Belgium – March 2018
My work had scheduled a meeting of European security personnel in Belgium, and I was fortunate enough to be invited. I had never been to Europe before, so naturally I extended my trip to visit more places in Belgium and take some photographs.
English was my first concern about visiting Belgium, not being an experienced international traveler. I know a very little bit of Spanish, a vanishingly small amount of French, and that’s about it. It’s very American of me, but I was also deeply concerned about looking like a boor, which I suppose is not very American of me at all. It turns out that Belgium has three official languages: Dutch (Flemmish), German, and French. Some travel sites indicated that the French speakers might not be entirely thrilled about being approached in Dutch, and that the Dutch speakers might be entirely thrilled about being approached in French…and that your best bet was to lead with English. That worked out rather well for me and, in practice, every single person I met in Belgium spoke English save for two French tourists who asked me to take their picture at The Grand Place.
My next concern was food. I am a picky eater. If I am invited to dinner at a restaurant I didn’t pick, there is a 100% guarantee that I have already looked at the menu and decided what I will have before I get there. I looked up food in Belgium and, while I’m sure there were other foods listed, the ones that stood out to me were Beer, Chocolate, Waffles, French Fries, Shrimp Croquettes, and Stoufvlees (Flemish beef stew). It is difficult to imagine a menu more compatible with my palette. I even discovered that you could buy french fries with Stoufvlees sauce from vendors on the street, and I feel America needs to take a lesson from Belgium on this.
I started off in Brussels, but unfortunately most of my night shots of The Grand Place did not come out well. Someday I hope to return with a very wide tilt shift lens to do a better job. I also made a day trip down to Villers Abbey while I was staying in Brussels, which was fantastic.
My next stop was Ghent, which was my favorite place I visited in Belgium. Ghent is touristy but not overwhelmingly so. I spent a lot of my time just wandering around looking at the architecture. I’m not usually a big drinker, but I did a fair amount of day drinking there because it seemed like The Thing To Do. The beer in Belgium was amazing: a lot of Blonde ales which I really enjoy. The alcohol content of the beer in Belgium definitely averages higher than in the US, but I managed to keep things mostly under control. The only exception was that one night I went out, hit a couple of bars, and wound up drinking a couple cans of Delirium Tremens which left me absolutely annihilated.
From Ghent, I took a day trip to Bruges. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, but I still enjoyed my time there. Even with the nasty weather, Bruges was absolutely packed with tourists. The architecture there was astonishing, but difficult to photograph without people in the shot. I would rate Bruges as a must-visit in Belgium, but I wouldn’t center a trip around it. It’s good for a day or two of exploring and shopping, but the crowds were just too overwhelming for my taste.
The Hotel Brussels was my final stop on this trip, which was a fabulous hotel with a really fabulous view.
I highly recommend travelling to Belgium. While there are certainly a lot of tourists, I still feel like it is an underrated destination in Europe. The architecture is fantastic and the canals make for interesting and very pleasant city layouts. The food is top notch but not pretentious – I ate All Of The Shrimp Croquettes while I was there and the chocolate and beer are world famous. The people in Belgium were very friendly and helpful and speaking only English was not a concern at all.
My work had scheduled a meeting of European security personnel in Belgium, and I was fortunate enough to be invited. I had never been to Europe before, so naturally I extended my trip to visit more places in Belgium and take some photographs.
English was my first concern about visiting Belgium, not being an experienced international traveler. I know a very little bit of Spanish, a vanishingly small amount of French, and that’s about it. It’s very American of me, but I was also deeply concerned about looking like a boor, which I suppose is not very American of me at all. It turns out that Belgium has three official languages: Dutch (Flemmish), German, and French. Some travel sites indicated that the French speakers might not be entirely thrilled about being approached in Dutch, and that the Dutch speakers might be entirely thrilled about being approached in French…and that your best bet was to lead with English. That worked out rather well for me and, in practice, every single person I met in Belgium spoke English save for two French tourists who asked me to take their picture at The Grand Place.
My next concern was food. I am a picky eater. If I am invited to dinner at a restaurant I didn’t pick, there is a 100% guarantee that I have already looked at the menu and decided what I will have before I get there. I looked up food in Belgium and, while I’m sure there were other foods listed, the ones that stood out to me were Beer, Chocolate, Waffles, French Fries, Shrimp Croquettes, and Stoufvlees (Flemish beef stew). It is difficult to imagine a menu more compatible with my palette. I even discovered that you could buy french fries with Stoufvlees sauce from vendors on the street, and I feel America needs to take a lesson from Belgium on this.
I started off in Brussels, but unfortunately most of my night shots of The Grand Place did not come out well. Someday I hope to return with a very wide tilt shift lens to do a better job. I also made a day trip down to Villers Abbey while I was staying in Brussels, which was fantastic.
My next stop was Ghent, which was my favorite place I visited in Belgium. Ghent is touristy but not overwhelmingly so. I spent a lot of my time just wandering around looking at the architecture. I’m not usually a big drinker, but I did a fair amount of day drinking there because it seemed like The Thing To Do. The beer in Belgium was amazing: a lot of Blonde ales which I really enjoy. The alcohol content of the beer in Belgium definitely averages higher than in the US, but I managed to keep things mostly under control. The only exception was that one night I went out, hit a couple of bars, and wound up drinking a couple cans of Delirium Tremens which left me absolutely annihilated.
From Ghent, I took a day trip to Bruges. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, but I still enjoyed my time there. Even with the nasty weather, Bruges was absolutely packed with tourists. The architecture there was astonishing, but difficult to photograph without people in the shot. I would rate Bruges as a must-visit in Belgium, but I wouldn’t center a trip around it. It’s good for a day or two of exploring and shopping, but the crowds were just too overwhelming for my taste.
The Hotel Brussels was my final stop on this trip, which was a fabulous hotel with a really fabulous view.
I highly recommend travelling to Belgium. While there are certainly a lot of tourists, I still feel like it is an underrated destination in Europe. The architecture is fantastic and the canals make for interesting and very pleasant city layouts. The food is top notch but not pretentious – I ate All Of The Shrimp Croquettes while I was there and the chocolate and beer are world famous. The people in Belgium were very friendly and helpful and speaking only English was not a concern at all.