For those that don't know, Belgium is the beer Mecca (one of them anyway, Germans and Czechs might argue bitterly about this). Brewmasters across the world align their wort tanks towards this tiny country as they pray over their brews. I fully intended to partake of as many different beers as possible during my time in Belgium and I had a car to get me everywhere I wanted to go.
As I traveled into Belgium a friend informed me that he was going to be in the Czech Republic and he offered that I come visit him - I accepted. My friend is even more of a beer aficionado than I am and I suggested I might bring a few Belgian beers with me. What started as a nice thing to do for a friend quickly became THE COLLECTION.
It is extremely easy to make a mouthwatering beer collection in Belgium. In fact, its hard to find a limit on how many bottles to include in it. What styles of beers do I bring? How many of each style? How do I get all of them around by public transport from France to the Czech Republic? All of these difficult questions proved too difficult for me so I just started collecting bottles with the intention of sorting it all out later. How did I do that? Well, that might just be a story for my next blog post!
The Ardennes - Bastogne & Orval
As I crossed the border from Luxembourg into Belgium I was once again in awe of such an important area to WWII - the Ardennes. My first stop was the small town of Bastogne. Bastogne was the site of the heroic American defence during the Battle of the Bulge when the 101st Airborne was surrounded during the German counterattack of January 1945. The area is rife with well known events from WWII - General McAuliffe's simple response to a German surrender demand ("Nuts!") standing foremost in my mind. As I drove into the town I couldn't get the picture of snow covered soldiers hiding in the woods from HBO's Band of Brothers out of my head.
My first stop in Bastogne was a small hidden away museum in one of the few buildings that survived the battle. It had such an incredibly diverse collection, and while lacking order or description, it proved to be one of the best museums I visited.
From Bastogne I made my way south and I was once again following the trail of WWII. The roads I was driving down were the same roads used by the German tanks that blitzed through the Ardennes forest in the spring of 1940 and straight into the heart of France. I still find it difficult to imagine huge armoured columns pouring down the narrow roads (without pavement) and having all those vehicles not get stuck or run out of supplies.
The goal of my southward journey was the small abbey of Orval - the first Trappist brewery on my beer pilgrimage. The abbey is beautiful and I wish I had called ahead to book a guest stay there. As it was, walking the grounds of the old ruins, looking through the museum, and catching glimpses of the modern abbey left me feeling refreshed and relaxed. Not to mention having a couple of delicious beers to take with me and a 1kg block of some of the best cheese I've ever tried.
After sleeping near Orval I left the Ardennes on my way to Liege by a circuitous route that took me through a place I'd read about, Rochehaut, and the second of the Trappist breweries on my beerlgrimage - Rochefort. Rochehaut is stunningly beautiful and standing on the hillside overlooking the village was a highlight of my trip through Belgium. Rochefort, on the other hand, didn't have much to offer other than a tourist info office that sold beer!
Liege
The largest city of the French speaking portion of the country, Liege is best known as the birthplace and capital of Charlemagne (at least by me!). Liege is also home to one of the most widely produced common beers of Belgium - Jupiler. I'm not a fan, but on my first night there I got to experience what I believe is my favourite Belgian beer: Rochefort 10. I'll never forget that first sip, even if the rest of that night is a bit hazy.
Liege is a beautiful city which straddles the Meuse river. I spent a full day walking up and down the river enjoying local markets, an amazing arms & armour museum, and a ... shopping mall? I had delicious frites done 'properly' and I enjoyed several new types of beer - this time in moderation.
The North - Achel & Westmalle
I left Liege and headed towards the Netherlands as I continued my beerlgrimage towards Achel & Westmalle - Trappist breweries number 3 and 4. I did not stop in Achel as you cannot visit the abbey and the shop is quite small, but I did continue on to Westmalle where I stopped at the Trappist Cafe.
When people talk about Belgium they mention fries, chocolates, waffles and beer - everyone seems to forget the amazing cheese! The Westmalle cheese is absolutely to die for - much like the beer! After securing more bottles I continued on to my next stop - Leuven - where I was going to stay with a friend who planned to show me the Flemish countryside.
East Flanders - Leuven & Hoegaarden
I met up with my friend in Leuven and went out for a delicious dinner, which wasn't particularly Belgian, but allowed me to get my first taste of Flemish and my first try at a new language on the trip. As it turns out I'm not very good at pronouncing Dutch words, and I'm better off sticking to English and French.
We tried a few local brews and I got to explore a bit of the city. The following day we went out into the country, visited Hoegaarden, and got a bit lost as we headed in the general direction of Liege and the small town where my friend grew up. After several beers, a tray of delicious fresh strawberries and some frites - we were on our way back to Leuven.
As this is my story of Belgium I feel it's important to mention the beers that come from Leuven. It is the home of Leffe and Stella Artois and its only a short 15 minute drive away from Hoegaarden. Frequent drinkers of import beers will almost assuredly recognize these names and will more than likely have tried them before!
Stay tuned for the second part of my look at Belgium as I go over my travels from one side of Flanders to the other.
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