A forewarned, photo-heavy trip to the medieval city of Brugge.
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I first visited Brugge in 1992. It was our last stop before returning to Paris to fly home after a two week rail trip through the highlights of France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia (as it was known), the Netherlands and Belgium. After such an exhausting itinerary, you would have thought the charm of seeing old shit would have worn thin. It hadn't.
We had seen some amazingly evocative scenes of Europe, taking us back through centuries of history. Mostly though, we walked the cobbled streets that themselves had been re-cobbled from the ashes of war, neglect and shoddy Disneyesque reconstruction. Even though it was overrun by tourists such as ourselves the three days we were there, the honesty of history and tradition remained and it was a highlight.
The fact that Brugge is as so faithfully intact today has everything to do with where it was situated, the forces of nature, and the devastating economic decline during the early 16th century. During the 12-15th centuries, Brugge was at the heart of a European continent reeling from the isolation of the Dark Ages. It became an important port, a center for the transfer of goods which helped stimulate all of Europe to a new age.
But then mother nature stepped in, silted up its lifeline to the sea and the city sat for centuries struggling to survive its backwater fate. During the boom of the tourist industry when it was rediscovered, Brugge dusted it off and was set on the mantle of the Grand Tour. It had the chops to see to its own resurrection. This little Belgian Brigadoon has been charming its visitors ever since.
Aside from the jaw-dropping, lovingly preserved architecture, other traditions survive. Take the beer. Trappist monks have been making beer in this backwater for centuries and it is exceptional. Beer is taken ultra-seriously here. If beer is your thing, visit just for that. Like the wine country of France, you will not lack for choice.
And then there is the food. I was a smitten kitten over the muscles cooked in wine and butter, served in a kettle. A North Sea comfort food that can wake me in the middle of the night with a craving.
And the chocolate! What the Belgians do with chocolate is nothing short of sinful. What the chocolotiers do with chocolate approaches pornography.
Now on to Tops!
TOP COMMENTS
November 9, 2014
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From BlueEyed in NC:
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From Tara the Antisocial Social Worker:
The only thing more fun than one of Ellid's "Books So Bad They're Good" diaries is when she does one on Cover Art So Bad It's Good:
Ender contributed this gem.
Then, I nearly hurt myself laughing at quarkstomper's description.
And Ellid sent me over the edge with this reply.
From JG in MD:
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And here is a comment 'flag!'
Flagged by Ga6thDem, this comment by WineRev demonstrates that Howard Dean still has many fans in the Democratic Party! (Formatter's note (BeninSC): I am one, too!)
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