Belgium –
April, 2016
Caught the train from Amsterdam to Bruges
which took about 4 hours and was a lovely ride.
Cold weather and a bit rainy when I arrived so took the bus to Anna’s
B&B near the beautiful St. Anne’s Church.
Checked in and set out to visit the quaint old town of Bruges.
Stopped for a rhubarb tart and coffee at a little café and then wandered
my way to the Basilica of the holy blood.
This 12th century basilica is located in the Burg Square and
consists of a lower and upper chapel.
The lower chapel dedicated to St. Basil the great is a dark Romanesque
structure. The venerated relic of the
holy blood is in the upper chapel.
About 6 p.m. when it
started to rain I decided to have dinner early and wandered over to de bocarme. As it was pretty early there was no one there
but the restaurant was in a cellar and had a lot of atmosphere. I ordered the three course dinner which
stated with a warm goat cheese salad with julienne apples, dried cranberries
and pine nuts served with a crisp brown roll.
Second course was sole with asparagus and the sole was pretty bland as
it had been poached…and served with potato puree and leeks. Dessert was a nice lemon tart. Walked back to Anna’s and took a nice hot
shower.
Took a walk along the
canals in the morning and then had a wonderful breakfast and every morning
thereafter, i.e. hard cooked eggs, crispy rolls, fruit, cheese, cold meats,
pastries, etc. Visited the kantcentrum
lace museum where the story of lace is told.
There was a video about lace making and a lot of examples of bobbin,
needle and machine lace. Also visited
the volkskunde museum which showed how life was in Belgium in the 17th
century with a tobacco room, kitchen, etc.
Very well done. Headed on down to
Blackbird on Jan van Eyckplein, a
cute little café facing the canal and had apple pie and coffee. Walked into the old square and found the
chocolate and lamp museums which I couldn’t resist. Weather wasn’t really nice enough to wander
around anyway…Choco Museum was well laid out on four floors and took you
through the history to the present showing how chocolate evolved ending with a
demonstration of how chocolate candies are made and a little sample of the
delicious Belgium chocolates. Also visited
the Lamp Museum, housed in the same building,
which contains the world’s largest collection of lamps and lights. More than 6,000 antiques tell the complete
story from torch and paraffin lamp to light bulb and LED. Realllly interesting!!!
Weather had cleared some
so I walked around enjoying the old buildings and canals. Anna had loaned me a jacket so I felt a lot
warmer than I would have. Dinner at Lieven was delicious. A small, cute little restaurant on Philipstockstraat
filled with people!!! Dinner was salmon
tartar with quinoa and shredded beets and then a chocolate brownie with
pineapple and meringues.
In the morning after
breakfast I wandered around the open air food market in the market square where
cheeses, fruits, vegetables, flowers, breads, etc. were being sold. Visited the Beguinage with its white-colored
house fronts, tranquil convent garden and museum founded in 1245. It was once the home of the beguines,
emancipated lay women who nevertheless led a pious and celibate life. Nowadays it is inhabited by the sisters of
the order of Saint Benedict. There is
one small beguine house open to the public showing daily life in the 17th
century.
Walked to the old St. John’s Hospital which has an 800 year old
history of caring for pilgrims, travelers and the sick. The museum is now located in the old infirmary
and the art objects on display are closely connected to the hospital. There is also a 17the century apothecary near
the museum which was also very interesting to visit.
Upstairs was a fascinating
witches’ exhibition by Bruegel with paintings, artifacts, etc. from the 16th
century when witches were burned at the stake.
Lunch was another delicious apple tart at Blackbird. Afterwards, I stopped by the lace museum to
see a demonstration of lace making on my way out of town.
I leisurely walked along
the canal to Damme, a small town noted for its great restaurants and more
recently as a book town with numerous bookshops and book fairs. You can reach it by boat, bike or walking
which took about 1-1/2 hours. Visited
the enormous Church
of our Lady dating from
about 1340, the town hall and the 15th century mansion housing the Uilenspiegelmuseum. Tijl Uilenspiegel was a Flemish prankster originating
in German folklore who played practical jokes on his contemporaries and thanks
to the novel Uilenspiegel has become a symbol of Damme where he was said to
have been born. The museum was in Dutch
but there were posters, books, etc. about him on all 3 floors. Walked down to the old fortress gate and then
took the bus back to Bruges.
Dinner at Guillaume was
quite nice, i.e. carpaccio with sour cream and caviar, oxtail and morel “stew”
topped with fish and leeks, lamb chops with couscous and eggplant puree and
warm chocolate cake/chocolate mousse and chocolate ice cream for dessert.
In the morning, I took a
walk to the windmills, had a lovely breakfast and then walked to the train
station where I caught the train to Ghent,
a Flemish jewel of a city. Day was rainy
and cold but I persevered!!! Walked to
the historical center and visited the Belfry and cloth Hall which houses the
great bells that rung out Ghent’s
civic pride through the centuries.
Climbed the 225 stairs in the belfry, stopping along the way to see the
bells and watch a video on how the bells are cast and made to sound as they
do. The top level had a nice panoramic
view of the city and there was a drum bell that rang at 1:00 p.m. while we
watched and listened. On to the Saint
Bavo Cathedral, an enormous church with beautiful stained glass windows and
beautiful art.
Stopped at Café Rosario
for apple pie and coffee and then walked towards Patershof, the old part of
town, stopping at the House of Align, a great folklore museum set in an old
almshouse founded in the 1300’s and rebuilt in the 1500’s which functioned as a
children’s home and hospital. Inside the
cluster of restored cottages are replicas of typical rooms in Ghent homes at the turnoff the 20th
century depicting funerals, birth and christenings, school, engagement and
marriage. Walked in the Patershol neighborhood
with its cobblestone streets filled with little restaurants but pretty empty
probably on account of the rain…Wandered to Vrijdagmarkt, Ghent’s main square, and along the Graslei
canal side back to the station. A Lovely
city!
Dinner at Quatre Mains, small little tapas
restaurant with great service and delicious food, was my favorite in Bruges!!! I started with shrimp with Thai salad
followed by rare tuna with Greek yogurt sauce and couscous and finished with a
warm chocolate lava cake and ice cream – heaven!!!
In the morning I took the
bus to the train station and had some coffee and a delicious chocolate
croissant with nuts before boarding the train to Amsterdam.
Stayed at an airb&b on Keizersgracht on the canal which was very
close to everything!!! Left my luggage
and walked down Prinsengracht to the Albert Cuypstraat market filled with food
stalls selling fruit, vegetables, dried fish, Dutch specialty foods, cheeses,
etc. Had a falafel and tabbouleh salad
at Bazar and a couple of pistachio baklava
as well before standing in line at the Van Gogh museum for an hour!! Well worth the wait. The museum was fantastic taking you through
his life, his fellow artists, etc. and considered to hold the world’s largest
collection of his work as well as the work of some of his famous friends.
Dinner at Vinkles, a
Michelin starred restaurant. I had the
chef’s tasting menu and enjoyed most of the dishes, especially the little
pigeon breast, the sweetbread with artichoke and the warm brownie for dessert. Some of the dishes were a bit “out there” for
me…
Took a last walk along the
canals in the morning and had a lovely breakfast overlooking the canal, i.e.
warm croissant, Dutch cheeses, honey, fresh fruit and coffee. Walked up to the train station and caught the
train to the airport. Took forever to
get through security and passport control and I almost missed my flight! Stopover in London Heathrow where there is
an abundance of great places to eat. Had
lunch at EAT, i.e. a delicious egg salad sandwich on a croissant with arugula
and a chocolate cookie. Watched “Brooklyn” on the flight home and it was excellent. What a wonderful trip!! It was also great fun
to travel with someone for a change!
No comments:
Post a Comment