To see Bruge and die

I very much hope our visit to Bruge won’t prove so dramatic as the movie! 

After finishing our time in Brussels with a visit to the Planetarium, we drove on to Bruge.

Here we parked at another canal, just about 15 minutes on foot from the historic town center. And historic it is! Founded in the 9th century, there are still many remnants of times long past to be seen.

It is a very picturesque town, which is probably why there are so many tourist. On a guided tour through the city the next day we were told that, although it obviously has been quiet now for a long time due to Covid, they are back at around 25% of the normal tourist numbers now. 25%??? Seriously? If this is 25%, where do the other 75% go when they come? 

But first we had a nice walk around Bruge while the sun was going down, painting the old brick buildings in warm colors and putting a patina on everything. The cafés and restaurants were buzzing, kids running around laughing, music from here and there - well, it almost felt like normal life!

The next morning my human went for a swim at the local pool just around the corner. The most confusing system she had ever encountered in a pool. After you pay your entrance fee (all of 1,80 Euro), you lock your shoes in a tiny little locker. Then you proceed through a maze of changing rooms and locker rooms, all seemingly closed from every side, until you find the locker with the same number as the one holding your shoes. But all that aside, the water was great and the shower necessary!

Washed and scrubbed, her and Carmelo went on the aforementioned city tour with a very cool lady who brought her dog, a very handsome and lovable little fellow. She probably missed half of what was said, because she was busy with the puppy. Nevertheless, it was a very interesting tour.

One of the apocalyptical riders                                                            

Some excavations going on in the middle of town

After a lunch of “Flemish Stew” (she asked the waiter, what’s Flemish about it. Although it was tasty, that part wasn’t obvious. He answered, that it was made with beer. Everything with the tag “Flemish” on it is made with beer. We will keep that in mind!), they climbed the belfry, one of the citie's most famous landmarks. It's only 260 something steps, leading to a very nice view over town. 

In one of the town's many churches one can admire "Mary with child", the only work of Michelangelo, which has left Italy during his lifetime.

After that, they went to see the last of a long procession of art museums in Belgium, before going to a harp concert. Yes, a harp concert. Those of you who know my human have just started wondering about her sanity. Surely, this trip isn’t good for her! I can assure you, she is fine. The guide lady recommended it and so she went. The concert was free, performed by a single man in his 60s on instruments he largely built himself. And yes, it was good!

This is probaly a good reason to stop going to art museums

After some more walking around they graced me with their presence for the rest of the evening. There was still some Spanish homework waiting!

Breaking with the Sunday tradition, this time round the washing day fell on a Friday. After getting that done, we drove on to Knokke-Heist, a beach side resort, favored by locals and tourist alike. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great, very windy, rain every once in a while, grey skies. 

So my human spent some time cleaning my insides, cleaning, sweeping, moping, the usual. In the afternoon they left, decked out in rain clothes for a walk through town and along the beach promenade. Which was surprisingly busy. And of course the kite-surfers had a field day!

350 Euro fine, if you are not properly dressed on the beach

One word considering the campground. This was the second very large campground we went to. About 95% of it was taken up by permanent residents in their not-at-all mobile homes. It seems like in these large places, the owners don’t tend to tell you very much about the place, such as where the sanitary facilities are, the rubbish disposal, etc. Or the fact, that there is no toilet paper! BYO! That would have been very handy to know for my human, BEFORE she went to there for the first time!

On Saturday they went for a long bike ride along the canals, checking out a few small towns and enjoying a huge pizza on the promenade for a late lunch. The waiter asked her whether she was lonely. Nice of him to ask, right? What he really wanted to know was, weather she was alone, therefore only needing a small table. 

The next morning, after a good run and well deserved pancake breakfast we got back on the road, on our way to country number four - France.

The original plan was to spend the summer in the UK, traveling through England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. But England still had quarantine rules in place, even for vaccinated tourists. We could have gone in through Ireland, but the ferry prices were ridiculously high by then, and a friend my human wants to visit wouldn’t be back in Ireland until late September. So we made the decision to change plans and visit France, Spain and Portugal instead this summer.

So here we go, let’s see if the preconceptions about the French are true! Will they speak English to us?