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May 26, 2015

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Belgium: It’s the last week. Already.

Oh dear: It’s Our Last week in Belgium:

So, as it happens, time has continued to pass at what feels like an accelerated rate, and as such we are already on our last week in Brussels, Belgium. It’s been a great experience, and I can certainly attest to the fantastic opportunity it is to be living in Europe. I love that you are able to travel as you please, unhindered and for very little cost. The price of seeing the world (Europe at least) is so much cheaper when you have a base on the continent. Why Australia, are you so far from everything???

As it’s our last, this week we have been making an effort to do those things we have not yet done:

Thursday:

We hadn’t done it, and therefore had to make some time before we ran out entirely: We visited Bruges. And Ghent (since it was on the way).

Ghent:

Well. We visited Ghent first, as someone had recommended visiting there, but we had not thought a lot about it. If it wasn’t for Murray wanting to visit a special bottle shop there, we might have missed it entirely.

Ghent: Canal and ubiquitous church

Ghent was amazing, and retrospectively, I wish we had chosen this city as our home base instead of Brussels. The historic city centre was beautiful, with plentiful examples of longstanding buildings of historic and aesthetic value. And there was plenty of street art. I recognized some of what we saw from our previous trip to Doel. It seems like Ghent boasts a brilliant mix of both old world and new. It wasn’t busy, and for the large part, it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves. Like Amsterdam, there were canals and canal boats to ride, but without the crowds and with an abundance of beautiful history architecture.

Street art in Ghent.

One cafe we walked through featured a multitude of cured ham legs hanging from the ceiling. Like, everywhere. Somehow, Murray failed to notice this (how do you not see in excess of 30 leg of hams hanging just about your head I do not know). I wish I had gotten a picture, as it was pretty hamtastic (lame, I know).

We visited the castle “Gravensteen” for a quick inspection of this historic artifact, now restored after its ignoble past. Apparently it was built on the site of a far more humble castle, with the primary purpose of showing off (of course). And as time wore on, it ended up being a location to hold and torture prisoners. Historically, this place did not have a good backstory to recommend it, but it was duly restored despite its history and is now just another tourist trap. We did not pay the 20 euro it would cost to traipse its internal workings, but instead just inspected the outside. Which was under refurbishment. Surprise. Seems like everything historic we have seen has been under some sort of refurbishment/repair/remodeling. I’ve seen just as much scaffold as I have actual historic building to date (in all honesty, probably more scaffold than building).

Castle Gravensteen. Couldn’t manage to get a photo with zero evidence of maintenance.

Notes on Ghent: It’s definitely worth a visit/stay if you are happening by. Definitely completely different experience to Brussels. Old town feel, but with a trendy side. Great beer selection at the corner stores.

Bruges:

Bruges, it was a wonderful place to visit, although I’m not totally convinced it was a better destination than Ghent. When we initially arrived, the traffic was terrible, and it took a considerable amount of time just to get ourselves parked and in the city streets. We parked in an underground lot, as the council preference in the city is to minimise the negative aesthetic that parked cars add to the historic streets (ie. minimal street parking provided, many streets pedestrian and special traffic only). The official city visitor recommendation is to park at the city outskirts in the commuter parking for the train station if arriving by car, however, traffic was so bad that we abandoned ship on trying to get to the train station and just parked at the closest parking plaza. As it happens, we ended up parked underneath some sort of carnival. Like Amsterdam, Bruges “show” had a multitude of sideshow-alley style rides and vendors, however this one was complete with demountable roller coasters and other fancy rides I’d not normally associate with a travelling show. Made it easy for us to find our parking lot when we were leaving (ie. follow the sounds of screaming).

View from the cafe in the Bruges town square

The Bruges architecture and city centre were very similar to what we had seen in Ghent, but the foot traffic was definitely much increased (although we did arrive mid-afternoon). No street art, though. Definitely maintained to be more of a historic feature than Ghent. However, historic or not, the streets still abounded with the common fashion labels e.g. h&m etc and there were more chocolatiers than you could hope to peruse. Kind of like visiting Queen St Mall, if the mall space also featured historic churches and town buildings (and mountains of chocolate).

…I’m glad we learned our lesson and came on a weekday, as the streets were still very busy (undoubtedly meaning it would have been feral on Saturday/Sunday). As it was, it was still too busy for our liking, and we holed up in a cafe for a while to get out of the crowd. However, turned out this was a great strategy (I guess it’s not really strategy when it sort of just happens…Serendipitous would probably be more accurate). By the time we had a) eaten late lunch in the square, and b) enjoyed a beverage in the cafe, the stores had closed making venturing back onto the streets a more comfortable experience. With no retailers left open, most of the tourists evaporated! (Undoubtedly whisked away by their respective tour buses.)

Bruges: Avoiding the crowds at ‘t Brugs Beertje. Super cute beer cafe.

The quiet streets were much more enjoyable, and walking through the town in the late afternoon sunlight was quite charming (major advantage being sunlight until after 9pm). There were even many areas where there was almost no-one around. There were plenty of beautiful canals and gardens to admire, and there were many scenic opportunities for photos or a nice romantic stroll (if you’re so inclined). However, I suspect it wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable if the streets were bustling. Glad we waited out the other tourists!

Bruges: Pretty photogenic.

So, notes on Bruges: Definitely visit, but for best effect, try to get there when everyone else isn’t.

Friday:

In preparation for the Tour de Geuze, we visited the Boon brewery today. The staff at the lambic museum had recommended that we take a tour boat from Halle, and as such we turned up bright and early to avoid the masses that we were assured we would have to contend with otherwise. Turns out we were there at the same time as a bus of tourists who had prior reservations. So maybe it wasn’t quite as quiet as we were hoping. It was also freezing on the river, and the tour on the boat was in french and flemish, but not english. Boo. Luckily, the boat only cost 1 euro, and the trip was relatively short. Retrospectively, definitely could have skipped the tour boat, as the brewery was like 5km down the river.

Fortunately, when we arrived at the brewery there was an English speaking tour guide. It was a very basic tour (and not even by a Boon employee, but hey, it was a free tour), and covered pretty much all the bases we were already informed on for Lambic style brewing. Still, it was certainly interesting to see the brewery, as we generally end up on impromptu microbrewery tours held by the brewer at places we have visited in the past. Much bigger outfit than most of the other breweries we have visited thus far.

Murray: Happy as a clam on the Boon tour.

Boon definitely was set up for a big weekend – they had a pavilion set up for people to sit and drink and enjoy live music, as well as food. One thing I wish I had tried there seems to be some sort of local traditional chow – a tartine which appears to be an open-faced sandwich with beer-cheese, leek/spring onion and radish.. We have seen it multiple times now. Really should have asked someone about the significance of this particular dish. Google tells me it is a dish traditionally eaten with a glass of Geuze. So it makes sense at a Lambic brewery that they would serve this dish (Geuze is a blend of old plus new lambic beer). Thanks Google.

After Boon, as we still had plenty of sunlight, we made our way into the heart of the city to visit the Cantillon brewery, catching a bus and a tram to get there (somewhat belatedly our first experience with public transport). Only to find it was not open. Another point to note: opening hours are a highly volatile and unreliable indicator of actual opening hours. The Cantillon website indicated it would be open (despite the public holiday), but nope. Not open. Not the first time we have experienced this. Ah, Europe. Much like finding out a spot is closed while they are out to lunch. Very common occurrence.

We ended up hanging out at a previous haunt – Moeder Lambic, where they were having an Italian Beer festival, and then Nuetnigenough for dinner, where we met a couple of lovely beer blogging ladies and more or less boned in on their evening of beer discussion and tasting. It was great to make some new friends!

(Aside: Nuetnigenough: great place to enjoy some amazing beer and some really good food – definitely worth looking up if in Brussels – they have a great relationship with some of the local brewers Cantillon and Alvinne and even have a few beverages made especially for them.)

Our final stop was at the Delirium cafe, which when we visited the first time was so busy and loud you couldn’t hold a conversation even with yourself. This time around was much better, and we ended up chatting to a bunch of American military boys located in Germany. Out for the weekend, as you do.

On Sour Beer:

It is interesting that the species of yeast responsible for the lambic style sour beer only exists in a small area near Brussels. As such, other beers purporting to be a “sour” are another class entirely. We have tried others while in the US and here, and although they are also quite delicious, are still unlike what we have had here. And of the Belgian brewers: They are certainly very proud of their art. And it is an art – they have been busy perfecting this form of brewing for a very, very long time. But like other forms of art, not everybody appreciates it (and there are definitely a few we have tried that I would class in the “undrinkable” column). Having said that, my favourite sour Belgian brewer is definitely Alvinne (however, not a lambic brewer, but you can’t argue with personal taste).

Saturday:

It was a lazy day. It rained. We stayed inside. Movies were watched.

Sunday:

Sunday was Tour de Geuze day, and what we had originally extended our Brussels visit to catch. By now you may be thinking that we might have an unhealthy interest in beer, but I prefer to think of it as a interest shared is one well worth exploiting. And we are in Belgium. Need I say more? We may never be here again (although I wouldn’t say no if presented the opportunity). Besides, beer is more of a way of life in Belgium – everyone here has more or less lived and breathed beer their entire lives. All the venues we have visited have been family friendly affairs with young (like, stroller requiring young) and old (also stroller requiring) in attendance along with all ages in between. It isn’t about getting plastered, it’s a festive day out with friends and family and good local beer to appreciate. Definitely makes me wish we had friends here with us to help enjoy the festivities! However, we have had plenty of pleasant conversations with complete strangers.

We stopped in at Tilquin, de Cam (not actually part of the Tour de Geuze, but we hadn’t yet visited it) and finally Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen and sampled a few drinks before making our way home. It was very interesting, but as you had to drive to each brewery it was rather time consuming. It was certainly a festive affair, and at Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen there was even a bloke that (I think randomly) hopped off his bike to regale everyone with a song, and once started, others even joined in the fun.

So, Tour de Geuze: Nice day out, great opportunity to both see some countryside and enjoy the local festivities and beverages (not so great if you were planning to ride your bike, as it rained). Retrospectively though, my all-time favorite is still the Wicked Weed brewery in Ashville, North Carolina. Absolutely fantastic. Sour beers especially, although all others tried were also exceptional. Definitely will visit again if given the opportunity. Not to mention the town is quaint and well worth the visit on its own merit.

Last take on food in Belgium:

Thus far I’ve discovered that eating out is no comparator to eating at home. Unless you are willing to pay the dollars for a finer meal, what you get is average at best. Even paying 25 euro (more than $35 aud) does not a fine meal buy you. It’s disappointing, especially with the Australian dollar to find that your money doesn’t buy you anything worth having. If anything, it’s made it clear that it is highly worthwhile here to eat your meals at home (unlike the U.S., where meals are relatively cheap and delicious when eating out). We have had one meal out that was good (aside from Nuetnigenough – it was actually reasonably priced and delicious), and even then, was probably not worth the money paid for it. Trials of eating out, I guess.

And that’s it for another week! We leave for Ireland very soon!

Canals of Bruges

More canals in Bruges.

Larger than life art in Brussels.

Lambic beer, ageing gracefully at Boon.

Ghent: Historic buildings every which-way.

Street art at Ghent. Aptly named “Graffiti St”

Graffiti st, Ghent

I’m going to blame that pour on the beer… At Boon.

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Sarah Manson

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May 11, 2015

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How time flies…

The Weekly synopsis:

More work as usual, however, this week we made an effort to get out of the house a bit.

During the week we went out to Huy to watch another race, this time with both a men’s and a women’s event being held. Which seems to be pretty unusual, as the ladies always seem to miss out on all the publicity & major events. Thought this one might be worth going to as it had multiple laps involved, which would increase the amount of viewing pleasure from a single location (and we would see the men and women as both were being held concurrently).

We headed in early, so Murray could do a ride around the area and do some of the local climbs. Meanwhile, I explored the street market and checked out some of the buildings in the area. The market had some of the finest looking strawberries I have ever seen, and the artichokes looked more like art than food. And there were fresh rotisserie chickens and waffles and all sorts of things smelling divine and delicious. I would have loved to do some shopping for fresh produce there, but there wasn’t anything we needed (fridge status: already full). Oh well. It was enough to enjoy the sights and smells.

Once Murray was done with his cycling expedition, we watched the race from the finish line at the top of a hill (Which I was most unimpressed about walking up, and these cyclists had to ride up it repeatedly. Poor people). There were plenty of spectators, and the atmosphere was quite festive.

The event had a couple of food vendors, and several vendors selling beer, which was interesting, as no one was selling water. As it was, many spectators had come well prepared, with their own beer and food and chairs etc. It seems to be a common theme, with many Europeans attending these events complete with beverages and snacks. The group near us (of maybe 8 men in their 50’s) had 2 giant esky bins (think 120L fridge sized) which were presumably initially full of beer. By the time we got there, one of the esky bins was being used just for recycling, and was already full with empty beer bottles. They also came toting a shopping bag full of bread and another full of boulettes (belgian meat balls the size of tennis balls). Well prepared, indeed. We weren’t prepared though. So we bought frites (more on frites later).

Unfortunately, despite having a giant screen at the top of the hill, very little of the race was actually being relayed. And the cyclists couldn’t actually be seen as we were at the same level as everybody else. As a result we eventually ditched the race and slowly made our way down the hill again and then off home. We did still see the cyclists several times, but turns out it was much better viewing on the crowded hillside (and then later, on tv).

We also visited the Bluebell Forest in Halle’s Wood. Every year, somewhere in April/May, the bluebells flower in this forest. And they more or less have a monopoly on the ground cover, which makes for quite a spectacular sight. As it is definitely a popular destination, we drove to the second entrance, expecting that there may be many people and that parking might be difficult. Google took us through some seriously dubious cobblestone streets to reach this second entrance to the woods, only to find that the carpark there was full. However, we snapped up the last parking space, and despite the full carpark, there weren’t all that many people in evidence. The forest was indeed very beautiful, and the photos taken really don’t show just how spectacular the blue carpet of flowers were to experience. The flowers continued for what seemed like acres. We enjoyed a bit of a traipse through the forest and despite many signs for deer, saw none. The flowers were more than enough reward.

Saturday:

As we have had a fairly poor hit rate at visiting breweries (very limited opening hours or not open to visitors or within supposed opening hours but definitely not open) we visited the Lambiek Beer Museum, near Beersel. It was interesting, although largely catering for those speaking Flemish. There staff there were very helpful, and had a lot of helpful information regarding successfully visiting some of the lambic breweries in the area in preparation for the Tour De Geuze festival that we are planning on going to next week.. Apparently the one day event draws 10,000 people a year, and as such it is a better idea to visit some of the breweries participating in the days immediately beforehand. They directed us to visit the Brouwerij Fonteinen on our way home, where we received an unexpected impromptu tour from the head brewer. It was very interesting, as brewing sour beer is a bit of a different process to brews produced by normal fermentation methods (uses open-air fermentation to take advantage of special local yeast).

Sunday:

We belatedly discovered that the Zythos Beer Festival was being held over the weekend, and as a result, we visited the expo on Sunday. Apparently it was showcasing over 500 beers, and had something like 100 vendors. There was a lot of beer to be had. And so many styles, even if you don’t think you like beer, you would find something to your taste (ie. ones that are highly unrecognisable as being beer at all. One tasted exactly like carbonated Ribena – DuCassis, I’m looking at you.).

…It was unlike any beer festival I’ve attended before. You paid 10 euro for a starter kit, including a 100ml glass and 8 drink chits (ie. the sample glass costs you 2 euro) and at the end of the day you could return the glass and be refunded 3 euro (seriously, who gives you money at any kind of event?). Also, attendance was free, but you had to pay 2 euro for a toilet pass. Why they didn’t just charge you an entrance fee beats me. It’s not as if you could “optionally” use the toileting facilities.

This was quite a serious event, and many people were armed with pen and paper or journal making tasting notes throughout the day. Various beer appreciation societies were in attendance, with visiting groups having travelled from the England, France, the Netherlands and Germany (and more) to sample the fare. We were attending on the second (and final day) of the event, as as such thought it might be a little quieter. However, as the day went on the exhibition hall filled up steadily by the busload, with mostly people from maybe age late 20’s and upward. Interestingly, I’d say the majority of attendees probably fit in the 45-65 bracket. Which was seriously weird, but makes more sense when you think about this being a serious beer aficionado event. Every stall was even equipped with a bowl of fresh bread broken into bite sized portions. To cleanse the palate, perhaps?

Once again, plenty of people had come prepared with packed lunches and cheese/charcuterie platters, further solidifying the notion that Europeans bring food to all occasions. While we were planning what to try, the neighbour at our table was busily making notes in his beer journal and enjoying a packed sandwich. Others were enjoying cheese cubes dipped in mustard while comparing notes. Which brings me to cheese + mustard. That’s how they were selling it at the kiosk. Not the pairing I would have expected.

At any rate, we had a great time. There was even a free shuttle bus into and out of the city, so it was a great opportunity to see the town of Leuven as well.

More on food in Belgium:

Frites are everywhere. And I have to say, sorry Belgium, but they aren’t great. They are ok. I’d say “nothing to write home about”, but here I am, writing about them. Here, it seems that frites are the celebrated ubiquitous snack of choice, and are apparently meant to represent the pinnacle of enjoyment in the hot chip department. Thus far, every meal we have had out has been served with frites (or the primary option of frites, which you then have to negate or you’ll end up with frites by default). Curry (with frites). Stew (with frites). Mussels (with frites). Asian noodles (with frites). To my mind, these things don’t belong (with frites). And they all seem to be the same frites. Restaurant or friterie, they are uniformly the same bulk prepared straight cut potato chips. Served with a copious amount of mayo. Or one of many, many other sauces (which all also seem to be based on mayo). In a cornet cup. Restaurants are fancier and serve a communal bowl of frites to the table (picture a salad bowl, but full of hot chips). I’ve ordered other sides a few times instead and gotten odd looks. I’ve definitely never seen so many chips in my life. And these “friterie” places are literally everywhere. I’d be curious to see just how much the Belgian population consume in frites per year. …I’m guessing quite a bit.

In my attempt to try new things I have had a crack at cooking rabbit, zebra, poussin and also guinea fowl (as well as regular chicken). Have to say, my experience with cooking poultry here has been better than any I’ve prepared at home (Bianca: the poussin was ridiculously delicious, I may never buy a regular chicken again). The rabbit must have been farmed, as it was soft and tender and not gamey at all (unlike my memories of wild rabbit from home). And exotic meats in general have been tasty (felt more than a bit bad about the zebra steak, but it was delicious). There are also frogs legs, snails, ostrich, horse and bison available in the supermarket and as yet untried… However, I’m not sure just how adventurous I plan to get… Probably won’t get as far as insects, fabulous source of protein though they may be.

Well, I think that’s it for another week. Once, again. A wee bit late (a certain someone was to add commentary and seems to have forgotten about it, so I’m posting it sans-comments). Ireland is just around the corner!