Kee Hua Chee Live!: BRUGES IN BELGIUM

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

I thought a lightplane had crashed into the hallowed grounds of the church in Bruges but this is a work of art!

In Belgium, Dutch and French are official languages and there is also Flemish which is practically Dutch as every Dutchman understands Flemish and vice-versa as Flemish (spoken in Flanders) is seen as a sort of Dutch dialect.

But French and Dutch are like cheese and clog since they are so different. In French, Bruges is also 'Bruges' but God knows how it is pronounced in French. In Dutch, Bruges is Brugge and in German it is also 'Brugge' though pronounced somewhat differently. Thank Jesus we speak 'England' so I shall use Bruges.

Bruges is like Amsterdam on a small scale as it has canals and ancient buildings that are more associated with Netherlands than Belgium. It is also called 'Venice of the North' for obvious reasons.

Bruges got its city charter in 1128 when new forts, ramparts and canals were built. By 1050 silting caused the port to lose direct access to the sea. The inhabitants prayed for a miracle which duly arrived in the form of a terrific tempest in 1134 that created and opened a new channel at the Zwin!

It was not to last as by 1500 the Zwin channel started to silt again and Bruges eventually lost its maritime power to Antwerp. Bruges became a sleepy backwater and by the 1800s its population of 200,000 had fallen to 50,000, prompting the novelist Geroge Rodenbach to create a character in his novel 'Bruges the Dead'!

However in the 1850s, Bruges became a favoured destination for rich English and French tourists as its medieval centre is perfectly preserved. Tourism soon became its lifeline and in 2002 Bruges was named 'European City of Culture'.

These days, the shops along the tourist strip sell mostly chocolates, souvenirs and food, most of which are run of the mill except for the chocolate shops which are quite divine.

When we arrived, we bumped into these amazing motorised trolleys carrying what seemed to be men dressed as frumpy old women!

Seems like a new tradition or custom and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to this amusing carting

Mechanical horsing around

Entering the Old Town

We all know Belgian and Swiss chocolates are the best though cocoa pods are produced halfway across the world in Brazil!

Princess Dr Becky Leogardo and Gloria buy up Leonidas chocolates

The Church of Our Lady looms

It is legal to be addicted to chocolates

Or cup cakes

Wide enough for a horse buggy

Floating churches and palaces like these give Bruges the epithet 'Venice of the North'

How nice to own a canal house with direct access to the water from your window

You can probably park your sampan next to your window

I assume there is never any high tide or flooding or the rooms inside would turn into swimming pools

Cushions for cat and dog lovers

Part of Old Quarters

The Groenerei canal p

Cycling is a national pastime

Cycling is fun but I would rather enjoy a horse drawn carriage ride!

This blue alternative is OK too!

The souvenirs are surprisingly reasonably priced

I like this pretty lacey if impractical brolly!