Archief

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.