was not filmed in the basilica, but in the privately-owned Church of Jerusalem. Here are some images from inside the Basilica. 

The pulpit in the form of a globe was made in 1782 by Henry Pulinckx, inspired by the verse, "Go into all the word and preach the gospel." - Mark 16:15

We caught the train out to Roseselare to go to the Rodenbach Brewery (more of which elsewhere). Have I mentioned how easy and direct the trains are?

Back in Bruges, we went out for dinner, walking through the town in the changing light. 

I have found cutlery to be far more effective

We ate at Poules Moules, which is a very flash restaurant in the heart of Bruges with delcious food. We were told that we were outside peak mussels season (September - December), although they are still on the menu, so I had them - there are many varieties (natural; white wine; beer; pastis; basil and cherry tomatoes; bisque and prawns) and then you get to chose a sauce (garlic and cream; tomato and garlic; curry; cream; roquefort), which also goes superbly on the chips. (Him Outdoors, incidentally, had the poule and said that was very good too.) Before this main event I had white asparagus a la Flamande, which is boiled white asparagus spears topped with a rich rustic sauce of melted butter, mashed hard boiled eggs, chopped parsley and a pinch of nutmeg. And it was sensational.

We walked back to our accommodation full of food and a little wobbly on our feet for a well-earned sleep.

Little chocolate bicycles

The next morning we went for a quick breakfast stroll around town, before catching a train to our next destination. The Gentpoort is one of Bruges' four preserved medieval city gates. It was the entry to the city or the boundary to the outside world, depending on which way you looked at it. In a niche above the archway stands a statue of Saint Adrien, believed to protect Bruges from the plage.

Gentpoorte

De Jonggehuwden (The Newlyweds) sculpture by Italian-Belgian husband-wife artist duo celebrates young love. The couple cast in bronze are dancing and just about to kiss, clasped together at the hands and hip, bodies melding into one. The base of the sculpture is inscribed with the word for love in many different languages, and a close-up look at the natural and engraved features of the bronze is highly rewarding. 

Him Outdoors and I will return for the next two images: One, the cyle race; Two, de garre, a bar that does its own renowned beer. And cheese, obviously cheese.