It was an hour or so drive from Bailleul. Some back roads and mostly motorways.
The heart of Bruges is the medieval centre of the town. In the 15th and 16th centuries Bruges had become an economic hub and gateway for Europe. Bruges then fell foul of the global economy. The hub shifted and Bruges slipped backwards.
The centre is compromised of a number of town squares (some are triangular!) and intermingled with a canal system. Bruges has been referred to as the Venice of the North. It seemed that on every other corner was a chocolatier, and on the complementary corner was a Belgian lace shop. In between chocolatiers and lace makers were beer brewers. There were some town hall type buildings and the odd church.
One particular church (the Church of Notre Dame) houses the Michelangelo statue of the Madonna and Child. This statue (or a replica, I think) made an appearance in the movie The Monuments Men. SPOILER ALERT do not read further if you have not seem TMM and intend watching it [Hugh Bonneville (of Downton Abbey fame) plays Donald Jeffries who is a conflicted British artist. He saves the Madonna and Child from the evil nazis but loses his life in doing so]. In the church was an acknowledgement to General Eisenhower for returning the statue. The statue had been acquired by the French (ie 'pinched') in 1816. The Nazis then pinched the statue in 1940 and at some stage moved it to a salt mine in Austria. Eisenhower's team of monuments men recovered the artwork.
We took a boat trip on the canals which was a good way to get an overview of the centre. Yes, we did buy some Belgian chocolate. Do not expect to see any of it! Sorry!
Lets hope you bought enough Belgian chocolate to be able to indulge on for this big birthday. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you....
ReplyDeleteJust think you can celebrate 2 birthdays - Australian time and local time. Have a great day doing lots of exploring.
Thank you for my birthday wishes.
DeleteYes, another day exploring, discovering and taking in the tastes of Belgian.
Dear unknown, could you give me some clues as to who you are. Would love to know.
DeleteI didn't notice anything but George Dreamy in that Monument Men Movie. Was there a Michelangelo Madonna and Child in it? Would love to see Bruges one day. It looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteThere will be a few re-watched movies when we return, not to mention a few re-read books.
DeleteBruges was almost surreal, very touristy. Buildings that were so very old and unique in style and design.
Happy birthday Mrs Jeffries ( in joke folks. I DO know how to spell.) What a wonderful part of the world to be celebrating in. Hope your day is special, just like you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Louloulabrew, your wishes are appreciated.
DeleteHope you are back into the swing of term 2.
Happy birthday Karen! What a magical place to celebrate your special day - in Bruges. The old city is beautiful. I remember cobblestones, narrow streets, swans on canals and of course, chocolate and lace. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen for my birthday wishes. Yes Bruges has alot of ambience of old world charm. The cobblestones aid the sound of the horses hooves as the clip clop past. We also saw on the canals a proud mother duck with Dad and their 20 ducklings. They deserve top marks just to survive the canal tour boats.
DeleteHappy birthday Karen. Sounds like you've had a fabulous day, especially with lovely Belgian chocolate.
ReplyDeleteI thought I had dropped clues! Karen Boyle helped me use the blog.
ReplyDeleteAmazing Karen,what a great way to celebrate your birthday,happy belated birthday! I hope I will be able to do the same (not as perfect as yours,I am ESL after all) when we going to England and Scotland next month to visit my husband's family.
ReplyDelete