Whirlwind tour of Belgium

Once upon a time, I was a junior in a Renaissance Art seminar that I only signed up for because I´d just come back from Spain and needed some Europe in my life. Just past the add/drop deadline I realized the Renaissance never really happened in Spain so I spent the next months learning about Flemish Masters and Florence instead (and then wrote my final paper about Spain anyways). I remember the class where we studying the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb painting, and my art professor described in vivid detail her trip to Ghent to finally see this painting in person. Swept up in the moment, I remember promising myself I would go to Ghent one day until reality set in about a second later and I realized that out of all the places in Europe I wanted to see, the chances of me ever actually ending up in Ghent were rather slim. 

Life has a funny way of working out though. Fast forward to this fall, and I found myself looking for cheap flights from Zaragoza, the nearest airport to Tudela, to anywhere in Europe. It turns out Ryanair flies to only two places from Zaragoza, and, you guessed it, I was looking for hotel reservations in Ghent and Florence (preview of coming attractions, I'll be there in early March). I think my art history professor must have rigged the flight schedules or something. 

My quick tour of Belgium started with the briefest of stays in Brussels. Almost exactly 12 hours, and most of that was spent sleeping, left only enough time to see the central plaza and Brussels' most famous statue, Mannekin Pis, before leaving for Ghent. (We happened to be there on the 20th anniversary of this particular outfit, so there was a big ceremony going on and everyone was dressed in cloaks with banners. Brussels is a weird city.) 

Brussels' Grand-Place

 First stop in Ghent was, of course, the famous painting. Seeing a photo of the painting projected on a screen in a classroom is a very different experience from standing in front of the enormous, original, 600-year-old painting.  After a visit to the cathedral, we climbed the hundreds of steps up to the top of the Belfry tower for some beautiful views of the city and then took a boat tour of the canals to end our afternoon of sightseeing. Ghent is cute, the type of city (town?) you want several long luxurious days in to slowly take in the sights. The best parts were strolling around the city, people-watching from the second-story of an organic, earthy cafe while we ate breakfast (a BLUEBERRY muffin, one of the foods I miss most here in Spain), a night-time stroll along the canal, warming up with a small serving of fries with curry sauce, mussels in a garlic cream sauce that were so good I forgot that I don't like mussels, and beers at a bar/brewery, Gruut, that uses an interesting blend of herbs along with hops in their beer, which is brewed right in the bar.

Tasting the blond, brown, and inferno beers at Gruut.

I liked Antwerp instantly, knew it the second I walked out of the train station (which is pretty incredible itself, just google Antwerp Central to see for yourself!). Despite its small size, Antwerp feels like a European capital: young, full of life, with big, grand buildings. One day was not nearly enough time! Just enough time to establish that I need to come back! We spent the early afternoon wandering around the center and trying my first actual Belgian waffle, before escaping the rain in the Plantin-Moretus museum, a museum dedicated to the history of printing basically. I loved it, since it was basically room after room of old books! The other highlight of Antwerp was discovering a perfect jazz bar, De Muze, and making some new Belgian friends after we asked them for beer recommendations. It was the perfect night in Antwerp to end my weekend in Belgium. 

The exterior of Antwerp's Central station

A camel and a dinosaur, right outside my hotel window!

Trying the famous waffles.

The Plantin/Moretus Museum, home of the oldest printing presses in the world. 

Belgian beers at my favorite Antwerp bar

Antwerp's massive cathedral, lit up at night

The problem with living in paradise is that it sets the bar pretty high for your vacations! Spain is a traveler´s dream- you´re almost guaranteed interesting architecture, history, natural beauty, sunshine and good, cheap food and wine no matter which corner of the country you visit. I´m spoiled. It was hard to fight the feeling that Belgium was just not as nice as Spain- greyer, rainier, colder, more expansive, not as pretty. Belgium grew on me though, and Antwerp sealed the deal. All week now since I came home I've been craving the hearty Belgian food, a huge helping of fries with stoofvlees sauce and a Belgian beer, and looking for flights back to Antwerp while I munch on Belgian chocolates. Til next time Belgium!