Sights Not Seen

For the last two blogs I have intended to have a moan about a little parade which I would have enjoyed watching but about which I knew nothing. I discovered by chance a couple of days too late; the weekend of Jan 14/15 saw a parade of the best 50 costumes from the Venice Festival walking [on their owners] in technicolour grandeur from the Beguinage/ Minnewater area through the centre of Brugge. Apparently it rained a lot that w
eekend but even so! Were I a Facebook follower I would have known but even that knowledge does not persuade me to follow social media. I am outed as a Grey, Past-the Sell-by Date geriatric observer. Next year, however, I will be there in the watching crowds. Look around to see what I missed.
 

In Flanders Today [an interesting  weekly English language newspaper] I noticed that two excellent beer bars in Brugge[and both beloved here,] ‘t Brugs Beertje and Cafe Rose Red, were in the top ten list of beer bars in Belgium rated on the influential website RateBeer.com. The actual honour of Top Beer Bar went to de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst [Insurance against a Great Thirst] which is situated in Eizeringen, a district of Lennik in Flemish Brabant. In de Verzekering is only open from 10.00 to 13.30 on Sundays but still draws patrons from across the country as well as dozens of tourists every week to enjoy its special atmosphere and decor, mostly unchanged for 175 years. [It does have a notable Art Deco bar] It’s offering a bonus right now, however:  in honour of its 175th anniversary, it will be open until 20.00 on Sundays until 26 March. Concession indeed! Besides Sundays, the Grote Dorst is open on feast days and, splendidly, whenever there is a funeral at St Ursula's in the village. Another feather in the cap of Belgian eccentricity!

 Slaking the Grote Dorst
or perhaps, a post-funeral wake



A promising leaflet through the letter box announced Winter Vonken on 10-11 Februari in the Burg. From 19.00 Gratis. Another of these frequent, totally free street theatres, events, processions, displays which always amaze me, both in their scope and finery, and their free access. It reminds one that Brugge is a rich little city [more a town in feeling] and an imaginative one at that. Tourism is all here, but the free attractions benefit, above all, the residents most of whom seem to take these delightful interludes in the quotidian life, totally for granted! Or even with indifference. 'Oh I didn't bother to go' is often the response to my excited appreciation!
 

In spite of my present bronchial seclusion in my apartment, I determined to visit the bar and terrace under the trees at the edge of the Burg proper on Friday evening. Vonken means 'to shoot sparkles' I think, rather reminiscent of fireworks on November 5th in Britain. It was advertised to open   illuminated by blazing fires and light sculptures followed by a surrealistic aerial performance. I went for a wander, as it started to snow, and just loved the warmth, the crowd, the chiaroscuro of the scene. There were half a dozen giant shallow cauldrons stacked high with flaming logs and surrounded by smiling families; an amazing array of enormous iron candle-holders and ironwork sculptures lit by electric light or candlelight plus huge 'flowers' serving as candle-holders. It was quite magical. I could not stay for the aerial performance but there was a large plastic construction on the Burg itself, where the giant Christmas tree had recently stood, labelled Franse I couldn't decide if this was the launching pad for the aerial display or a stage for the later band. Anyway, it promised a splendid warm outdoor event definitely up to the usual high standards here!

 Think this beautifully captures the
Hard Rock spirit 

Post Script

I understand [dimly] from the Brugse Tam Tam, a free regional newspaper, that the Beuk, a hard rock band from Brugge won the bronze award in the TBFM Music Industry Awards 2017, entitled Best International Band. The Gold was won by a Scandinavian group and the Silver by a German. I am not into hard rock at all but must publicise this local talent. I am almost as proud of them, the band members, as I am of my tiny ability to forage some meaning from the almost impenetrable Dutch of the newspaper!