I’m a little drunk after an evening of research in Belgium (so forgive the wordiness of this long-winded entry). A good percentage of the tourists you meet here are beer pilgrims — on a quest. For two nights in a row, I’ve shared a table or bar with American couples here specifically to enjoy the fine local beer.
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| The Belgian love of fine beer shows itself in mini-markets dominated by bottles of the finest monk-made brew. Enlarge photo |
Tonight, at my favorite Brugge bar (‘t Brugs Beertje — a favorite here…famous and even beloved for stocking over 300 Belgian beers), I sat with Chris from San Diego. Chris actually brought a bottle of Speedway Stout by Alesmith all the way from San Diego to give to Daisy, who runs this local pub.
I was a bit down on Brugge (a.k.a. Bruges) after a long day of visiting every sight in town. The place is inundated with tourists, especially when a cruise ship is in. It seems nothing is possibly “untouristy.” I’ve been in Belgium, the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, Turkey, and Iran lately. With the high price of things here (with our dollar down) and the predictability and homogeneity that comes with the new affluence in northern Europe, I was thinking how much more challenging and rewarding travel in places like Iran and Turkey is. It took staying out late and enjoying a couple of beers to jolt me back into a positive mindset.
After making the rounds of 12 or 14 restaurants last night, I wanted to actually eat in one high-end little place in my book — Bistro in den Wittenkop. It’s a cool, candlelit, jazzy place serving $30 plates (the going price for a nice dinner place these days).
I was mad at them last night for insisting that no one in Belgium served tap water in restaurants. Then I asked at all the other restaurants and learned it’s true. Germany, France, and the Netherlands have no problem serving free tap water. But in Belgium, it’s just not done. They claim all their water is “recycled,” and a few years ago a bunch of people got sick drinking tap water here, so — apparently — the government doesn’t allow restaurants to serve tap water.
I tracked down three places from reader feedback, and all were good. Two were characteristic pubs — focus on beer with cheap bar food (€7 spaghetti), allowing the poor American tourist to have a great night out for cheap (two great beers and a basic meal for $17).
The third place was a real winner. I just loved it. The local guide who was tagging along with me pointed to the medallion outside the door and said, “Yes, Hotelschool Koksude — one of the best cooking schools in Belgium…this place has got to be good.” My gut feeling was that this was a good value, but recognizing where the chef had studied…that was way beyond me. I wish I was more sophisticated about these things.
I had a fine meal, affirming my take on the place, and then popped over to the ‘t Brugs Beertje pub to check the intro material I had on Belgian beers. I sat at the bar planning on picking Daisy’s brain. But I was surrounded by beer experts — all happy to clue me in. Soon I had a chemistry lab of four different beers in front of me — each with its distinct beaker (a critical part of the beer culture here is that the glass must fit the beer). I had one called Zot (“the fool” — the last beer actually brewed in Brugge and considered one of Belgium’s best), Kriek (made bitter with cherry), an apple Lambic (what you order for your friend if they “don’t like beer”), and a complex and creamy Chimay brewed by Trappist monks. Licking my lips, I thought that Chimay would almost make celibacy livable.
As a beginner, I was extremely steep on the learning curve (and did my best to stay there as I walked home).
As I busily took notes, the gang on stools around me marveled at what a cool job I have. A couple stools down, a girl recognized me and said, “My mom loves you.” (I don’t know why, but I get a lot of that lately…lots of moms love me.)
Two stools beyond her was Astrid. She’s a guide at the local brewery that makes the Zot beer. (She wasn’t drinking Zot.) For years I’ve recommended that brewery tour in my book, raving about Inge (a guide there who I like and who’s a friend of mine). Today, Astrid rather than Inge was my guide. She had to mention, “There’s more than one guide here.” And I realized how it was wrong for me to favor one of seven guides just because I happened to know her. For six years, the other guides have had to hear American tourists ask, “Are you Inge?” I thanked Astrid for the nudge, apologized for the oversight, and assured her that in the new edition she won’t have to tell people she’s not Inge. Loosened up by a few Zots, my Belgian stool-mates explained to me how money-oriented the Dutch are. They said, “The Dutch have the worst beer, Heineken — but sell it all over the world. Belgians make far better beer, and it is barely exported. The first thing the Dutch ask you is about money (how much people make and how much things cost), which is taboo here in Belgium. Those Dutch could sell a fridge to an Eskimo.”
I’ve been in Belgium for 24 hours now. I’ve learned they “have nice weather 20 times a day.” And it occurs to me that old people speak English now. This is really a switch. I have been conditioned to find only young people able to clue me in on things; consequently, I get a young perspective. Now, enough years have gone by that I need to remember that the era of Europeans speaking English is long enough so that even the semi-retired people helping out in museums will likely speak English. They may be old, but they are from the modern age.
Speaking of the modern age, I just passed a threshold. Yesterday in Antwerp at the train station, I had 15 minutes between trains and wanted to get a SIM card for my cell phone to work in Belgium. I asked where the shop would be, and the information person directed me not to a shop but to a machine. I popped a ten-euro bill into the SIM card dispenser, and got my chip with a Belgian phone number and €7.50 of credit.
Rick, glad you enjoyed the Chimay! Years ago, after my first sip of this nectar, I was instantly converted from German to Belgian beer. Don’t know about the west coast, but Chimay is widely available back east. BTW, if you’re looking for a high-end meal in Brugge that you’ll never forget, try De Karmeliet on Langestraat. My (Flemish) fiancee introduced me to this place. Probably the best meal I’ve ever had in Europe.
Since I don’t care for restaurants, and have never even tasted beer – the smell is too much for me – I will never write about the same subject that Rick mentions in his Blog. ===== During our visit on Sunday August 24, 1980, as we walked toward downtown Brugge, we found hundreds of people in costume and medieval dress, along with flocks of sheep and many horses, waiting for a parade to start. This “Pageant of the Golden Tree†(the next edition of this event takes place in 2012), recreates the showy marriage of Charles the Bold to Margaret of York (sister to the English King Edward IV) in the summer of 1468. More than 2000 actors, six choirs, and 100 horsemen paraded through the heart of Bruges’ historical center, telling the history of the town in about 90 scenes. Dancers, singers, horses, flocks of sheep, and hundreds of people in costumes, were organized in one parade scene after another, as they “marched†through the city. It was very interesting, although we learned more than we needed to know about Brugge’s history. Several years we stopped in enchanting Brugge, Belgium, crossed and recrossed by canals that are lined with magnificent buildings. It’s about the most charming city in this part of Europe. We think it might be fun to take a boat ride on the Brugge canals sometime, but while we walk, we can look up, down, around and inside the buildings, while in a boat all we could do is look up at the buildings. Brugge’s campground was easy to find the first year, and easier yet in the years to follow. One year while Sweetie’s German Cousins were traveling with us, they slept in a Brugge Motel room two nights, we slept in the RV in the Brugge Motel’s parking lot.
Rick, I’m glad to hear that you’re reaching out your beer tastes beyond pils. As a beer fanatic, this really makes me glad!
the best belgian beer, to me, is trappist westmalle. it’s one of the very few beers i wouldn’t mind renting here in the US, but i’ve been told they make just enough to sell locally… so sad.
Rick – us grandmothers love you, too!
Glad you are enjoying your beer time! That is the best part of Belgian! I think our kids all think we love you because we are training them to travel through you. Honestly I have given my kids all your video’s and books before they have ventured out on their trips, I just hope we can retire one of these days and travel more ourselves. The Euro is down to 1.50 today!
I have just returned from a WWII tour of historical war sites through UK, France, Germany, Belgium and an unplanned trip to the Eagles Nest in the Bavarian Alps. My mind is full of so many memories, I can’t hold another. London, by far, was my favorite city. Paris was next. I was underwhelmed by Berlin and Munich. Germany seems so harsh and efficient that one seems to feel guilty having a vacation mindset. I just recently discovered Rick Steves and now thoroughly enjoy logging in each morning to tag along with him in his travels. Great job Rick!
It’s good to promote a good, healthy beer from time to time, and Europe has some of the best on the planet. Keep drinking, Rick!
Two years ago we went to Brug(g)e(s) and had a Zot and also a kriek at De Gouden Kop on the main square as the carillon played Beethoven’s Ninth, Still a fond memory and my favorite food/drink experience. Cheers, Rick!
Just back from Brugge myself. Had a lot of fun. The lace-making museum is a “cultural must” because those are real locals working on a tradition that is probably dying out. My kids also loved the frits museum because of the nice lady who explained it all and served-up a great big paper cone full of the best fries in the world. (Chocolate museum was over-crowded and over-touristy by comparison.) Although I liked some of the Belgian beers, some of them were too over-the-top for me. To me, if it is sweet, it really isn’t beer (just me). Also enjoyed listening to the bell tower concert on the longest day of the year. Best tip is to get up early and see everything before the day tripping crowds arrive. Before 9 you get a sense of what it must have been like before it became a huge tourism destination. I also enjoyed Brussels and think it is under-rated. There a good tip (on a sunny day) is the rooftop restaurant on top of the musical instrument museum. Great views. Have never eaten so well in my life as in Brussels, but eateries were a bit expensive. Keep up the good work. Happy travels everyone!
Forget my mom, Rick, I love you! Sometimes I forget if you’re just a travel book writer or a rock star :) -Your #1 groupie
We drove and parked and walked around Brugge with Sweetie’s elderly Cousins, Hugo and Maria. We ate breakfast in our RV in the center of the main parking lot, right in Brugge’s main city square, surrounded by very impressive buildings, and the fruit and vegetable market. === A few years earlier I climbed to the top of the main tower in the market square. They only let people visit as a group. They let a few people go up and spend some time, and they must come down before others are permitted to go to the top. Traffic control for the narrow steps. === They have a lot of horse drawn carriages, and unlike some other cities where we have seen horses and carriages, they have a plastic sheet, like a diaper, extending from under the horses tail to a little storage place, and it keeps the street of Brugge (and shoes) clean. === McDonald’s had a cleaning lady who is tipped when the washrooms are used. Most McDonald’s do not charge for restrooms, but this does provide income for some old ladies, and the restrooms are spotless. === I forgot to mention in the earlier comment, that there was a brochure that gave information about each scene In the “Pageant of the Golden Tree.†We didn’t have a brochure, but I read the English subtitles from a brochure held by a little girl in front of us. === It’s the purpose of our Journal to tell a little of what we do, and since there are libraries filled with information about the places we see, there isn’t much use in trying to really describe them in great detail here. In our garage there are boxes and boxes of maps, books, receipts and descriptive literature about all our trips, so if more than sketchy detail is needed, I have a place to look. At the end of some trips, we paid $100 postage to get all that information home. (We still have the receipt for $2 for two nights in Rome for four people in 1970 — 25¢ per person, per night.)
Rick – I definitely know what you mean by the dollar being down (the pound is killing me right now!) Your trip sounds amazing. Belgium sounds like a really neat place to visit. I have done my fair share of travel and love sharing my experiences with others. I found a great site to share your experiences with others… its at http://www.baraaza.com its very cool site to interact with other travelers, I think you should check it out! Anyways, until next time pray that the dollar goes back up! Justin
Rick it seems you picked a momentous time to initiate tours to Russia. What are your thoughts on contributing to the Russian Bear’s economy and image?
I can’t believe that the only time I was in Belgium was in the Brussels airport en route to Berlin. Can you believe that me, a beer geek par excellence, opted for a 7-Up at the airport bar? LOL! :D (Of course, I must admit that this was 20 years ago, when at aged 18, I had no idea about Belgian beer!). *sigh* Oh, well. Belgium is definitely on my travel radar next trip to Europe! Keep up the great work, Rick, and enjoy the myriad of barley offerings in Belgium. Truly outstanding and idiosyncratic culinary treasures there.
That’s really cool about the SIM dispenser. My wife (who’s from Europe) was just telling me that you can also enter your phone number in the ATM machines and transfer credit from your bank account to your SIM. Cool system.
I love Brugges! One of my favorite smaller cities in Europe to visit and I don’t even drink beer! Reading your blog just makes me want to go back. Chocolate and lace…what more do we need! Keep on blogging Rick…it’s the next best thing to traveling myself…and yes…we moms do love you;)!
My family and I were just in Bruges last month, and followed your walking tour. We had a wonderful time, and tried the Zot as well as Leffe, which I have actually found in my local grocery store back here in Chicagoland. I did see quite a few other tourists in Bruges, but what a gem of a city!
Also, a quick note: in the version of your “Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges” guidebook that I bought for our recent trip, you mention that there is no ATM in the Bruges train station. Luckily for us, it now has one and we were easily able to withdraw money there. Just wanted to let you know! Thanks! :)
Rick – thanks for all you do in guiding the rest of us in our journeys through Europe. This fall my husband and I will be making what I am sure is 1 of many trips to Europe in our life time! ps. I used to pretend to be sick when I was younger just to stay home from school to watch your show! My dad finally figured it out and said he would record your show for me! Now that I am grown up and technology has evolved I tivo all of your episodes! Can’t wait to taste all the fine beers Europe has to offer! Cheers!
Rick, have you ever been to ‘Cookies’ bar just off Grote Market in Bruges? It’s the city’s smallest pub and has a great atmosphere. One can feel the history and pull of many nights of many people enjoying a few. Down a narrow alleyway and into a crooked old pub with an excellent selection of brews. We even tried a couple of their fruit beers which the younger females preferred to more traditional brew. Difficult to turn around in the tiny bathrooms but all part of the fun! Have you seen the movie “In Bruges” with Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farell? The beauty and history of the town contrast with the violence and disregard of the modern world. I had never heard of Bruges before watching your show but my family loved it when we visited in the spring before it was overrun with tourists. Your book came in handy as a shim to even out the bed in the old B&B we stayed in. Keep up the good work.
Rick, If you’re around home and miss the Chimay, then look no further than Seattle’s own Brouwers Pub. It’s a Belgian brew pub located in the Fremont area. They have a hearty (if pricey) menu and an astounding collection of over 300 bottled beers from around the world and 60 on tap as well. After visiting Belgium last winter, it’s my first stop when I have a craving for Chimay. Thanks for the post and all your hard work. Cheers!
My husband just got back from Germany and found it very difficult to impossible to get free tap water at restaurants or sidewalk cafes. You had to pay for the water and it wasn’t cheap.
Or if Brouwers is too fancy, try the Stumbling Monk on Olive in Seattle. Several Chimays, and more obscure beers too. Actually, Chimay is at the Elysian Pub too. And Smith has Abbey Leffe. Lots of Belgian beer in Seattle.
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