Brugge

Saturday we took a hour or so long bus-trip to Brugge to see the College of Europe. The College of Europe is an interesting place. It was presented to us as a place one could get their master's degree in 10 months in various European studies. Students from all over Europe and the world are able to study there, but courses are only taught in English and French. We had a session on Monetary Policy in Europe, and the Euro-zone. The lecture was essentially an easier to understand version of Friday's lectures on European economics at the commission. Our speaker went over basic positives and negatives of the Euro since it's conception, why some countries didn't want it (read: the UK) and why some countries were unable to get it. The main positive reasons for joining the “Euro-zone” included stabilizing inflation, and interest rates, easier access to larger markets, and freedom of movement in the Euro-zone among citizens of these countries. The major negatives for countries are more related to economic policy. Since economic policy is decided by an EU institution (the European Central Bank in Germany) they make their policy based on what is good for the Euro-zone as a whole, not any country specifically. For example, if your country's economy needs more liquidity, but the Euro-zone sets interest rates to slow down spending and encourage investment, you're pretty much screwed. Her conclusion, however, was that the Euro, as a whole, has worked not perfectly, but a lot better than most people thought that it would, as the Euro-zone has maintained stable levels of inflation and interest rates.

After the morning session we had lunch in the College of Europe cafeteria (I felt at home again) then were given a walking tour of Brugge. Brugge is hard to explain. It's like Sturbridge village on steroids, and Disney Land at the same time. The inner city of Brugge has intensely restored and maintained all of the buildings built there since 1400 to make it appear as an authentic medieval European city. Yet, it is not really authentically medieval, since, as a tourist destination, it is sparkling clean. The result is you walking down the street feeling like you're in a disney movie, and a wicked witch is about to jump out from the shadows and offer you a poisoned apple. Contributing most to the oddities of the city were the carillian (spelling?) church bells playing Frank Sinatra's stranger in the night. Our tour guide told us they would play Britney Spears if you paid them enough. I was tempted, but I'm running out of Euros. This, however, did not stop the city from being truly majestic. Seeing the house of a king built in the year 1400 is mind boggling to think about no matter how touched-up the outside of it may seem. Brugge also has an interesting role in European history, according to our tour guide at least. He told us a story about how Germany had planned to bomb Brugge in World War II, but the leading German general had such an appreciation for the arts, and history, that he refused to bomb it. This story could be just as unreal as the witches I imagined lurking in the shadows, however, it was a good story none the less. While Belgium is not at the top of anyone's list of countries to visit in Europe, if you're into history, or architecture, Brugge is definitely a city worth visiting.