The sponge-bearer

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Runners and joggers who hate cobblestones better abstain from the "Straight through Bruges" race. Such stretches are just too plenty in Bruges. Here, the runners enter the Westmeers. The street, of course. And the terrace of the "Dolle Dries" (Crazy Dries) was quite a nice observation spot.

Towards the Jan Van Eyck square, ambiance and public assistance were rather lacking. Typical Belgian behaviour. Compare this with the enthousiasm of the millions of people along the path of the New York Marathon, where all runners, from the first to the last, are greeted and applauded.

A few more snapshots of the .Straight through Bruges" race. The people frm Bruges did participate in great numbers.

Tableau of the Prophets. Yesterday, you saw Moses with his Ten Commandments. Today, here is King David and his harp. He expresses his confidence in God by means of playing songs on this instrument.

Competitions such as the .Straight through Bruges" race are for everybody, young and old, talented runners and slowpokes. For the lesser athletes, it's a good thing is to know that, even after 10 km, they won't be running alone and there will still be dozens of participants around them, running at a like pace. This is the Begijnenvest, a much steeper climb than the participants ever suspected.

A greater contrast between this picture and the previous one, is hardly possible. This young lady is still smiling from ear to ear. And one can see her, literally floating towards the finish line.

Sometimes, neither music nor the encouragement from spectators are sufficient to refuel participants' endurance and courage. And this young lady cannot hide her disappointment when she has to abandon the race at the Minnewater bridge.

Music mellows manners...
and the pain from running.

The path of the "Straight through Bruges" race literally runs straight through the city but, contrary to previous years, the stretch along the Langerei was was not included in the path this year, and the runners had to proceed along a different stretch. But this had the runners huff and puff along two real "legkillers", the Potterierei (Pottery street) and the Spinolarei (Spinola street).  

And now, the "Straight through Bruges" race isover and done with. Here is a first impression of the event. Young and old, from 8 to 80, everybody ran. The weather, this morning, was foggy, then came rain and, suddenly, right before the start of the race, the skies cleared. In the end, it became warm and, of course, that did not make it any easier on the runners.
Notice the second runner in this photo. It just so happens that I know him : Mohammed Guenar. He seems to be holding a pair of replacement shoes.
And yes, I managed to get my second bicycle ready on time which gave me a chance to follow the runners and snap pictures all along the path of the race.

Over the last twenty years, Bruges has worked itself into a top position in the domain of culinary pleasures. There are a great number of restaurants well worth calling for a reservation. De Karmeliet (The Carmelite) is generally considered as being the best. But, there are quite a few more such classy restaurants in Bruges, where the eyes as well as the palate are being pampered. One of those is "Den Gouden Harynck" (The Golden Herring) in Groeninge.

The Golden Herring.

Dubbel speciaal, dit huisnummer.  Eerst en vooral betreft het een dubbel nummer.  Het komt er op neer dat van twee huisjes er één comfortabel huis gemaakt werd.  Maar dat is niet het meest opmerkelijke.  Het meest opmerkelijke is dat men aan de hand van dit huisnummer kan weten in welk deel van de stad dit pand zich bevind.  Meer nog: deze manier van indelen van huizen betreft een systeem dat teruggaat tot de dertiende eeuw, en in de veertiende eeuw zijn benaming meekreeg: 'zestendelen'.  De stad werd ingedeeld in zes delen en elke wijk kreeg een letter mee.  Dit huis heeft de letter C, dus hier staan we in de wijk van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw.  Via die manier van klasseren van huizen kan, in vergelijking met andere steden, veel gemakkelijker huizenonderzoek gebeuren: wie doorheen de eeuwen woonde of eigenaar was van een welbepaald huis dat nu nog bestaat.

This house-number is doubly special. For a start, there is a double number. This simply means that two small houses were converted into a single, comfortable abode. But that is not what's really remarkable. The notable fact here is that by way of such a number, the administration of Bruges can readily pinpoint on which parcel of land within the city these houses were built. This numbering system goes back to the thirteenth century, and eventually got its name "zestendelen" in the fourteenth century. At that time, the city was divided into six distinct parishes, and each parish was identified by a letter. This house has the  letter C and thus, we know we are in the Notre-Dame parish. Moreover, this method of identifying houses enables the city very easily, when compared to other cities' systems, to find the houses who are due for an inspection, and as well to trace back all their previous owners throughout the centuries...

A follow-up to the picture of yesterday, showing the Pharaoh of Egypt. At the back of this allegoric waggon are the figures of Josef welcoming his brothers and extending them help.

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A classic to end the evening. An amazing display of roofs, from " 't Putje" on the Zand to the houses behinf the Sint-Alvator's cathedral.

This fanfare, the "Harmony Play after Work" from Koolkerke, a municipality in the suburbs of Bruges, regaled the inner city with its music. One has to admire the inspired names such associations choose to call themselves. "Play after Work" : the question is, what do they consider to be play and what do they consider to be work?