I was on vacation last week and began speaking to an American I met at the hotel I was staying at. When I told him that I was living in Brussels, his response was, "Brussels, the country?" I kid you not. How do you respond to such a bizarre question? Forced to think on my toes, there were two possible answers. One response could have been, "No. Brussels is a city in Belgium, which by the way is in Europe. Instead I responded ever so tactfully, "yes Brussels, Belgium." I answered this way because I did not want to embarrass the person. So by answering I do live in Brussels but by adding the country, I was hoping to give a little geographical lesson. This brings me to the question, how many people know anything about Belgium aside from its chocolate?
This post is therefore dedicated to facts about Brussels and Belgium. Think of it as an educational lesson.
1. Did you know Belgium is a monarchy? Everyone knows about the British Royals but Belgium has its own little royal family. The current king is King Albert.
2. Belgium actually has some famous people to call its own such as: the lovely Audrey Hepburn, Jean Claude Van Damme, Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, Leo Hendrik Baekeland, the inventor of bakelite, Herge (George Remi), the creator of TinTin and the very stylish Diane von Furstenberg.
3. Despite
being a small country and often overshadowed by its neighbor's French cuisine, every unanimously say Belgium has delicious food. The Belgian french fry or frites are world renowned. What makes the Belgian French fry so delectable? According to one of my many Belgium books, the Belgian french fry is so special because the friers use the yellowish Bintje potatoes grown in the muddy fields of Flanders. The secret is also that the fry is actually fried twice. The first dip in oil soften the potato while the second time turns the french fries to a beautiful golden brown. The best way to enjoy these delectable potatoes is with a nice dollop of mayonnaise. I think the fries also taste awesome because they are fried a lot of times in animal fat. Anything fried in fat is bound to taste sublime.
This post is therefore dedicated to facts about Brussels and Belgium. Think of it as an educational lesson.
1. Did you know Belgium is a monarchy? Everyone knows about the British Royals but Belgium has its own little royal family. The current king is King Albert.
2. Belgium actually has some famous people to call its own such as: the lovely Audrey Hepburn, Jean Claude Van Damme, Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, Leo Hendrik Baekeland, the inventor of bakelite, Herge (George Remi), the creator of TinTin and the very stylish Diane von Furstenberg.
3. Despite
being a small country and often overshadowed by its neighbor's French cuisine, every unanimously say Belgium has delicious food. The Belgian french fry or frites are world renowned. What makes the Belgian French fry so delectable? According to one of my many Belgium books, the Belgian french fry is so special because the friers use the yellowish Bintje potatoes grown in the muddy fields of Flanders. The secret is also that the fry is actually fried twice. The first dip in oil soften the potato while the second time turns the french fries to a beautiful golden brown. The best way to enjoy these delectable potatoes is with a nice dollop of mayonnaise. I think the fries also taste awesome because they are fried a lot of times in animal fat. Anything fried in fat is bound to taste sublime.4. Aside from the frites, Belgium is known for its waffles (gaufres), mussels and chocolate.
5. Belgian lace is highly prized and a lost art. If you are to buy lace, make sure it is not mad
e in China. Sort of defeats the purpose of buying Belgian lace.
6. The Smurfs are actually a Belgian invention. I always thought they were invented by a German or Dane. But it turns out that the Smurfs are were created by Pierre Culliford aka Payo.
7. And of course beer.
So you see Belgium is not some dinky country surrounded by Germany, France and Luxembourg but rather for such a tiny little place, it has made major contributions!
Beer to me is one of Belgium's greatest achievements. I never grow tired of the varieties found in restaurants, brasseries or even little dives. The Belgian takes his beer drinking very seriously and you will find at almost any time of day someone nursing a Jupiler from the tap or a Stella Artois from the can. Beer seem
s to be the alcohol of choice for most Belgians and you are almost always guaranteed to trip over a beer can or bottle on your way to the market to buy your own beer.
Even though Stella Artois is considered the standard beer here, there is something very delectable about drinking Stella from the tap. Beer from the press is always fresher, no preservatives and is at the right temperature (an important element to drinking beer properly). The last time I enjoyed Stella from the tap, I gained a new found appreciation for this ubiquitous beer. The beer was golden, crisp, robust and delightfully refreshing. While it may an ordinary beer to many Belgians it is quality and steadfast.
Bottoms up!
5. Belgian lace is highly prized and a lost art. If you are to buy lace, make sure it is not mad
e in China. Sort of defeats the purpose of buying Belgian lace.6. The Smurfs are actually a Belgian invention. I always thought they were invented by a German or Dane. But it turns out that the Smurfs are were created by Pierre Culliford aka Payo.
7. And of course beer.
So you see Belgium is not some dinky country surrounded by Germany, France and Luxembourg but rather for such a tiny little place, it has made major contributions!
Beer to me is one of Belgium's greatest achievements. I never grow tired of the varieties found in restaurants, brasseries or even little dives. The Belgian takes his beer drinking very seriously and you will find at almost any time of day someone nursing a Jupiler from the tap or a Stella Artois from the can. Beer seem
s to be the alcohol of choice for most Belgians and you are almost always guaranteed to trip over a beer can or bottle on your way to the market to buy your own beer.Even though Stella Artois is considered the standard beer here, there is something very delectable about drinking Stella from the tap. Beer from the press is always fresher, no preservatives and is at the right temperature (an important element to drinking beer properly). The last time I enjoyed Stella from the tap, I gained a new found appreciation for this ubiquitous beer. The beer was golden, crisp, robust and delightfully refreshing. While it may an ordinary beer to many Belgians it is quality and steadfast.
Bottoms up!
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