Tulips and Paintings

I had a very pleasant week away with my beautiful better half.  Absolutely no wargaming related activities involved I'm afraid.

It was a trip to enjoy the renowned tulip fields of Holland, a quick homage to Vermeer at Delft and some time in Belgium at Bruges.

So, first a view one of the tulip fields.

As Holland has the virtue of being flat, it would have been remiss not to spend a day cycling.  We just happened to choose the coldest, wettest and windiest day of our stay to do it... fun nonetheless.

We decided to stop overnight in Bruges on the way home.  A beautiful medieval town.

An unexpected gem was a visit to the town hall.  The meeting hall was stunning, and in a side room was an excellent geographical history of the town.  Well worth the 8 Euros admission.

This hall is still used by the town council for their meetings.  What a great place in which to do business.

Along one wall was a painting representing the return of the victorious army from the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302.

At the battle a force of untrained Flemish militia made up mainly of members from trade guilds, mostly weavers, defeated an experienced Royal French army with a large cavalry contingent.

Judging from the painter's representation, the Flemings are being shown as the noble victors and of a higher birth than perhaps they actually were. A degree of chivalric myth making perhaps.

Thanks for briefly joining me in the lowlands.