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East Of Ostend
September 24, 2006

Today we decide to get the train to Knokke and tram it along to Ostend for the return journey. The first port of call was to Zhan Wang's Floating Mountain Of The Immortals but it looks a long way from the tram stop so we opt for the Pedro Calapez [a Portugese Howard Hodgkin anyone?] painting/installation in the Church Of Saint Margaret. We'd like to have learned a bit more about this piece but when we finally find a copy of the catalogue we find that there isn't one in English. Just Dutch, German and French. Which is a pity as Beaufort is so "do-able" from the UK and did feature in a large Guardian article... Maybe next year.

Next we stop at Zeebrugge and so begin the long search [1 hour - half of which was spent going in the wrong direction] for Michael Ray Charles' The Three Graces [left]. Well worth the perseverence though. Three large, bullet like, silver representations of KKK members, denouncing racial discrimination and social injustice. The location, tucked away on a small green amidst a circle of cottages might have made the piece difficult to find but gave the feeling of a clan meeting with the pieces starck against heavy grey clouds.

We then pop into the grim, Southend-esque, Blankenberge where Stephan Balkenhol's Das Schiff is perched halfway up the pier. Not one of the better exhibits and not one of the nicest of Belgium's coastal resorts. So we carry on to De Haan for lunch...

Unfortunately for us, the lovely little town of De Haan has been overrun with dog lovers and their dogs. There had been a Dog Show on the beach earlier and there are literally hundreds of dogs of all shapes and sizes everywhere we look. It had struck us over the previous couple of days that Belgium is a nation of small dog lovers but there was every size imaginable here! After a Croque Monsieur, an aptly named Beaufort Blond beer and another Kreik, we head off to see La Peau Du Vent on the beach by Vosseslag. This tree/slab of marble installation by Giuseppe Penone represent the effects of ageing, erosion and time... I don't think it has been there long enough to pull it off really.

Our last stop, before we head back into Ostend is Bredene. A very small town, where the dunes hide the sea and there is very little else to see. The work by Josep Van Lieshout is out of place and unpleasant. The Body Bar is exactly that. A large female torso with severed limbs, lies, bikini clad and reeking of piss. Inside is a table, a couple of arrangements of wine bottles hanging from the ceiling and a dart board on the wall. Not nice and unclear what it was that the artist was trying to say.

Back in Bruges, we find that most of the other interesting restaurants are closed, it being Monday, so we head back to De Vlaamsche Pot. Stopping first for a few more beers on the way. Carmeleit, Bruges Zot, Westmalle and a raspberry beer. We both opt for smaller starters, Fish Soup and Ham & Melon, then I opt for the Beef Stew this time while Sam has the mass of Moules. This time we go for a walk before heading back for bed and don't hear the clunky plumbing at all!

Categories: Art, Food & Drink

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