By Aneta Manningtonova
Greetings everyone,
The return of crisp days and cold evenings means that we’re on the verge of winter, but that’s no excuse to hibernate! There are plenty of things to do this Autumn.
October is all about long leafy walks, pubs with fires and fancy dress (for Halloween, of course). The arrival of Autumn is the time to visit food markets to satisfy our appetites for hearty seasonal dishes and become reacquainted with our coats.
However, we did have our Indian summer and experienced the UK’s driest September since records began. I was very pleased with the warm spells across all of the United Kingdom (thankfully still including Scotland).
Despite this good weather I could not resist a great deal and booked a last minute trip to Bruges. I travelled from London by Eurostar and the whole journey took no longer than 3 hours; what a great experience! Picturesque Bruges is the largest city in the Flemish Region of Belgium made up of canals, bridges, linked by cobbled lanes and features glorious examples of medieval Flemish architecture.
Once I arrived I thought I felt like I had stepped back in time to the Middle Ages. It’s the go to city for historical film locations and definitely for a reason, it’s absolutely stunning. Though it was September, like in the UK the weather that greeted me was very warm and sunny. As well as the architecture the atmosphere of the middle ages has been preserved in most of the tiny centre of Bruges. Like Venice canals circle and cross the city though the main element the cities have in common is of course the great painters such as Hans Memling and Jan van Eyck – although they are less familiar to most of us than Venice painters Titian and Tintoretto.
Walking along various cobbled streets I stumbled across this small cafe. I discovered this cafe specialised in traditional Flemish pancakes and waffles. It’s run by a lovely old couple that make the delicious pancakes right in the front of your table using this huge tiled cooking stove. You can have sweet or savoury and of course nothing accompanies them better than the various types of famous Belgium Beer. Being Czech I can definitely say that Belgium beers can compete with those produced in the Czech Republic. The city is also known for its seafood and I could not resist and ordered a pot of their famous mussels with chips and lobster, a treat I was not disappointed with.
I learnt a lot from various museum tours, Bruges was in fact a jewel in the crown of the Duchy of Burgundy – the most powerful principality in the region – whose ruler, Charles the Bold, was a catch even for the British Princess Margaret of York. When Margaret arrived in Bruges in 1468 she found mead (an alcoholic beverage made from honey) pouring from the city fountain in the form of a golden pelican. The day after her arrival the famous tournament of the Golden Tree took place. What followed were nine solid days of feasts and entertainment, during which monkeys threw trinkets to the crowd and a court dwarf atop a golden lion competed for attention with a wild man riding a camel. It had been referred to as the wedding of the century.
Bruges has many things to offer and there is a place to find something for everyone. I would definitely recommend this city for any type of a short break, romantic or otherwise, and a great place to escape to.
There are also plenty of events happening in London this October! One that I am looking forward to is the Silent Disco that is taking place at the Shard. Being Europe’s tallest building the view from the Shard is spectacular, especially at night, so being able to enjoy a silent disco at over 1,000 feet is certainly appealing!
Another event I am particularly excited about is this year’s London Oktoberfest. The second weekend of the festival is just about to get under way, held near Canary Wharf. There’s no better way to prepare for Halloween than with live music, a Lederhosen and a giant beer!
Speaking of which, the end of October also signifies Halloween, which in many parts of the world is known as the spookiest night of the year. All sorts of traditions take place, some of these include children trick or treating, costume parties, pumpkin making, eating candy/toffee apples and dressing the houses with scary decorations. Below there is a picture of a pumpkin that our production executive Rachel carved last year. I look forward to hearing what everyone got up to on this eerie night.
I’m happy to announce that today commemorates our 1 year anniversary for this newsletter, I am really glad that so many of you have subscribed and have stayed faithful to our readership. We are looking forward to providing you with more exciting webinars and thoughts in the future.
Aneta Manningtonova| Head of Marketing | Business Review Webinars
Phone: +44(0)20 7936 6890
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.business-review-webinars.com
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