The Beauties Take Belgium

The Belgian Experience

This past weekend my friend Lena and I were invited to travel home to Belgium with our friend Léticia. We took Lena’s car and drove about 3 hours to the city of Brussels. Although I had spent a lot of time in the Brussels train station on my previous trip, I was very excited to see what the rest of the city had to offer!

A Canal in Ghent

Where is it from again?

Friday evening we arrived at Léticia’s house where we were greeted by her family. Léticia’s father spoke English but her mother really only spoke French so the conversations moved back and forth between French and English. We had drinks and chips as appetizers before we were graciously served her parent’s version of a Spanish rice dish and a speculoos tiramisu for desert. Speculoos is a type of spiced biscuit that I would compare to gingerbread found in this part of Europe. While Léticia began explaining how speculoos was from Belgium, Lena wasn’t so sure. Being from Germany, she stood firm in her belief that speculoos was from her home country. All I knew was I had tried it in the Netherlands and had no idea where it came from. We decided to google it where it confirmed all of our assumptions. Speculoos is a biscuit that came from Belgium, Germany AND the Netherlands! It is interesting to see how many cultures share similar aspects of life without even realizing it. Where ever it came from, you’ve gotta try it!

Speculoos Biscuits

Speaking of food, I am sure all of you American’s reading this have heard of Belgian Waffles, Belgian Beer and Belgian Chocolate. We all hear about those and think it is some sort of thing we just HAVE to try when we go to Belgium. The truth is, we already have! Belgium is the proud “owner” of the waffle and there are actually two types. One is a light, square version from Brussels and the other is a dense, sugar-filled version from the Liege which is in the south of Belgium. If you take the batter from the first and combine it with the shape of the latter, you get: The American Hotel Waffle. I am sure you’ve all tried it! Next is the beer. Since I am not 21, I don’t know if we sell Belgian beer in the United States but I’m guessing we do. There are over 2,000 different types of beer from Belgium so I would assume we have at least one or two. Look up popular Belgian beers and see if you recognize a few! I tried a couple while I was there but I don’t know much about good beer so I’m hesitant to give out any recommendations. Lastly is the chocolate. Yes, it’s spectacular. Run to Godiva at any mall and try out a piece of Belgium.

The Great Belgian Waffle!

Waffles from the South of Belgium

 Waffles from Brussels

Gothic Ghent

Saturday we traveled about a half an hour outside of Brussels to the city of Ghent. This is a Flemish city (meaning they speak mostly Dutch). I had heard that the city of Bruges was the city to see. I also had heard that Ghent was just as lovely and quite similar but not as far away. (This sounds like Utrecht vs Amsterdam all over again!) I never made it to Bruges though so you’d have to see for yourself. You could always ask my parents too since they made it to both without me. I really enjoyed my day in Ghent with the girls. We walked around with a guide book from Léticia’s father and looked for the “must see” spots. We visited the outside of a castle and a cathedral as well as some fancy buildings that looked important. It’s not that the names or purposes of these buildings didn’t interest me, it is more that I just really enjoyed seeing the city even without remembering all of that information. My only complaint about the city was that most of the beautiful things to see were under construction. I didn’t take many photos because the streets were torn up and bulldozed, the cathedral was lined to the top with scaffolding and my favorite view had a rickety metal bridge placed right in the middle crossing the canal, obstructing the view of the buildings.

 Look carefully and you'll see that metal bridge I was talking about!

Inside the Cathedral was very different from any other Cathedral I have been to in Europe. It was extremely dark with enormous amounts of black and stone decorations. There was so much décor that I wasn’t sure what to even look at. It was tremendous to contemplate. I realized then how different people’s experiences of Christianity can be. It was humbling to enter into someone else’s sacred place and think about the idea that even with a place so different, we still are worshiping the same God. It was a pretty cool realization for me.

 A Castle in the City

Goin' Broke in Brussels

That evening, back in Brussels, Lena, Léticia, her boyfriend and I all went to a tiny little restaurant called ‘t Potverdoemmeke (don’t worry, I checked with Léticia for spelling!).  It was the coolest atmosphere of eclectic historical style and it served “typical Belgian food”. I ordered some yummy Belgian meat balls covered in a sweet sauce and served with Frites (Belgian French Fries) and homemade mayonnaise.

Sunday we spent the day touring the city. We did a little shopping (which ended up with me using up my one allowed European splurge on a leather bag!), tried some mussels, $1 waffles, chocolate and walked around the city. Léticia guided us through the beautiful government buildings which reminded me of Washington, D.C., as well as through parks and statues and we ended up at the City Center which is encased in extremely unique architecture. We went to see the Manneken Pis which was much smaller than we all had imagined and that concluded our tour. With a weekend well spent in Belgium, we headed home.

Fun Fact: In Brussels the majority of people speak French!

Brussels Centre

A Girl’s Weekend

By far my favorite part of traveling to any city is the social interactions that come with it. Every place I have gone so far, I have gone with friends. The time I get to spend with people while traveling is extremely important for building friendships. Seeing new places together brings up many topics of discussion that otherwise would have never been thought of. Each time I go somewhere with these girls, I learn so much about them as well as myself. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything. It’s the reason I am here! Thank you Léticia for allowing me to enjoy your hometown. Thank you Lena for enjoying it with me. Of course, thank you all as well for reading!

 Léticia, Me and Lena in Ghent

Brussels Centre