{"id":21887,"date":"2025-07-07T17:46:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T22:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=21887"},"modified":"2025-11-12T18:05:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T23:05:02","slug":"bruges-and-ghent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2025\/07\/07\/bruges-and-ghent\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruges and Ghent"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: 51\u00b003’24.5″N 3\u00b043’32.5″E<\/a><\/h6>\n

Mention Bruges<\/a> to any movie-goer and they will inevitably quote Ray, Colin Farrell\u2019s doomed Irish hitman from the film In Bruges<\/a>. \u201cF*****g Bruges!\u201d they will say. Ray doesn\u2019t like Bruges one bit. To be fair, it would be hard to like any place you\u2019ve been sent to be whacked. In Bruges came out in 2008, about the time the city started losing its charm.<\/p>\n

F*****g Bruges!<\/h6>\n

Like most diligent travellers, both Carol and I had already visited Bruges and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our memories were warm and softly focused. Visitors today alight, as we did then, at the modern steel and glass train station and walk a kilometre through stands of protective trees towards the city centre. Ancient brick buildings line the narrow streets and grow taller as you approach. Soon you cross canals which flow around and underneath the orderly rows of four and five storey houses. That much hasn\u2019t changed in the 30 or 40 years since either of us was there.<\/p>\n

Bucket List<\/h6>\n

Something had changed, though. It took a while to figure out what it was. Then it struck us with all the resonant gravity of Brendan Gleeson falling 200′ from Bruges\u2019s 13th<\/sup> century belfry. No one, absolutely no one spoke Flemish. Or even Dutch. Not a single soul. Only the canal boat tour guides proffered a few words here and there to complement the French\/German\/English phrases they had learned by rote. Over the past three decades Bruges, like so many places, has become a bucket list item. Something to check off and post on social media to prove you went there. While it remains a site of historical and cultural significance, these days you have to dig through layers and layers of hot chocolate and machine-woven lace shops to find its soul. Even then, I suspect that like Venice, full-time residents are a dwindling breed.<\/p>\n

Photos
\n<\/h6>\n

If you were fortunate enough to have visited 30 years ago, as enchanting as Bruges is, I can\u2019t recommend going back. Enjoy your memories and redirect your energies towards a new experience. If, however, you have never been, here are some photos you can post on social media:<\/p>\n

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