Donkey business

This week I was walking around Bruges and got started talking to people from Canada. They were amazed by the beauty of Bruges, its narrow streets and many legends.

They read the legend on the swans, and found it really funny how animals can have such an impact on the told stories. Coincidental we stood at the “Blinde Ezelstraat” (Blind Donkey Alley) and I told them this little, but very beautiful street also had an ‘animal-legend’.

View towards the Burg square

When the people from Ghent took the city of Bruges in 1382 they started robbing the city. The symbol of power and wealth of any city was its Belfry. At the top of the belfry of Bruges there was a dragon. The robbers knew they couldn’t take down the Belfry, but decided to take the dragon as their price!
After the long way up and hazardous trip down they loaded the dragon on a cart. When they came at the edge of the city, at the gate which was at the side of the Burg square, the donkey that pulled the cart refused to move one more inch! What the robbers didn’t know was that the donkey was born and raised in Bruges! So knowing they wanted to take the dragon out of the city, the donkey refused to move any further.
Sometimes you’ll be told the robbers blindfolded the donkey, sometimes it’s said the robbers stabbed it in the eyes so it couldn’t see any more. The poor animal didn’t know what was happening and the robbers still got their price.
But, in honor for his effort in trying to keep the dragon in the city, the street where he came to a stop is named “Blind Donkey Alley”.

Blind Donkey Alley seen from the Burg Square

 More realistic, in 1490 there was an inn named “Den Blinden Ezele” (The blind donkey). The ‘Blind donkey’ referred to the fact the brewers blindfolded the donkey in the treadmill of the malt house. So the animals wouldn’t get depressed for doing the same circle over and over again, or not to get dizzy from walking in circles all the time. Again, here you can find both explanations in several books or on sites.

This is in the Alley, where the first gate of the city was. Here the donkey stopped.

But, in personal opinion, a really lovely sight in Bruges! A must see.

And if anyone in interested in seeing the dragon. It is still visible today in the centre of Ghent. Just look up at their Belfry.

"In Bruges" location goofs

For the people who want to walk around the city looking for the specific locations this post will be very interesting.

A few days ago I was looking at “In Bruges” again. With walking around the city a lot more than before I started looking at the locations the movie was shot at.
And I found a few mistakes in the movie. Location-wise that is.

It’s the “switching” that makes orientating in the city itself real hard. As I was watching the movie there were a few moments I said “what the hell?!”.

Fidel, the most famous dog in Bruges, for example. When you’re watching the film, you can get the impression you can find him close to the market square. Well, it’s kind of a walk to get to him.
When Ken (Brendan Gleeson) goes up the Belfry, he has to pay €5. Nowadays it’s €8, €6 if you’re under 26.
But… they visit a church, supposedly the church with the Holy Blood of Christ. Well, the church that scene was shot in is on the other side of Bruges. It’s called the “Jeruzalemkerk” (Jerusalem-church) and they don’t have the Holy Blood there. So when you’re going in to the basilica of the Holy Blood and expect to see the scene from the movie, don’t be surprised. Pictures of the two different churches below will show a biiiiiig difference.

The Church from the movie

Real Basilica of the Holy Blood

The way up to the Holy Blood

After the visit to the Groeningemuseum (with the paintings) Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson sit on a bench talking about judgment day. That’s at the “Jan van Eyck plein” (plein: square). Cool, really nice place but, the horse carriages don’t go over the bridge you see in that scene.

Oh, the place to get the gun (Yuri’s) at the Raamstraat 17. In the movie, that’s really shot at the corner of the Spinolarei and Verversdijk. If you’re looking for the real “Raamstraat 17”, you can find it near the Snuffel Hostel. Pictures of the two houses show why they didn’t go to the Raamstraat…

Raamstraat 17 in the movie

The real "Raamstraat 17"

If you get in a fight, as Colin Farrell did, the cops won’t look for you in the train… And the victim in the train… Nope, haven’t heard of that before either.

Poor Brendan jumps from the Belfry. That was the quickest way to bring the gun down, but you can’t do that. Not in the way he does it. He takes one step, but you’d need a good run and take a long jump forward to end up where he does.

And then last but not least, "the chase" or "the shoot out" as they call it in the movie. Harry (Ralph Fiennes) chases Colin Farrell. They start at the Belfry, pass ‘De Garre’ and into the Burg square, towards the fish market (which looks really big judging by the time they run in it) and then… they end up at the street near the famous dog? They took a serious detour there. They go to the hotel from there.
After the jump out of the window (lot of jumping here) they go from the most picturesque place, through the little square next to it (Huidenvettersplein) and suddenly they’re back at Gruuthuse? That’s also where the final scene is.
I drew a map (in two parts) of this chase so you can see the little “teleportation” they make now and then.

Part 1 of "The Shootout" - Jumping around Bruges

Part 2 of "The Shootout" - Jump of all times !

Food in Belgium

I'm just back from a little holiday in London, that's why it was quiet here for a while.
And, getting ready for new exams today so I had to study! So, I'm sorry for the little quiet period.

When I was in the United Kingdom, I kept thinking on what I could write about. One of the items that came to mind was when I was talking to someone in a restaurant. He told me he visited Belgium some time ago; saw Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges. The one thing that he was surprised on was the wonderful food in Belgium.
 
And yes, next to fries (which I talked about in a previous post) we have really good food. When I start talking about food during the walks -and there's a lot to tell on Belgian food- people quickly ask "what's typical Belgian food?".
 
The guy in London ate "something", he told me, but forgot what it was.
He just walked into a restaurant and ordered 'a typical Belgian dish'. From his description I could make out he had mussels. No, not muscles, that's something else... Yes, the joke on the "Muscles from Brussels" is obvious.
 

But those mussels are a real, typical Belgian dish. It’s shellfood, for those of you with allergies. You can have them with fries (mostly at restaurants) or some prefer them with bread. There are different kinds of sauces you can have them cooked in: white wine sauce is most common. But just 'natural' is what I find the best.
Don't go eat them with knife and fork... when you get the pot, you take the mussel with your hand, open the shell and pick out the “flesh” of the mussel out of its shell with a fork.
Sometimes you get a mussel sauce with it. That's kind of like a mayonnaise, but a little sourer and more running. Dip the mussel in the sauce (don't drop it!) and enjoy.
 

The second typical Belgian dish is sooooo Flanders: Flemish stew. That's tender beef, cut in cubes (4-5 cm/2 inch), stewed and then served with brown beer gravy. With that, you have to eat fries. Preferably a bit of mayonnaise with it, at least, that's how I (and most Flemish people) love it.
 
I know what you're thinking now... you're hungry! And the question you have: "where can we find this food in Bruges?".Well boys and girls, there is one place I can recommend in Bruges. “Het vagevuur”. Try to pronounce that! In English translated? The purgatory.
It's a name guys, don't be afraid to go in. It's a real cozy place where they serve all different kinds of Belgian food. Even the vegetarians can find good things here. I'll add the link to their website at the bottom.
 

And, when you do the walk with us, we cut you guys a deal. So, what are you waiting for?
http://www.restaurant-vagevuur.be