Brugge

Looking up toward the city centre of Brugge

Brugge was not disappointing.
It is a delight and had we not been steered there by goodly advice would probably have missed it. My only comprehension of this medieval city was thru the eponymous film, which I recall as a black comedy, enjoyed! Another good experience of it , in hindsight is a Maisie Rika music video we were enjoying 2 years ago on U Tube which obviously now, was shot here in Brugge.  Catch if you can.

Interesting art around the city.

Its charm and appeal lies in its subtly changed form, from a ancient city to a functioning town for a real population with a reliance ,welcome or not , on tourism.

Market Square

It is done so well, traffic is so controlled that wheeling thru on bikes, crossing & recrossing its canals is a superb way of easily quartering the old city in a day, and the

One of the many canals around Brugge

 buildings though modernised had none of the modernity that English towns and villages have been unable to suppress, ie sky dishes,TV aerials and wiring to china tacked on to the buildings exteriors.

 Perhaps the biggest real difference is the lack of motor vehicles deposited in every conceivable place, as I say a delight!! So cheers to Brugge.

Belgium is the birthplace of good beer, sadly I report we did not pass an hour or two in the "Brugge Markit" watching the world go by, finalising large securities or promissory notes(where it all started they would have you believe) drinking good beer, it was a cruel thin wind off the the channel, as we have experienced for the last few days in south of England, now in coastal France and Belgium. It simply wasn't pleasant, so ended our day at a floating bar 2 mins from where we are camped, drinking local bottled beer which was by my rating system "pleasant enough".

Market Day full of colour

We elected to stay for the Wednesday morning markets and gosh... glad we did.
A market entirely of fooooood and flowers only.

Bill loves his sausages

 The fruit & veges were so good (got some nice rhubarb & lovely nectarines at very reasonable prices, and some lovely rotisserie chicken for tea, and a tiny amount of cheese to be going on with. It would be easy to buy silly, but we resisted.

So many cheeses to choose!

The quantities of produce were huge & varied, we arrived in early at 9ish and it was steady but would expect it to start thronging, indeed after the hour we spent, it had got considerably busier.

Push bikes parked up everywhere and a nice relaxed feel to it all on a stunning morning in Brugge.