September 2000

The other Saturday we went for a bus tour that was organised through Hans’ work and it was absolutely unreal. We went to Brugge and Antwerp in Belgium and I had the most fantastic time. First it was to a brewery tour in Brugge which I didnt get a real lot out of as the whole tour was in Dutch. At least I had my translator with me. This was followed by a traditional Flemish lunch in the breweries restaurant. This was definitely a unique lunch to say the least. It started with a vegetable soup but it wasnt too good I am afraid. The soup had not the slightest taste to it at all. Believe me when I say it was just boiled water with a couple of pieces of vegetables thrown in as they served it. This is not exaggerating at all. I couldnt eat it. Hans said that the Belgians dont know how to make soup. The rest of the lunch was lovely but I have to say that the experience of eating sandwiches with a knife and fork was certainly different for me. They served bread and butter with a couple of cold meats and cheese and you ate it with a knife and fork. I dont think I had ever had that experience before. This was followed with a delicious rice dessert. It was absolutely delicious.

After lunch we were given the rest of the afternoon to explore Brugge on our own and were to meet back at the market place. The city was breathtaking. There is no other way to describe it. I felt like I had gone through a time warp to a place and time long ago. I spent the afternoon in utter awe. First we took the horse and carriage tour of the city for 50NLG. This takes about 35minutes and the guide tells you all about the city and points out the wonderful history and places of interest. It was terrific. He pointed out the lake of love and told us how the city had been a bustling port in days gone by because of its canals (it is the Venice of the north, they called it and is built on canals just like Venice). However, after a while the silt built up and the ships couldn’t get in anymore so the city became very, very poor and because of this it totally missed the first Industrial Revolution. This was the best thing that could have happened to the city actually. Because it missed the industrial revolution, there were no factories or modern parts and the city has kept its historical appeal, totally preserved. All the buildings are in the Gothic or Baroque styles and are absolutely magnificent. Even the much more recently built buildings have been built in the Gothic or Baroque style so that they fit in with their surroundings. As I said, it was like stepping out of a time warp. The charm of the city is incredible and I immediately fell in love with it.
After the horse and carriage ride it was time to take one of the canal boat tours. The guides on these ask you which language you speak when you board and then conduct the tour in Dutch, English, German, AND French. It was sooooo interesting to travel along those canals. The boat took us under numerous arched bridges, the oldest being built in about 1390. The guide also pointed out heaps of historical and interesting places and I sat there just taking it all in. For example, there was one house that had been lived in by some important Spanish man in the 16th century. It was all so fascinating. We also got to do a bit of exploring by foot and I was intrigued with the chocolate shops and embroidery shops. Every second shop was either a Belgian chocolate shop or an embroidery like shop. Chocaholics would go absolutely beserk in this city J It was so incredible. You really have to see them to believe them and the shops were not that small either, and they had the gorgeous looking chocolate displays in the windows with quite a huge range. It was amazing but unfortunately I didnt bring any home with me. I will make sure I do next time though, you can count on that. And the embroidery craft is huge also. There was one woman sitting in the doorway of her house, dressed in traditional costume and working on her craft for all the tourists to stop and see as they walked by. This town really is so incredibly terrific.
After Brugge it was off to Antwerp for dinner at this wonderful middle ages restaurant. It is set in the cellar with candlelight and the old type timber tables and chairs and everything. The food was middle ages too with a much more edible vegetable soup followed by Hachee which is actually a traditional Dutch dish that I have cooked myself since I have been here (it is like a stew that you keep on the stove for up to 6 or 7 hours and quite delicious) except that the restaurant served the stewed apples on the side of the plate instead of in the stew. And they also served round chips with it. Then they followed this with rice pudding with a bit of brown sugar on top. It was all delicious J The restaurant was absolutely magnificent set in the original cellar surrounded by all the old bricks etc. A really great atmosphere and setting.

After dinner, we were able to wander around the streets for a while before having to get back on the bus. Unfortunately my feet were very bad after all the walking and I didnt get to see a real lot but I did get to see some. The walking we had to do that day was incredible cause the bus doesnt go into the city centre and in fact pretty well no cars at all go into the centre of Brugge. Instead the bus parks out of the city in special bus car parks and everyone walks in together and it is a bit of a distance. Pretty well everywhere we went that day was by foot but I still had the most wonderful time. Antwerp is a much more colourful city to say the least. Being evening while we were wandering around, all the cafes and bars were alive and it was a terrific atmosphere. Everybody sits out on the sidewalks of the cafes to eat and the bars flow over into the streets. I was told it is a bit like the Amsterdam version of Belgium. The city is a lot younger and its people much more colourful with bustling streets. I still liked this town though. There was this huge plaza that is almost like one huge open air bar with buskers of all kinds and one side of the plaza stands this most magnificent church with an almost open and see through steeple. It was beautiful. As the bus was leaving Antwerp, we were watching fireworks go off across the river and it seemed like the perfect way to end the day

Besides Belgium, I also went for a drive around the southern tip of Holland, around the Maastricht area, and it was absolutely beautiful. We stopped for a drink at the cafe/pub that sits on top of a hill and looked out at the countryside which was breathtaking. It truly was beautiful.