In Bruges

We woke up to a sky of deepest blue, its colour appearing even more vivid against the amber and gold Autumn foliage. The weather forecast couldn’t have been better, speaking of highs of 18°C and promising a day which, if one disregards the fact that signs of advanced Autumn were all around us, could almost have been considered summery. After weeks of grey and rainy days, we couldn’t have planned our holiday at a better time if we’d tried. The world – or at least Bruges – was our oyster that day and Veronique’s breakfast was awaiting us. 

So, what could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a lot, it seems as, after a fitful night’s sleep, Jos had woken up feeling tired and queasy.

We were the only guests for the first two nights, so breakfast was set out exclusively for us. Apart from a selection of cereals, homemade granola, fruit and yoghurt, homemade bread, rolls and croissants, Veronique had produced a fingerlickingly good chocolate cake. Set out on our table was a selection of charcuterie, cheeses and smoked salmon, all of which were making my mouth water. Not Jos’s though, although he did do his best to at least eat something in spite of his appetite having gone AWOL.

After breakfast, we took our time getting ready for the 20-minute or so drive into Bruges, parking at the inner-city car park at the ‘t Zand square. There’s a cheaper alternative at the railway station from where there’s free public transport to the city centre. However, we are prepared to pay somewhat over the odds for the luxury of being within a short walk of the majority of Bruges’ tourist attractions.

We hadn’t made any definite plans on what to do apart from earmarking a couple of museums in case it should rain. As the weather gods clearly didn’t have any intention in that direction, we were just going to wander and see where our feet would take us. 

There’s no avoiding the hordes of tourists who flock to Bruges any given day of the week or time of year, but we still wanted to give a wide birth to the main shopping thoroughfares leading to the tourist honey pots around the Market Square. Instead, we walked along some quiet back streets into the general direction of the Beguinage.

Still not feeling up to much, Jos was lagging behind while I tried to keep my own spirits up by taking photographs of anything which grabbed my attention, starting with an armada of paper boats floating upon the water of 't Putje, a tiny square in the shadow of the Concert Hall.

Our feet ultimately took us to the Minnewater (a.k.a. the Lake of Love), where we found Jos a sun-trap of a bench on which to sit and watch the world go by. 

People once believed that water nymphs (minnen in old Flemish) lived here, and thus the lake acquired its name. Add to that a tragic love story, mysterious trees and an abundance of greenery and you get a place steeped in romance. 

The tragic legend recounts the tale of Minna, a young woman who was in love with a warrior of a neighbouring tribe. Minna ran away from her father to avoid being forced to marry someone else. She ran into the forest and found her lover, only to die in his arms of exhaustion from her journey.

The Minnewater is also home to the famous Bruges swans. 

After the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482, Bruges went through some troubled times. The townspeople, enraged by the new taxes imposed by Mary's successor, Emperor Maximilian of Austria, rose in revolt against their new ruler. As Maximilian was locked up in House Craenenburg on the Market Square, he helplessly witnessed the torture and eventual beheading of his bailiff, Pieter Lanchals, whose surname translates as long neck. Legend has it that the Emperor eventually escaped and later took his revenge on the local people by forcing them to keep long necks, or swans, on the canals for eternity. 

In reality, however, swans have been swimming on the canals since the beginning of the 15th Century, when they were seen as a status symbol of the city’s power and wealth.

The picturesque building which meets its reflection in the lake (above, bottom left) is the Sashuis (or Lock-Keeper's House)  used to regulate the city's water supply The current Sashuis was built in the 16th Century to replace a 13th Century lock complex. It has been out of use since the 1970s but the three sluice gates are still clearly visible. 

Leaving Jos topping up his Vitamin D levels on that lakeside bench, I decided to walk into the direction of the bridge the eagle-eyed of you might be able to spot between the trees on the bottom right in the above collage, and which lies at the opposite end of the Minnewater.

There were picture postcard views everywhere I looked, and I couldn't resist taking snapshots of the reflections in the mirror-like surface of the lake. Quite a few trees seemed to be reluctant to let go of their leaves and, if one half-closed one's eyes, one could even imagine it being at the tail-end of Summer rather than the year's penultimate month. But then the quality of light - so typical of a sunny Autumn day - and the seasonal show of reds, yellows and golds were giving the game away. 

The picturesque building on the east bank of the lake is Minnewater Castle, previously known as Castle de la Faille and built in neo-Gothic style in 1893. Opened in 2015 as a brasserie with a lake-side terrace, we had the pleasure of enjoying cups of cappuccino here on a bitterly cold day back in March 2022. 

Upon reaching the bridge which marks the end of the lake, one comes face to face with the imposing Poertoren (Gunpowder Tower). The defensive tower, which was built in 1397 and stands 18 metres tall, was originally part of one of the city gates and was later converted into a gunpowder store. 

The bridge leads into the leafy Minnewater Park, where I took one of the winding paths to take me back to the start. I stopped to take a photo or two whenever a view of the lake opened up, and ultimately passed the rather forlorn looking Minnewater Castle (above, top right). The latter didn't seem to be open so that we would have to look elsewhere when in need of sustenance.

After touching base with Jos on his bench and making sure he was ok, I decided to join the hordes of tourists who were taking a guided tour of the Beguinage. As they all seemed to walking into the direction of the main gate, I took the one opposite the Lock-Keeper's House, and walked along a dead-end street with a couple of houses called de steert (transl. the tail).

Years of practice makes it look as if I was on my own here, but trust me, I wasn't. The place was inundated with groups of tourists who were being entertained by knowledgeable guides speaking every language under the sun.

The  'Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaerde' was founded in 1245. This little piece of world heritage was once the home of the beguines, emancipated lay-women who nevertheless led a pious and celibate life. Their life in the beguinage was lived in silence as much as possible. 

Today it is still inhabited by a few nuns and by single women who choose to live a serene lifestyle. 

Leaving de steert, the Beguinage enfolds as a rough circle of delightful whitewashed houses surrounding a central green. In Spring, this is a mass of daffodils, which is quite a magical sight. 

Before leaving the beguinage, I paid a brief visit to its church (top and bottom left and bottom centre).

The 13th-Century St. Elisabeth church was originally Gothic, but almost completely burned down in the 16th Century due to a fallen candle. Some baroque interior elements were added during its reconstruction in the 17th Century.

The shrine to Our Lady of Banneux, virgin of the poor (above, top right), is hidden away in a little chapel in the front garden of one of the beguinage's cottages. 

It was almost 1.30 pm when I finally rejoined Jos, and my stomach was audibly rumbling. Walking away from the Minnewater on the picturesque Wijngaardplein we spotted an empty table on the terrace of a restaurant called La Dentelliere and decided to look no further. 

Jos still wasn't hungry and the pasta dish I'd ordered turned out to be fairly basic, so that it wasn't the most enjoyable experience ever, apart from the fact that we were able to eat outside in bright Autumnal sunshine on the 6th of November!

Wijngaardplein is the place where the horse carriage rides stop for a breather. The horses can be seen enjoying a short break from their work here and being given buckets of feed which the poor creatures need to share with the eternally famished flocks of pigeons. 

The afternoon was well advanced by the time we (or rather, I) finished lunch, so we decided to walk back to 't Zand.  I'd devised a little route which would take us past some Godshuisjes (Alms Houses), but unfortunately these turned out to be closed off as they were in the process of being restored.

Eventually we arrived in the peaceful Arents Courtyard, which is surrounded by the Arentshuis after which it was named and which has temporary exhibitions of fine art, the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady), and the the city palace of the lords of Gruuthuse, now an award-winning museum.

The chap on the top left in the above collage is one of the The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Belgian sculptor Rik Poot (1924-2006).

From here, we wanted to cross into the courtyard in front of the Gruuthuse museum, but once again we found our plans thwarted by the omnipresent roadworks. Sigh! 

I still managed to take a couple of snapshots of the former palace's magnificent façade.

Then we took a deep breath and entered tourist land, crossing the Dijver canal and making our way towards the Market Square and along Bruges' main shopping street until we reached the car park. 

Back at the B&B, we rested our feet until it was time to devour the rest of Veronique's tapas board. I'm sure you'll be glad to know that Jos managed to eat some of it and that in the course of the evening he suddenly declared he was feeling much better!

I'll be back with a more cheerful report of our second day, but in the meantime here's a peek of what I was wearing underneath that checked coat ...

In praise of Autumn leaves

When the temperatures plummeted to just above freezing point last week, the contrast with the glorious weather we were treated to earlier this month couldn't have been greater. 

Indeed, it almost beggars belief that at some point the mercury effortlessly climbed to 18°C. It seemed that the weather gods, who are usually up to no good when we've got plans, had taken pity on us for once! 

Still, we kept a close watch on the weather forecast, as the weekend before our little trip to Bruges was a bit of a wet one.

Take Saturday the 1st of November for starters! Even if the the day's highs of 14°C weren't too bad for the time of year, it was gloomy and wet, which is typical for All Saints Day in Belgium.

I had a lazy morning, getting dressed late-ish. In fact, I'd just finished putting the finishing touches to my outfit when our neighbours Wes and Michèle came around for final cat-sitting instructions.

With everything closed due to the public holiday, a rummage at the charity shops was out of the question, so I spent my time being a domestic goddess  dusting and vacuuming, after which I lounged on the sofa with my current read.

I was mindlessly flicking through the mind-numbing programmes on offer on the telly that evening - we are old-fashioned and don't do streaming - when I happened upon the first episode of The One That Got Away on one of our national channels. The six-part series, which is an English-language adaptation of the Welsh-language drama Cleddau, features Richard Harrington, who played the starring role in Hinterland, as DS Rick Sheldon. Having holidayed in Pembrokeshire for many years and been to Cleddau woods, I was instantly hooked.

Although Sunday had a sunny start, an encroaching army of clouds pregnant with rain put a stop to     all that from early afternoon onwards.

More household chores were ticked off the never-ending list, but my diary insists that I went on a jolly to blogland as well. 

I was working only one and a half days that week, taking Tuesday afternoon off for packing, tying up some loose ends and publishing a blog post. In the meantime, the rainclouds had departed elsewhere to make way for plenty of sunny spells and temperatures of up to 16°C.

The mercury had climbed to summery highs of 18°C on Wednesday. Our car's thermometer even briefly registered 20°C while we were driving towards our destination. 

The beauty of spending a short break close to home - our B&B in Beernem being just 100 kilometers or a one-hour drive from Dove Cottage - is that one has all the time in the world to get there. And so it was that we set off after lunch to arrive at B&B Het Soetewater shortly after 2 pm. 

This was our ninth visit to this wonderful B&B, our last one dating from April 2024 as we had to cancel our last two bookings due to Jos's health problems. Nevertheless, it felt as if we'd only been there yesterday. We were welcomed with open arms - and coffee! - by our host, Veronique and, after catching up on the latest family and other news, we made our way towards our room in the annex.

We've been staying in this luxury room, equipped with a king-size bed and a bathroom at least twice the size of Dove Cottage's, complete with huge walk-in shower and whirlpool bath, since our visit in August  2021, and haven't looked back since. However lovely the other rooms are, we truly enjoy the peace and quiet offered by this room away from the main B&B, our only neighbours being the horses in the stable at the front and a meadow full of sheep at the back.

The rooms are all named after sweets: Nougat, Caramel, Cuberdon - a typical Belgian delicacy - and ... Chocola(te). The last one was ours and as you can see, I'd brought matching literature!

We still had plenty of time left for an outing, particularly one which is only five minutes up the road.

Provincial domain Bulskampveld is part of a large landscape park with a size of 900 hectares of which 230 hectares of forest. It's even got its own numbered walking map! 

We left our car in the main car park, where it soon became evident that we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to go for a walk. There were lots of children too, as it was Wednesday and schools were out for the afternoon. 

We did our best to avoid the hubbub as much as possible by keeping away from the main paths.

The gateway to the domain and nature reserve is the visitor centre located in a neo-Gothic style castle dating from 1887. The castle park is laid out in the inevitable English landscape style, offering glimpses of the castle across the lake.

Due to the lateness of the hour - it was well past 3 pm by now - we were only here for a short stroll and a taste of those Autumnal delights.  There were plenty of opportunities to indulge in my favourite pastime of leaf kicking! 

There are several wooden adventure platforms and play huts to entertain and educate youngsters like ourselves. Apart from anything else, they are perfect for hanging up one's coat when taking outfit photos!

I was wearing my rust coloured vintage St. Michael skirt again, this time combined with a charity shopped blouse by the Belgian Who's That Girl label and one of my King Louie cardigans. The latter, as well as my belt, necklace, ring and brooch - which somewhat disappears into the blouse's pattern here - were charity shop finds too.

Established in 1980 on the site of the castle's former kitchen garden is a herb garden which boasts 400 or so species of medicinal and kitchen herbs. In spite of being well past its sell-by date at this time of year, things were still looking relatively green and lush, although obviously nothing compared to the wild exuberance of the garden basking in the heat of an August afternoon on our visit back in 2021.

See here, here and here.

And then there was a shed full of ghosts, which was very apt indeed just a couple of days after Hallowe'en :-)

By then the sun was playing hide-and-seek with the clouds. At one point it looked as if  rain was imminent but thankfully nothing came of it. It just made the gloaming descend on us a bit earlier than expected. 

As we were walking back to the car park, we were distracted by the sight of a folly in the woods. 

Erected in 1920, this is a Chapel of Thanksgiving to Our Lady in recognition for the protection of the inhabitants of the village in general and the Lippens family - then owners of the castle - in particular during the First World War.

Last time we were here, a tall plaster statue of Mary perched on a pedestal could be glimpsed through its window. The one you can see here isn't the real thing but a picture as the chapel is currently being restored.

Back at the B&B, we made ourselves comfortable and we might even have caught forty winks. That is, until our faintly rumbling stomachs reminded us of the fact that one of Veronique's famous tapas boards was waiting for us in the fridge.

So we left the cozy confines of our room and made our way towards the main B&B. 

That's the kitchen behind the window to the left of the photo on the top left, while straight ahead is the breakfast room.

I just love Veronique's attention to detail! Instead of disposable paper napkins, we got these gorgeous embroidered linen ones.

There was more than enough for our second night as well, we just bought some rolls on our way back from Bruges the next day.

Speaking of Bruges, as I guess some of you might be wondering, it's only a stone's throw and a 20-minute drive on secondary roads from here.

We ended our first day with a long soak in the whirlpool bath, after which we soon drifted off to the Land of Nod.

Do stay tuned for the second installment of my travelogue in which I'm finally taking you to the fairy-tale city of Bruges!

Say sneeze!

I came back from our little sojourn in Bruges bearing the gift of a common cold. We'd barely made it through our front door when I felt a telltale tickle in my throat, soon followed by sneezing, an alternately blocked and leaking nose and an annoying and persistent little cough. It didn't exactly help that that weather had reverted to its default gloom and that - no rest for the wicked - I was expected back at the office on Monday (the 10th of November, that is).

What's more, my cold turned out to be the unwanted gift which keeps on giving, as it's only just on its way out as I type, having rapidly depleted the solar-powered energy I'd built up while we were away. 

So forgive me if I'm little behind with commenting on your posts and if I'm rushing somewhat through my final October catch-up!

Looking into the time machine's rearview mirror, it dawns on me that I hadn't even finished telling you about October's penultimate weekend.

Sunday the 19th of October turned out to be mostly cloudy, with some short-lived but very welcome sunny spells in the afternoon, and highs of round 15°C.

My rust coloured slubbed skirt is vintage St. Michael and part of a suit, its short-sleeved belted jacket remaining largely unworn. I found it at Think Twice back in 2018, and here's a rare sighting of the two pieces together. Its companion that Sunday was a groovily patterned blouse by Belgian label Claude Arielle, charity shopped in December 2023.

Accessories:

Suede mustard yellow belt: CKS outlet shop, October 2022

Mustard yellow beads: charity find a couple of months ago

Spider brooch: indoor flea market, May 2025

As random patches of blue had appeared in the sky, we donned our coats - mine a vintage wool and polyester blend burgundy jacket - and drove down to Middelheim sculpture park for a stroll.

We parked near the so-called Artist's Entrance (above, top left), created by Dutch artist John Körmeling in 2012. Walking across the open terrain towards the main part of the park, I couldn't resist a turn on the swings. I'm sure it won't surprise you that this too is a work of art, called One Two Three Swing!, a creation of the Danish collective SUPERFLEX, founded in Copenhagen in 1993.

 

The wobbly tower of chairs (above, top left) is part of the Prank series by British visual artist Phyllida Barlow (1944-2023). The series was completed just before her death in 2023 and consists of seven sculptures of precariously stacked furniture and studio objects, all having funny white rabbit ears as a recurring motif. 

Pull up a chair to watch Paul Kindersley's The Dreamer of the Forest (2024), in which images from the Middelheim collection come to life (above, bottom left).

We didn't linger, but walked into the direction of the Braem Pavillion (above, top left), the Organic Brutalist marvel designed by architect Renaat Braem (1910-2001) and completed in 1971. 

After having been absent during the park's reshuffle, we were happy to meet up with Yayoi (above, bottom right) by New York based artist Corey McCorkle (°1969) again. The large reflective sphere is based on the stone spheres used as ornaments along paths in 17th Century French gardens. But this behemoth does not blend into its setting. Corey McCorkle likes to present objects in unexpected ways, changing our experience of space.

Cosmic Eye, dating from 1973, was originally designed by Belgian artist Jan Dries (1925-2014) for Antwerp's metro station Groenplaats, where it took pride of place for 35 years. I must walked past it  countless of times over the years.

At Middelheim, it turned out to be the perfect photo frame. I was in awe of the tiny chestnut somebody had balance on one of the inside ridges.

We're skipping Monday to arrive at Tuesday the 21st of October, which brought a mix of clouds and showers. I'd taken the day off to accompany Jos to his hospital check-up which, as I'd already hinted a couple of posts ago, couldn't have gone better. Onwards and upwards from now on!

The off-white and bottle green checked wool-blend skirt, which is by River Woods, was charity shopped in October 2022 and is an absolute joy to wear. I mean, it even has pockets!

Everything else I was wearing - including my burgundy ankle boots and the bottle green mock croc belt - was provided by the gods of the charity shops as well.

Afterwards, we celebrated Jos's clean bill of health with mugs of cappuccino and some very indulgent cakes at the excellent hospital cafeteria.

 For once, I didn't have to remind Jos to look happy when I was taking his photo ...

It was back to the office to catch up on work on Wednesday, but I managed to escape during my lunch break, walking to a Think Twice shop - there are no less than five of them in Antwerp - a bit further away for a browse. 

Tell me, how could I have said no to this pink floral cord maxi skirt?

The weather had turned quite stormy on Thursday, with the temperature steadily going down from 16°C until we were barely into double digits.

By Friday, the mercury had taken up residence around 10°C, which felt even chillier courtesy of a blustery wind. To counterbalance the chill, there were lots of sunny spells to accompany me on my way to my hairdresser's for a cut and colour.

Sad news, though, as Michel told me the salon will close for good at the end of year ... 

My vintage Diolen dress - found at T2 in January 2023 - was dubbed the Tardis dress by Kezzie when we met up in Bruges a couple of weeks later. Nearly three years ago already! Where does the time go?

Incidentally, the orange painted metal flower brooch I pinned to the dress was a gift from Kezzie back then. My necklace came from a Welsh antiques shop and the orange fabric belt belongs to one of my short-sleeved vintage frocks.

More orange featured in the accessories of Saturday's outfit, tying in with the orange flowers in my black floral velvet skirt, which I picked up from Think Twice last year. It was paired with a charity shopped InWear blouse. The suede belt which separates them is the only item which I bought brand new on the high street.

It was a grey day with lots of rain and, again, highs of around 10°C.

The inclement weather kept us inside Dove Cottage, where I continued with my wardrobe changeover and cleaned the bathroom, while Jos made a batch of delicious tomato-paprika soup. Then we changed the light bulbs in the bedroom chandelier, as half of them had given up the ghost. Finally, we made pasta in the oven for dinner, after which I caught up with blogland. That was my day in a nutshell!

As we'd put the clocks back that night, we had an extra hour of lying in on Sunday. The sun was shining brightly as we were having croissants for breakfast, but at just 7°C we needed to dress warmly for our outing to Middelheim for a walk followed by a drink with Inneke and Maurice.

We were too busy chatting so the above is the one and only photo I took.

I'd decided to give my new-to-me pink floral cord maxi skirt its first outing, combining it with a green patterned jumper. The latter, as well as all my accessories were charity shop or flea market finds. 

We're skipping a couple of days again, to Tuesday the 28th of October. The weather was another mix of grey skies, heavy showers and the odd sunny spell, with the mercury only managing to climb to 11°C.

I had errand to run during lunch break and popped into the nearest Think Twice shop to my office on my way back. The shops were having another one of their famous sales, with prices down to € 6 that day. This funky floral velvet top came home with me.

Thursday's lunch break walk took me into the direction of Melting Pot - the vintage-per-kilo shop - where a rummage of the rails yielded this olive green polyester knit vintage dress.

I know it looks more grey than green here, as my camera refused to catch its true colour.

I'm leaving you now with the outfit I wore on Friday the 31st of October.

My navy-based tartan maxi skirt came from an outlet shop for the Belgian Green Ice label near my office, where I bought it in September 2023.

The blouse, which is by yet another Belgian label, Who's That Girl, was a charity shop find earlier this year. The green Dralon cardigan was a € 4 Think Twice sales bargain back in the mist of time.

As for my accessories, they are a mix of high street and second-hand finds.

With October now finally over and done with, I'm champing at the bit to make a start with my Bruges travelogue. 

Hope to see you again soon!