Thursday, December 19, 2013

Belgium and Beer Redux

I decided to take a quick little trip back to Belgium for more beer, specifically at the Kerstbierfest. I managed to book award flights to and from Paris, a relatively short 2 hour train trip from Brussels. So off I went!

Day One
I arrived on Thursday an surprisingly, was not too tired. I checked in to my hotel, had a very short nap, and set off for the Grand Place to check out the Christmas market. The market was fine; I wandered the stalls with a cup of Gluhwein for a while and got a sandwich. I discovered that the market extended far past the Grand Place to St. Catherine's church and beyond. It was pretty big. Two carousels, a Ferris wheel, and an ice rink.

After I had enough of that, I made my way to Moeder Lambic and spent a couple of pleasant hours there. By the time I was done with my beer, it was perfect timing to head back to the hotel and rest up for the next day.

Day Two
Friday morning was spent at Cantillon, where I had a lambic (delightfully fresh and young), a Rose de Gambrinus (gorgeous rose color, mildly tart), and a glass of the new Iris (oddly pickled rye nose, more bitter than sour). I also bought a Lou Pepe Kriek and a Lou Pepe Framboise to take home. There was a light flow of traffic in and out, but one guy was there the entire time I was - we had a little conversation about our drinks from time to time. But eventually it was time to move on to lunch at Restobieres (as suggested by my friend, Chuck Cook). I had an amazing lunch - pate, farm chicken Waterzooïe with Blanche de Watou, and speculooos ice cream.

With a pleased smile on my face, I headed to the train station and off to Antwerp, where I hurriedly checked in to my hotel and met a friend for dinner at a lovely restaurant on the river. It was soo embarrassing when I couldn't finish the delicious fish entree due to being full from lunch! I managed to soldier through dessert though, a selection of 4 chocolate sweets. We then pulled an all-nighter, first at a private club then at a Cuban-themed club, until the wee hours of the morning! My goodness Antwerp knows how to have a good time!!!

Day Three
As a result, I got a late start to Essen the next day and we arrived around 3:30 pm. I was pretty drained so got a slow start, but by 6 pm was back in full swing. Amazingly even in a large festival, I was able to find my friends from the U.S. It's always nice to be in a larger group to share samples. There were a few beers I didn't care for, but overall the beers were very good. There were a few guezes, surprisingly, and a nice range of other beers - not all dark and spicy as I had envisioned. One of my favorites was Tjeezes Reserva, but I pretty much knew that before tasting it. Another was a Mikkeler aged in tequila barrels.

One friend had managed to meet and befriend a couple from Chicago (!), who were very cool. And, amazingly - or not - the guy from Cantillon was there and said hello to me. I saw him at the end of the night again and he gave me his card... from his business in Madrid, where I'll be in February. Awesome!!! Anyway - the party continued on the bus and the train back to Antwerp, courtesy of a few bottles. Back in Antwerp I got some dinner and, exhausted, headed for bed.

Day Four
I made it down to breakfast and then left out for the Plantin-Moretus Museum, recommended by my friend on Friday. All I can say is - wow. Social history, printing history, political history, architectural and art history - all in one museum. I spent far longer there than I had planned as there was so much to take in. 

After leaving the museum, I did some shopping then checked out the Christmas market. Not impressed. And sadly did not find any food that I wanted at the market. I ended up getting lunch at a restaurant on the Grand Place - really delicious meatballs and of course frites. (Have I mentioned that frites made up pretty much every meal so far???) I dawdled on the way to the station after lunch and missed the train to Essen by this much so wandered around for an hour until the next train. 

When I got to Essen, I found out the fest ended at 8 pm that night - I had just under 3 hours to enjoy! Worse, my friend Mark turned up an hour later (so no big deal that I missed a train) and had only 2 hours! Then we found out the bus was at 7:30! We did our best to work through as many beers as possible, tricky as many of our top choices were gone. As we headed out, we got caught in conversation and missed the bus by this much. We started walking, then ducked in a bar to ask about taxis, and were told we were better off walking so off we went again. Fortunately, a woman stopped to pick us up and drove us to the station where we made the train by minutes. Whew!!!

When we got in to Brussels, we went straight to a bar. And, with the exception of a brief food stop (awesome falafel!!!!!), bar-hopped until the wee hours of the morning. The last stop was an absinthe bar where we had beautiful, gorgeous absinthe. An awesome night topped off by an excellent drink with great company.

Day Five
So, again, I got barely any sleep! In no time at all I was up and headed to the train station for the train to Paris. I arrived in good time for my flight and had breakfast and a snooze in the lounge, then a long snooze on the flight.

It was a whirlwind and exhausting trip, but well worth it. I saw friends from all over, made new friends and acquaintances, and consumed a lot of fantastic beverages and delicious foods. I can't wait to go back!!!