July trip
2/7 - Bruges-Antwerp

*This post was supposed to have some photos in it, but thanks to the incompetence/stupidity/laziness of a French Internet Cafe staff member in Nimes, they have been lost for eternity*

I wanted to wake up at 6:30, but I couldn't get to sleep the night before. Rather, I tried to get to sleep at 10:30, but this Canadian in the next room was talking so loudly to 2 British girls (who were somewhat softer), and it was so hot that I only got to sleep at 2+. In the end I still got up reasonably early and went to the Crown Plaza; my hostel's reception only opened at 9 anyway.

*Dice, semi-manufactured dice*

*Small coin hoard*
Philippe II August, 1180-1223

It looked like the medieval foundations were built on and around. Finds were also displayed. The spot where Charles the Good was murdered wasn't marked, though.

*Jan Breidel, Pieten Deconinck*
I have no idea what this was.

It occured to me that the Begijnhof in Bruges would've been perfect for a romantic hotspot, but it wasn't marked as such on the guide. Aww.

It was Sunday, but there was a huge flea market stretching from the train station to the tourist office. One stall had cheap DVDs (<€5 - including normal stuff that I'd heard of) and also this strange show called "Dirty cop no donut" with the tagline "A girl, 2 guys and a gun". At another stall there were swords and helmets with coifs.

In Antwerp, I saw a sign advertising an "Interdenominational healing and annointing conference" and "Wild fire weekend - the deep secrets of success".

*Teniers plaats*
Pedestrian square

I arrived at my hostel just before noon, so I first made my way to the Rubens house. Admission was free for residents of Antwerp. Bah.


*Rubens House*

I was very disappointed - there were almost no labels (those that did exist didn't date the works), no explanations and photography was not allowed. Even if someone had the audioguide he wouldn't know about everything, since much stuff was not labeled (not even with an audioguide number). Apparently the place was in a mess because they were rearranging their exhibits and they apologised for the inconvenience. I'd rather they gave discounted admission than apologise - not giving information about works was one thing, but I didn't even know the *name* of most of them. Hell, even The Annunciation had no audioguide commentary - unforgivable! In contradistinction, the Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement is offering a 50% discount on admission while it is shifting the permanent collection back after the end of the Royal Music Machines exhibition.

I only saw one of the Rubens women on canvas, in Neptune and Amphitrite. I was somewhat disappointed.

Someone complained about the lack of airconditioning in the guestbook. Heh.

To add insult to injury, the toilet was €0,30. The gardens and courtyard were nice though.

*Gardens and courtyard of Rubens house*
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*Poster for ABBA musical, with facial hair drawn on the members on the glass*
This was probably the one which was playing in Utrecht. I doubt there're 2 traveling Dutch performances.

This East Asian man was playing the violin along Meir. He had a printout with his program in front of him. This must be the first time I've seen such a thing.

I saw a lot of familiar chains in Flanders - Blokker, Kruidvat and Hema. I almost expected to see an Albert Heijn.

*Statue of Rubens in Groenplaats*
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Groenplaats is not green.
On that day there was the Antwerp Iron Man event, and this was Transition Area 2 (Bike-Run). The whole place was full of barriers. I couldn't even get close.

I bought a Coke in a McDonalds for a caffeine boost. A sign on the ground floor said the toilet was for customers only. When I went up to the second floor, despite holding my cup, I had to pay €0,30 for the toilet; maybe €0,30 doesn't even cover the cost of stationing someone there, so only customers can have the privilege of paying that nominal fee to use the toilet. I was offered a sweet from a basket when I exited, but still. They should try a new concept - make people pay €0,01 to use rubbish bins and fine them if they litter the streets.

I then went to the cathedral.

*Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kathedraal*
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The largest Gothic church in the Low Countries. So I wonder where the largest church in the Low Countries is.

The cathedral had the first representation of the circumcision of Christ that I've seen.

*Our Lady of Antwerp*
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16th century
When I was there the background was a painted canvas with a photograph of the chapel rear printed on it. They were renovating the back of the chapel.

*Madonna with Child*
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1350. Master of the Maasland Marble Madonnas

Moral hazard tea light! <- I think in writing this I had some musing about how tea lights are left out and people can light them without paying.

*Rubens - Assumption of the Virgin*
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1626

*Choir stalls*
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*Cupola*
With Schut, Assumption of the Virgin. 1647.

*Rubens - the Descent from the Cross*
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1612

These people are very hardcore. About the Schyven Organ, 1891: "Typically symphonic timbre and its exceptional poetic melodious tone". It's for 19th and 20th century works. Meanwhile the Metzler Organ, 1993: "Distant positioning of the organ pipes and its precise 'touch'". It's intended for Bach and French contemporaries.


Travel tips:

- Don't wear a waist pouch. It's easy for you to be pickpocketed and you look silly
- Chinese food is cheap, and Turkish food (kebab stands) even cheaper. Not as cheap as eating bread in the park, of course, but at least you've something real to eat
- Bring spare batteries if you have electronic equipment
- Use a packing list. The Universal Packing List is good.

I needed to use the toilet in Utrecht but I didn't want to pay, so I decided to use my museum card, which granted me free entry to 400+ museums in the Netherlands. I walked to the Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement, but my museum card didn't get me free entry - there was a €3 supplement for the Royal Music Machines exhibition.

So I walked down to the Centraal Museum. I didn't have €1 for the locker, so I had to change my €10 note for lots of coins. And then I finally got to use my free toilet (yes!)

***

Eloquent fanmail I got:

"Subject: U suck

u fuckin muggy porn-deprived bastard! - Ur Mother"

This was on Diary of a Chinese High Boy - archived

***

Shianux:

"in Singapore, the implied meanings of what you say can also be taken into account
so saying that durai was on first class implies that he is spending lots of money

you're not implying anything
you're DIRECTLY saying that he's not creative

ironically its safer to just say things directly
because when they imply, they can imply anything they want
if you say "j00 sux0rs", I doubt they can find anything to imply"

Today, I was in Carrefour shopping for ingredients when my spider sense tingled. There was a promoter selling nuggets, and as we all know chicken nuggets have been on the scene for years, offering their suspect blend of reconstituted chicken meat (perhaps a few grades above that in chicken feather sausages) and palm oil. Yet, there was something about these nuggets so I moved in for a closer look.

Lo and behold, there was a big sign saying "Non-halal". Could it be? I looked at the packets and they said "pork nuggets". The meat of the gods had finally been made into nugget form.



I was excited enough, but the nuggets were on offer - 2 packets for $5.80, so I promptly took 2. A short while ago I prepared some and was so enthused that I typed up this blog post instead of saving it for another day/merging it with another.



These pork nuggets are really good stuff. The top ingredient is pork fiber, which is why they're so firm inside. Even better, there is NO PALM OIL in them - instead of this wretched artery clogging substance, they use the healthful and flavorful sesame oil. One might also note that there is less sesame oil than pork fiber, soy protein, flour and sugar. The cherry on the cake is that it is made in Singapore. I feel patriotic.



If I had one word to describe the nuggets, it would be - wah. Usually, when you toast chicken nuggets the oil oozes out readily, yet these pork nuggets released no visible oil onto the foil-covered surface of the snack toaster tray. The meat is also very good quality - even if it's not real meat, it's darn close to the real thing.



The only disadvantages are that there was a touch too much pepper for my taste, and that in 8 nuggets, I found a small piece of tendon in one (but then, that's the price of using real meat). Also, preparation is slightly protracted - even after microwaving the nuggets for a minute on high heat, they needed 3-4 5 minute cycles in the snack toaster to be done (though this might have something to do with the lousy appliance, which automatically turns off for periods sometimes).

Those used to chicken nuggets might be disconcerted by this product since it is firmer and less oily. Yet, I believe that this is a mark of culinary distinction in contradistinction to run-of-the-mill chicken nuggets.

I heartily recommend this product, which can be found (at least) at Carrefour Plaza Singapura. While you're there you can also enjoy REAL bacon in the Carl's Jr outlet there (it has the most ang mohs of any fast food chain I've seen in Singapore).

July trip
1/7 - Bruges

*This post was supposed to have some photos in it, but thanks to the incompetence/stupidity/laziness of a French Internet Cafe staff member in Nimes, they have been lost for eternity*

Nice Bruges pictures: Bruges pictures - Europe stock photos, fine art prints by QTL

I was under the impression that the Memling Museum provided information about the medieval hospital it used to be, yet 90% of the space was devoted to medieval art; the first storey had a hall with information on the hospital from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, but there was nothing about the medieval hospital except for a few medieval paintings with nuns in them and a computer providing information on the medieval hospital. Yet, this computer had a horrible interface which was hard to use and very confusing - it presented a few paintings of the medieval hospital and you slowly and with much difficulty dragged an onscreen magnifying glass over the paintings with your finger. When the magnifying glass hovered above areas of interest, it lit up and you could touch it for more information which would then call up an expanded box, blocking part of the painting. It was then hard to dismiss this box. I wonder which cock designed it.

The Memling museum was quite expensive - €5 concession and €8 full price. Though there was nice stuff like the St Ursula Shrine. The ticket also granted admission to the potterie which was very smart of them since it gave extra perceived value at little cost to them, the potterie being on the other side of town.

I then went back to Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of our Lady). Part of the church required payment, but amazingly the Michelangelo was free.

*Pulpit*
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16th century. Jan Antoon Garemijn
Comment on Flickr: "All cathedrals in Europe were impressing . . . to the point that they weren't impressing anymore. As a fellow hostel mate from Australia said, "It's the ABC effect . . . you know, Another Bloody Cathedral.""

*Relic of the Holy Cross*
Mid-18th century, Bruges
There're so many relics here. It spoils the market.
I was thinking of a way apologists would explain the proliferation of relics, including 2 heads of John the Baptist, enough Holy Nails for up to 10 crosses, multiple Holy Prepuces (foreskins) and enough drops of Mary's milk to stock a dairy. Then I remembered the fishes and loaves. Another might be something similar to transubstantiation. Some would consider these suggestions seditious, but it is seditious also to suggest that most of these relics must be fakes (or, to some, that relics even exist, and to most monotheists that other monotheists are right). So really, there's no way to escape and everyone can just go to jail.

*Mausoleum of Mary of Burgundy*
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1502

*Mausoleum of Charles the Bold*
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1562

*Tomb XIII*
1300-10
Excavated in choir in 1979

*Memorial statue of Louis de Baenst (Jr) and family with the Virgin*
15th century

There was an urn with the heart of Philip the Handsome. Wth. There was also the tomb and coffin of Mary of Burgundy. I almost didn't see them because they were hidden under the mausoleums and I had to squat to look under them, and even then I couldn't see the tomb.

In a supermarket:
500ml Coke - €0,85
250ml Coke - €0,69
250ml Fanta - €0,75
Gah.

*Lace making (Picture and Video)*
It started in the 16th century. This woman started at 8 and at the end of July she turned 86. She had a piece of paper with the patterns on it: she poked pins into the paper and then threaded the thread around it.
I read that nowadays all lace making is done in Asia.

I was sitting in an alcove. I'd made sure it was dry, but thne I smelled a familiar scent. I got up, but I think I was too late.

*Belfort from courtyard*
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I tried looking for the Elf in the Belfry, but I couldn't find her.

*Courtyard of Belfort*

Public toilets in Bruges are €0,30. Perhaps it is true that generally things get more expensive as you go North in Europe.

I then went to the Begijnhof. It was very nice with the shady trees, and quiet except for the stupid tourists ignoring requests for silence.

*Begijnhof*
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There were some swans in the canal near the Begijnhof. Their feathers were incredibly fine.

*Swans around Begijnhof*
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someone: its just a stupid swan
Me: better than a stupid cat
someone: you're evil

*Street: Oostmeers*

It was damn hot in Bruges. I was thinking that I'd die in Rome.

Bruges was a little fake, but it was nice fake. It was so touristed that there were signposts pointing to hotels, and under the icon of the bed there were stars indicating how many stars the hotel had.

I felt like rabbit stew for dinner, so I looked at the recommended restaurants in Let's Go. One was this joint called "Hobbit" - it was expensive but had unlimited spare ribs for €14 (no rabbit though, IIRC). Another was my hotel's restaurant - it was cheap and guests got a free beer with dinner (the man at the checkin counter the previous night explaining this to me and saying I couldn't change the drink expressed his regret and said he didn't drink beer either) but they didn't have rabbit. The man at the hotel suggested another place but there the rabbit alone was €25 - my reservation price for dinner was €20. So I went to the markt - there were 3 adjacent joints which were all about as crowded. In the end I chose the one which had a €19 3 course set dinner including rabbit (the rest were marginally more). This was a bit extravagant, but I'd had no breakfast and had had that awful samuraisaus frieten for lunch. The place didn't serve tap water, unfortunately ("we have everything except tap water". Bloody hell. I should've asked for Root Beer) so I asked for a Sprite. In the end I was given a medium sprite (500ml) for €4. Grr.

*Performance artist*
This guy was dressed in a monk's robe, sunglasses and sneakers and was standing on a stone seat in the Markt and striking a pose. Every now and then he'd shout something (like "Hallelujah *insert pop-culture-influenced phrase*"), as he would when someone donated money to him. I donated and got a UFO shaped communion wafer with a different colour on each side. Inside there was a white sweet-sour powder.


Travel tips:

- Travel when you're under 26 and/or a student. It's cheaper since you get discounts.
- Summer is safer. There're bigger crowds and it gets dark later. Yet, crowds and the lack of a sweater means you're more prone to pickpocketing.
- Keep your friends close and your belongings closer. Be mindful of where your valuables are. Have situational awareness. Is there a crowd? Are there people coming close to you?
- Don't put your wallet in your back pocket (this must be one of the most stupid things any traveler can do)
- Backpack if you're strong enough. It's more convenient and easier to transport over distances
- Plan ahead - beware of public holidays. For example Greek Easter is a week ahead of normal Easter

I was meeting a friend who's going to the land of Pot, Hookers and Euthanasia this semester to pass her some stuff, and my mother said, "Why don't you ask her to come over?"

I told my friend that, and she said that's exactly what her mother said when she told her that she was meeting a friend to pick up some stuff.

... mothers

July trip
1/7 - Bruges

*This post was supposed to have some photos in it, but thanks to the incompetence/stupidity/laziness of a French Internet Cafe staff member in Nimes, they have been lost for eternity*

*Picture of a horse, to the rear of which is connected a cloth sack*
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This is why you almost never see horse shit on the streets of Bruges, and why the streets don't smell

*Belfort*
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With my proclivity to climbing tall buildings, I had to mount the belfort - one of the Belfries of Belgium and France.

A glockenspiel is a carillion in English. Oura tricked us. Boo.

*Wrought iron doors*
2 wrought iron doors from 1290. The railings are still strong enough to be opened, suspended from the hinges (then again, they probably restored it)

It's fun to watch the bell ringing mechanism go. Presumably it's 18th century like the bells. At the turn of the hour, the bells play a Carmen medley, at a quarter past Handel's grobischmie (?) and at half past, Beethoven's nineth, and so on.

They had a picture of the carillion player, Aime Lombaert. He has an Amish facial hair pattern.

*Me at the top of the Belfort*

*Views of Bruges from the Belfort*
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IIRC, the day when I was there it was very clear

*Statue in Markt (Square)*
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(I hope these are of the Markt and not the Burg)

I saw a Delifrance in Bruges. I wonder if there're Delifrances in Wallonie.

*Wedding with people in funky suits*
This wedding was being held in the city hall.

In the basement of the Crown Plaza in Brugge, there're old foundations which the builders of the hotel built around. So you can go into the basement and run around. Unfortunately the basement was closed for a party on Saturday, so I had to go down on Sunday morning.

*Basilica of the Holy Blood*
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Interior pictures

The basilica is 2 storeyed - at the bottom you've a very bare level made of stone which is dark and hardly decorated, but on top it's like a normal basilica.

There was a "Noble brotherhood of the Holy Blood". Uhh. They also had pictures of a procession on Ascension, where the people dressed up in historical costumes. I saw a Moses carrying 2 tablets on which Roman Numberals from I-X were written.

*Tabernacle with the vial of blood*
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Description: "This tabernacle is in the Basilica of the Holy Blood, in Bruges. Inside lies the container of the Holy Blood of Christ, which was brought to Bruges most likely after the Crusades." (Source)

I saw a nachtwinkel (night shop), open from Mon-Sun from 6pm-2am. I peeked inside and saw a woman in punjabi suit trousers and a sari top going upstairs. Thank god for immigrants!

In a shop window I saw a motorised 1:16 scale model of a M1A2 Abrahms - "Iraqi Freedom Edition". It could even shoot a bullet to a provided cardboard target.

Langestraat in Bruges was labeled "Hello Street". According to Use-It, there were supposed to be 20 signs along it asking people to salute each other,but I didn't see any. Gah.

Bruges had some small windmills, but they were nothing compared with Kinderdijk. Or indeed the other Dutch windmills I'd seen.

*Jerusalem church*
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Jeruzalemkerk was built in the 15th century, a copy of the Church of the Holy Grave in Jerusalem.

*Small alcove in Jerusalem church.*
You must stoop to enter.

*Altar*
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Most of the museums in Bruges offered a museum pass - for €15 you could enter 5 museums or similar sites (like the Belfort). If I were paying the adult price it'd be worth it, but in the end I decided to spend slightly more time in each place and resting, so I visited individual sites. The main factor in my decision was whether I wanted to visit the main art museum. I'd seen plenty of works, Flemish ones in particular, and would see more in Brussels and Antwerp, so I elected not to. I think all were in a conspiracy, for their tickets all said that photography was disallowed. Bah.

Although Bruges is in Flanders, most people know it as Bruges - its French name. In Dutch, it's "Brugge". It's the same with Ghent (Gent). On the other hand, no one knows where Luik is. Bloody French.

Flanders had a "Flanders Early Music Festival" this year from 22 Jul - 5 August. Maybe I can go one day.

*Frontage of the Stadsarchief*
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It's the old recorder's house; a renaissance building.

*Stadhuis*
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Since there was a marriage going on it looked somewhat different

*Pavilion by Toyo Ito*

Since it faces the Mayor's house, locals call it the 'Governor's Carwash'
The water around it (due to rain and the area around being depressed) didn't help
As modern art goes it's actually alright

At the base of the Belfort, Americans were ordering frietten sans saus. Tsk. Wanting to try something new, I opted for Samurai saus after checking the ingredients list. To my extreme discomfort, the sauce was extremely hot. Checking the ingredients list again, I realised that "rode pepers" did not mean "red peppers" but "red chilis". In the end I ate much of the fries sans saus and cooled down with 1 bol of banaan ijs.

The Dutch fry their frites very roughly, but the Belgians do it more delicately. Perhaps this is why people say Belgian fries are better, yet the best fries I've ever had were Dutch.

A Scottish band was playing in the square and they were quite bad. Then for Amazing Grace, bagpipes played along with the band. It was so hideous, some dogs started barking.

*Bridge, canal near Church of our Lady*

*Church of our Lady*
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*Madonna and Child*
1504/5, Michelangelo. Behind a sheet of glass.
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This is one of the few Michelangelo sculptures outside Italy.

Then I needed to go to the toilet, and since Bruges like the rest of Flanders and like the Netherlands does not have free public toilets, I went to use the one in a nearby museum, The Memling Museum (of course then proceeding to look at the exhibits).

The museum had a free audioguide with commentary on at least 3/4 the works, but no written information was provided in any language, not even Dutch. Bloody hell. I had no time, energy or interest to listen to everything. What I usually do is read labels and descriptions and only listen to the audioguide if they, together with the items in question, pique my interest.

The audioguide commented about a work from the 2nd half of the 15th century that it had the 'throne of Grace' theme and that its 'naiviety and vivid colours give it undeniable charm'. Bah. If it's lousy say it's lousy.
When this work was restored, the Holy Spirit, positioned in between the Father and the Son, disappeared. Aww. I was also reminded that you don't often see the Father represented in art.


Travel tips:

- Read Jiekai's cock files and do the opposite of what he did