Breskens, The Netherlands - Bruges, Belgium

Monday 8th November 1999

Our main goal for this morning was to spend the last of our Dutch money before leaving the Netherlands. After a couple of failed attempts in small towns we found ourselves in Sluis, last stop before the border. It turned out to be a delightful little village and we eventually managed to find an open supermarket to clean out the wallet.

We crossed into Belgium and headed for Bruges. I didn't know much about the town except that it was one of the compulsory stops on the trans-European journey. We managed to find a parking spot just outside the old city walls and headed in for a look around.

Bruges turned out to be magnificent. Even the walk into town was lined with wonderful buildings. We reached the main square and were confronted by the imposing 19th century Provincial Government Palace and the enormous 13th century Belfry. Elegant buildings and restaurants lined all four sides of the square and the obligatory horse and carriage waited patiently in the middle.

Around the corner was another magnificent square featuring the 14th century Stadhuis and 12th century Heilig Bloed Basiliek, or Holy Blood Basilica. We first went into the upper chapel of the Basilica which contained the Holy Blood relic and was remodelled in the 19th century in neo-Gothic style. It was a marvellous room with brilliant stain glass and magnificent styling. We sat for some time absorbing the atmosphere and listening to the calming recording of the monks of Luxembourg. Suddenly the door opened and in stormed a battalion of Japanese tourists. They walked past our position at the back of the church, across to the far chapel containing the relic, back along the front for a closer look at the alter, then back to the door and out. All in under a minute. As quickly as it had begun it was over and suddenly the room was peaceful again, with only the quiet sound of the monks.

We walked around the chapel then went downstairs to see the older lower chapel. It was much plainer and in many ways resembled a dungeon. After a quick look around we went back outside and across to the tourist information.

They had a detailed booklet on Bruges containing three town walks. We quickly started on the first: Incomparable Bruges. It took us across the canal to the old fish market then along another canal. Small motorboats were plying the waters packed with tourists and the whole scene reminded me somewhat of the backs at Cambridge. The wonderful thing about Bruges though was that the splendour never ended. Every street was as magnificent as the last and there seemed no boundary to the old town.

We continued on and had a look inside the 13th century Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk. Magnificent on the outside although a little disjointed inside. Its major attraction though was Michelangelo's marble sculpture of Madonna and Child, a marvellous work that was typically somehow more human than the usual depictions.

From the church we went to the Groeninge Museum, containing an impressive collection of early Flemish art, and a horrible collection of modern art. I made sure to visit the early art again before we left to purge the memory of the modern stuff.

We continued along the streets towards the Minnewater, a small lake surrounded by many more lovely buildings. It was beginning to grow dark as we began to work our way back to the city centre and, after visiting the 13th century Kathedral Sint Salvator, we found ourselves back at our starting point.

We headed back to the car and decided to stay close to the city so that we could return tomorrow and see some more. The nearest, probably only, spot that we could see was a motorway rest area about 20km away. We knew that they were large and we would be allowed to stay so it seemed a simple solution. We headed down the road and soon found ourselves settling in with the calming sound of the motorway in the distance.