Travel note: August 26....
Well, yes, it WAS a Tuesday. And I was climbing up and down hundreds of steps in churches, bell towers and museums in Brugge. In Belgium.
After leaving Amsterdam I had gotten adventuresome and hopped off the train in Antwerp - instead of the planned route through Brussels - and then realized the Dutch conductor had mentioned several possible track numbers.
Ended up on a "local" that stopped at MANY picturesque and possibly even charming small towns along the way. The sun had set and it was very dark out.
Arrived in Brugge (in Flemish) or Bruges (in English) where a rail station person showed me the
"let your fingers do the walking" gesture with his hand when I asked how I might get downtown. Eventually found a cab driven by a NASCAR wannabe.
I had already been in Amsterdam for a few days before and a return trip was scheduled back there. Might have missed a museum. No, not likely. Had even found and explored a 4-story church hidden inside a canal-side private home.
I intend to get a copy of the
1969 movie and see if any of the sights look familiar.
Hey, they should, they date back to at least the 1400s.
Labels: 1400s, Antwerp, Belgium, Bruges, Brugge (Flemish), Dutch
A Travel Movie ....
My last visit to
England was back in the 1980s and the exchange rate was one pound for $2.64. Actually, right now is a little bit better.
I think it's time to go back to the United Kingdom for a visit .... and even pop over to Europe.
Well, it
IS very, very close and the dollar is slightly stronger against the Euro.
Individual countries still had their own money like Francs and Deutsch marks my last time there.
I was aware that
BENELUX stood for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - and I have never been there - so
Amsterdam was added to the list as was
Belgium.
They say the coffee is so good there, it's more popular than Starbucks. I plan to check out that claim. I enjoy a good brew that whets the appetite.
After seeing the movie
"In Bruges" a few months ago, Belgium was an obvious choice. In the film two London hit men hide out in this beautiful 16-17th century city for several weeks.
The movie is a Chamber of Commerce visual treat of art museums, canals and historic buildings.
There were a lot of guns and shootings and bodies falling from church towers but that was just movie magic amidst a tranquil setting.
So that's my travel plan.
Guess it's a good thing that I didn't just see
"Around The World In 80 Days."Labels: Belgium, BENELUX, Brugge (Flemish), deutschmark, England, In Bruges, London, Luxemburg, Starbucks, The Netherlands
