Spring in Belgium

Het Steen

“Traveling through Belgium is like reading a history book of Europe, …… the belfries recalling her struggles; the churches, the spirit of her faith; the castles, the sentinels of her splendor.” – Dore Ogrizek

In April, I set out to see the tulips at the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. I decided to combine this venture with a short river cruise to get my feet wet with river cruising.

Antwerp and Ghent were ports of call on this cruise, and I incorporated Bruges as a day trip from Amsterdam post cruise. While I missed visiting Brussels, I enjoyed the dive into the history and culture of Belgium or Flanders as it is also known as.

Due to its strategic location, Belgium is sometimes referred to as the “crossroads of Europe” while it may also be known as the battlefield of Europe thanks to the many armies that have fought on its soil.

While I know that our part of the world is now experiencing Fall and some time has passed since this visit, I see many people on some of the travel sites that i visit asking about the Tulips and Tulip time cruise so I thought it would still be relevant to share this post with you.

Antwerp is an interesting contrast of old and new and of course as we all know famous for its diamonds.

No diamonds for me alas and other than some lace and embroidered sachets for lingerie drawers and chocolates, I appreciated and enjoyed the quirky and fun shops that brought a smile to my face.

The Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp is like an art gallery with various famous works of art to be found notable amongst which are four paintings by Peter Paul Rubens.

There is so much to see and admire and appreciate in this church which is like a museum and art gallery rolled into one but one of the things that attracted me for the beauty of the wood and carving and the subject matter is this pulpit which features carvings of women representing the lady Mary from the four corners of the world.

Hidden between two busy Antwerp streets and close to the Cathedral, this is a small easily overlooked street that harks back to the 15 and 16th century.

Originally one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city its quiet courtyards now boast of expensive antique stores and even a restaurant. Imagine that the poorest of the poor got to enjoy the beautiful sound of the church Carillion which can be clearly heard here versus some of the richer neighborhoods.

For our next port of call we docked in Ghent but had a choice of spending the day in Ghent or visiting Bruges. I decided on the included visit to Ghent and booked the day trip to Bruges from Amsterdam post cruise.

It was a beautiful sunny cool day, and I had an absolute ball exploring the beautiful city of Ghent and most particularly got to visit the Altarpiece, the Adoration of the Lamb that can be seen for the price of an entrance fee and a prebooked ticket at St. Bavo’s cathedral.

Ghent is an imminently walkable and a cyclable city.

Graffiti Alley which apparently is whitewashed every two years if I remember correctly giving artists a new canvas. Interestingly quirky and different.

So, what do you ask is impressive or important or historical about this building? Why nothing I answer. This building has a name painted on it in Hindi Devanagari script. Translated into English it means coming and going. I would love to know the story of who lives there and why they named it such but alas that remains a mystery.

Gravensteen once the castle of the counts of Flanders but later repurposed as a prison, a mint and even a cotton factory. Still looks impressive both from land and water.

After a relaxed lunch while I waited for my timed entry to visit the altar piece, I decided to take a canal boat tour to see Ghent from the water. These Flemish cities gained their importance thanks to their proximity to the North Sea and the canals that brought goods up to the city center.

Under St. Bavo’s cathedral included in my ticket was a visit to the crypt. I ditched the VR glasses that I found uncomfortable and just walked through the entire crypt appreciating the beauty with my own eyes.

I had recently read a fictional story that centered around the controversy whether Mary upon the completion of her life on earth ascended to heaven or died as a human and was interred in a grave.

Clearly Peter Paul Rubens aspired to the popular church theory and painted Mary’s ascension of heaven, a painting that can be found in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp.

Minnewater Lake called the lake of love thanks to a tragic romance that ended here as well as a fabled home to water nymphs is consider a romantic hotspot and an Instagram able location.

Unfortunately, our guide on this trip was not great and soon lost her group along the way.

Béguinage with its white facades and quiet gardens dreaming in the sunshine was on the home of the order of the beguines, emancipated lay women who led a pious and celibate life. Today its home to nuns of the order of St. Benedicts and single women from Bruges.

Considered the Venice of the North Bruges is laced with a network of canals that wind their way throughout the city.

The main Square or the Markt is considered the beating heart of the city of Bruges.

Any tale of Belgium would be incomplete without chocolates to add sugar and spice to the tale. Some of the chocolates that are suggestively designed to look like parts of the human anatomy might bring a blush to some people’s faces but in reality, buyers are pretty blase while shopping for so many pieces of P’s and so many pieces of B’s. Bachelorette parties in this part of the world must be fun.

So, when we entered the town of Bruges, we crossed this bridge which became my landmark. I am glad that I dropped a pin to the location where the group was to meet in the evening because I definitely missed a turn somewhere and ended up far from the bridge which ultimately became my beacon from afar along with my Google maps.

So there ends my tale of Belgium. Brussels, I leave you for a future visit. I now have a patchwork of places all across Europe that I will have to hop, skip, and jump to visit someday.

Let’s pray for peace in this increasingly dangerous world so that we can continue to appreciate the new and the different.