Walk in Bruges

12/01/2024

The hyperrealistic sculptures by Australian artist Patricia Piccinini confront the viewer with prejudice and bias. In the new exhibition of the Saint John’s Hospital Museum the contemporary work ‘The Bridge’ talks to us about unconditional love and care for the ‘other’, for those who are different. We see a woman lovingly embracing a chimaera, half human, half pig. The chimaera looks old and tired, but consoled in the arms of the woman. Patricia Piccinini was inspired by several works in the museum, among other ‘The Good Samaritan’ and ‘Madonna and child’. The Good Samaritan tells a story that took place in the land of Israel and Palestine … and teaches us that we should love the other regardless of their race, religion or belief… A message that should resonate very strongly in the world of today…. We should look at the other with our heart not our mind, and that is exactly what Piccinini’s works do, they go straight to your heart! .piccinini
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10/01/2024

It is cold but Bruges is so much prettier when the sun shines! The Museum Saint Johns hospital opened with a whole new exhibition last December. The medieval windows were cleaned and sparkle again! Musea Brugge museumPASSmusées

01/12/2023

Christmas time in Bruges, and like every year, a beautiful Christmas tree adorns the Burg, the most beautiful square of Bruges. Lichtparcours Wintergloed Stad Brugge Visit Bruges Wintergloed Brugge

27/11/2023

Winterglow started this week, and will light up Bruges until January 7th! The iconic Bruges swan is at the heart of the walking route. This year Winterglow takes you into the quiet quarter of Bruges with its winding streets, canals and small fairytale stepped gable houses. Lichtparcours Wintergloed Wintergloed Brugge Stad Brugge Visit Bruges

15/09/2023

Take a seat and enjoy the best view of Bruges! Those chairs placed all over the city and in parks of Bruges are just genius. Lets people slow down and take a moment to contemplate.

14/09/2023

Musea op Zondag in het Gezellehuis en tuin van 11 tot 17u nu zondag 17 september. Kom genieten van de prachtige tuin, eet mee met de potluck picknick, er is drank, koffie en taart, er zijn poëzie en muziek optredens, open mic en volksspelen. Mijn collega Karel en ikzelf brengen je ‘dichter’ bij Gezelle tijdens een rondleiding doorheen zijn geboortehuis. Allen welkom op deze hartverwarmende namiddag! Het mooie weer hebben we alvast besteld. Musea Brugge Stad Brugge Magpies Food Wave

26/07/2023

The church of the former Saint Magdalene’s lepers hospital that used to be a city cancer, has been beautifully restored and integrated into the newly built Sint-Andrew’s school that will open its doors here as of next year.

10/07/2023

Just updated my blog post Eat like a local in Bruges. I've added some newly tried restaurants that really deserve a spot in this list of places where we locals love to hang out like Atelier Flori, Het Paradijs, Laissez Faire, Goesepitte 43, Más, Nomad and Onesto.
I've also marked which places serve vegetarian and or vegan dishes.
Atelier Flori Laissez-Faire Goesepitte 43 Nomad Brugge

Visit:Walk in Bruges – Your private guide in Bruges Wherever I go I love to eat where the locals eat. I love to find these local eateries away from the main tourist grid serving local food fo…

19/06/2023

Beautiful hidden corners in Bruges. In the garden of one of the almshouses you have this picturesque view over one of the canals, the old Saint-John’s hospital and the church of Our Lady.

10/06/2023

From July 1 till October 31 a new art tour (free!) can be discovered in the picturesque landscape around Damme! Àmare, between Damme and the sea (à mare), featuring outdoor art installations by some of the finest Belgian and International artists of the moment,already spotted: the work by Catherine Thiry and and Marius Ritiu. Àmare Marius Ritiu Visit Damme Gallery Ysebaert

09/06/2023

Margaret of York looks lovingly towards her husband Charles the Bold who offers her a wedding ring, on the town hall of Damme. Charles the Bold married his third wife Margaret, sister of two English kings, Edward IV and Richard III, in 1468. Margaret, 22 years old, embarked on a ship in England and sailed to Sluis from where she traveled to Damme for the marriage. The marriage was followed by extravagant celebrations in Bruges that lasted nine days! Visit Damme Stad Damme

21/02/2023

I love taking kids, youngsters and adults through the museum and help them them discover the wonderful world of arts and history. Musea Bruges made a little film to show how we as guides introduce the museum collection to primary school kids in an active and interactive way to help them enjoy and connect with art. Art should spark enthusiasm, awe and wonder even with its youngest visitors! Musea Brugge

Een museum is zoveel meer dan een opslagplaats van kunstwerken en andere kostbaarheden. Het is vooral een plaats waar je terecht kan om van kunst te genieten...

08/01/2023

At the start of 2023 I look back on the first post corona year as a guide. It was a year full of warm encounters with people young and old, local and international. I started as a Bruges Museum guide in the spring and as a museum facilitator for schools in the fall. I also started offering interactive and engaging family and children's walks in Bruges. And I thoroughly enjoyed taking visitors through the temporary exhibits 'Underneath the shade we lay grounded' and 'Face to face with death' in the Saint-John's hospital. I continued guiding groups through the Flemish Parliament and showing visitors the highlights as well as the hidden corners of Bruges. The warm comments and enthusiastic reactions I received this year really warmed my heart and energised me! Looking forward to meeting you in 2023!
www.walkinbruges.com

13/11/2022

On October 28th the temporary exhibition 'Face to Face with Death' around the restored 15th century painting 'The death of the Virgin' by the Flemish Primitive painter Hugo van der Goes opened in the Old Saint Johns' hospital of Bruges. The exhibition focuses on the timeless emotions the painting still evoke today. More than seventy works of art visualize six themes as they were experienced 550 years ago, while five contemporary artists interpret the importance of the painting today in sober black and white video fragments. Even though the central theme is death, the exhibition does not weigh you down, on the contrary, it lifts you up like the feather thin curtains that border the room while the saturated colors of paintings and miniatures spread warmth. For the duration of this exhibition the Gruuthuse manuscript was brought back to his home Bruges. Another star of the show is the newly acquired work by Flemish Primitive painter Albrecht Bouts ‘Man of Sorrows’, showing the suffering of Christ, as a viewer you can almost feel his pain. This innovative exhibition can be visited until February 5, 2023. Looking for a guide to the exhibition? : Walk in Bruges!
Musea Brugge museumPASSmusées Koninklijke Bibliotheek - Nationale bibliotheek van Nederland

15/08/2022

For those who missed the procession this morning, here some impressions of the 'Promise of Bruges' (De Brugse belofte) also known as the Procession of the Blind (Blindekensprocessie). The procession goes out every year on August 15th, the feast of the Assumption of Mary, and that after a promise made in 1304 on the battlefield of the Pevelenberg, where the soldiers of Flanders faced the army of the king of France. Every year they honor the promise made to sacrifice a candle of 36 pounds to the Lady of the Potterie, a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary who already in medieval times attracted numerous pilgrims. Today the procession walked from the chapel of the Our Lady of the Blind in the East of Bruges under a sunny sky to the chapel of Our Lady of the Potterie, in the West of the city. The candle is carried by 12 virgin girls, and in the procession they also carry the statue of Our Lady of the Blind. Stad Brugge

27/07/2022

Every year summers are getting warmer in Bruges and on extremely hot days we all look for places to cool down, get out of the heat and have a drink in a cool or shaded area. Bars and restaurants do not always have air conditioning. Until a few years ago we hardly ever needed air conditioning, not even on very warm days since maximum temperatures seldom went beyond 30 degrees Celsius. The rapidly changing climate forces us to go for new habits. For all of you who are looking for that nice cool spot with lots of trees and plants to have a drink or just want to find some nice cool locations while walking through the city, here is a list with some of my favourite spots to look out for on a hot day in Bruges!!
https://chefmaison.org/2022/07/27/cool-spots-on-a-hot-day-in-bruges/

Musea Brugge YOT Stad Brugge Adornesdomein & Jeruzalemkapel House of Time Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed Brugge

15/04/2022

Really enjoyed guiding the members of the Leaders of Design Council around in Bruges. Visited beautiful and inspiring places together, thanks to the great program put together by True by Geoffrey Van Hulle. Love to see my hometown through the enthusiast and appreciative eyes of its visitors.

27/03/2022

Happy and proud to announce that I am one of the new guides for the Musea in Bruges. The ambitious plans Musea Bruges has for the next ten years and the two new exhibitions that are planned for this summer and fall in the Old Saint John's Hospital really spark my enthusiasm for this new project!! Musea Brugge Stad Brugge

20/02/2022

If you like visiting churches, you will love Bruges! Most visitors visit the church of Our Lady and the Basilica of the Holy Blood, and you should definitely visit those two when coming to Bruges, but Bruges has more than 30 churches and even more chapels. Of those 30 churches, 14 still organise weekly masses and 13 churches can be visited, most of them free of charge. 5 churches have been repurposed as a cultural centre or exhibition hall. Many other churches and chapels are part of a (former) monastery or convent while others became part of a school, the justice palace or a military chapel. And then there are the many small chapels that are part the 45 preserved almshouse complexes that dot the centre of the city.
A blog that lists all the churches you can visit in Bruges and why you should visit them!:
https://chefmaison.org/2022/02/18/bruges-a-city-of-churches/

07/12/2021

During this 4th corona wave visiting a museum is one of the things you can still safely enjoy. The Groeningemuseum in Bruges may be rather small compared to other international museums. It is one of the oldest museums in Belgium and has over the last three centuries built up a world famous collection with works by the Flemish Primitives Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes and Gerard David, 16th century followers of these pre-renaissance painters, baroque genre works from the 17th century, 18th century works by Bruges' artists who also made a career outside Belgium and a fine collection of Belgian impressionist, expressionist and surrealist painters from the 19th and early 20th century. In this blog I share my favourite works of art at the Groeningemuseum in Bruges. Hope this will inspire you to visit this or another museum these holidays. Musea Brugge Visit Bruges Stad Brugge

https://chefmaison.org/2021/12/07/my-favourite-works-in-the-groeningemuseum/

04/12/2021

Vandaag vieren we in Brugge het ontstaan van de loterij met een historische evocatie van de eerste lotinghe in de lage landen in 1441. De loterij was toen eigenlijk een vrijwillige belasting waarbij de wijnscroderij (de positie van wijncontroleur) werd verloot. Vandaag verloot men op de Brugse markt reischeques.... Vanaf vandaag loopt er ook een tentoonstelling in het Stadsarchief over de loterij die 580 jaar geleden in Brugge ontstond. 'Te Brugghe ende eldere. 580 jaar moderne loterijen.' Stad Brugge Musea Brugge
Bekijk ook dit hilarische filmpje van DIW over het ontstaan van de loterij met Helmut Lotto!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diHEqq50M9g

21/11/2021

This week a guide and friend gave us an exclusive tour of the Episcopal palace in Bruges. The site dates back to the 16th century when 'Hof van Pittem', an impressive city palace, was built here. The palace as we know it today dates back to the 18th century when bishop Hendrik Jozef Van Susteren bought and rebuilt the palace in renaissance style as a seminary for priests. The French abolished the diocese and the building became a prison, military barracks, a hospital and a school. After the French revolution in 1834, when the bishopric was reinstated in Bruges, the palace became the bishops residence. The beautiful entrance gate featuring Van Susteren's coat in arms, the original wooden spiral straircase, the now empty library and salons are a feast for the eye.The old horse stables now house the epicospal archives. Stad Brugge Bisdom Brugge Bibliotheek Grootseminarie Brugge Visit Bruges

19/09/2021

Bruges was taken over by Flanders 2021, a cycling championship, so I took the train to Brussels to take in some Brussels history, art and architecture during the Heritage Days. Since it was also car free Sunday in Brussels, the air was clean and the streets belonged to the bikers and pedestrians. I took a guided tour of the Flemish Parliament, the Brussels city museum and the The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula and a walking tour of the Grand Place where the 'Poepedroegers of the Meyboom' let their Giants dance during the Folk festival Folklorissimo. What a beautiful capital our country has!

Brugge was vandaag het decor voor het WK wielrennen en dus nam ik de trein naar Brussel om daar wat Brusselse geschiedenis, kunst en architectuur op te snuiven tijdens de Brusselse Open Monumentendag vandaag. Het was autoloze zondag in Brussel en ik deelde de straten van onze hoofdstad met vele wandelaars en fietsers. Ik volgde een gegidste tour in het Vlaams parlementsgebouw, het Broodhuis en de Sint-Michiel en Goedelekathedraal en volgde een gegidste wandeling van de Grote markt, waar de Poepedroegers van de Meyboom hun reuzen lieten dansen tijdens het Folklorissimo festival. Wat hebben wij een mooie hoofdstad!
Vlaams Parlement Brussels City Museum Poepedroegers Folklorissimo 2021 Urban.brussels Stad Brussel

04/08/2021

Terugblik op de fantastische gidsbeurten doorheen de Triënnale voor scholen in mei en juni. Genoten van hun enthousiasme dat me altijd extra energie gaf voor de dag!

Looking back on great guided tours through the Triennial with schools in May and June! Really enjoyed the enthousiasm of many of the schoolchildren, it always energized my day!

18/07/2021

Hedendaagse felle kleuren, strakke lijnen en vormen contrasteren met de gedempte kleuren en grillige vormen van het middeleeuwse Brugge. Heden en verleden komen samen tijdens de Triënnale in Brugge. Work by Amanda Browder and Jon Lott.

Contemporary bright colors, sharp lines and shapes contrast with the tempered colors en irregular lines and shapes of medieval Bruges. A dialogue between past and present during the Triennial in Bruges. Installaties van Amanda Browder en Jon Lott.

Triënnale Brugge Amanda Browder Educatieve gidsen | Triënnale Brugge 2021 Visit Bruges Stad Brugge Brugge Plus vzw

11/05/2021

A sunny sky over Bruges made me decide to visit some installations of the Triennial this morning. Brazilian artist Hector Zamora built an impressive installation around the huge Austrian or black pine in the garden of the Gezellehouse. From the top you get a wonderful view of the skyline of Bruges. His work is a clash of the industrial with the natural world. The scaffolding is built with great respect for this old giant while the poet Guido Gezelle stands unnerved enclosed by the red metal construction. The boats of Bruges have an extra attraction this summer steering under the colorful installation by American artist Amanda Browder over the water of the Saint-Anne's canal.

De zonovergoten warme ochtend nodigde me uit om enkele installaties van de Triënnale Brugge te bezoeken vandaag. The Braziliaanse kunstenaar bouwde een imposante wandelweg rond the hoge Oostenrijkse den in de tuin van het Gezellehuis. Vanop de top krijg je een prachtig zicht over de skyline van Brugge cadeau. Het werk dat met veel respect rond deze oude reus werd opgetrokken, en waar zelfs Guido Gezelle niet van op kijkt, vormt een botsing tussen het industriële en het natuurlijke. De Brugse bootjes hebben er deze zomer een fantastische attractie bij met het werk van Amanda Browder over de Sint-Annarei waar ze onder kunnen varen.
Triënnale Brugge Amanda Browder Brugge 2021 Stad Brugge Visit Bruges

09/04/2021

Een eerste inkijk in de Triënnale Brugge 2021, met als thema Traum/Trauma. Het werk Banisteria Campo by Henrique Oliveira lijkt naadloos op te gaan in zijn omgeving. Velen zullen achteloos voorbij de installatie lopen en denken dat het er al altijd was. Het lijkt wel een levend organisme dat over één van de enige overblijfselen van de eerste omwalling uit het begin van de 12e eeuw is gegroeid. Ook over de Gouden Handrei is men druk in de weer met de opbouw. Van 8 mei tot 24 oktober kan je de dertien interventies van nationale en international kunstenaars en architecten ontdekken in de Brugse binnenstad.

Sneak peek into the Triennial 2021 in Bruges. This work, Banisteria Campo by Henrique Oliveira blends almost seamlessly into its surroundings. Many will walk by and miss this installation over one of the only remains of the first ramparts of Bruges, dating back to the first quarter of the 12th century, thinking it is a living organism that must have grown here over the tower. From May 8th till October 24th you can discover thirteen artistic and architectural interventions in the city centre by national an international artists around this years theme Traum/Trauma. Triënnale Brugge Visit Bruges Musea Brugge Stad Brugge