From Young Professionals to Ypres: Belgium Part Two

After a quick trip back to Madrid to pick up my stuff and to say goodbye to my Madrileño friends, I came back to Brussels for part two. Now you may be thinking after spending five days in Brussels the first time what more could there be? You’d be surprised to know that Brussels always has some cool cultural events going on and is a great starting point for day trips.

I visited a few of the museums I didn’t have time for last time. First was the Musees royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique and the Magritte Museum. I got a sweet deal for combined entree in both museums for three Euros with my ISIC card. The most impressive thing about the Musees des Beaux-Arts was the lack of people. After visiting many large art galleries, like the Louvre, the Met and the Prado, it was a refreshing change to go to an art gallery and not feel crowded. At one point in the modern art section I was the only person on the entire floor!

The Magritte Museum on the other hand was a bit more crowded. However, given that it only opened in June,  many of the visitors were local. It was a nice smaller museum exhibited chronological showing the different phases of his life. I was a little disappointed the collection didn’t include the famous Le fils de l’homme (the painting of a faceless man in a bowler hat – that was used in the film The Thomas  Crown Affair). Overall a nicely put together gallery.

The last museum I visited was the Centre Belge de la bande dessinneé of Belgium. In Belgium they are crazy about comics. They are also quick to remind you that both Tintin and Smurfs are not French but Belgian. This museum definitely enlightened me about the world of Belgian comics (to which I knew very little about). The experience would have been better had I been a bit more of a comic nerd. The only sections I really appreciated were Boule and Bill, Tintin and les Schtroumpfs

Since Brussels is perhaps nowadays best know for being the ‘capital of Europe’ (home to the EU Commission, EU parliament and various European lobbies), I spent a day experiencing the European part of Brussels. First I attended a forum on Isreal-EU relations hosted by one of the NGOs in Brussels. One of the Isreali delegation to the EU spoke about the recent events in the Israel-Palestine conflict and the impact on the EU. It brought back memories of some of the seminars I attended at the Munk Centre at the University of Toronto. After the session (and a free lunch!) I visited the EU Parliament where you get to see the main chamber with over 700 seats for all the elected members of the European parliament. I would recommend stopping at the info center as well to get some useful info about how the EU works and some free maps.

One of the ‘must-sees’ for any Canadian (or commonwealth citizen) is to visit Ypres. One of my professors in my first year at university told us that if we are ever in northern France that we should visit some of the WW1 memorials. I wholeheartedly agree. After reciting the poem “In Flanders Fields” for so many years, the feeling of standing where John McCrae wrote the poem is indescribable. Most of the memorials are accessible easily by car from Ypres, but if you like me don’t have a car there are many tours of the battlefields sites of Ypres that range from two to four hours. It was definitely one of my personal highlights in Belgium. 

Because Brussels is home to the EU is is also home to a lot of young professionals from all over Europe working for various European institutions. As such there are a lot of cultural and art events aimed at young people. I attended several arts shows and outdoor events over the weekend – proof that Brussels is not only full of bureaucrats!

One of the events taking place while I was in Brussels was Mobility Week. This was a nationwide event that promoted using alternative means of transportation aside from cars. There were free beverages in the metro, draws, art expo, On Sunday there was no car day. Where from 8AM to 8PM there were no cars allowed on the  roads. The city was so quiet and bikes took over the streets. I definitely think this is an idea Canada should adopt!

One of the benefits I got out of Mobility week was the discounted train tickets for 12 euros I was able to get a round trip ticket to Maastricht in the Netherlands! Before I had visited Maastricht the only thing I knew about this little Dutch town was a EU treaty was signed there. But in fact it is quite picturesque: a beautiful river running through the centre, an abundance of churches to see and beautiful medieval walls in a park behind the university. A fantastic day trip from Brussels!

As final remarks about Belgium, I will leave you with a couple of tips for travelers. First beware of the country’s pay phones. Those outside the airport don’t take cash or credit cards. Even the ones that look like they take coins don’t work.You have to buy a phone card or find the local internet/phone cafe.

Secondly, be prepared to pay for the use of toilets EVERYWHERE. Even in some bars where you have purchased a drink you still have to pay the toilet lady at least 30 cents. You’ll get excited when you find one. It’s like finding free wi-fi in downtown Toronto!

Lastly Belgium like Canada is a country of dual nationality – Flemish and Walloon (French). When in the Flemish part you are better off speaking English than French (they’ll respect you more), in Wallonie almost no Flemish is spoken and may seem like you are in France. Just like the French and the English in Canada the Flemish and the Walloons don’t always get along!

25+ Belgian Beers

In five days in Belgium I managed to sample over 25 different Belgian beers with friends. There are over 750 different beers in Belgium so in reality this is just a small selection. We were at several bars, in 4 cities…some with jazz music, somewhere you could choose from over 2000 beers and some where they let you dance on the tables! Here is a complete list (including various comments!)

• Lindemans Kriek – cherry beer
• Lindemans Pêche – peach beer
• Lindemans Cassis – blackcurrent beer
• Lindemans Faro Lambie – fizzy, fruity, light beer
• Duvel – light beer common across Belgium
• Vedett (extra blonde)
• De Koninck – general consensus amongst friends: “10/10”, my personal favourite, dark colour but not heavy, beer common in Antwerp
• Mort Subite Framboise – raspberry beer
• Mort Subite Kriek – more cherry beer
• Brugse Zot – spicy, wheat beer
• Piraat – definitely my least favourite, but as a Belgian pointed out in Belgium they start drinking Belgian beers young and only after 15 years do you enjoy something like Piraat
• Tongerlo Tripel -  a deceivingly pale beer that is quite heavy
• Hoegaarten – nice white beer ( a side note for North Americans in Belgium they pronounce it who-gar-ten NOT hoe-gar-ten)
• Hoegaarten Rosee – raspberry white beer
• Witbier Haacht – lemony white beer
• Keizer Karel – dark, heavy beer – “oww, that hurts” said a friend, I said “different”
• Rodenbach – tastes a little like HP sauce
• Belle Vue Gueze – nice after taste
• Mystic – new raspberry white beer
• Leffe – light and nice
• Westmalle Tripel – “meh”
• Saint Feuillien Blonde – nice and light
• Kwak –sweet beer with a cool holder (see picture)
• Grimberger – white beer, I think its watery piss, but someone else said “I like that”
• Orval – spicy barley beer
• Brugs – “good after taste”
• Stella Artois – this is what you get in Belgium if you go to a bar and say you want the beer on tap…

Fun in Flanders

After spending five nights in the northern part of Belgium (Flanders) and in Brussels, I got a good feeling about the country and culture. It also helped that I hung out with locals.

Brussels is a very cosmopolitan city with beautiful 19th century buildings (largely thanks to the African exploits of King Leopold II). With a large contingent of young professionals working for the EU or lobbying the EU, it is a   lively city during the day and at night. Some of the must sees are: manneken pis and jeanneke pis (the little boy and girl peeing), the music museum (and the view of Brussels from the 10th floor), the royal palace (which has free entry in the summer), the Grote Markt (where you have to rub the statue of Evrard ‘t Serclaes for luck) and the Atomium.

One easy day trip from Brussels is half days in Bruges and Ghent. Bruges is only one hour away by train and is relatively easy to walk in a morning. Often considered the Venice of Belgium it is very picturesque, but there is not much to do there. We visited the Choco Story – I had to visit the chocolate museum especially when there is a free sampling at the end. But if chocolate isn’t your thing there is the Frites Museum and the  Bruges Zot Brewery you can visit.

Ghent is also nice, it is a larger city and a bit more to see. There are several churches, a castle and of other architectural points of interests. If you go to the tourist office they give you a free map and walking tour suggestion (unlike Bruges where they charged us 50 cents for a map)

 

The last day trip I did was to Antwerp. This is the fashion capital of Belgium and a lot of rich people live here…possibly thanks to the diamond industry (you can find a diamond store on every corner). This city is also resplendent in 19th century architecture – in particular the main train station and Stadsfeestzaal. It is also very Flemish. If you don’t speak Flemish  then  people prefer you to speak English rather than French. Of particular interest to Canadian historians is the plaque commemorating the Canadian contribution to the Battle of Antwerp in World War Two.

One common thread throughout my travels in Belgium is gastronomy. The Belgians are perhaps most famous for their food: chocolate, fries and waffles. All of which I sampled in great quantities. Just like in Switzerland, in Belgium they have whole sections dedicated to chocolate in supermarkets. Fries in Belgium are not just ordinary fries. They are often served with a sauce of your choice, in a variety of sizes and with the option of buying mystery meat. At Frituur no. 1 in Antwerp people go to this fry place just to hear a quirky old lady yell at them when serving fries. Belgian waffles are not the same as the ones we get in North America. Unlike the big round waffles we eat for breakfast, the Belgians eat them plain at anytime of day from kiosks.