Blackbird, beer and Elgar too.

Bourgogne brewery bar at the end of the tour

Riviera weather this last week or so and the luxury of the terrace door always wide open to the inviting, plant-filled space beyond. I had forgotten a little treat which I enjoyed last summer, though this year, it is in more profusion. A single blackbird has taken to frequent song-filled visits to my terrace wall and oh, the pleasure! There is a sweetness and ripeness to the melody which surely the nightingale does not possess; I can hear him, when he calls, in the kitchen, rich, mellow notes tumbling out, indeed, rolling out so loudly, so profusely, so fluidly, from the small yellow beak. Twice today I heard the song but the stone parapet was empty; eventually I spotted him, far higher than my terrace, singing without restraint, with a full-throated joy, on the top of the Flemish gable on the Zwartezusters’ hospital nearby. Can elderly delight be further embellished? I think not! One week after I began to write the paragraph above, I can report that the sweet-sounding songster has definitely given up my terrace and much prefers the aerial view from one or other of the top shelves on the Flemish gable of the hospital next-door. Happily enough, the notes cascade still into my flat and so I continue to receive the gift as if intended for me alone!!

An old British friend from America, here for several too-short days, is interested in beer and breweries so we visited the Bourgogne de Flandres brewery which has a gorgeous terrace overlooking the Dijver. It re-appeared about two years ago though it is an old Bruggean brewery which left despite its long association with the town. Bourgogne de Flandres has existed since 1911 when it was brewed by the Van Houtryve Family. In 1957, production was taken over by the Verhaeghe Brewery which would later on, produce the Duchesse de Bourgogne. Since the early 1990's, Bourgogne de Flandres has been brewed by Timmerman’s Brewery and the re-introduction of the Bourgogne des Flandres brewery to Brugge seems to have been a special project for John Martin, CEO of the eponymous brewery group.

View of the canal and the Dijver from the Bourgogne terrace

Our visit to the brewery was most interesting but also amazing in the simplicity of the effort for visitors. There were numerous electronic points at which to connect to hear a commentary appropriate to the stage in the beer-making process being observed; the total feel was not of an industrial process at all, but of a clean, almost silent commercial operation. It was really impressive and enjoyable and perhaps the best part was the finale; to sit on the canal-side terrace to sip the beer and watch the hordes of tourists in boats, carriages and on foot, streaming past. Embarrassingly, I already knew that I didn’t like the sweetness of the Bourgogne, a free drink of which was on offer at the end of the tour, so I opted for a Timmerman’s which sadly, was not free but was, nonetheless, delicious!

On Sunday afternoon, culture of a different stripe! To the Concertgebouw to listen to the Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Nicolas Altstaedt, a well-known German cellist. The first half was wonderful; Altstaedt playing Wagner's Tannhauser Overture and Elgar's Cello Concerto. The second half was also blissful; the Enigma Variations. In fact, after numerous encores, the conductor, Martyn Brabbins, orchestrated some synchronised clapping from the audience which was great fun, putting smiles on faces and causing strangers in the audience to chat as they left the auditorium.

Nicolas Altstaedt

Bourgogne Footnote.


Bourgogne de Flandres is a special type of brown beer formed by mixed fermentation combining a selection of mixed lambic [spontaneous fermentation] and a brown beer of high fermentation aged in oak barrels.


Apologies for the eccentric spacing in the last two paragraphs. Cause, unknown; solution, unknown.