2004 Europe

Brugge, Belgium



June 9 – This morning is free time to absorb the sights of Brugge. The town was started in the late 7th century on the banks of the Zwin River. It developed around a castle built by the Counts of Flanders and quickly became an important trade center and the Counts of Flanders moved their residence there as well. By the 13th century it had become a world trade port and when the Dukes of Burgundy moved their residence there it became an important artistic center as well. It was, and still is, famous for its textiles and especially lace. The lace here is very delicate and comes in several styles. The most valuable and sought after is ‘Toveressesteek’, the sorceress stitch. It requires between 300 and 700 separate bobbins of thread to make it. I saw women working with 20-30 bobbins and I didn’t know how they kept them straight.



I was out early and saw much of the city. The Gothic Church of Our Lady has an almost unknown surprise treasure, ‘Our Lady and the Infant’, a marble carving by Michelangelo. It’s gorgeous!! Mary is shown seated with Jesus on her lap. Her eyes are closed and she has a very enigmatic, Mona Lisa like smile on her face. Jesus is smiling and his right hand is clutching her left. Mary’s dress is long an flowing and the bodice is loose and draped. The carving of the material is almost miraculous. You could swear that you can see the folds shifting and moving, the marble looks so much like cloth. The church is the burial place of Mary of Burgundy and her father, Charles the Bold.



Later Diana joined me and we walked to the various squares. On the largest square they were having an open-air market. One side is the Belfry and the Halles (City Hall). One side is the courts building and the other two sides are lined with 11th and 12th century houses (above). The sides with the houses are now lined with open air cafes and the first floor of the buildings hold boutiques of textiles, lace and other local products, like chocolate. Today the center of the square is filled with temporary booths and trailers selling everything from fresh produce and crafts to cheese and Vietnamese food. That’s right, one of the stands was a Vietnamese couple selling fast food. That’s where I had lunch because I was having oriental food withdrawal symptoms. I got a chicken curry dish with vegetables and rice. It was very good! And it only cost 4.20 Euro.



We had seen horse drawn carriages around the town and wanted to take a ride. I have never paid to ride in a horse carriage but Brugge seems to be the place to do it. Back in the square, we joined up with Debra and Loren, a mother/daughter team, for the 25 Euro ride through the town. Our driver was Jessica and the horse was Betty. Half way through the drive we stopped at a square with a fountain and Betty ate oats and drank while Jessica washed down the carriage (below). It was very relaxing and lots of fun. Best deal in Europe! Other places we’ve been people told me that they were paying 20 Euro per person and up for carriage rides. Here it was 25 Euro for everyone. After that it was a mad search for postcards and flag pins, things that Diana has started to collect and back to the bus to leave for Paris.



When we arrived in Paris we checked into the hotel and then went to Montmartre (Mount of Martyrs) on the north side of town for a look back over Paris and to eat dinner. Diana and I ate at a little café that seemed to be frequented by the locals, Minute Croque. Their specialty is Croque Monsieur. A Croque Monsieur is essentially a ham and cheese sandwich that appears to be lightly battered, maybe an egg wash, and then fried on all sides. Not as heavily coated as a Monte Cristo, but the same principle. It was the best sandwich I’ve had in Europe. There wasn’t much ham by US standards but there was lots of very delicious cheese and the bread was good too. It came with a small salad that was the usual lettuce and tomato mix. We wanted to eat quickly so we could see the sights in the neighborhood so a café named “Minute’ Croque seemed appropriate. The view to the south overlooking Paris was very nice. We finished dinner so quickly we had time to sit on the steps in front of the Basilica and soak in the city and the surroundings. The steps are apparently a gathering place around sunset. Various street performers showed up and practiced their various arts. The best was a guitar player who also ‘sang’. His style was at best eclectic, if not downright odd. I believe he was singing songs he had written. He sang mostly in French but some of the songs had English versions that were quiet entertaining. I got some good video of him.



Atop Montmartre is the Basilica Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart) (below). It was built as the result of a 17th century request by a nun, Sister Marguerite-Marle. She said she was asked by God to have France ‘build a monument to the glory of the Devine Heart’. Two centuries later in 1870 two men learned of this request and vowed to get it built. In 1875 the first stone was laid and in 1889 it opened. It’s a blend of Roman and Byzantine styles and is constructed of Chareau-Landon stone. This stone secretes a White substance when it comes in contact with rainwater and that keeps the building white so the exterior is never cleaned.



I can remember the first time I ever saw an art nouveau Metropolitan entrance. It was in a movie filmed in Paris and I wondered what a Metro was. I was about 12 at the time. Turned out it was the subway and today I’m standing by one at the Anvers Metro Station (below). 141 of these art nouveau entrances designed by Hector Guimard were installed in Paris between 1900 and 1913. Of these, 86 are still standing and are registered as historical monuments. Guimard is widely acknowledged to be the earliest practitioner of the style now know as ‘art nouveau’. In fact, for some time it was called ‘Guimard Style’ or ‘style metro’ in France, before becoming known as art nouveau as it is today. The tall curving plant-like cast iron structures topped with electrically illuminated flower buds were not well received by the art critics of the time but the public loved them. Once again showing that too much education can ruin your ability to see things as they are.



Then it was back to the hotel for a little rest before tackling Paris in earnest.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger