Historic Bruges (day 2)

Sadly, I am leaving Bruges tomorrow. I'm growing a little tired of the tourist hordes, but this is a city I definitely want to return to at some point and spend a little more time. I don't feel a need to return to Antwerp, although it was worth a visit, but Bruges attracts mobs of people for a reason.

I packed in quite a bit on this last full day, which started off rather sunny. That, a better night's sleep, and a great breakfast fueled me for a walking tour that took most of the morning. Our guide, Simon, was a passionate historian and told us all kinds of interesting stories, balancing historical information with great storytelling. The huge bell tower stands above a giant hall (see yesterday's photos), which housed the local sheep market. Textiles and other town treasures were stored in the actual tower. Bruges was doing pretty well for itself in the medieval period (the 1200s to 1400s, I believe), and this wealth attracted some attention. First, the king of France tried to tax the city based on some ancient right of claim that he dug up. Needless to say, the people of Bruges weren't happy about this and revolted. Using cunning (which mainly involved knowing the territory and realizing the French cavalry would get stuck in the mud), they defeated the superior French forces and remained triumphant. For awhile. The French king eventually crushed them, although it wasn't long before they grew prosperous again. Later, Maximilian of Hapsburg exerted power over Bruges, and the people revolted again--actually capturing Maximilian himself under false pretenses ("hey, come see our great city!") and killing his right hand man. They released him after M gave promises not to retaliate (did they really believe him??) and as soon as he was free, Maximilian promptly dismantled Bruges in every way he could, moving the main port to Antwerp and causing Bruges to leave its Golden Age behind and sink into poverty and irrelevance to the rest of Europe for the next few centuries. As Simon put it, so much of the medieval architecture remains because the citizens of Bruges were too poor to change anything. Maximilian aside, it was the French who did most of the damage, according to Simon, tearing down cathedrals and the like.

All to say, Bruges folk have a history of rebelling and disliking the French (or any other authority who tries to exert power over them), which is an attitude shared by at least some of the locals in Antwerp--namely my bike guide Steven, who said of Belgium's current king (imagine a sneering tone of disgust): "He's from Wallonia and only speaks French. He's not our king!" Our referring to Flanders, which is linguistically and culturally different from the French-speaking southern part of Belgium. Here in Flanders, they speak Flemish, which is pretty much the same as Dutch, although it has moments where it also sounds like German to me.

Anyway, back to the tour (I know, I know--where are the pictures?). One of our stops was another Beguinage or Begijnhof, which is the largest one in Belgium. Simon explained that this community of single women (who had their own religious order without actually being nuns) would go out into the city during the day to do charitable work such as to help the sick in the hospital, but that they would go back at night and everything would be locked up--that is still in practice today. Only residents, which is still single women (mostly elderly widows) can get past those doors from evening on. In the old days, the community within was entirely self-contained, down to having their own gardens, farm animals, and even laws and governance. That's why you can see "Saufe Garde" over the doors--criminals feeling from the law could find safe haven in there, assuming the women would let them in.

Inside

Outside

A little way further brought us to this point, which Steven said is the most photographed spot in Bruges, seeing as it's got the canal, some pretty buildings, and the Belfort in the background. It's also where Colin Ferrell jumped out the window (building with red roof below) in In Bruges, and the terrace next to it is where Ralph Fiennes' character stood to shoot at him.

After the tour, I had lunch, did a little shopping, and headed back to Burg Square, which Steven pointed out as remarkable in having four different architectural styles in one place:

Town Hall (Gothic) 

 Justice building next door (Renaissance)

A Baroque something or other

And the Romanesque (dating back from the 1100's) Basilica of the Holy Blood

This historic church holds what is believed to be a vial of Jesus's actual blood, brought back to Bruges by a count during the Crusades. It's been housed in this same church ever since, and once a year gets a parade (I suppose "procession" is the more dignified term) around the city, a tradition dating back over 700 years. In fact, neighboring city Ghent took advantage of this known holiday to attack and steal a favorite gold statue of a dragon centuries ago. Steven told me to keep an eye out for it in Ghent. Meanwhile, in spite of this sign asking for respectful silence in the basilica

the jazz band performing in the courtyard outside was oblivious. 

It was a little disconcerting going into the church listening to something I might hear Ricky Ricardo directing at his club, but the beauty of the church soon sobered me up.

If you look closely at the photo above, you can see a man sitting at an elevated table through the arches. I had to snap this photo surreptitiously from a distance as there was another man specifically there to discourage such things. Anyway, for a few hours a day, he sits there overseeing the relic, and you can choose to go up and venerate it. A sign at the base of the steps suggests a donation is appropriate and explains the funds go to the upkeep of the church. I get it, but it still left me with an awkward dilemma--exactly how much should one pay to see Christ's blood? Even though I am highly skeptical about it being any such thing, I still appreciate that it's been revered as such for centuries, and I have respect for what it symbolizes. I watched some others go up--devout Catholics from the look of it--and the clanking of coins made it clear: about 2 euros. As I paused in front of the vial, the overseer solemnly handed me a little pamphlet with a prayer in multiple languages. Skepticism about the vial's contents aside, I couldn't help but be moved by the prayer, which seemed especially timely given all the recent violence and loss of life our world has experienced in the last six months:

Lord,

You are the source of all love.

You showed it through Jesus

who shed his blood for us.

We ask You: open our hearts,

make them as generous as yours.

Give us a heart eager to serve others.

Let us be an expression 

of your smile on the world.     Amen.

A worthwhile prayer. After that, I headed back to the town hall, which has an impressive interior:

Next door was the hall of justice. I think I was starting to space out from being tired, because I didn't take any photos of it (although you're not missing much--it was okay). What did catch my attention was this wooden sculpture of Maximilian. I mean, I know about codpieces being the fashion at one time, but seriously--seems like someone was exaggerating a little:

After browsing in another shop or two, I breezed through Markt Square again and headed back to my B&B. The temperature was dropping and clouds were moving in. Still, here are some shots of the famous square, which reminded me a lot of the historic square in Prague, which also has a great deal of its original medieval architecture intact.

Thought it is not technically really the season for mussels, my B&B hostess (Tania) recommended a good seafood place that she said I could have confidence in. I went there for dinner and, with a little coaching from my waitress, ate my moules et frites like a pro. If you don't look at them too closely (they look a little too...creaturely), they're pretty tasty.

The elderly English couple sitting next to me, Isabel and Richard, struck up a conversation with me and we had a nice chat before I left (fun facts: the Isabel's brother was an actor on Dynasty and Richard is about to loan one of his paintings to the Getty in L.A.). They were super sweet, writing down their phone number and e-mail for me in case I need any help while I'm in the UK.

Now to pack a little and take another bath. Why so excited about baths, you ask? Because before last night, I hadn't taken one in over 2 years due to the drought in Southern California. Just quick-ish showers. Also, my legs and feet aren't what they used to be. All this walking has left them quite tired and sore, and slipping into a hot bath at the end of the evening is bliss.