I'm sulking ever so slightly because I missed out on a trip to Brussels in January, although the man got to go and I'm going to miss out again next week; the man will once again be eating stoemp met worstjes (mashed potatoes and carrots with sausages, the best comfort food) and drinking Orval (a Trappist ale, aka unsweetened nectar) while I hold down things at this end. This sucks.
I'm often asked what I miss about Belgium and I can go on for days about it, but in the interests of brevity I'll just say: the food, the drink, the culture, the surrealism. Sometimes even the weather. For those requiring a little more depth in their answers I suggest they check out An A to Z of Belgium written by an Englishman with an obvious love for the eccentricities of the small country at the heart of Europe.
The one national trait he didn't portray is a love of collecting. All Belgians collect something, the weirder the better. I used to attend language classes (check out the above link for the entry on Language Classes - it's true, very true) with a classical pianist who had the largest collection of flat irons in Belgium, possibly in Europe. Then of course there's Jan Bucquoy's Underwear Museum, though I think it is now closed.
But here is my absolute favourite. Don't mock, the man loves his penguins.
This is why I miss home.
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3 comments:
Hi Jane, I laughed and laughed at the video! You hit it on the nail. Belgians adore surrealism. That underwear museum is not listed anywher. I love visiting "differet" museums, like the "Sewage Museum" in Anderlecht! I do not think many have visited that - have you? Actually it was quite interesting but also YUCKT! I cannot say that the stoemp met vorstjes is really my favoite "repas"..... You like it so much???? I think it is the whole"home-thing" that comes into the picture. Send me a line if you DO get to Brussels!
Chrissie, it's a "comfort" thing, the idea rather than the reality, especially when the weather is being "belgian". And I prefer the Cantillon Gueuze museaum in Anderlecht. Their Gueueze was actually recommended for diabetics beacuse it contains no sugar in the bottle- you add sugar to taste when you pour it into the glass. Belgian trivia.......
Jane - are both you and your husband BORN in Belgium? How long have you lived in the States? Are you going to stay in the States? Just don't answer if I am to nosy - or send me an email.
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