Benelux April 2013 -- Early Women's Sanctuaries and Homes for the Poor

I was very touched when I read about the Begijnhof in Bruges. Beguines were religious women who lived in communities together but did not take the formal vows of nuns. These communities provided shelter and work especially for women who were without other means of support. However, some communities only admitted ladies of high degree while others were reserved for persons in humble circumstances. Still others opened their doors wide to women of every condition and these were the most densely peopled.


This one in Bruges was founded in the late 13th century, although the date over the gate is from 1776. The dates of the houses built around the courtyard in typical Beguinage style vary, but many are quite old, some going back to the 15th century.

Our timing was perfect.  We got there just as the daffodils were in bloom.  We met someone who told us that only lasts for 2 weeks each spring.  There were lots of people there because of the blooming, but it wasn't crowded at all.

If you see anyone out in the middle of the daffodils, they are not supposed to be there.

We went into the small chapel and got there just in time for Evensong.  There weren't many nuns (the Begijnhof became a monastery for the Benedictine order in 1937), but they sang well in this lovely little chapel.  The original 13th century church burned in the late 16th century, was rebuilt around 1609 and later remodeled in the baroque style.  At least the interior was.  The exterior is still a simple 17th century church.

After the service, the nuns headed back for dinner, at least that's my guess.

Except for one that you can see just to the left of the entrance door to the church.  She's tiny, so you need to click on the picture to see her better.

She was paused there to tell these people to get out of the daffodils.  When they didn't move, she got a little more aggressive about telling them.

Trout did take a picture of me at the entrance.  Please note that I am not standing in the daffodils.  I read the signs.

Here you can see someone behind me not following the rules.

We ran into a couple who wanted their picture taken.  Fortunately, they had the same camera as I did, so we swapped cameras and took each other's pictures.  I think their pictures of us turned out better than my pictures of them.  If I remember correctly, they spoke French.

This is another similar facility, but with no religious folk and totally for people of limited means.

Started as early as the 14th century rich families and corporations of Flemish cities built houses for poor and needy widows and widowers. This one is one of the most lovely, Godshuis de Meulenaere, from 1613.

The inhabitants created little gardens in the courtyard and got their water there. Even today, most Godshuizen are occupied by elderly people. They are now run by the Bruges Department of  Social Care. The occupants get food and basic care, just like when they were established. The names of the Godshuizen are based on the benefactor and the year built. There are several in the city.

It is perfectly okay to go through the gate to see the inside, like we did.

Seeing these places, literally only a couple of blocks away from the Halve Maan, was a nice respite from the rest of the well-populated Bruges streets.

Benelux April 2013 -- Keukenhof Gardens on the Ground

To continue with the flower theme, here are our pictures, or at least part of them, from the Keukenhof Gardens.  Keukenhof is open each spring from mid-March to mid-May.  The day of the flower parade in mid-April is usually the best time to see it all in bloom and also the most crowded day of the season.

As you will see from these pictures, this year was so cold and wet that the trees were still bare and there weren't many tulips.  There were lots of other flowers though, and the next posting will take you inside the greenhouses.

To try to avoid the crowds, we went the Monday after the Saturday Bloemencorso and amazingly, we got there before lunch.  There weren't very many cars parked yet, but if you click on this picture you may be able to see that they are from a variety of countries, just in this little group of 4.

 

This is the entrance we were directed to.

 

There are lots of languages on this picture.  I'm pointing to English.

 

The gardens are enormous with lots of paths.  We did not walk on all of them, although I would have if...  There were a few tulips blooming.

 

This shows the bare trees.

 

Gotta love those early blooming hyacinths.

 

And daffodils.

 

More tulips here.

 

And Trout on his side.  If any of you have an answer for this, please let me know.  Until my postings from the last couple of days, I had never had this issue before.

 

Now with your head back upright, enjoy the gardens.

 

As you now know from the pictures before, some tulips were blooming.  However, someone had the great idea to create huge tulips with other flowers.

 

These pictures show some bloomers and some not quite ready.

 

Some trees were getting the idea.

 

As were some other tulips.

 

I loved these ones, even though they are very short.

 

By the time we had lunch, visited the greenhouses and were ready to leave, more people had arrived.

 

Trout loved the daffodils in these pictures.

 

As we walked to our car, we noticed a group of Americans on a bike tour.  Here are some of them crossing the road as we were driving.

 

Keukenhof has several snack bars and restaurants.  We chose one of the restaurants about an hour into our visit.  The food was excellent.  It was a chilly day in spite of the sunshine, but we sat outside with most of the people there anyway.