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Benelux next time
Entry 12 of 17 | show all | print this entry |
We arrived in Bruges full of hope, it got a great write up in all our guide books and we were not disappointed. Having amused a handful of the locals by squeezing onto a bus whilst carrying our bags, and then being wedged into positions, not being able to move til we cornered particularly dangerously. Our hostel, Charlie Rockets, was odd in name and nature, but that was fine by us.
We headed out into town and were instantly taken by the medieval feel to the place. Every street was cobbled, cars were rare as trams and bikes dominated, and nearly all of the buildings - houses, shops, bars, the lot - would have had listed status in the UK. Admittedly sometimes it went too far. One street in particular had cobbles that could have had thier own topographical study, but with careful steps they we avoided any unneccesary ankle damage.
There are two main squares in Bruges to go along with a plethora of canals and small waterways, densely populated by swans. Its all delightfully pretty to look at and the addition of horse-drawn carriages makes it a tourist haven, swarming with the buggers. However, all the streets are wide, and with a few exceptions the whole town is worth a look, so they are all nicely spread out, meaning you are not choked by crowds. The main attraction is a stupidly tall bell tower, a simple hop up of 350+ steps gives you dynamite views across the region. We saved this for the following morning, chosing instead to visit the site of the Begjun (not sure of the spelling!). It is a still functioning settlement of women only, i believe, who have shunned conventional religiong and formed they´re own sect. They keep themselves entirely to themselves, even to the extent of designing and planning and even doing some building of all their properties. You can walk through but you are not allowed to take any photos and have to keep as quiet as possible as you move around. Not one of my favourite sites, but interesting in its own right.
We really took a shine to the place, and were looking forward to our own room too, as at 11.30pm noone else had checked in. However, just as we were settling down following a tasting session of awesome Belgian beers (Kriek, Jupiler and one random one) we were joined by two Spanish people. They turned on the light to preen themselves before heading out. The next thing we know is its 4am and the guy is making a noise much akin to that of killing a baby pig. Mix in some odd clicking noises and him choking on his own mucas, plug into an amp turned up tp max and you get the kind of sounds we are talking about. Eventaully we gave in and moved into the empty and open room next door, setting the alarm for a bit earlier so we could move back undetected the next morning. We could still hear the numbnuts through the wall, and how the girl slept is completely beyond me, unless she is actually deaf. Even then the physical sound waves hitting your face would be like a slap every time he inhaled. Anyways, we woke at 8.30 and vacated the room just 15 mins before 3 guys checked into it unseasonably early. Who the hell checks into a hostel room before 9? Anyway, with that lucky escape we left before anyone got out their Nancy Drew sets and wondered why their beds looked slept in.
The climb to the top of the tower was tough. It was graciously split into sections with a few displays and intevals up, and you could tell the fitter people from the fatter, by the speed of which they moved through the exhibitions and whether they made use of the seating facilities. The views from the top were spectacular, panoramics on such a clear morning. We managed to time our trip even better, as we were beaneath the bells as they struck 10am. the whole process took about 5mins and a large and complex movement of cogs and hammers. But the ´coupe de grace´ was the striking of the big bell 10 times. The look of surprise on Vicks face as the first strike reverberated around the tower is one that will keep me amused for many years to come.
That was pretty much all we did in Belgium, very much a flyig visit, but we´re off to Holland next and we´re booked into some pretty odd places due to the lack of hostels countrywide, so there should be some good storys to tell.
Byeee!!
Sam and Vicky
xx
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