Happy to be Traveling

Central Bruges is another medieval movie set surrounding a large square in the shadow of a famous thirteenth century belfry tower. I half expected to discover a dead body at the foot of the tower below the balcony.  If you’ve seen Martin McDonagh’s hilarious film “In Bruges” you’ll know what I’m talking about. And for all…

If you read my post about our crazy train experience the day we took a little excursion to Mechelen, well,  I’m here to tell you that we’ve had some much smoother journeys since then. From Brussels to Ghent a few days ago and yesterday to and from Bruges, smooth as silk. Was that Smurf in the…

I mentioned in a post a couple days ago that we’d stopped in at the Museum of Fine Arts (. ) in Ghent. I am not one who seeks out old masters. Sure, I can admire the technical prowess and the part played in the evolution of painting – use of perspective and sometimes painstaking…

We spent the day in Bruges. A 30 minute train ride from Ghent. Of course, the tram from our apartment to the train station took another 30 minutes. If you are into medieval towns or if you saw the movie “In Bruges” and now think Bruges is a romantic and exciting place to be, join…

Returning to Europe I realize how much I miss the mansard roof. So much like a building with a hat pulled over its ears. They make me think of student lofts where impecunious poets are seized by nocturnal inspiration. Then there are the sixteenth century stepped gable roofs. The ultimate roof as a facade, stepped…

A lot of our trips involve a necessary pilgrimage on my part. In Japan, the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima; in Belgium, Jan van Eyck’s altarpiece in Ghent at St. Bavo’s Cathedral. Prior to coming to Belgium I considered Van der Weyden’s “The Lamentation” at the Prado in Madrid to be the altarpiece to end all…

First thing this morning (10am ), Grubb had tickets for us to visit the famous Ghent altar piece, a triptych called The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyke at St. Bavo’s cathedral. Grubb will wax eloquent but I wanted to praise the technology.  Before being allowed to view the painting, we…

I had waterzooi with chicken along with a Gin fizz.  Grubb had some sort of pork tenderloin with potato croquettes.  “Waterzooi” comes from Dutch “water to boil” or “watery mess” Waterzooi is a stew-soup chock full of vegetables. Traditionally potatoes, carrots, leeks and celery. The broth is enriched with a little cream and egg yolks….

Traveling to Ghent by train the pastoral landscape looked like something Bruegel would have painted six hundred years ago. Sheep grazed on grassy meadows with church spires poking above the tree line in the background. The only touch lacking that Bruegel might have brought to the scene were peasants toiling with farm tools on their…

Shadow of the day

Here are some more photos from our first day wandering in Ghent.

The gods of trains smiled. Or maybe the smurfs took the day off. One train, one platform, on time. Ghent is just under 30 min by train from Brussels (about 30 miles) so it didn’t take long. Soon enough, Vera and Phillipe were checking us in. Our apartment occupies the attic floor of their home…

Done with exploring the street art of Brussels, we went towards La Senne, the river near the Halle Gate (Porte de Hal). The Halle Gate is the former medieval city gate with the gigantic portcullis built in the 14th century. The exterior was being worked on but the interior was accessible. As gates go I’d…

In our street art ramble today we almost missed the Fleur de Papier Doré bar where Magritte and his surrealist friends used to hang out. I wouldn’t have noticed the bland facade with the tiny Fleur de Papier Doré sign hanging out front except that there was a large photograph in the window display next…

After inspecting the Horta House yesterday we took a bus to the WIELS Contemporary Art Center. On the second floor there was an exhibition of Lutz Bacher’s work. It was called “Burning the Days” which referred to her running around with a camera capturing the 60s and 70s. Black and white stills of a friend…