Flatland Express to Brugge

I told our landlady that we did indeed, make it to Brugge to see the Michelango statue.

"Ah, that is too bad. Such a pity!"

"No, we DID see the statue and it was beautiful." I assured her.

"Oh, so sorry, it is so beautiful." She responded.

(Slowly)...."We DID see the Michalango and it WAS beautiful." I tried once more.

"Well, next time perhaps....there are so many tourists.....you can't see everything." She told me so that I would not be too disappointed.

"Breakfast at eight...right?

"That's right, Good night Mr. Bob!"

The statue was meant for some other patron but ended up in Brugges centuries ago, and like everything else of value in the art world....it has been carted off with each invading army. And....of course Hitler & Co want this too, along with the whole of Europe. In the Hollywood Film, "The Monuments Men"....George Clooney, Bill Murray and Matt Damon save it from falling into the hands of the Communists who are advancing. (For Downton Abbey fans....Lord Grantham dies while trying to save it.)

But, Our Lady of Brugges, Belgium has it now and it is quite nice. It's well protected but if it's stolen again, there's always George Clooney and Matt Damon.

Our Lady also has centuries-old frescos which were lost under a few coats of white paint.

And like so many of the churches in the Low Countries, this one has a truncated worship space and it is basically a glorified museum and tourist destination.

It has a glorious bell tower and usually for a few Euros more one can climb the steps to the top. I asked the ticket man if we could go to the tower.

"Oh, sir, that is rather dangerous."

"I think that's the whole point," I said. "Besides, you are missing out on an additional revenue stream!"

He was just a ticket taker, not a policy maker.

Brugges was quite lovely and filled with quite a few tourists though I imagine in August it is slammin'.

Like all the cities around here....there seem to be canals.....and canals mean boat trips through the historic district of the city.

We did have Belgium chocolates and Belgium waffles and Belgium fries with mayo.

So, those can all be checked off my Bucket List....."Belgium fries with mayo...check!" I enjoyed the day and the quick train trip there and also Brugges defeated Brussels for some sort of football championship and the locals were ecstatic as they served me my Belgium fries.

Upon return I mentioned to our landlady that we visited two Begijnhofs (Bee-HINE-hofs...I was told).

These are architectural complexes which formerly housed beguiles, lay rlreligious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world. We visited one in Amsterdam and came across two in Brugges.

Our landlady went on to say that a Begijnhof was just down the street from us in Ghent, so I went.

The order was long gone and there were re-habbed condos that were very trendy and nice.

A few parts of the Begijnhof showed its past and its age.

I'm sure that in time, even the most dilapidated will be rehabbed and sold as condos. Lots of work was being done all over the neighborhood.

It's a fine area of Ghent, with touches of the past around every corner.

I like the nearby neighborhoods of our B & B. 

Peace,  Bob