The Land of Fries and Chocolate

As, we arrive at the train station in Paris to catch our train to Brugge, we became confused as our tickets doesn’t show our final destination to be Brugge.  But we learn that trains are easier in Belgium as our ticket gives us one train ride anywhere in Belgium on this day making things really easy.   But when we finally get to Brugge, we’re not sure how to get to the hotel.  We don’t see any taxis, and we’re not sure what bus to take.  So we finally figure out the what bus and buy a ticket and wait to see a line of taxis waiting to pick people up.  Sometimes you just can’t win, but our hotel wasn’t that far from the station and the bus got us across the street from our hotel, Hotel Karos which we booked through the American airlines website trying to get even more miles, so it worked out.

Bill had picked this hotel because it had an indoor pool with a hot tub and it didn’t cost more than the other hotels plus it included breakfast and was only a short walk to the center of town.  So we went to try out the pool to find out the hot tub was in repair and the pool looked good but it was too cold for me even though the whole room was heated making it feel like a sauna but not enough to get me in the pool longer than 10 minutes.  So much for that.  So off to town we went to get some dinner.

We found the main square which included a whole row of restaurants that all seemed pretty similar.  Bill picked one with my only condition being that we sat indoors as it was fairly chilly though we had arrived off the bus the sun was out shining making it seem like it would be a warm night but that wasn’t the case.  However, the restaurant’s idea of outdoors sitting under a covered area that was open to the square with a heater near by, but on the bright side, the view of the square was stunning.  A clock tower stood directly across from us with a stage being built in front of it for an outdoor concert we assumed would be put on this weekend.

The next morning Bill took me to see how one of my favorite foods is made.  The fry originated in Belgium, but I learned that the potato chip came from America because we changed the cut of the fry.  I was a little disappointed by the museum as I'd assumed there would be more interactive material but it was more like walking through a book with pop up pictures.  Though first you walk through the history of the potato and then the history of the fry as two cartoon characters (the fry and the potato) are trying to get to know each other and ask questions that the room answers.  Learning about all the uses of the potato including how drinking raw potato juice on an empty stomach can sooth a stomach ache that might not have an apparent cause, heartburn or a gastric ulcer as well as other natural uses.

I also learned the best oil for cooking fries is beef tallow as it gives a better taste and contains 40% unsaturated fat. And fries need to be cooked in two stages well really just not to keep the customer waiting too long.  The interesting reason why they are called "French fries" is during the WWI some French speaking Belgian soldiers are said to have offered some chips to some American soldiers, and they thought the Belgian soldiers where French hence the name, leave it to American. Of course, we stop at the fry shop to taste some, but there were only four choices.  The Belgium fry I use to go to in New York had about 30 to try and I'd been looking forward to all the flavors I could try here.

The rest of the day we spent exploring the streets and walking towards the windmill park.  This park had four different windmills in four different stages of repair.  We wanted to try some fries that weren't at the museum so we found a small fry shop with one lady working behind the counter and tons of customers.  Though we couldn't read any of the sauces so we had to stick with ketchup as she was too busy to help us figure it all out.

The next morning we headed out for a day trip to the town of Ghent.  Located in the Flemish part of Belgium, Ghent is much like Brugge from and architectural standpoint with houses lining a series of canals.  The houses are made of brick and all have very steep roofs with stepped gables.  We took the trolley to the center square in town which is lined with a number of impressive buildings.  The town just has a feel like you are walking back in time.

One of the reasons that I wanted to come was the castle.  So that was the first thing that we went to go visit.  It is interesting sitting on a small island created by the canals running around it.  It is in pretty good shape with the outer wall still looking imposing over the nearby houses.  Inside we walked through the various rooms in the keep where there were a wide range of exhibits.  The most interesting was the one on methods of torture where they had actual guillotine blades and other devices used to get confessions.  Some of them were pretty imaginative devices.

After the castle we continued to wander through the streets looking at a number of different style churches.  Most of them had a large wall closing off a portion of the church that was being reconstructed, but they were still pretty impressive.  We found a nice Italian place to get some food while we took a break from all the walking we had been doing.

Michelle will tell you that I have a thing about climbing to the top of things.  It does not matter if it is a pyramid, mountain, or tower if it is there I want to go to the top.  Most towns in this part of Belgium have a Belfry where there is a clock and bells to announce the time of day.  When I saw people walking around the top, I too wanted to go.  Michelle feeling a little tired decided to stay at the bottom and shop a little, her loss since there was an elevator that went to the top.  Anyways I climbed up for the best view over town.  The bonus was that I was up there right as the bells were about to ring and I got to see the mechanism that plays a song with the bells.  I imagine it is not much different than the original gramophone, but just on a much larger scale.  There is a large drum that has a number of pegs in it as the drum turns, the pegs trip levers that ring a bell.  All of this is driven by one clock mechanism that is hooked to the four faces of the clock and the drum.  Since this mechanism was installed almost 200 years ago it still needs to be wound by hand each day.  After my excursion to the top, it was time to catch our train back to Brugge.

The next day since we had tried out the fry museum, we had to head to the chocolate museum as well.  The museum was set up very similar to the fry museum and not much interaction more reading.  Though Bill was happy because they started the tour with a few pieces of chocolate, though what I hadn't realized until much later was that he kept going back for the samples over and over.  Not sure how I missed it.  I was excited because there was a demonstration we got to watch, the only problem was it was hard to follow because we couldn't get in across to him with the crowd that we spoke English.  He did the demo in Flemish and French.

Since it was a nice sunny day, we decided to try the boat tour around the canals.  This time the tour was in English and French, but he spoke so fast to get in both languages sometimes it was hard to understand.  Can't win, I guess.  Though we enjoyed the views and the fresh air.

Bill had a desire to go to the top of the Belfry tower in the middle of the square, whereas, I wanted to explore the bottom floor which housed some of Dali's works.  It was only one floor, but it was crammed packed with sculptures, paintings, lithographs, and even had one of his silent films playing. And I was fascinated by how confident he was as his quotations were placed all around the room.  For example,  “Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure-that of being Salvador Dali.”  Of course, some work was more disturbing that other but some was quite enjoyable. Bill, on the other hand, tried to find the museum that didn't exist in the Belfry and at the top didn't get a very good view when he was kicked out fifteen minutes before the tower closed.

Later that night, I got sucked into a BBC special called "Yes we can! The Lost Art of Oratory!" as it would be perfect for the classroom.  Then I realized how hard it is to purchase a BBC program and even though I'd be in England soon and could download it, that would only last for a week.  Thinking about work even on our adventures again, something Bill always makes fun of me for.  And then it was time to head to Brussels the next morning.

Michelle (Bill describing Ghent)