BRUGES, BELGIUM – finding an oasis in an oasis

There are still a few corners of Bruges like this...

Bruges (officially ‘Brugge’ in Flemish) is reputed to be a quiet, olde worldy mediaeval place, where people can step back in time to an era when life was slow and strawberries were small and tasted like strawberries.

...but a lot of it is like this...

...or like this.

Millions of visitors can’t be wrong. Bruges is beautifully preserved, and there are spectacular old buildings around every corner. Come to think of it, the corners themselves are made of spectacular old buildings.

This is the oldest hospital in Europe. Never mind the leeches and the blood-letting – the brickwork alone should make you feel better!

St Jan's Hospital is now a museum.

Fortunately there is a place where we can escape the chocolate and lace shops, the clip-clop of horse-drawn carts, the amplified commentary of the tour boats, the I Love Bruges and 50 Great Beers t-shirts.

Elizabeth Beguinage, Bruges

The Elizabeth Begijnhof attracts only the devout few. I’m one.

And Belgian strawberries look like strawberries, smell like strawberries and by golly they still taste like strawberries too.