The next morning the group goes to hit the two museums here in
Bruges while Oscar and I are meeting Hesther and Jean-Marie to go to Damme. We got to meet and become friends with them when we were in Middleburg 4 years ago and these were some of the first people to know that I was pregnant. Hesther gave me my first baby gift and Jean-Marie and John had World cup futbol in
common. Oscar asks when they’re going to arrive and says that it’s been a long time since we’ve seen them, mimicking the way that he hears adults talk….he needs to go back to Tot’s place when we get home. When our friends get there, we head out of town to Damme which most tourists in Brugges take a
bike or a cruise out to. They have a beautiful ruined church and a city hall that is much smaller and this was another huge trading spot that didn’t survive the silting up of the river that supported the barge trades in this part of the country. Hesther works in art and Jean-Marie is an antiquarian, so they know everything about these things and we have a great time catching up. When John is done with his museums, we retrieve
him in Bruges and head out to Queen Astrid park so Oscar can run around. Then hit the 400 beers pub for some frites before our friends have to head back to the Netherlands. Even as close as we are to Canada, the idea that it can take only an hour to get home from Belgium to the Netherlands is surprising all the time. This last night in Bruges, we have one of the students who
has a lame ankle and homework to work on put Oscar to bed, while we have a leisurely dinner with some others. Well, it was leisurely once we found the place to eat after not taking 10 because they were too expensive and walking quickly through a storm. While I just bragged about how good he’s been in the previous post, I know he needs more sleep, I
don’t have to worry as
much, so this is a nice break and one we’ll definitely be repeating in
Amsterdam.
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