Travelfood

For half a year I studied in Antwerp and got aquainted with wonderful Belgium, both Flemish north and Wallonian south. Incredibly beautiful Bruges and Ghent and the most beautiful market in Europe, Grand Place of Brussels, yes, why is this tourist country so often shadowed by its neighbours as an attractive destination? During my studies I found it difficult to get to know locals and we international students usually hang around by ourselves. The fact is that Belgian register plates on cars are a rare sight in Europe – maybe the Belgians like to spend their time in their own beautiful country.

Belgians enjoy good food and drink. The country is filled with chocolate pralines and wafels as well as good beer. What would you say about such a speciality as cherry beer or raspberry beer? Belgium is also known for the unlikely combination of French fries and mayonnaise, which probably drives health enthusiasts and calories’ counters crazy. If you go to the restaurant street close to the Grand Place of Brussels, you will probably be offered mussels (moules in French) in wonderful white wine, provencale or garlic broth.

Other Belgian specialities that I tasted were waterzooi soup (vegetables and chicken soup), witloof uit den Oven (endives and ham baked with cheese), carbonade flamande (meat stew with onions in beer) and rabbit with plums, raisins and cherries. If you want a more affordable snack, head towards a belegde broodje sandwich bar, where bread is filled with local meat slices, paté or cheese of your own choice.

Antwerp, where I studied, has a beautiful old city center, which is built around the staty of the city founder. It displays the hero, who cut the hand of an agonizing giant and threw it in the sea (hand werfen means throwing hand and that is from where the name Antwerpen originates). In autumn the wind blows hard from the North Sea and the rain whips your face horizontally. But almost every Sunday weather was dry and I headed towards Vogelmarkt, a market place where everything imaginable was for sale. Another speciality of Antwerp were the Jewish diamond traders right by the railway station.

Belgium, Europe, food, travel, travel experiences