Belgium

Overview

Perhaps because it was the first European country in which we really spent time after leaving Africa, Belgium amazed us. With its idyllic town squares and its many-colored buildings, its delicious beer, its perfect french fries and the feeling we found there of finally being someplace familiar, we could’ve spent much more time here than our schedule allowed. Given that we’d visited in the high season, some of the most quaint towns, like Bruges and Ghent, were loaded with tourists. They were, however, still endlessly charming.

Interestingly enough, Belgium itself is currently in the midst of some serious political turmoil; its prime minister recently resigned, which put him at odds with the king, who is still a player in the country’s unwieldy bureaucracy. Belgium’s two populations, the French and the Flemish, are largely divided; they speak different languages and have their own representatives in government. Although each group is fiercely proud of its heritage, however, they still get along fairly well. No matter the political situation, Belgium is a very easy place to travel. And it’s only the size of Maryland (!?!), so most of its sights are within easy reach.

Blog Entries We Wrote

To see all the blog entries we wrote about this country, please click HERE.

Pictures We Took

To see some of the pictures we took in this country, please click HERE.

Cities/Areas We Visited

Bruges (June 29-30, 2008)
Ghent (June 30, 2008)

Places We Stayed

Hotel Cavalier (June 29-30, 2008): We stumbled upon this place after realizing that a lot of the budget options in Bruges were (1) not really budget, in that they cost at least $200 a night, and (2) full. At about $100 a night for three of us (Shane, Shanna and Derek), this was much more affordable. Although it was definitely not the nicest place we’ve stayed, it was very centrally located, and the price included breakfast.

Places We Ate

Bruges

Belgian Waffle Stand: This street-side waffle stand served up a piping-hot, sweet-smelling Belgian waffle, on top of which a mound of Nutella was slowly melting. Perfect.

L’Estamint: This was one of the few places that was still open by the time we were ready to eat dinner. It didn’t have the mussels and fries we’d been hoping for, but Derek and Shane’s lasagna was good, and Shanna’s goat cheese salad, which was the house specialty, was fantastic and definitely large enough to be its own meal.

Ghent

Restaurant De Graslei: Shanna will always remember this riverside cafe as the place where she lost her beloved Nalgene (her water bottle). In spite of being the site of such a tragedy, the food was pretty good, especially Shanna’s grilled sardines and Derek’s beef stew. Shane, however, paid about $20 for 3 shrimp, which definitely weren’t worth the price. If you come here, be prepared to brave hordes of tourists and to wait a looong time for your food. (We waited about an hour.)

Les Frangines Friterie (near Luxembourg border): We will forever talk about this roadside stand as the location in which we had the best fries we’ve ever tasted in our lives. The delicious American sauce that came with them only added to our happiness.