The first thing you notice about Belgium is the driving. It's utterly insane. I'm not being unfair, because I liked Belgium, especially the food- which was superb. But by God, once you cross the border you take your life into your hands. The autoroutes are peppered with deep, crater-like pot-holes and weed-like triffids. Not much fun when you hit them at 120k an hour- which is the sort of speed most Belgian drivers seem to think is on the slow side.
Secondly, the roads are full of rickety white vans, driven by intense, long-haired, Goth-like individuals- meandering at speed from one lane to the other. You'll see lots of these in your rear-view mirror- especially as they're about to ram you from the derrière. Enough...I liked the place. The good news is that the food is universally excellent in Belgium. I've even heard it said that the food in Belgium is better than in France. Certainly, at the various low-key places we stopped off at, the food was fab.
We found a simple cafe in the square at Ypres- opposite the old Cloth Hall. This famous Medieval building was almost completely destroyed in the First World War, and then rebuilt in the 1920's' though, apparently, was only completed in the 1960's. We ordered the national dish: moules, pommes frittes, and mayonnaise. I was interested to see that the Belgians added chopped leeks, chopped celery, and carrots (cut into tiny julienne) to their liquor. Although ours was based on a dry white wine, I gather they also use Belgian beer as a substitute. Belgian beer is one of the reasons to visit Belgium. It's lovely stuff; and oh so superior to that fizzy water they call "beer' in the U S of A.
Trappist beers are of interest. For a beer to qualify for this category, the entire production process must be carried out by, or supervised by, Trappist monks on the site of a monastery. Only seven monasteries currently meet this qualification, six of which are in Belgium and one in the Netherlands. The current Trappist producers are Achel, Chimay, Koningshoeven (the Netherlands), Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westvleteren. There's a particularly good wikipedia article on the subject, which I would recommend that you have a look at, if you've got the time and inclination: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_beer.
I'm finishing up with a bonus photograph of the Battlefield of Waterloo. I took this shot from what would have been Napoleon's lines- looking directly towards La Haye Sainte Farm House (that's the small white blob in the middle). The mound on the left is the Waterloo Memorial. The place, although fascinating, was a terrifying tourist trap. The local restaurant sold Burger a la Ney, Omelet Wellington, and Steak Hougoumount. You have been warned...
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