Bruges, Flanders, BelgiumBruges is the medieval wonderland, one of Europe’s biggest
and most important cities for several hundred years between the 11th
and 15th centuries, a city that went into economic decline only to
be rediscovered in relatively modern times when historical preservation has
become appreciated.
What has gone into decline can usually be renovated,
replaced, or replicated pretty well to recreate something possibly vaguely
resembling the original…or at least our modern era’s idealization of the
medieval world.
Bruges is a super popular tourist destination, one that gets
something like six million visitors a year, a place similar to Venice that’s
almost getting crushed by its popularity, including cruise ship travelers from
boats that park for the day in Zeebrugge. With a network of canals through the
city Bruges even superficially resembles Venice. Because Bruges is so popular
and everyone knows it, I don’t have to say much about its attractions; they’re
hardly undiscovered. As beautiful as it is, though, that popularity has some
drawbacks like diminished authenticity with businesses catering entirely to
tourist trade – tacky souvenir shops and restaurants serving low quality food.
I’ve been in Bruges twice before on my two trips to Belgium
but only on day trips and both times it felt kind of rushed. The first time was
in 1985 when we went in a big group with the relatives and family friends we
were staying with.
If I recall correctly everyone who was there, the group was
probably at least ten people. As best I
can recall, we spent much of the time sitting in a restaurant. We all ordered steak. The service was so slow that we joked they
must have had to go out and kill the cow.
Sure enough, after what seemed like it must have been an hour a worker
came running in with a bag of meat just purchased at a butcher. I think we had
enough time to go for a boat ride and I recall people talking about Blinde Ezel
Straat (Blind Donkey Street), a famous spot in Bruges.
My second time was on a daytrip from Waregem in 2002 when I
took my mother for a visit. I spent much of the week taking day trips to
various cities. It was February and mostly overcast so also not the best. I did
make it up into the belfry and to a number of museums but not the Groeninge. It
was nice to have my mom’s friend’s apartment as a place to stay, but each day
trip involved a long walk to the train station and then a significant train
ride to the destination.
Back in Bruges heyday the city is estimated to have had a
population as high as 200,000, greater than London at the time. Nowadays it’s
only about 120,000 but that still makes it the biggest city in West Flanders
province as well as its capital. Each city in Belgium has both a Flemish and a
French name; in English we tend to use the French version for most, hence it’s
Bruges rather than Brugge.
This was the first time I saw Bruges in
sunshine, something that doesn’t happen all that often. In fact, my two days in
Bruges were well into the 95* F range, record heat. On days like that it’s best
to get out and do most walking around and exploring early in the morning or in
the evening since it stays light late in summer at this northerly latitude. The
other advantage to doing things early and late is avoiding the crowds of
daytrippers who come into the city, many from cruise ships that dock in
Zeebrugge.
2025-05-22