Traveling To Europe: Want to Buy Uke Over The Pond

I'd love to visit Bruges. Seeing the film made me understand what a gem of a place it must be.

Pity it's such a s--t hole!:D

John Colter.

Bruges was a great City with fantastic architecture, history, museums, galleries, chocolate.

Certainly nothing negative to say about the centre of the City which is where we were during our visit.

Watch The White Queen series on the War of the Roses in the UK and Bruges was used fir much of the location work for the courtyard and inside the medieval rooms of the building, which during our visit had a walking Shakesperian play being performed which was free to watch and tag along with as the storyline evolved.

Sh—thole, no.
 
I watched about thirty minutes of the movie, but I had to switch to something else. I was falling asleep. :)

I'll watch some more tonight.
 
Bruges was a great City with fantastic architecture, history, museums, galleries, chocolate.

Certainly nothing negative to say about the centre of the City which is where we were during our visit.

Watch The White Queen series on the War of the Roses in the UK and Bruges was used fir much of the location work for the courtyard
and inside the medieval rooms of the building, which during our visit had a walking Shakesperian play being performed which was free
to watch and tag along with as the storyline evolved.

Sh—thole, no.

Agreed. This will be our fourth trip that includes Bruges. We spend days. Not hours.

I admit to being old. I admit to being a tourist. I admit to partaking of the "tourist" attractions.
But we are good travelers. We spend real time doing real things, as well.

Going "deeper" into a city like Bruges is oh, so much more rewarding than a visit to a beach in
Orange County, CA. Or Disneyland, or strolling along the "Walk of Stars".

Especially when balanced against going to the beaches of Normandy, enjoying the history
and Architecture of Bruges, or a long walk in the Belgian or French or Italian countryside.

Then again, that's just us. Each has his or her own perspective on what is a s** hole.
 
In Ghent, besides the fantastic players Remco 'Ukulelezaza' Houtman-Janssen and Yannick 'Mr. Jaynickel' Van Loo and their multiple bands, there is also the luthiers-couple Jakob De Jaeger and Ondine Cantineau who build lots of high-end ukuleles (lutherie sur mesure). Which wasn't what you were looking for, but I can't help myself.

Just saw your advice, I will try to have a look when I am back in Gent.
Thanks for those tips!
 
We're back.

It didn't shake out as expected.

Operating on several great tips from Member ukulelekarcsi, I visited Key Music in Bruges fully intending to purchase a cheapo, play it while on the trip,
and leave it for the "aloha" for the next owner.

It was raining and still beautiful in Bruges. ukulelekarsci and I couldn't get our schedules together to meet personally. But we were able to communicate
"electronically" and make a tentative date for either of our trips next time.

After sorting through the few tenor ukes, I found a Morgan that had a spruce top and solid mahogany body that was priced to "fit the bill". My wife was with
me and offered to, "make me a present of the uke to remember the Bruges trip". That offer made it impossible to pass it on. And, consequently, I ended up
less altruistic and more a little piggie.

After rainy nights in Bruges, Paris, Beaune and Reims...then, finally back in Brussels, I was glad I was forced to be selfish. I bonded with the Tenor. I came home last night
and changed the strings after performing some basic lutherie...

Leveled, polished and shaped the frets (not in that order), shaved down the sharp nut, lowered the bridge, and switched out the bright chrome strap buttons for something
a little more subdued. Then, I put on a set of Aquilla Reds with a low "G".

Note: Soprano and Concerts rule on that side of the pond. AND, no one gets the Low "G". No low G strings available. In any town I visited. One very nice guy in Bruges told me,
"Honestly...and it shouldn't be this way.... here in Europe most people really consider ukuleles toys....". In Beaune, my lousy French had me drawing a nut and set of strings out
in order to describe a "Low G". Anyone know how to say "Wound" in French? He sold ukes...of a sort....but had no idea what a low G was....

We couldn't connect in Paris with any ukulele shops, players, or get a uke fix of any kind. Bad weather, jivey, electric vibe this trip, punctuated with a killing of people in the Police
Headquarters, my wife (who is basically pretty street-savvy) getting ripped off in the Metro, etc. So, this little Chinese Morgan and I made our own "high G" way through Belgium and France.

And live to talk about it.

I'll pass it on to a deserving player over here....some time soon. But not too soon!!!!
 
The whole movie is a stark black comedy, and takes the piss on the town as a tourist trap for the elderly. I like the movie, and there is mass tourism here.

But living in Bruges I can confirm that the town is in reality quite different and much nicer, if you take more than half a day and dare to leave the four streets of chocolate, lace, beer and t-shirt shops. There's abbeys, courtyards, hidden parcs, rooftop views, four windmills, a cow pasture, around 120 swans, canals and all kinds of bridges and passageways to discover, all within the small town center.

You're welcome any time, John!

Sounds amazing. Maybe some day.
 
Sorry I couldn't get some time off while you were here.

I wouldn't say ukuleles are considered toys here, even in the general opinion we've now had a good decade of televised talent shows that have at least one ukulele player per season; artists that include a short ukulele set in their regular concerts; classroom initiations. I think he exaggerated.

We do concentrate on sopranos and concerts in mainland Europe, tenors are very rare in my classes. And low G (or low A) linear tuning is as rare as hen's teeth in Europe, it's considered to take away part of the character of the instrument in order to get just a few extra notes. Just saying it's seen that way, I'm not opening that can of worms here on a mostly American forum.

But I think it also has to do with music shops just stocking a few 'regular' ukulele string sets (martin m600s and aquila nylguts, both in concert). One really has to turn to specialised shops (SUS, justecordes, Ukulele Paradijs, guteukulele, uked, world of ukes to name but a few) in order to get a different set and brand. Behind the counter of any music shops you have a wall of guitar string sets, some rows of bass strings and just two or three hooks with ukulele strings. But we're still better off than mandolin or banjo players.
 
Sorry I couldn't get some time off while you were here.

I wouldn't say ukuleles are considered toys here, even in the general opinion we've now had a good decade of televised talent shows that have at least one ukulele player per season;
artists that include a short ukulele set in their regular concerts; classroom initiations. I think he exaggerated.
....

But I think it also has to do with music shops just stocking a few 'regular' ukulele string sets ...... But we're still better off than mandolin or banjo players.



So right you are.


I didn't take the owner's statement as pejorative. He explained that the plastic and "lesser" ukes were sold by the truck full to schools that use them to teach music theory.
What could be wrong with that? And, no one expects ...or SHOULD expect.... a store to keep items in stock that they won't sell.


In fact both your music store tips in Brugge, including his shop and Key Music were highlights of the trip. And, the visit to Key Music netted both a great keepsake ukulele which triggered
a quest for a set of strings with a of Low G. I looked all over the place in Belgium and France. And, not that it was necessary to do so, and even though
none were found, the search yielded many other pleasant encounters. No matter, anyway. Where I live in the bowels of California, I have never found a set of strings like this
in a music shop, either. Even if they sell ukes.

To be completely fair, I wasn't able to go out in Paris and look around. We had a mandate to deliver a deceased friend's ashes to the Seine. On the way, my generally street savvy wife
was ripped of two wallets in the Metro. Dark, rainy, crowded day on the Metro. And she, for once, let her guard down. We were fish in a barrel.

Even with the four days there, and after four similar trips under our belts, trying to perform the difficult task of living like a Parisian with open minds, open hearts, and closed mouths,
we decided that we will steer clear of Paris in the future. It's a city much different than our first visit almost twenty years ago.

But Brugge? Beautiful, friendly, and a gem. Embrace the tourists. Walk in the marketplace in the rain during Market Day...Ride the boat for the fourth time....And stay in an apartment for four days.
I wish it had been four months....Or more.

Plus, even as a low end representation, I had a new uke to keep me warm! One I couldn't give away....This trip.
 
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Oof. I'm so sorry for you that you got swindled in Paris. I have heard that you need to keep your guard up in major cities in France while traveling in public transport or in touristy places there. Such a shame as France seems to be one of the more popular ukulele markets from what I've seen personally. Regardless, I really want to visit Paris some time in the near future myself. And Brugge is on my list as well, definitely. I've heard nothing but good things about the city. Hope you had a good visit in Europe overall.
 
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