Europe Part VI: On to London!

Friday 5/19 (11 miles)

Friday was the final day of the group trip. We started the day with a quick 11 mile bicycle loop through Bruges, then all said our goodbyes. Everyone was going different places - some directly home, others on to other adventures. The trip brochure had said we'd be ready to head out by lunchtime, but I left a margin for error and figured I might not be leaving town until at least 3 PM, which made me one of the last folks to head out. I spent my free hours exploring Bruges. First I went to a bicycle shop which had been recommended by the tour guides, where I bought my only personal souvenir from the trip - a Flanders cycling cap. I also spotted a very cool Danish bike helmet with integrated sun protection. It was too large for me to buy and take with me on my travels, but I noted the brand and model for a potential later online purchase. I was going to climb the bell tower to see the view, but I was put off by the high admission and long line.

Belgian bagels!

In the course of my perambulations I spotted a store selling bagels and - I just couldn't stop myself - I bought the certain train wreck of a Belgian bagel as my lunch. The bagels came as pre-made sandwiches; with the help of Google Translate (which doesn't actually include Flemish, but Dutch had enough cognates for me to use that language instead) I figured out that "Zalm" = salmon, "Geitenkaas" was some sort of cheese, and obviously, "vegitarisch" was vegetarian. I ordered a vegitarisch, which turned out to be some sort of veggie burger-ish patty smeared with some cream cheese-ish cheese, plus veggies, on a "bagel". Unsurprisingly, while the "bagels" looked like bagels, they tasted nothing like the real thing.

The tour guides had arranged taxis for each of us, and when the time came for my taxi I headed back to the hotel. And sat. And sat. About 15 minutes past the scheduled arrival time I went into the hotel and the front desk person called a new taxi. By the time I got to the station I had lost about 1/2 hour. Fortunately I had built slack into my schedule.

My first train was an hour-long commuter train from Bruges to Brussels. Everything went fine on this ride, except that I hadn't counted on the fact that Brussels had multiple stops and that I had no idea which one was my transfer point. It didn't help that Brussels is a bilingual city and that while my ticket used the French name for the station ("Brussels Midi"), the signs on the platform used the Dutch name ("Brussels Zuid"). I wound up going one station too far, but after asking a railroad employee for help I was able to immediately hop a train back one stop to Brussels Midi/Zuid. That error cost me another 15 minutes, and time was getting tight when I finally made it to the Eurostar high speed train which would take me through the "Chunnel" to London.

Getting onto the Eurostar train is a little like boarding a plane. You have to go through a metal detector, where Security actually made me take out my little multi-tool - but they didn't take it away. You also pass through customs at this point, since Brexit the UK is no longer part of the EU.

The train ride itself was quite pleasant. You get served a light meal and a drink, and the seats are roomy and comfortable. I ran Strava on my watch during the ride so I can tell you that the train's top speed was around 180 MPH. 

The Belgians know precisely how much alcohol is in their beer

Checking the Eurostar train's speed

By the time I got to London it was around 7 PM. I grabbed a taxi from St. Pancras station to my friend Brad's flat in Hyde Park. Brad's wife is stationed in London as a government employee, and they are provided with a rather nice townhouse sort of place courtesy of Uncle Sam. There's retail on the first floor, so you go in their front door and ascend a flight of stairs to the first level of their apartment, which holds the kitchen, living room, a small outdoor terrace, and a powder room. Up another level is the master bedroom and a full bath, and up yet another level are two more bedrooms. The building is about 200 years old with high ceilings on each floor (as well as fireplaces - unfortunately not functional - in each room), so there are a lot of steps.

Local pub

Brad's flat

It was great to see Brad, who is a former band-mate of mine and a generally good guy. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see his wife, who was in Scotland on official business. After walking his dog (a very nice and generally well trained wirehaired pointing griffon) in Hyde Park we went out to a local pub for a light dinner (my second dinner of the evening, if you're keeping count) and a pint. After that I was out of steam and turned in for the night.

Saturday 5/20

We got a slow start on Saturday, and after a breakfast of instant porridge (a.k.a. oatmeal) we went to The British Museum, which focuses on human history and culture - in other words, primarily archeology. We had a grand old time looking at the artifacts - including ancient statues, mummies, the Rosetta Stone, and more.

British Museum gallery

Easter Island statue

British Museum cafeteria - Everyone wants to be a New Yorker

Here we are at the museum - I am always very jealous of Brad's hair

Well written description

Amenhotep III and me

Mesopotamian King Gudea - great hairstyle

Mummy!

Another mummy!

One of the Amehoteps

The Rosetta Stone!

Pharoah

While we were out Brad's dog got into my things and ate the trail mix and half Belgian chocolate bar I had in my backpack. Bad dog!

As usual we walked the dog in Hyde Park, this time going all the way to the Italian Gardens. On the way back we picked up "takeaway" dinner from a local Lebanese grocery (Brad's neighborhood has a Lebanese flavor) - hummus, pita, and various other middle eastern treats. After that, we of course went to a (different from the previous night) neighborhood pub for a nightcap.

Quite literally the Rolls Royce of ice cream trucks (at Hyde Park)

The Italian Gardens at Hyde Park

Sunday 5/21

My last full day. After a breakfast of yogurt and granola (it felt good to be getting back to something more like my normal breakfasts after a week of indulgence), Brad and I headed to the Victoria and Albert museum, which focuses on design and decorative arts. There was an exhibit there on design for the theater which I thought looked interesting. Like the day before, we hopped a double-decker bus for a short ride to the museum (which, like The British Museum, is free to visit!). The theater exhibit, which we caught on its last day, was indeed interesting - costumes, set designs, playbill and cast album graphics, etc. We then wandered the museum, going from textiles to industrial design to furniture to watches, to whatever. At lunchtime we headed down to their lovely (if somewhat limited in menu) cafeteria. Brad and I sat in a side room, but suddenly we heard piano music from the main cafeteria room. Then it stopped again - as if someone had just come by, played a tune or two on the piano, then moved on. Once we finished our lunch we poked our heads into the main room and I spotted a grand piano, keyboard lid open, sitting there waiting to be played. So I sat down and played a song. As with the previous player, I received a small round of applause for my performance. Alas, no tips.

At the V&A Museum

Crime scene photo from the dog eating my food

Playing piano at the museum

On one of our walks 

After the museum Brad headed home while I walked through Knightsbridge towards Harrod's, in search of one more souvenir for Valerie. I've been to Harrod's before and it's always been a luxury-level store, but it seems over the top these days - like everything in it is top top high end designer. If you want $500 designer layette outfits for your newborn to spit up on, Harrod's is your store. I looked around in the amazing chocolate hall and almost bought Valerie more chocolate - but I already had two different kinds of chocolate for her from Belgium, so I looked onward and eventually found her a trinket.

I walked the 2 KM (1.2 miles) back from Harrod's to Brad's, window-shopping along the way. I also stopped and got a latte at a Starbucks (don't judge me). When I got back I discovered that the dog had gotten into my things again. This time all the energy bars I had left over from the trip got eaten. Unlike the open food the day before, these were all still sealed in their individual wrappers and were inside a Ziploc bag inside my duffel bag - and they still got eaten. Sheesh.

For dinner we had more takeaway from a local grocer - salmon, along with some of the leftover Middle Eastern food from the previous night. And then I packed for my trip home.

Monday 5/22

Monday was my travel day home. Another smooth flight, not much to report. I walked from Brad's place to Paddington Station. There are two trains from Paddington to Heathrow airport. I was going to try to take the local subway (about $15, 30 minutes) to save money, but I found the Heathrow Express ($28, 15 minutes) first and just said the heck with it and hopped on. At The DC end I took the (new!) Silver Line home from Dulles (a bargain at $6, 30 minutes). So I got all the way from Hyde Park in London to East Falls Church without stepping into a car. Valerie picked me up at the station and so I ruined the car-free nature of the trip in the final 0.75 miles of a 3,500 mile journey. It was worth it not to have to schlep my suitcases home from the Metro. 

Final airline meal: tofu in yellow curry sauce, salad, a dinner roll, and Oreos

A great trip. Great support from the outfitter. Great scenery. Even great weather - I had sunny weather even in London!

Some final thoughts

• The outfitter I used for the bike trip, Backroads, does an excellent job. But their MO definitely seems to be active by day, luxury by night, in terms of both hotel and food. I'm not sure I need their kind of luxury for my adventure travels.
• I got some cash before I left - both Euros and Pounds. I used barely any of it. Europe has gone largely cashless.
• Since I'm used to being more self-sufficient while traveling, I brought along all sort of bike tools and accessories. In fact, I don't think the Backroads team would have let me touch anything on the bike. I could have left that stuff home. I also brought lights and reflectors - but since our bikes were always spirited away well before dark, I could have left those home too. And I brought a big pile of snack bars, since I like to snack and I wasn't sure what food on the trip would be like. It turns out they joke that the company should be named "Snackroads". I could have left the bulk of my snack foods at home, where they would have been safe from the dog.
• Way back in Part I of my description of this trip I mentioned how I had brought my cli-in bike shoes but had forgotten the pedals. Well, on my last night in London, while re-packing, I found the pedals in my suitcase. I guess there's a lesson there to be mindful and focused while packing.

Europe Trip Part V: The Procession of the Holy Blood

Thursday 5/18 (28 miles)

Thursday was our last full day, and the planned culminating ride was 100 km, or 62 miles - what in the U.S. we refer to as a "Metric Century". Perhaps in Europe, it's just called a "Century" - I'm not sure. I had totally planned on doing this ride; I had even ridden a metric back home a week or so before the trip (for the record, my house to downtown Leesburg is a perfect metric century, all on trails except for maybe 1/2 mile of street riding). But then something came up.

It turns out Thursday was Ascension Day, a Catholic holiday which according to ChatGPT (I don't know anything about Catholic holidays), "is a Christian holiday that commemorates the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven. It is observed 40 days after Easter and signifies the completion of Jesus' earthly ministry and his exaltation to the right hand of God. On this day, believers gather for special church services, reflecting on the significance of Jesus' departure and the promise of his return."

Well, Bruges has something more than "special church services". They have a whopper of a parade known as The Procession of the Holy Blood, an event so special it's listed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Here's how UNESCO describes it: "The colorful pageant dates back to the thirteenth century, when a citizen of Bruges is said to have brought the Relic of the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ back from the Second Crusade. Led by the thirty city notables of the Brotherhood of the Holy Blood and accompanied by brass bands, more than 1,700 citizens on foot, in carts or on horseback perform stories from the Old Testament, the life of Jesus and the history of Bruges. Then, various civic groups venerate the relic and the procession concludes with a prayer ceremony, performed in several languages to accommodate the international audience." I decided this was something I had to see, so I gave up the (Metric) Century and rode only in the morning so I could attend the parade in the afternoon.

Our morning ride was through the Flanders Fields area, made famous by John McRae's WW I war memorial poem "In Flanders Fields". Such beautiful countryside - it's awful to think of it scarred with trenches, artillery, and death, as it was during World War I. 

They couldn't set up the rest stop in the normal place because of another local Ascension Day celebration going on, and certain roads were closed, so we had to do some detours. Without going into the boring specifics, most of the group wound up together, with only maybe four of us being 20-30 minutes or so behind. When we stragglers got to lunch at Water en Vuur in Diksmuide, everyone else was already finishing, and they didn't bring out any more food - lunch had been family style and we had to make do with whatever was left on the tables - little bits of pasta, radishes, courgettes, bread, etc.

Sarah goofs around at the morning break

The break may have had to have been been relocated, but it did include waffles!

After lunch those who were continuing to ride continued on to the WW I Museum (I was sorry to miss that), while Becca called a taxi van for those of us heading back to Bruges for the parade. Except the taxi never showed. After a while Becca gave up on the taxi (which was supposedly stuck in traffic) and Becca called for one of the Backroads vans. You could tell she was getting stressed out about getting us back in time, but she never lost her sunny demeanor - a real pro. She warned us that the van wasn't going to be able to get us all the way back to our hotel. I pictured New York Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade level traffic, but Bruges is a city of only 120,000 people, so their version of "traffic" is nothing compared with American big city event traffic (or, I imagine, European big city event traffic). The van got us to within half a mile of our hotel. From there we made a mad dash and got there just in time. And bonus! Our hotel was along the parade route. I had spoken with the desk clerk in the morning, and he said the hotel puts out chairs for guests and that he would reserve me one. So we slid into our front row seats just in time, moments before the parade started.

The parade has bands, choral groups, reenactments of biblical scenes - both Old Testament and New, scenes from Bruges history, and culminates with the presentation of the reliquary containing what is said to be Christ's blood on a cloth. For this last part everyone stands and a hush falls over the crowd. There are costumes. There are animals. I think I took more pictures at the parade than I did of the whole rest of the trip. A bunch are included below. The parade was very cool, and those of us who attended were very happy with our choice.  

Opening Group

Opening group -=singers

These girls would scramble and rearrange themselves while marching to spell several different messages - cute

Looked to me like a Scout-related band

The Imperial Order of Hershey's Kisses

Costumed Character

Costumed Character

Biblical Scenes

Adam and Eve

Creatures in the Garden of Eden

God confronts Adam

Abraham

Animals!

Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery - you can see we had great seats!

Pharoah

Moses

OK, on to the New Testament - the three wise men arrive (this is Melchior)

The head of John the Baptist

Christ (with the Pharisees behind him - I think)

Roman legion

Christ and the cross

Bruges History and the Relic

Saxophonist from the Crusades

Court Jester does schtick about the horse poop (including bending down and pretending to eat it)

Medieval folk

Medieval folk sing a song and wave branches

The holy relic!

My favorite - this guy brought up the rear, playing music on this bell device.

The final evening's events included a beer tasting and then dinner. Since I didn't want to do a beer tasting on an empty stomach I ate the last of some snacks I had brought from Amsterdam, then headed out. We went to one of Belgium's many ancient breweries, Brewery Bourgogne des Flandres, where we tasted four different delicious beers, then it was on - by horse carriage! - to dinner (for me, a salmon appetizer, veggie risotto main course, and ice cream, with hot chocolate sauce for dessert). After dinner we walked back and I said some goodbyes.

Beer tasting

Traveling to dinner in style

Vegetable risotto

Tannie, Ellen, and me

Continue to Part VI