Lunch in Bruges

We are sitting in the courtyard outside our hotel room with the sun blazing down drinking NZ Savignon blanc, courtesy of Sarah, and eating roast quail bought from the market in the old Markt square, that has been a market place since the 10th century.

Market square, Bruge. (since 10th century)

You do have to regularly pinch yourself in this amazing city where horse and carriages trot around the cobble streets taking tourists around the ancient centre and the carrillion in the bell tower of the 13th century church beside the hotel plays a mix of ancient and modern songs every 15 minutes. Thine be the glory one minute, followed by a Beatles song the next time.

The fish market has been in the same location since the year 1700, 

on stone benches under a pitched wooden roof beside the canal in the centre of Bruges and just through a golden archway is the fruit and vegetable market, the one that has been there every wednesday since the year 900.

Just through the golden archway to the fish market.
A little variation on the golden arches of
MacDonalds the we are used to!

We are completely surrounded by history.

Tomorrow, there is the annual ceremony in the big square outside the church for bringing in the blood, which is a small phial of Christ’s blood that was brought here from Jerusalem in 1150.

They are setting up the stage and the grandstands out in the square at this very moment.

The state house or town hall built in 1376, outside our hotel in Bruges.

Anna and I have walked the streets of the inner city this morning, had our lunch bought from the market, and are about to venture out to explore the larger town area.

We fled from Holland yesterday afternoon after waking to yet another day of rain and freezing cold wind, partly to make the most of our rental car, but also to enjoy being in Europe where an hours driving can put you into a totally different country.

Cute little restaurants around every corner.

The one we are in at the moment is Belgium, the western Flanders part of the country, an area that has been the battleground for many armies over the centuries.

We don’t want to visit the actual battlefields in the fields of Flanders where over 500,000 men lost their lives in WW1, it is too sad and represents such a tragic waste of life, but we have made a two day stop in the medieval town of Bruges.

We are planning to drive south into France, maybe to stay at Lille for a night or two before heading back into Belgium and making for Maastricht in Holland.

This will also give us a good look at the likely route for taking our boat into France.

It is cold here in Bruges, but at least the sun comes out every so often and it’s not raining.

This is the Venice of the north.