It is barely an hour since we stepped off the Eurostar from London into this amazingly foreign world filled with 15th century architecture, beer and perfectly served black pots of mussels where you lift the lid and the scent of cream, butter, garlic, wine and leeks fill the nose……. Wow.

Brussels

At the back of the Stock Exchange Building we enter a small cobblestone square sided by a 13th century stone church where a lone guitar player, hoping for change in his hat, strums note perfect chords of Carlos Santana to a gathering crowd of tourists.  We exit the little square into a very narrow crowded alley way lined with Chocolate shops, the guitar music and sweet odor of Belgian Chocolate conspire to tempt the senses, but we are bent to keep moving, following the site of a huge clock tower whose spire can be seen from everywhere. We exit the crowded alleyway and step into the widening expanse of The Grand Place – the main square of Brussels. The Grand Place is a cobblestone square, the size of two football fields, bordered by 8 story stone walled Gothic buildings that are trimmed along their roof-lines with shimmering gold leaf. Built into the walls of the buildings are hundreds of life-size stone statues seemingly integral to the construction. The huge Gothic clock tower we were following sits atop one of the buildings. 

Easily the most impressive square we have ever seen, Chris and I stand in amazement at the scene. “I have goosebumps” Chris says. The shimmering sun light off of the golden gilded roof-lines bring on immediate goose bumps to us both – “so do I”. The Grand Place square is full of people; many stand in awe staring upward at the golden roof-lines, exactly as we do, others mill around various artists selling water colors, many tourists are attempting to shoot pictures of the scene. I grab my camera and attempt the same – but quickly realize the futility of it – like the Grand Canyon or the Grand Canal of Venice there is no picture or painting that can do the Grand Place of Brussels justice. In defeat, I pocket my camera. 

Hundreds more people sit in small cafés with little tables under umbrellas situated at the base of buildings. The odor of mussels served in large covered pots cooked in leeks, garlic, white wine, crème and butter fills the air. The “mussels of Brussels”. A waiter lifts the deep lid off a pot - the steam of the recipe dissipates revealing an over flowing pot with dozens of perfectly opened black shells containing orange-pink mussels.  The odor expands outward and it is to die for. (If the Belgian Chocolate didn’t get you the mussels surely will). On top of that everyone is drinking beer, dozens of varieties and countless brands, each served in its own stemmed glassware goblet baring the brand name. The search begins for an empty table under umbrella. A pot of mussels ordered accompanied by my first ever real Trappist brew. It is barely an hour since we stepped off the Eurostar from London into this amazingly foreign world filled with 15th century architecture, beer and perfectly served black pots of mussels where you lift the lid and the scent of cream, butter, garlic, wine and leeks fill the nose……. Wow.

Beer

No trip to Belgium is complete without sampling the world’s best beers. There are 6 Trappist monastery breweries in Belgium – these are not to be missed. Each beer is served in it’s own personal style of glass the shape of the glass is designed to highlight the beer’s subtleties.  Personal favorite is Westvlettern Dark – often chosen by experts as the world’s best beer – the monks produce very little each year and serve it in unlabeled bottles, around $14 per bottle. You only need try one to be convinced. That being said there are many other non-Trappist beers to be tried – La Chouffe Blonde is outstanding. Be warned however, most Belgian beer is extremely high in alcohol content – many in the range of 9 to 10%. In the old part of Brussels several really great pubs exist and should be visited. Some of them around since medieval times. Two highly recommended are Theatre Royal de Toone and a La Bacasse. Toone is a former Marionette theater that still operates on occasion – order a Chimay Dubbel. A la Bacasse is a very old pub and one of the few places on earth that serves on tap a very rare beer known as Lambic.  Lambic is only made in the Brussels area as it requires fermentation by yeasts carried to the beer blowing in the air that is only found in the Brussels valley. Traditional Lambic, always served in earthen mugs, is lightly carbonated, looks a lot like champagne, is very refreshing with a hint of grapefruit flavored. Finding these pubs is part of the fun of being in Brussels. They are not overly obvious from the street front and typically require a short walk through a very dark narrow passageway that takes you to a room in the rear of the building. Do not miss however – the true history of Belgium is in it’s beer. 

Bruges

“And I realized, maybe that's what hell is: the entire rest of eternity spent in fuckin' Bruges. Then I really really hoped I wouldn't die. I really really hoped I wouldn't die.” 

Fans of the 2008 quirky comedy Film Noir cult classic “In Bruges” will recall the movie ending with that quote spoken by the dying protagonist of the film, the very Irish accented Ray, played by Colin Farrell. Ray didn’t much care for Bruges “shit-hole” (the entire movie is filmed on site in Bruges in winter). But I am here to testify that Ray couldn’t have had it more wrong – Bruges is far from a “shit-hole”. Never bombed in a war, therefore the most perfectly preserved medieval city in the world, Bruges today is one the most photogenic towns on earth and as such it is a traveler's dream. 

Around every corner is something new and different to see. It is the variety of subject matter: large squares with cafes, narrow cobblestone streets with horse drawn carriage, fresh water canals with white swans swimming, countless 11th century Gothic churches with massive spires that seemingly change color at different times of the day and colorfully painted shop facades. Throw in interesting fountains, statues and parks filled with glassy lakes and it all adds up to several days of great exploring.  Bruges is the quintessential Belgium town all wrapped up in 5 square miles. A highlight was to sit in an outdoor café in the Markt Square in the evenings listening to the carillon ring out from the 42 bells of the Belfry tower 400 ft above. Life moves very slowly in Bruges and it is meant to be savored like an expensive whiskey. A photographers dream and one of my favorite places to visit on earth. After 4 days we really really didn’t want to leave. We really really didn’t want to leave.