Mussels in Brussels

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On the train from Paris we were sitting next to a nice couple who gave us lots of tips about Belgium. The ride was quite pretty as we were mainly passing through fields. Every now and then there would be a bright yellow field which the Belgium couple told us was mustard. We have also heard that it might be Canola. Very pretty anyway.

We arrived in Brussels and at about 4:30pm and found somewhere to stay for the night. The walk there was a little unnerving as there were about 100 middle eastern looking men at the street cafes we had to walk past and there were only a couple of tourists around and also lots of rubbish! I was very glad to have Richie by my side! After dumping our bags we headed into the square. We took in the beauty of Grand Place over a selection of beers (cherry beer (Kreik) for Lysh - yum!). This seemed to dissolve away any of the bad parts of the day. We then wandered past some on the chocalatiers and gaufre (waffle) shops socking in the delicious smells! We headed to the pita street which is lined with greek cafes selling delicious cheap food. Not very authentic but exactly what we felt like!

The next day we had a full day to explore Brussels. We wandered past the famous Manneken Pis fountain and did an excellent self guided walk which takes you past the comic strip art. Very cool! We also did an art nouvou self guided walk but being not very architecturally minded we struggled to pick out the buildings we were supposed to be looking at! We also wandered down to the business end of town and past all of the EU buildings. At the end of the strip is a Arcades du Cinquantenaire (French for “Park of the fifteenth) which is a massive park with a triumphal arch as its centrepiece. The complex houses some of Brussels main museums which we didn’t get to see unfortunately.

We thought we’d have a nice chill out in the botanical gardens and for a while we relaxed on the lawn, made daisy chains and watched the planes overhead but when we moved deeper into the gardens we watched a dramatic arrest (actually our second one since being in Brussels)! Some young kids were swimming in the fountain and the police came to tell them off but when this happened a man (maybe older brother) stepped in and must have said something the police didn’t appreciate as they struggled with him and handcuffed him. When this happened about 50 other men came out of the woodwork and it got a little scary until backup arrived and the pack retreated into every corner of the park.

We went to a family run brewery (Cantillon) which is the oldest brewery in Brussels still in production. It was interesting to see them using the mashing machines they used to use a couple of hundred years ago. They don’t add any sugar to the beer so it has a bit of a sour taste, but as you can imagine, they let the brew ferment for around 3 years using spontaneous fermentation, so it has a unique taste, very different to the beers back home! Hopefully I picked up a few things and can finally brew a decent batch when I return to Oz!

For tea we had the Belgium national dish - steamed mussels in white wine sauce. It was a HUGE pot! of mussels (national dish, white wine sauce). Very tasty!

In Brussels they speak French so the few words we have picked up have been getting us by. This won’t be the case in Bruges (our next stop) however! One of our favourite French words is “pain” (bread). We keep saying silly lines like “I eat pain for breakfast”! Sounds like a wrestling line.

We have very mixed feelings about Brussels. In one word I think it’s best described as colourful. The historical city centre and EU/business area is worlds away from the suburbs where you wouldn’t even know you’re in Europe!

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