Ladies and gentlemen, please let me introduce Brugge to you. It is an enchantingly pretty little city just a short journey from Southampton via the M25 and the Channel tunnel. Well, when I say short, I am being just a little bit economical with the truth - although it depends what you mean by short. Anyone who has ever driven on the M25 will know that to get to your destination on time it is best to allow two hours leeway. We did that, and still missed our train by over two hours. Still, the great thing about the train is that there's always another one.
How to describe Brugge - well it is like Amsterdam, except there are no drugs, no red light areas, and no hen or stag parties. In short it is totally and utterly suitable for me.
How to describe Brugge - well it is like Amsterdam, except there are no drugs, no red light areas, and no hen or stag parties. In short it is totally and utterly suitable for me.
The buildings in Brugge are largely medieval in origin, and any new build fits in with the ambience of the city. Tourism is very important, and the local businesses go out of their way to accentuate the chocolate box aura. While we were there they were getting ready for the Christmas markets - the lights were absolutely magical. People in Brugge seem to delight in being twee, and add all sorts of finishing touches to their windows and doors.
In the city there are very few cars. This is because they have the largest underground car park that I have ever seen. Once you have found the entrance it is absolutely excellent and very cheap. There are a variety of ways of getting round the city, all of them charming.
However, we preferred to walk and take in the atmosphere. It is possible to view Brugge as a very self-satisfied wealthy city, but it is only a hundred years ago that this part of Belgium was at the heart of the Great war, and we were fortunate enough to see some of the remembrance activities taking place. The church bells played 'Roses are shining in Picardy' and 'Its a long way to Tipperary', and the bands marched.
Belgian beer is very pleasant, although there is not as much choice as there is in Britain in a real ale pub. Also it is a little bit expensive. One evening we had three drinks each, and the bill was 23 Euros. "Not bad." I said to Christopher, to which he replied "20 pounds for just over two pints." So there we have it, it just depends which way you look at it.
There are pieces of sculpture all over the city - some modern and some traditional. My favourites were the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the fountain above the underground car park, and the flowers by Frank Van Acker.
There are pieces of sculpture all over the city - some modern and some traditional. My favourites were the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the fountain above the underground car park, and the flowers by Frank Van Acker.
We decided that we would have one day away from the Brugge, and visit Ypres. This was very problematic to start with, as Satnav did not recognise any such town. It didn't make any difference how many times I typed it in. Then I had an inspiration - I remembered that Satnav is sensitive to the country that the town is in, so I tried Ypres in France. No, that was no good. It took quite a lot of consultation of the guide book to realise that we needed the Flemish spelling, which is Ieper, not Leper as I first thought. We also visited some Commonwealth and German war graves. It was not an enjoyable visit exactly, but something I am extremely glad that I had the opportunity to do.
Back in Brugge, we had just an evening left to enjoy some more beer and cake. I love being European, particularly in places like Amsterdam and Brugge, where it is assumed that the language of choice is English. However, they still have something to learn about the use of the apostrophe. Either that or there is an Irish branch of the explorer's family.