Taking the train from
Amsterdam, we journeyed through the countryside and past tulip fields to cross
the border into Belgium.
Before we got here, I
couldn’t picture Belgium in my head. Now if I had to sum it up, I would say Belgium is
beer, chocolate, canals and style. You’re not Belgian unless you have an
effortlessly-styled scarf around your neck.
At first we struggled
with menus and streets signs because nearly everything is written only in
Flemish. After a few days we got the hang of it.
Belgium was mistakenly
an afterthought for us. It was never high on our must-see places, and so we
were thinking of it more as a pass-through from Amsterdam to Dover. As always,
whenever our expectations are low, we end up having the best time. We spent 4 relaxed
days catching trains from town to town.
Antwerp was a good warm-up to Belgium with a
beautiful train station and nice Flemish buildings. Approximately 20,000
Orthodox Jews call Antwerp home, and we could swear that they all lived in our hostel’s
neighborhood.
Ghent is a lesser known town which ended up
being our favorite. It’s got all the charm of Bruges, but none of the tourists.
Ghent is known for its old-fashioned candies, including purple cones which they
call Ghent Noses. They have an overabundance of designer wallpaper stores. There
was even a funny corridor in the city center with 4 humongous churches and a
watchtower right in a row. Over the top opulence with a castle thrown in? Yes.
Down to earth? Absolutely.
Bruges is a medieval town straight out of a
romantic movie. There are canals and swans and horse drawn carriages.
There are
also a lot of tourists, and we had two encounters with service-people who were
extremely rude for absolutely no reason.
Bruges was beautiful, but it was even
more enjoyable when we were away from the city center and enjoying the quiet winding
side streets or the windmills along the canal.
It seems that the
Belgians’ diet consists of 4 main food groups: Fries, Waffles, Chocolates and
Beer.
Fries – just like in
the Netherlands, fries are very popular in Belgium where you buy them in
special shacks on wheels called Friteries. They
come with a healthy-sized serving of a sauce of your choice. We tried two
different kinds of sauch: “curry ketchup” and “stoverijsause mee mayonaise”, which is a
meat sauce combined with mayonnaise. We actually thought the fries were better
in Amsterdam, but the sauces were sure good.
Waffles – Belgian Waffles on their own are decadent
enough due to the ridiculous amount of butter that goes into them. But the Belgians
take them to new extremes with their toppings. Sooooo good. I guess they don’t
want you to forgot where you had that incredible waffle experience.
Chocolates – there are chocolate shops
on almost every street and it's fun to peruse all of the different shapes,
sizes and flavors.
We bought a sampler box of 10: caramel, pistachio, white,
champagne, mocha and 5 different kinds of praline.
Beer – trying all of the different kinds
of beer that this tiny country produces has been the highlight of our time in
Belgium. Every beer comes in a different shaped glass with its name on the side. The beer
comes by the centiliter and the bartender’s job is to make sure the beer is
accompanied by the correct amount of head.
The best beer back-story we’ve heard so
far is anything labeled as a “Trappist”. A long time ago, abbeys were
encouraged to contribute to their local community, and so beer brewing is how
they did so. The beer-making process would also kill off any infections in the
water, making beer a healthier option than the local water supply.
Today there are only 6 abbeys where monks still brew their own beers. By law,
only these beers can carry the official “Trappist” logo.
Our biggest predicament has been whether
to classify the beer as a “food” or “activity” in our budget. For our beer enthusiast friends back
home, here is what we’ve tried, and the * were our favorites...
- *De Koninck: amber, the quintessential
beer of Antwerp, served in a glass called a Bolleke
- Trappist Westmalle Dubbel: brown, 7.7%
- La Chouffe
- *Klokke Roeland: amber, 11%
- Augustijn: blonde, 7.5%
- Ammelok Ker: brown, 6%
- *Manneken Pis: white, 4.5%
- *Vedett: white
- Juplier: lager
- Duvel
- Brugse Zot
- Trappist Westmalle Triple: golden
blonde, 9.5%
- Rodenbach: red, tangy sweet and sour
flavors…our least favorite
- Hoegaarden Gran Cru: blonde, 8.7%
- Brugs Tarwebier: white
- Maes: blonde
- Leffe Bruin: brown, 6.5%
- Cuvee des Toilis: white, 7%
- Leffe: blonde
- Grimbergen: blonde, 6.7%
- Brugge Tripel: 8.7%
- Kasteel Triple: 11%
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