It's been far too long since I had an
excursion out and about, so I decided to head to Brussels for the
weekend with a few of my friends, and some new friends. This turned
out to be a decent trip though it did have one or two disappointing
aspects.
In the middle of the walking tour, we
took a break in a central market area near Grasmarkt to grab a snack
and a break. We decided to try some Belgian Fries at Belgian Frit'n Toast,
and I have to admit they were the best fries that I have had in a
long time. Apparently the secret is to fry them once, at a lower
temperature until cooked and then flash fry them at a higher
temperature for the crispiness right before serving (or something
like that). Fantastic.
Once we finished with the walking tour,
we went to check into our hotel room. This time we stayed at an
interesting hotel only a few blocks from Grand Place. It was called B-Apart Hotels.
This hotel is intended to be a long term stay hotel, and it doesn't
actually employ any desk staff. They email you an access code for
the front door, and a code to retrieve your key from a key box in the
main lobby. They do employ a cleaning staff that does not work on
the weekend. So if you're staying from Friday to Sunday, don't
expect your towels to be cleaned on Saturday. All in all, I thought
this was a very good venue, with decent access. One of our group
used the attached car garage for their parking, where we decided to
park in the parking garage at Grand Place. This is easily able to
fit small pickups if you need that. The parking garage at Grand
Place was definitely cheaper than the attached garage, if you don't
mind having to walk a few blocks with your luggage.
Once we checked in, we all went to Drug Opera
for a quick beverage before continuing to wander around Brussels. As
with everywhere in Brussels, if you like beers this is a pretty good
place to visit. I can't actually comment on the food at this
location since I wasn't hungry after those amazing fries. But the
location and atmosphere was pretty good.
Following that we decided to try a
local brewery Cantillon Brewery
and go for a tour of the brewer as well as sampling of what they
provide. The tour was actually pretty neat, they basically do a
self-guided walking tour of the brewery. You buy a ticket, receive a brochure and you can walk around at your own pace and see how they do
things. Not as informative as some breweries I've done a tour, but
it is a neat change of pace. This brewery focuses on lambic style
beer, so if you like really sour beer then you will really enjoy what
they provide. Unfortunately, my friends and I weren't all that into
this sour of a beer and did not really enjoy the samples. The lambic
what I imagine a really sour, wheat wine would taste like. I also
tried their Cherry beer, and while definitely tasting like cherry it
was also very sour. So, I wouldn't suggest this brewery unless you
have a taste for sour beers. A neat experience though with the tour,
but a long walk away from the center of town.
After the brewery we walked over to Moeder Lambic
for another beer or two, where I was introduced to Val Dieu beer. A
very tasty beer if you like the standard Belgian style beer, but
we'll get to that later. This Bar again, had a very nice atmosphere
and was a pleasant break from our walking around Brussels to chill
until dinner. Unfortunately I can't remember where dinner was at the moment so I'll have to provide that later. Needless to say it was
very good :-)
After that we tried out Delirium Cafe.
While not a scene I like to go to a lot, if you like bars than I
could see it being a very good scene. They have a good selection of
tasty beers to try from around the area. It will be very busy
though. On our way back to the hotel afterwords, we stopped at one
of the many Belgian Waffle stands around the city and had one. They
make two styles, one is heavy and sweeter while the other is lighter
and more like your standard waffle. You can put toppings on, but if
you want to eat it like the locals do than stick with simply powdered
sugar. Definitely something delicious to try.
The next day we wandered around
Brussels and picked up souvenirs, Belgian chocolates, and tasty
things to drink that we wanted to bring back home from our weekend
excursion. All of it turned out to be amazing when I got around to
trying them. We had breakfast at a local stand called Panos which
is your basic European cafe with pastry treats. A great way to start
the day or take a simple break.
After eating some breakfast and picking
up somethings to take home, we started our trek back. This is where
we headed to the Belgian Abbey I mentioned earlier called Val Dieu.
We wandered around, explored the grounds and even stopped for some
food. The food there is fantastic, the Abbey is amazing at making
beers as well as cheeses. I ate Cheese Croquettes that were perhaps
the best "cheese sticks" (OK not really cheese sticks, but
an OK description for those that don't know what Croquettes are :-) ).
When we were finished we picked up some cheese and a few more tasty
things to drink and drove home.
While not my favorite trip in Europe, I
did enjoy my stint in Belgium. There is a lot of history there, and
a large number of museums that I would like to see so I plan on going
back. Luckily for me, you don't have to be a big drinker to enjoy
Brussels. There is a lot to do, and a lot of great food to try.
Enjoy! :-)
