Written by Kim
We took the train from Antwerp to Brugges. What we thought would be a simple 90 train ride turned into quite a challenge. When we got to Antwerp Central station while waiting for our train we were told the train was not coming to central station today so we had to go to Platform 12. Antwerp central station us huge – 3 levels of tracks so we were off to find the track. Unfortunately there was a group of older women with suitcases in front of us that were slower than me especially carrying their bags down the escalator which wasn’t working. As we got to the platform they were closing the door and the train was gone. Back up the escalator to find help where we learned there was another train to Berchem so we caught that one. We got off in Berchem and on another train we thought was headed to Brugges; however, after we boarded the train we learned they changed trains on that track so the train we were on was headed to Beerse (where the J&J site is but not near Brugges) so…..we got off at the next stop Antwerp-Zuid. At this point we had been to 3 stations and were still in Antwerp. Ugh. Shortly later a train came and we were finally en route to Brugges but due to the delays we missed our scheduled tour. While on the train we realized that there was Voice Map tour so we downloaded that while we had a bite to eat.
Brugges is a beautiful little city in the Northwest of Belgium not far from the North Sea. At one point it was a major economic center due to the port of Zeebrugge. It is one of the most preserved medieval towns in Europe.
Our Voice Map tour told us a bunch of crazy stories. A tale about the reason for the swans – Once upon a time, back in the 15th century, the city of Bruges was prosperous and flourishing and it was known far beyond the borders as a lovely place to live. In the year 1482, Bruges fell under the rule of Maximilian From Austria, who had heard about the fame of Bruges and wasn’t very fond of the rampant mentality of its inhabitants. He imposed a law that prohibited all festivities, including the annual fair and other important festivals to the people of Bruges. Known for their fierceness, the citizens revolted and they started riots all over town, burning houses and killing envoys and sympathisans of emperor Maximilian. Finally they captured Maximilian in 1488 and locked him away in the house ‘Craenenburg’. Because the emperor still wouldn’t give in to the demand of the the citizens to annul the law, they captured Maximilians’ head squire and best friend Langhals (‘long neck’) and beheaded him with a guillotine in Maximilians sight, right beneath the house where he was held captive. The emperor was so upset he finally gave in. But he didn’t give up without a fight…Maximilian decided to impose an eternal punishment on the city of Bruges. As a tribute to his friend, Langhals, he made the people of Bruges promise that they would take care of 101 white swans for eternity. If they failed to do so, Bruges would fall in decay.
In medieval times, people would toss their potty pots out the window into the street. Everyone knew to step to the middle of the street when they heard a window open but at night the drunks would look up – that’s how the phrase “shitfaced” was coined.
The De Halve Maan (Half Moon) Brewery has been there for more than 500 years. In 2016 De Halve Maan completed a 3,276-metre long (2 mi) beer pipeline from its brewery to its bottling plant to avoid having to send trucks through the narrow, cobbled streets of Bruges
In the city there are approximately 60 small apartment complexes built behind other building for retirees with limited income. They are very cute and quiet. You’d never know they were there because you need to go down an alley to find them and they all have a pretty little garden in the center for the retirees to enjoy away from the hustle and bustle of the city but close enough to be able to walk to stores for groceries, etc, What a fantastic idea
The doors were very short because people weren’t tall. It is said that swans facing each other represented love but those facing away from each other meant you needed to “pay for love” or it was the red light district.
Begijnhof is a 13th-century convent situated just west of the canal at the northern end of Minnewater. This peaceful compound was constructed and used for centuries as for women associated with the church to live. These days, it is still a place of residence by the sisters of the Order fo Saint Benedict and single Bruges Women to this day.
Presumably in the 13th century a rich family from Bruges received the monopoly to levy taxes on gruit, which was herbs used to flavor beer, and built a structure to store it. The building was changed in the early fifteenth century by Jan IV van der Ag to a luxury house for his family, which subsequently changed its name to “Van Gruuthuse” (“From the Gruit house”). His son Louis de Gruuthuse added a second wing to the house and in 1472 a chapel.
We had lunch in a cute cafe by the cathedral and saw the government building from the 16th century
