Bruges

In Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolò series, the author of the Lymond Chronicles introduced a new hero, Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, a dyer's apprentice who seems clueless at first but, over several books, connives his way to lead a mercantile empire. Dunnett is my mother’s favorite author so this was part of the impetus for our cruise, which included an excursion to Bruges (about the size of Maryland), in northwest Belgium.

In addition, Bruges has retained a lot of its medieval architecture (our guide told us that the Nazis liked the city so did not bomb it) and cobblestone streets so except for the crowds of tourists, this historic district is very picturesque and feels somewhat like going back in time.

The Belfry in the Market Square

Bruges’ location on the river Reie fueled its growth as a major trading port in the Middle Ages, particularly known for its wool trade, which attracted merchants from across Europe.  Bruges remained a Catholic city and belonged successively to the Spanish, Austrian, French and Dutch empires. In the 15th century, it was also an artistic hub, developing its own school of Flemish Primitive painting and continuing through the Renaissance and Baroque periods. We visited the Groeninge Museum, which features 600 years of Flemish and Belgian art, beginning with Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling. The museum was a manageable size and full of beautiful works, including illuminated manuscripts, but later I thought we spent too much time there and should have seen more of Bruges. One practical feature I had not seen before was collapsible chairs a visitor could pick up near the entrance and could be used to sit in front of a particular work of art or simply rest on if the room did not have seating.

Tomb of Mary of Burgundy

The Church of Our Lady dominates the Bruges skyline with its gothic spires and the second-highest brick tower in the world at nearly 400 feet in height. Constructed over the course of 200 years beginning in the 13th century, the interior seems more like a museum than a church despite a beautiful altar area. We had come not just to see the church but to see Michelangelo's delicate Madonna and Child sculpture and finally realized it was (not unreasonably) behind a paywall. I was amused that the Rough Guide to Bruges and Ghent which I had picked up years ago said the fee was 3 euros – inflation had increased the cost to 8 euros each but we enjoyed exploring the rest of the church, which also included ornate royal tombs from the 15th century of Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy.

Michelangelo

Our guide told us that Michelangelo's sculpture (in addition to being a masterpiece) was purchased by a wealthy wool trader in Bruges who commissioned it as an altar piece in the early 16th century for a mere 100 ducats and it was the first sculpture to leave Italy during his lifetime. It differs from many artistic works of Mary with an infant because Jesus is older, standing upright, barely restrained by Mary's hand. The piece has left Bruges twice: first taken by French revolutionaries, returning only after the fall of Napoleon; and later during World War II when it was stolen by the German and later returned by group of Allied soldiers. This is apparently depicted in the movie, The Monuments Men.

The Markt Square is in the center of Bruges and is home to the Belfry (this was our meeting place), guild houses, city hall, cafes, and souvenir shops. It was beautiful and historic but also way too full of tourists – you never think of yourself as being a tourist, just other people who spoil your pictures by walking thoughtlessly in your line of vision. We had heard a lot about Belgian frites so rather than finding a place for a sit down lunch I overcame my dislike of street food and got us two orders of French fries (without the mayonnaise topping that is traditional here). They were fine but not exceptional: I would give them a solid B but I have certainly had better! We also had ice cream, which tasted good on a hot day. I had imagined I would buy a tapestry in Bruges and the store certainly had some pretty ones but nothing compelling. We were very tired but it was fun to sit in the Square and admire the buildings and passers-by. The distance from the Markt Square and the Bargeplein where our bus was waiting was about a mile so we snagged a taxi. I felt a bit like Rosie Ruiz and insisted we get on the bus before our fellow travelers returned.

The Dorothy Dunnett Guide to Bruges contains descriptions of all the locations, real or imagined, from the novels, each with appropriate quotations.  I really meant to read the first book on the plane!  Dunnett fans, have you been to Bruges?

It would have been fun to spend the night in Bruges and see how it feels when the day trippers leave but the first day of the cruise was a success.  Back on the ship, at dinner, we were seated by university.  There were two other people from UMass Boston, where my mother earned a graduate history degree and it turned out they live a mile from me and know several of my friends.  Moreover, they are about to move into a complex with my mother's friend Tamara.  So that was very amusing and they were very congenial companions during the rest of the trip.   There was one person from URI where my mother and Priscilla had also earned degrees.  We had breakfast with her and her husband, who live on the Upper West Side, the next day.