Belgium (part 2)

Central Flanders - Waterloo & Ghent

One of the must see stops on my trip through Belgium was Waterloo.  The site of one of the most famous battles in European history.  It is well known worldwide and lends its name to numerous organisations, public buildings and places.  I was excited to visit the place where Napolean and the French Empire were finally stopped by an alliance of the British, Dutch and Prussian armies.

I was pleasantly surprised by Waterloo as I'd heard several derogatory remarks made about the site - most famously by Lord Wellesly himself who decried the ruining of his beautiful battlefield.  The monument at the site was built on the spot on the ridge where the Prince of Orange was injured in the battle.  Sadly, in making the monument, the ridge the battle was fought on is now gone.

I think the thing that surprised me the most wasn't the site of the battle, or the not so interesting museum, or even the amazing view afforded by a climb to the top of the monument.  The most interesting part of visiting Waterloo was the nearby panorama painting with accompanying props and music.  I think it is one of the most impressive combinational forms of art I've ever seen.

After leaving Waterloo I headed up to Ghent for a night's sleep on a canal boat - something I was very much looking forward to.  It turned out to be better than I thought it would be!  The boat itself was beautiful and comfortable and the city was even more so.  Several times I wished I had had more time to spend there.  Alas, I was a slave to my schedule.  The next morning, after climbing a bell tower and looking through Ghent's churches, I headed to what was about to become the favourite city of my journey up to that point: Brugge.

Before I move on completely, however, I feel I need to bring us back to what's important - the beer!  For years I'd been drinking a beer called Guulden Draak and its quite safe to say I was completely ignorant of its origins.  Until I got to Ghent that is.  The beer is brewed to the north of Ghent and takes its name from the large golden dragon mounted on the top of Ghent's belfry.  My story of Belgium: from complete ignorance to stunned amazement every single day.

West Flanders - Brugge and Ieper (Ypres)

I love Brugge.  No, I haven't seen the movie.  Yes, I know I should've watched it before I left and yes, I do plan on watching it in the future.

Brugge was the second city that I was planning on visiting on my travels which had been declared a UNESCO heritage site.   If you've read my previous blog on visiting Bath, England, you'll know I was expecting a lot from Bath and felt a bit let down when leaving.  I arrived in Brugge with no expectations whatsoever, and was totally blown away by the city.

I'll break down how I spent my time in Brugge to a few parts: the food, the sights, good friends and a day trip to Ieper.

Brugge was the first place where I truly went all out on Belgian food.  Frites from a highly recommended stand below the bell tower, fresh strawberries from a local farmer's market, sugary waffles from a street vendor, freshly made pralines from a chocolatier and my second favourite beer from my trip to Belgium - accompanied by a delicious local cheese, of course.  I did not have one bad meal while in the city.  One of the best stops if my whole visit was to a hidden away pub down a narrow alley, Staminee de Garre.  I think that anyone that enjoys incredibly good beer should visit the difficult to find, but extremely cool, little pub when in Brugge.

Brugge is a beautiful city.  Narrow and mazy cobbled streets, several gigantic cathedrals, huge medieval defensive towers, massive medieval market squares, and swan-filled canals crisscross, surround and fill the city.  Everywhere you go in Brugge the sights are beautiful and the whole city feels authentically old and medieval.

It was by happenstance that two friends of mine were traveling through Europe, specifically Brugge and Bruxelles, at the same time that I was.  I always enjoy travelling with other people and getting to enjoy Brugge, Ieper and Bruxelles with friends was a great and unexpected pleasure.  Not only seeing the sights together, but also comparing notes on all the different Belgian beers, as well.

On my last night in Brugge I took a day trip to the small town of Ieper (Ypres).  For most, Ieper is not a major draw, but for Canadians it should be required visiting.  There are two battles (potentially three, with Paschendaele, just north of Ieper) from WWI which are extremely important to the national identity of Canada.  The battle of Ieper helped shape the perceptions of other nations toward Canadians due to the skill and bravery of the soldiers who fought and died there.  After the battle of Ieper our soldiers were recognized for the first time as Canadians, and not just as British (except by the British, of course).

The war memorials in Ieper are beautiful and the memorial arch listing the names of all those who died defending the city in WWI is an extremely solemn place.  The In Flanders museum, while slightly disjointed, is one of the best WWI museums in the world.  But, it would be foolish to focus only on sad or dark moments of the history of Ieper as the present day city is beautiful.  The huge town hall and massive cathedral dominate the centre of the city.  Small cobbled streets radiate out in every direction and while touristy, it does not feel nearly as fake as many other cities I've visited.  The most prominently heard language is Dutch, which is usually a good indicator of local vs. tourist density.

Of course, you can't forget about the Belgian beer.  Our day trip to Ieper was to take us past the last of the Trappist abbeys in my beerlgrimage: Westvleteren.  Westvleteren Abbey produces what many beer rating websites consider to be the best beer in the world.  One thing I am certain of is that regardless of its taste, it is one of the most difficult beers in the world to acquire.  The bad news from our story?  We didn't check the schedule closely enough and the cafe at the abbey was closed on the day we arrived there.  Damnit!

Bruxelles

After leaving Brugge I returned my car hire to Lille, France and returned to the drudgery of public transport as I headed to Bruxelles.  I had quite purposefully avoided Bruxelles during my car travels through Belgium as I wanted to avoid driving through the city at all costs and I figured that public transport would be more than adequate to get around. It was a good decision.  The traffic in Bruxelles is horrendous and the public transport is quite good.

When I arrived in Bruxelles I was to stay with my friends who'd rented a nice flat in a posh area of the city.  We spent a couple of days wandering the city, taking pictures, finding nice cafes and cooking our own dinners.  I even got to see the national team play a football game on TV!

Over three days spent in the European capital I did and saw quite a lot.  A lot more than I expected to!  A few of the places I went to were a bit underwhelming, like the Atomium, while others were fantastic.

On my last day in Bruxelles I visited the armaments museum and AutoWorld.  The armaments museum had a varied, and incredible, collection of planes ranging from WWI bi-planes to an F16 holding down the centre of the hangar.  The next room over?  A number of APC's and tanks.  The next room from that?  What appeared to be every single weapon used to wage war from the 14th to the 19th century.

After the orgy of weapons and war vehicles I went across the street to AutoWorld.  It was a car orgy featuring old cars from as far back as the Model T to brand new Lamborghinis on display for the Italian company's birthday.  After a thoroughly enjoyable day checking out museums I headed back to the city centre and had the last Belgian frites of the trip at Fritland and my last beer at a small Belgian restaurant which served delicious rabbit cooked in kriek paired with a nice sour lambic.

Oh right!  How could i forget to talk about the beer?  I also went to one of my favourite breweries while I was in Bruxelles: Cantillon.  Located in a poorer neighbourhood (which may have been quite nice when they opened over 100 years ago), the Cantillon Brewery is stashed in an ancient old rundown factory building south of the old city.  It exudes character, charm and cobwebs in this ultra traditional Belgian brewery which relies on wild yeast to ferment their delicious lambics.  Cantillon was the site of one of the best beer tastings I had all trip and it may be the only brewery in Belgium that you can actually walk through!  Check the last picture for their open top wort tank which the wild yeast gets in through!

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning of part 1 - I loved Belgium and before arriving I wanted to love it.  The sights in Belgium are beautiful, but the key to enjoying Belgium is to eat and drink your way through the country.  My Belgian friend tried to explain Belgian food to me:  "Belgians enjoy food, Frenchmen cook it."  I didn't fully understand what he meant at first, but I think I do now.  The quality, taste and experience of eating and drinking is what's important to Belgians, not so much the method of preparation - except when the method creates the taste. How can you not like eating in a country like that?

As to the sights of Belgium - every city seems to have its own quaint or classy charm.  For such a small country Belgium feels varied.  Small charming cities like Brugge and Ieper take you back in time in the west.  Switchback roads, cliffs and rolling hills take you into areas which look untouched by men in the east.  The middle is a mix of the two: nature and city, French and Dutch.  Altogether I spent 10 days in Belgium and I quite easily could've stayed longer!

Next stop: The Netherlands.