Low Countries - Part 1

January 14 - Bart took me for a tour of his home town of Mechelen for my first day (given the jet lag we decided to take it easy). Mechelen is known as "The City of Churches" and with a cathedral, basilicum and countless churches and chapels it is easy to see why. He kept telling me that I would be seeing more impressive or more finely detailed churches and would become a bit more blase about them, but I think Mechelen will always stand out in my mind because it was the first time I have every seen anything like this. The people of Mechelen are refered to as "Extinguisers of the Moon" due to a drunken mistake in which the cathedral tower appeared to be on fire because of the moon behind it.

Beers - Hoegaarden, De Koninck, Rodenbach

January 15 - Even a site as historically important as Waterloo can be a disappointment. Obviously designed for school groups (who thinks kids will like these things anyways?), the only part of the site of interest is the large earthen mound erected afterwards as a memorial and a warning to France. The Flemish lion looks to France with the words "Come No Further" carved into the base of the statue. The ruins of the abbey of Villers-la-Ville were the highlight of the day; the ivy and moss added to the sense of granduer surrounding the grounds. Apparently the canals are so important that the Belgian government has invested huge sums of money into massive conveyor belts for ships (the Belgian equivalent of our fast ferries) raising them over 65 meters from one canal to the next. Unfortunately, the viewing platform at the top was closed otherwise the view would have been exceptional. This day ended with an excursion into the heart of Brussels to briefly see some of the major landmarks and to go for a decidedly unique beer. Apparently there is a microorganism that only lives in one valley of Belgium and affects the brewing of the beer resulting in sour beer that tastes somewhat like cranberries and is drunk at room temperature - the sort of drink that is good every so often but not in huge quantities.

Beers - Chimay Bleu, Gueuze Mort Suzite

January 16 - Bart and I took the train into Antwerp for the day. The station in Atwerp, built around the turn of the century, is a cast iron, curved monstrosity complete with an announcer taking full advantage of the echo. The usual slew of amazing buildings including city hall, guild halls, warehouses, etc. Despite claiming to know the city Bart got us lost in the red light district requiring a couple of rounds to figure out which way out. For something that is illegal it sure is openly displayed. Found our way to the custom house on the waterfront and the original castle of Antwerp. A great tunnel (complete with wooden escalators) goes under the river to the suburbs allowing for a nice view back to the city.

Beers - Palm, Haachts Tarwebier, Koninck

January 17 - My first day surviving on my own in Brussels. Bart helped me plan out a full day of museums (the only day of rain the entire time I was in Belgium!) and since Brussels is bilingual I could get by with my weak French - on those rare occasions that they didn't already speak English. Kind of envious that Europeans live in such close contact with so many languages that they frequently speak two or three fairly well. Went first to the comic book museum and learned even more about Herge and Tintin before checking out the cathedral (big, impressive, yada, yada, yada). The Coudenberg is entirely underground and is excavated foundations and streets dating back as far as the 12th century with the new palace and streets built right on top. Very cool. The house of a famous Belgian architect, Victor Horta, has been converted into a museum with many of his pieces on display. Great art deco wrought iron with obvious influence from the stained glass of churches and cathedrals. Ended the day by going to the Musee des Beaux-Arts but didn't realise that it closed at 5:00 so had to rush through too many of the exhibits; could have spent all my time looking at the Rubens, especially because they are so damn big!

Beers - Chimay Rouge, Kriek Belle-Vue, Leffe Triple

January 18 - Bart and I took his folks car to the more infamous WWI work/concentration camp Fort Breenonk. Originally a fort to be used to protect Antwerp in was quickly taken by the Germans and used to house predominantly political prisoners. Worth while but not very inspiring on the quality of humanity. Traveled to the river and checked out a small castle (just one tower that is left) but discovered that through an open gate you could desend into a tunnel under the castle. The highlight of the day was slowing feeling our way along the walls, stooped over to avoid the ceiling with only a small lighter to light out way. Completed the day by visiting a town that is going to be destroyed by 2020 to expand the already massive port and got to see my first nuclear reactor.

Beers - Steendonk, Westmalle (Trappiste)

January 19 - Another day on my own, slightly overshadowed by the realisation that I was out of cash and couldn't get any more for a while so I couldn't take full advantage of the university city Leuven. Even without being able to stop for a beer in the numerous pubs that are scattered throughout the city (there is a square that has three sides of nothing but pubs - the fourth side was a high school) I really liked it. A town hall that was built to rival Antwerps, a castle with an old water mill and a quite nice beguinage that is now used for student and staff housing.

Beers - Duvel, Palm