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Published: March 7th 2011
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Saturday 5 March 2011
...accompanied by anyone within 2hrs by fast train!! (e.g. we had breakfast with a Parisian couple who are here just for the weekend!).
We thought we were cold in Luxembourg! Well, it was REALLY COLD in Bruges today - we had to keep ducking into bars to warm up! The first one we called into was the oldest (1515) pub in Bruges -
Herberg Vlissinghe - where, according to local legend, Rubens once painted an imitation coin on the table then did a runner! The focal point of the bar is an ancient pot-belly stove (complete with a huge crack across the front) with a bunch of flat irons and kettles on the horizontal flue. John, who is trying to work his way through a shortlist of Trappist beers, sampled his third (Rochefort 10 - a stout, perfect for cold weather)!
In the 15th century, Bruges was twice the size of London! It's wealth came largely from trade and manufacture of textiles (from high quality English wool). The trade relied on transport by ship via the canals and a long sea-channel called the
Zwin. Eventually, the
Zwin silted up, removing Bruges' route to the sea.
...and again
OK we like this stretch of canal! This, combined with various political changes brought the trade to a halt which was the death knell for Bruges for about 400 years! It's resurrection was brought about by tourism in the early 19th century, with 'war tourists' who began passing through
en route to the Waterloo battlefield. Luckily, Bruges escaped both world wars relatively unscathed and tourism is still the main source of income (as we can attest).
Today we concentrated on the north-eastern part of "the egg" (as locals refer to the old centre of Bruges, encircled by canals) - because it's egg-shaped. It was really quiet, with only a few people wandering about. Jan van Eyck Square is flanked by several historic buildings including the 15th century
Poortersloge, a former meeting place of well to do Bruges citizens (
Poorters and foreign merchants), and the old toll house (1477) where merchants had to pay a levy on imports. There's a big statue of Jan van Eyck, considered the greatest artist of the early Dutch school.
A large canal terminates here where we think there used to be a series of docks for the ships to unload their merchandise. There is no sign of them now but
In The Burg
L-R: [i]Brugse Vrije[/i], [i]Stadhuis[/i] (City Hall), Basilica of the Holy Blood - we passed through here relatively early, before the crowds had finished breakfast! it's lovely strolling along the streets which flank the canals. From there we walked out to the outer canal that rings the old town to look at the last four remaining windmills - there used to be more, right around the perimeter. Nearby, is one of four (again with the four!) remaining old gates (
poorts) into the town - it looks like a mini castle! As the old town is encircled by canals, the only way to enter was via gated bridges. Today most of these are just plain old bridges.
We went to another 'Lonely Planet' restaurant for dinner - nice open fire and good food. We've found it interesting that it's common for restaurants to provide a complimentary addition to the meal: here we were given a bowl of carrot and coconut soup (delicious!); previously we've had mini warm cheese tart (and tomorrow...we get a free chocolate mousse with our coffee...stay tuned!).
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Peter Milligan
non-member comment
Are you coming to London?
Hi John I loved Bruges and bet you are. Didn't know you were in Europe. Any plans to visit the UK? It would be fun to catch up! Regards Peter