I didn’t expect to love Belgium as much as I did. I was excited to visit, you know, to see the sights—but for the most part, our 6 days in Belgium was discussed on the ship mostly as a time to get out and see other countries—France, Holland, even Greece.
And we did—we went to Paris for a few days and it was absolutely beautiful, though I was excited to return.
Why? Because Belgium Rocks.
The Food
It’s amazing that Belgium doesn’t have a crazy problem with obesity. Fries, eaten with mayonnaise? Waffles, fried, covered with sugar, topped with chocolate, bananas and more sugar? Chocolate and beer? Together? I guess most Belgians don’t actually eat these things as much as we do as visitors. A few locals that I spoke with said they only eat waffles twice a year. I was averaging twice a day (and I was in heaven). I could’ve stayed in Belgium for much longer, but alas, I had to re-button my pants.
The Architecture
By now we’ve traveled through a healthy chunk of Europe. But Belgium was the first country that actually felt European to me. All of the cities were gorgeous in their own way—buildings stacked next to each other in impressive rows, all differing in style—some gothic, some renaissance, some art-nouveau, some baroque—dating back to the 14th Century. And Belgium has these gorgeous city squares, where you can sit, surrounded by these buildings and think thoughts like, “Holy hell, these buildings are older than my country.”
The Beer
I know this is a silly reason to love a country. Lots of places have good beer. But Belgium has really, really, really good beer. And lots of it. I went to a bar in Antwerp that had over 250 different types of Belgian beer. Can you imagine?
The Diversity
Belgium, like many countries in this area, was affected greatly by World War II, and you can see it almost everywhere. There’s a concentration camp on the side of the freeway from Antwerp to Brussels, and buildings that display the Nazi flag (now with hearts replacing swastikas).
It has a checkered past, but it’s changed quite a bit. The people are all, for the most part, really friendly. But the atmosphere is different between artsy Antwerp, and Brussels, the business and economic center of the country. Then you have places like Brugges, a tourist hotspot that’s essentially a living museum, a glimpse into Belgium’s early years, and Ghent, a city that’s not quite as built up as Antwerp, but not nearly as touristy as Brugges. It’s a fascinating country to sit and people-watch.
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photo credit: Travelbusy.com, mine took too long to load! )
