Bruges Sabbath

Today was Sabbath, so we organized a trip to Bruges.  Bruges is a relatively small town about an hour to an hour and a half from Brussels by car.  It flourished in the 13th - 15th centuries, in large part because it was a port town.  In the late 15th century, though, the waterway that linked the city to the sea silted up, and the city was left without access to the sea, at which time it was largely abandoned.  Because of this history, much of the city is preserved in a medieval state.  In the 19th century it began to revive, but its medieval character was a great part of its charm, so it was preserved.  Now the medieval buildings are home to Belgian chocolate shops, upscale clothing, computers, and other goods, though the architecture remains a great tourist draw. 

One of my favorite parts of Bruges was the convent for Beguines.  The community remained until the 1920s, when it was dwindling severely.  At that point the local parish priest and the head of the beguines made an arrangement for a community of Benedictine nuns to begin.  This congregation continues today, though the open courtyard in the middle of the Beguine house is still open to visits by tourists.

One thing Paul and I noticed as we took the train into Belgium and again today as we watched the scenery from the bus is the large number of family farms that still seem to exist here.  We have not seen any sign of factory farming or large scale corporate farming, but instead tend to see small herds of cows in a pasture big enough for one farm family to manage.  It's not clear to me whether this is the entire story of farming in Belgium, but the family farm does seem to be surviving here, while in the US it's increasingly difficult for families to make a living on a family farm. 

For those who aren't familiar with Belgium, the country is essentially divided between the French-speakers, or Walloons, and the Dutch speakers, or Flemish.  There is also a very small section of the country that is German-speaking.  In the Brussels, most signs seem to be in both languages, but French is strikingly missing in the Flemish area we traveled through today.  When we see French, it tends to be one of a list of four or five languages, including English.  Occasionally restaurant menus will have both, but not always.  We haven't been in the purely French areas, so I can't speak to the presence or absence of Dutch in those areas.  We were told by some of the people we've met here that the Flemish have a greater sense of cultural identity and uniqueness than do the Walloons.  According to one informant, the Walloons sometimes have a hard time differentiating their identity from that of the French, but the Flemish seem to see themselves as a distinct group. 

My grandfather was Dutch, and I've noticed that at least for older people, I can identify who is Dutch/Flemish by their features.  I'm not sure exactly what cues I'm seeing, but there is some similarity in facial features or mannerisms or way of speaking to what I remember of my grandfather, and somehow it jumps out at me.  Essentially everyone I spoke to in the Flemish region today could also understand French, though a few said they are more comfortable in English than in French.