Beautiful and Brave Belgium

Thalys Train

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - Orleans to Bruges, Belgium

We arise early this morning to check out and move on to Belgium.  Breakfast at this hotel is not the greatest, though they do have fresh fruit.  I realize the French are not into breakfasts as the English and Americans are and I was spoiled in England.  They could at least have fresh croissants, though.  Whine, whine.

The train ride to Paris, Gare d'Austerlitz, is quick, slightly over an hour.  We get very confused trying to find a taxi and wait at the drop off point for a while until we figure it out.  The taxi driver we eventually capture can best be described as surly.  My French is poor so I tend to assume I'm not understood but I have to ask him three times before he will acknowledge that he understands where we want to go.  When we get to Gare du Nord, he refuses to accept my €10 note because it has a bank stamp on it.  I catch myself wishing I had a counterfeit note with no bank stamp on it to give him. 

What is it about Parisian taxi drivers?  New York hacks are veritable good-will ambassadors compared to Parisians.  This is only one of many instances of problems I have had with taxis in Paris.  I drove a taxi myself, years ago, so I know it's no bed of roses but I always figured angering the passengers would only make things worse.  C'est la vie!

The train station is chaotic as are most European train stations.  We manage to find a seat at one of the cafés and figure out how to order coffee and rolls.  Pam gets hooked into a long phone conversation with one of her associates in Hong Kong while I try to remind her she is on vacation.  Mobile phones are not always a blessing.  They are often intrusive and annoying.  

We board our Thalys train to Brussels.  Thalys are high-speed inter-city trains that travel in excess of 200 kph.  We find that the €40 we spent for reservations was wasted.  There were plenty of empty seats in first class.  I was told by someone that I should reserve seats in the summer but my experience is that reservations are not necessary except on over-night trains where they are required.  I believe second class is a different story.  Partially, I suspect, because Student Eurail passes are second class only.  Refreshments are served and are complimentary and it is a very comfortable trip.

We arrive at Midi Station in Brussels and I head for the departure board to check the track number for the train we are planning to take to Bruges.  Whoops, no such train number.  I rush to the nearest information booth to find out how I can get to Bruges.  The agent tells me the track number and the time for the next train, about 15 minutes from now, and Pam and I rush to get situated.  Later I figure out how I screwed up.  There are three train stations in Brussels and as Rick Steves points out, the Belgians can't seem to make up their minds which one they want to feature so there are trains going everywhere in Belgium from each station unlike Paris and London where different stations serve different regions.  The train number I had leaves from Central Station not Midi and the internet site I got the information from does not specify the station.  I also found out later that there is an underground shuttle between all three stations so I was unduly worried about being stranded in Brussels.  Nevertheless, I am relieved to be speeding towards Bruges.

At Bruges, when we get off the train, we try to find an elevator rather than trying to wrestle our bags down stairs.  Because she stores her garment bag inside her duffel Pam's bag is as large as a small city and equally as unwieldy going up and down stairs.  We find an elevator that deposits us in a service corridor with no directional signs and about a thousand stored bicycles.  After wandering around for a while, we stumble out a swinging door and find ourselves in the main terminal.  Acting as if we knew where we were going all along, we nonchalantly head for the taxi queue and ask the driver to take us to our hotel, The Grand Oude Burg.

Bruges Bell Tower

No Paris attitude here.  The driver is very helpful and even helps us carry our bags into the hotel lobby.  We check in to find what I am labeling the "Internet Disconnect."  That is, though the hotel says it has internet service, what is meant by that is open to wide and variable interpretation.  In this case, they have wireless access but the guest must purchase a converter and a card that costs €25 for three hours.  At Pam's rate of internet usage we may end up paying more for the internet connection than the room itself.  Additionally frustrating us, no one seems to know exactly how the whole thing works because hardly anyone ever uses the service.  I bite my tongue rather than mention to Pam that most people on holiday don't work full time while vacationing. 

In addition they have a €10 an hour terminal in the lobby which doesn't work very well.  I had hoped to access my e-mail while Pam attacked hers but I could not make the connection to my ISP.  I'm afraid that spam will overwhelm my capacity and any real e-mail messages I get will be returned to sender.  I return to our room to find Pam busily responding to the seeming hundreds of people who communicate with her daily. 

I head for the bar, order a beer, and get into a friendly discussion with the bartender and his friend about Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France which is being shown on the T.V. set in the bar.  Surprising as it may be to non-fans of bicycle racing, Lance is not universally admired, in spite of his miraculous recovery from testicular cancer and having captured five Tour de France titles in a row.  Real fans think, since he only races in the Tour de France, he has an unfair advantage over all the other riders.  I try to explain that he is just doing what most Americans would do, that is go for the main prize while not worrying about all the little prizes.  I use the example of the play-off system in so many sports, both American and European, where there is only one winner and many losers.  They don't buy it but we have fun arguing about it anyway.

Pam shows up and on the bartender's recommendation we go to a nearby Flemish restaurant, Shtilderhuis.  We have delightful dinner.  I try the onion soup and a Flemish rabbit stew which is great.  Afterwards we walk to the market square where there is a large concert going on in honor of Belgium's National Day.  The music, however, is rap, Flemish or French rap, I can't tell which.  After listening and watching for a while, I consider joining the ranks of those who oppose the cultural invasion of Europe by American music.  The scene is weird.  I would have expected folk dancing and national songs not rap.  We leave after a bit and find a quiet corner for a cup of cappuccino before heading to our hotel where Pam can once again feed her e-mail compulsion and I can go to sleep.

Basilica of the Holy Blood, Bruges

Thursday, July 22, 2004 - Bruges
After a great breakfast, we decide to explore Bruges on foot.  This is not as difficult as it may seem since the inner city only covers about one square mile.  We start at the Bell Tower, which is still used to mark the time every quarter hour and is slightly skewed: something I plan to document when I can get far enough away to capture it on film.  Pam and I decide to not climb the 366 steps to the tower's observation area but instead walk down a delightful side street to the municipal square.  You can see pictures of the tower and all the other highlights on my Bruges Photo page.

Bruges City Hall

We visit City Hall which dates back to the 15th century when Bruges was a major trading center and seaport.  The murals are both beautiful and historically interesting.   We next visit the Basilica of the Holy Blood where supposedly Christ’s blood re-liquefies periodically.  While we are there, a ceremony is going on to honor “His Sacrifice.”  I don’t see the blood liquefy, though.  Damn!  It is, nevertheless, a fascinating ceremony taking place in a beautiful church.

After a quick stop at the Tourist Center, we walk to the Groeninge Museum .  This museum is housed in an old restored palace-type residence and is one of the most efficiently organized museums I've visited.  The audio guide is most instructive.  It tells you more than you may have ever wanted to know about each of the paintings.  The collection is obviously focused on early or "Primitive" Flemish artists particularly Jan Van Eyck, but they have a good selection of more modern paintings.  The museum also has a delightful garden.  We take a break under the shade trees.

Our next stop is the Church of Our Lady, which contains Michelangelo's Madonna and the tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary.  As you can see from the pictures, it is a beautiful church.  Pam has the time and energy to visit the choir but I'm fading fast so we decide to visit the local Half Moon Brewery for a tour.  

The tour is fun but a little disappointing because they no longer brew beer at this location.  There is, however, a lot of historical information to absorb.  It is obvious the Belgians take their beer seriously.  At the end of the tour we are having our complimentary beer when we meet a delightful couple, Mike and Brenda, from Colorado, who have taken a year off to travel around the world.  They quit their jobs, sold their house and took off.  I'm in awe of their adventurous courage.  I doubt I would have done what they were doing when I was their age.  It doesn't seem to bother them, though.  Maybe all the stories of the depression I heard from my parents had more of an effect on me than I'm willing to admit.

Together, the four of us head for the Beguinage.  Now a Benedictine convent, it was at one time a place where religiously inclined women who did not want to be nuns, could live away from the rest of society.  It is certainly a peaceful spot with a beautiful garden surrounded by living quarters and a small chapel.  I am surprised to see a nun wearing a habit.  I rarely see nuns wearing habits, except in the Philippines.  We leave Mike and Brenda practicing their French with a couple they meet and we walk to a nearby park that has a canal running through it.  I'm exhausted but Pam wants to walk much farther than I do.  She takes off and I find a grassy spot next to the canal under a tree where I can contemplate my declining level of fitness.

When Pam returns, we walk back to our hotel.  I'm tempted to take a horse drawn carriage but I resist the temptation and instead we hike back.  As soon as we arrive, Pam checks her e-mails and I hit the bar for a beer and more discussion about Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France. 

An hour later we choose a restaurant on Simon Stevin Square for dinner.  I believe it is actually named the Simon Stevin restaurant.  The outdoor venue is across the street from the restaurant proper.  The food is great but the service is not so good.  I guess if I have to choose between the two, I'll take the food. 

We have an after dinner drink at our hotel and even more discussion about Lance Armstrong before I finally, totally run out of steam, ascend to our room and pass out.

Tyne Cot Cemetery with Cross of Sacrifice

Friday, July 23, 2004 - Ypres and Ypres Salient

This is our day to visit the WW I battlefields in the Ypres Salient.  We walk to the pick-up point for the tour.  Sharon of Quasimodo Tours picks us up in a van.  She is an interesting person: half Flemish and half Aussie but born in Penang, Malaysia when her father, who had joined the Aussie air force was stationed there.  Our tour companions are an Australian couple living in Cambodia, a couple from New Zealand and a very knowledgeable British gentleman.  A most interesting group and we are looking forward to the day. 

Our first stop is the Tyne Cot Cemetery.  It got its name because members of a British regiment from Newcastle thought a cottage in the area reminded them of their homeland on the Tyne River.  It is the largest cemetery in the salient and contains a wall with the names of almost 35,000 British Empire troops who were killed after August 16, 1917 and whose bodies were never identified.  The cemetery includes two German bunkers, one with the Cross of Sacrifice on it.  There are over 30 British Empire cemeteries in this area, consolidated from about four times that number after the war ended.  Pictures of this cemetery and all the other places we see on this tour are on my Ypres photo site.

We visit the New Zealand Memorial at Gravenstafel where many New Zealanders died in the Third Battle of Ypres sometimes called Passchendaele.   Many Kiwis and Aussies, to say nothing of Canadians, Indians, Pakistanis, Africans, and other soldiers from the far reaches of the empire died in this 10 or 15 square mile area.  It was a slaughter house.  I have a great deal of trouble understanding how men could have faced the terrors of not only the German guns but also drowning in the swampy bog, they were fighting in.  The thought of it reminds me of a scene from The Bridge On the River Kwai, when, after the bridge is blown up, the camp doctor wanders down the river bed uttering the words  "Madness, madness, madness." over and over.

We next visit Hellfire Corner which every soldier had to pass on his way to the front and which the Germans had zeroed in on with their artillery.  One of the most interesting facts is that approximately 3 tons of unexploded ammunition is dug up by farmers and others every year.  There is a Belgian Army unit that does nothing but collect this ammo and dispose of it.  There are pick-up points along the roads where the farmers leave the shells to be picked up weekly, I believe.  As we drove around the area we could see shells in the cement containers provided for them.

We stop for lunch at the Hooge Crater Museum.   It is a small but very well done museum with a small cafeteria: well worth the 30 minutes it takes to browse through it.  After lunch we visit Hill 60 where the British spent over 18 months building tunnels in which to place 19 huge mines which would then be detonated just before a planned attack.  The mines were indeed exploded and Hill 60 taken in the Battle of Messines.  We climb up the hill and see that the craters from the explosion are still there as well as German bunkers and other artifacts from 80 years ago.  By this time we are getting confused as to what happened when and so we buy a small study guide to try to fix the chronology in our minds.  It's titled simply YPRES 1914-1918 and was written and self published by a British history teacher, Leslie Coate.  This helps considerably.  I find that Michael Duffy's First World War.com website is also a good source for understanding the chronology of WW I.

We visit an American Memorial near Mt. Kemmel.  Evidently a few American National Guard units were assigned to the Ypres Salient, poor bastards.  Calling Mt. Kemmel a mountain is a definite overstatement but in this area it is the only rise that is over 100 meters above sea level hence the title: mountain.

Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres

In the mid-afternoon we go to Ypres to see the Menin Gate Memorial with its 58,000 names of soldiers whose bodies were never found.  It is also the site, every night, of a ceremony in which at 8:00 P.M. traffic is stopped and buglers from the Ypres Fire Brigade play the Last Post.   While we will not see the "Last Post" ceremony, the Memorial is overwhelming in its size and the events it memorializes.  I have a difficult time sorting out my emotions about a war that happened 80 years ago but was so brutal and useless.  The British man on our tour, points out that WW I and WW II were the European equivalent of the U.S. Civil War with a 20 year cease fire and an outside intervention from the U.S. to end it.  I think that observation makes a lot of sense and helps me see the conflict with a different perspective.

We also explore the town itself and I am really impressed with the care and detail that was brought to rebuilding Ypres after 1918.  We visit a recently uncovered trench just outside Ypres.  The trench and a number of corpses were discovered by an amateur group of archeologists who call themselves "The Diggers." They have done an excellent job of re-building the trench so we can experience a little of what it was like for the Allied soldiers.  

Our last stop is The Essex Farm Cemetery where Lt. Col. John McCrae, a Canadian Doctor worked at a medical dressing station during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915.   He is best remembered for his poem, "In Flanders Fields," written during the lulls between batches of arriving casualties.  The dugouts he worked in are still preserved.  There are paper and plastic poppies everywhere we visit as they have become the symbol of remembrance of those who died so needlessly in the so-called "Great War."  It's time to head back to Bruges before I become terminally depressed.

I have an interesting conversation with Sharon on the drive back to Bruges.  It looks like she's going to become a partner in Quasimodo.  I suspect she has more than earned it. 

After a short nap, Pam and I head for dinner at the Breydel de Connick Restaurant on Beder Strasse.  This is one of the better known restaurants in Bruges and it deserves every bit of its reputation.  I order the steamed mussels in white wine, cream and onions.  Magnifique!  Pam has the fish soup which is exceptional.  We grab a table at one of the sidewalk cafés on Belfort Square for coffee and a Belgian waffle.  We can't leave Belgium without having had a waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. Dessert is terrific.  Fully sated, we return to our hotel for a great night's sleep, only slightly disturbed by the rumble of our bellies digesting the great food we have eaten.