The trams are “onderbroken”. The number 1 tram and the number 4 tram are supposed to run through the middle of town on the Korenmarkt. For now and until the spring, the Korenmarkt is torn up and being reworked. The little house that sold tickets and had a breakroom for drivers got torn down this week. There is a big stink about removing the cobblestones and replacing them with something artificial. Just at this moment there is more dust that cobblestone and every dry wind raises a cloud of dust. Going into town is an adventure that requires calculating where to walk and how much longer will the trip take since more of it has to be done on foot.
We left for the Friday Market this morning. We took the tram to the Duivelsteen Castle — where it has to reverse direction since it can go no further. We planned to walk the rest of the distance into town. Friday Market is both a place and an event. Most days, there are restaurants and stores that exist with the address of Friday Market and sell their various “goods” to all who visit. On Friday’s, there are extra vendors who come in and set up shop in the middle of the plaza that these others encircle. When these extra folks are here, you can buy cheap clothes, fresher fish, horse meat, cheap tablecloths and towels, and our favorite, apples and pears that come from Belgium. The vegetable/fruit vendor sells other fruits and vegetables as well. Some of his produce comes from Italy or Spain or France. In season, he has field crates of Belgian pears and apples that he sells by the kilo. I recently made apple butter with some of his apples.
