Brugge

My trip to Brugge brought me first to the Antwerp central station, and whilst moving to change trains I noticed an unusual little kiosk selling an unusual good. Waffles.

“Waffles?” I thought to myself. “Who the hell sells waffles in a train station?”

It took me perhaps a good five seconds of looking at the thing before realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm in BELGIUM. In Belgium they have Belgian waffles. Of course.

I immediately went from being confused to being excited. Belgian waffles! Oh boy! I rushed over to the kiosk and took a gander at the offerings. Plain, with syrup, and then the infinitely more appetizing choices, covered in white or dark chocolate. I ordered with white chocolate, and was asked a question that only could be asked by someone completely in tune with my wants and desires could possibly ask:

“Do you want your waffle covered in hot chocolate, or one that's already cooled?”

The two choices were both immensely appealing but the answer stood out easily in my mind. Warm, gooey white chocolate all over my delicious Belgian waffle.

And it was delicious. So sweet, almost sickeningly so, but so incredibly good. The waffle was not drenched in the chocolate, which was nice, so when I was finished with the waffle there wasn't a pool of the warm sauce in the tray I was given. Not overkill, and I appreciated it.

Arrival in Brugge was no less of a treat. I got in a taxi and asked for a nice-ish hotel, and rather than simply whisking me away and dropping me off somewhere, he called and made sure the place he suggested had rooms available. Not a big thing, but a nice touch that further lends me to the idea that everyone here is extremely nice. The hotel itself was not terribly extravagant and well priced, with a decent room. There was no laundry service but when I inquired and was told no, the woman at the front desk (also the owner) said she'd happily put my things in anyways and so I got to have some clothes cleaned, which was wonderful.

I arrived fairly late in Brugge, and went outside to see a beautiful town square type area, with the setting sun. A big fountain and a large modern sculpture were there to see and plenty of nearby restaurants as well. I went into one at the recommendation of the hotel's owner and was not disappointed. A sumptuous meal of mussels, too many perhaps even for me, and a very good but unusual French onion soup. The soup came without the usual bread or croutons or cheese or anything in it, but rather on a rather neat plate along with the soup. It was a bit of a do-it-yourself, and I thought it was very well presented and a neat twist on a simple dish. It was here that I think it finally really sunk in that in this part of Europe (including Germany) side dishes are fairly nonexistent. Often a meal comes with a very small side “salad” that is hardly worth eating, and sides as we know them in the US are not there at all. I was beginning to miss broccoli.

The next day I left and walked the same way I did the night before, as that was the direction of all the sights in the city. But the square had completely transformed overnight (or rather probably early in the morning) to a bustling crowd of people and large automobiles, most of which looked a lot like RVs except with sides that opened to reveal little shops on wheels. Cheeses and meats were the main attractions, with some of the big vehicles toting clothing and a few other assorted goods. But mostly it looked like a mix between a French Quarter butcher's shop or cheese shop, a carnival, and an RV lot on football day at a university. Very interesting and the smells were amazing.

Next I went off to the chocolate museum here in Brugge after some leisurely walking around the city. It was interesting, nice, but not the wowing experience of the one in Köln. I think it'd be hard to top that, but still. This was more of a normal museum, with dioramas and a smattering of artifacts and the like, and was enjoyable. One thing that this one had that the one in Köln certainly did NOT have, though, was chocolate sculptures. Big ones. There was a perhaps 4/5 scale chocolate Obama there, various other people and some cats and other animals and abstracts. That, I will admit, was extremely impressive.

As part of a package deal, though, the chocolate museum came with entry to the potato and fry museum. Belgium is known (apparently) for its French fries, which are called a variety of things there but never French fries. I'll just refer to them as fries here out of respect for the Belgians. I entered with joy and childlike wonder painted across my face. As anyone familiar with me knows, I like potatoes. A lot. Eating them different ways is all fine and dandy, of course, but just potatoes as a whole I find very interesting. And so I went on a mystical journey of discovery through the museum, with an entire floor devoted to the humble spud and its history. Where it came from, how it came to Europe, how it gained acceptance, and more. This beat the heck out of the chocolate museum here, in terms of interest to me as well as in overall quality of the place. The second floor was all about fries and Belgium, which (they maintain) were first created there. They came to be French fries, so it was said, because French-speaking Belgians during the WWI gave some to some Americans. I don't know if that's to be believed, but I absolutely agree the Belgians make better fries, and they're served with pretty much every meal. I was ecstatic, and I am sure my cholesterol level was less than pleased with all of the fries I've been consuming.

My stay in Brugge was a short one, but I would happily go back there in an instant. The city was full of what I now know to be typical Belgian kindness, the food was amazing and the city has plenty to see. I think Belgium is kind of a forgotten country in America, when people consider taking a vacation abroad. Paris and France are huge destinations, the UK for its familiarity and certainly not its cuisine, and perhaps Germany and Spain or the Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam. Those are the destinations in mind when Americans consider going abroad, but rarely if ever Belgium. Let me say that Belgium has gotten a bad rap in our eyes from the horror we call Brussels sprouts. Such a nasty food marring our view of an extremely friendly country full of incredible other foods. And I think I was well told by those I met before coming to Brugge that it and not Brussels is the place to see. I hear Brussels is just another big city, but Brugge is (and I can attest) certainly so much more than a place to store people.