18 August 2003

Brugge, Belgium

The trip on the A-1 autoroute from Paris to Brugge (pronounced brew ja) takes a short 3 hours.  The drive is filled with views of vast green wheat fields and tiny towns off in the distance.  When we arrived at the Belgium border it felt like a ghost town.  There was no one at the border guard station.  The borders of the countries that make up the European Union have been erased, and there is only one currency now, the Euro.

Less than two years ago we made the same trip but stopped at the border for processing.  When we passed through Belgium we spent no money because we couldn’t find a place to exchange dollars or an ATM.  Now we have no problem because the money we use in France is good in Belgium too.

The Belgium countryside is similar to France only with an occasional modern day windmill that looks like a giant airplane propeller off in the distance.  These new windmills are huge and the power they generate is converted into electricity.

Once we arrived in Brugge we parked in the public parking garage in the center (Centrum) of town.  Everything from here is within easy walking distance.  A few years ago the mayor created highways that didn’t intersect so that cars could not travel easily from one place to another.  Now people mostly ride bicycles or walk.  All of the roads are marked with a special lane just for bicycles, and even old folks ride their bicycles to run errands.  Cat thinks the idea of not driving and riding a bike is heavenly.

The tradition for 800 years has been to hold a fair for three weeks, and it was our good fortune to arrive right at the end of the event.  The downtown area was filled with exciting rides and games.  A 20-foot skeleton with a red robe stood at the entrance of the scariest haunted house I’ve ever seen, and he was happily playing a tune on his giant violin.

Brugge is near Zebrugge, a port where ferries depart for England and Scotland so there are many tourists during the daytime in this quaint little town.  The crowds come to see the beautiful stone houses, the fabulous buildings that make up the Market Square and Government Palace which date back to the Middle Ages.

Old women dressed in Flemish costumes with traditional lace hats sit in the doorways of their homes.  The women are busy clicking a dozen long thin bobbins threaded to make lace.  A little basket is usually near her for tourists to leave a coin in appreciation for her craft.  The tourist areas are full of beautiful lace for sale in shops all over the town.

The Chapel of the Holy Blood has a pelican at the entrance that is feeding its young with its own blood, symbolizing Jesus Christ.  Inside the church there is a gold shrine (1617) which legend says Count Thierry of Alsace brought back from the second crusade.  Each year there is a big parade called the Holy Blood Procession where people dress up as Jews (I’m not sure how they would look), knights, ladies, priests and commoners to transport the blood container through the streets of Brugge and back to the chapel.

There are many museums filled with fabulous art.  You can take a boat ride on the canal to learn more about different parts of the town.

We had the good fortune to meet up with Luk and Hedwig Van Laere from the Hotel Egmond located on Minnewater (Lake Love).  This quaint hotel (www.egmond.be) is located next to a lush green park and was a private residence until 1994 when the Van Laere’s turned it into a charming place to stay.  If you fancy a more modern room they have an annex that has rooms with a living room/kitchen (microwave, stove top and frig) and a nice size bedroom.  The price includes breakfast.

The best part of the hotel though is Luk and Hedwig.  Just to hear Luk’s hearty laugh is worth the trip to visit this great hotel.  If it hadn’t been a drizzly day I would have loved to sit in their fabulous rose garden just to listen to the birds and drink a cup of tea.

White swans are everywhere on the lakes and ponds located right next to the hotel.  The swans are considered the town mascots.

After we settled into our room we spent a great deal of time walking around just looking at everything.  Every street turn is a photo opportunity.  Then we took a horse carriage ride around the town with Dentelle (meaning lace), a beautiful chestnut mare who decided during the halfway stop that she was in love with Jay, and spent the time nuzzling his yellow raincoat. 

Other highlights:

If you ever have the chance to come to Europe, I would suggest that Brugge be on the list of places you visit.  It is a friendly charming “Old Europe” kind of place.  While it is expensive, so is Paris, but this place offers quite an opportunity to experience a relaxed part of Europe that big cities just can’t offer.  Cat enjoyed it too, especially the horse ride, and all of the wildlife.

Additional websites: www.hippo.be/koets

                                   www.pandhotel.com