Happy Belated Bastille Day.

Traffic passing through Paris' famous Arc de Triumph

Belgians decide to have three arches in their look alike Arc de Triumph in Brussels' Parc Cinquantenaire.

Happy belated Bastille Day!! I had no idea that yesterday was a major celebration in France. I guess I am in my own little world called BELGIUM. However, coincidentally yesterday I went to Parc Cinquantaire (Park of the Fiftieth) or Jubelpark (Jubilee Park in Dutch). As soon I entered the park, I thought Paris. I am sure the Parisians would be pissed that I would compare anything in Brussels to their beloved Paris but it is a compliment. The arches reminded me of the Arch de Triumph times three. In 1880 the park was built to commemorate Belgium's fifty years of independence. The actual arches were built in 1905.

I was pretty impressed with the park. It was vast, green and clean. Of course there was the occasional crushed beer can on the ground but it's Belgium. There needs to be beer everywhere.

I would like to wish France a happy belated Bastille Day. I will have some french pastries in honor of this momentous occasion.

My kid is a Belgian until December 2010

As I always say to my baby "hip hip hoorah!!" Finally after almost a year, my little baby finally has her certificat d'identite. I should probably pop open a can of beer and celebrate. It only took almost a year, four hundred copies of her birth certificate and countless visits to our local commune. The ironic part is that the card expires in December. What does that mean? Do we need to go back and file more paperwork? To be honest, I am too hot and tired to even think about revisiting my local commune to find out. Belgians are notorious for their lengthy paper trail. Why create more paperwork by having me go back to the commune to renew my daughter's identity card. I know this all probably has to do with my husband's work visa.

I honestly shirk from anything bureaucratically Belgian. But to be fair, there is a lot of bureaucracy in the United States. Going to the Department of Motor Vehicles, getting a passport, a social security card or official copy of a birth certificate is no walk in the park. People who need visas to come to the States also have hellish stories.

To celebrate Lorelei's little identity card, I am treating myself to a glass of Tokaji, a Hungarian sweet dessert wine. As I conclude this short entry, I am sipping this delicious sweet wine in a plastic cup! Very lazy of me!

Pop open a beer can, it's finally summer

People milling around Grand Place, Brussels

Finally, summer has hit Belgium. June was touch and go but finally the weather has really warmed up. It is amazing how different summer is here in Belgium. The biggest difference is the lack of air conditioning. Last Thursday was extremely warm and we went to the Carrefour (Europe's version of Wal-Mart) and it was hot in there. This big warehouse had no central air. The cashier was fanning herself as if she was having hot flashes. Most people here don't have central air because it is really only maybe ten days during the summer that feel like you're burning in hell. For me that is ten days too many. I hate the heat. I hate to sweat. I also hate the humid heat. Luckily we have air. Someone told me that Europeans are more energy conscious. Maybe that is the case but I have to tell you when it is 40 degrees outdoors, I am glad to have the central air.

When it is so hot, it is important to drink a lot of fluid. You don't want to dehydrate. Does beer count as a fluid? Well, water is a key ingredient to beer and there is nothing nicer than an ice cold Hoegaarden beer served fresh from the top with a lemon wedge. That hits the spot. But my advice, enjoy an ice cold Belgian beer but always chase it down with water. It will keep you hydrated.

Hungarian Beer

I was fortunate enough to get out of Brussels and visit Budapest. It was my first time visiting that part of Europe and I am enthralled. I will write more about Budapest/Brussels later but since this is supposed to be a beer blog, I am going to give a review for one of the local brews.

Dreher is one of the Hungarian beers that I drank while over there. It is a light beer with a bitter finish. I was able to taste the yeast and the aftertaste reminded me of the smell of kneaded dough. Dreher is a wonderful beer and I enjoyed it with hungarian noodles, paprika mushrooms and sour cream. My meal was so filling that I barely had room for dessert!

I found this cute t-shirt (picture above) at one of the many stalls in Buda's old city. While I think it is a noble thought to save water by drinking beer, you can not forget that you need water to drink beer so in the end you are not saving any water but it's the thought that counts!

City of Brussels - Belgian EU Presidency. Opening concert I love EU

Proud to be Belgian!

City of Brussels - Belgian EU Presidency. Opening concert I love EU

Imagine Lionel Ritchie's song "Celebrate good times, come on" is playing in the backround and confetti is being thrown all over the place. These images are going through my head as Belgium celebrated its six month stint as President of the EU. It is a big deal, I guess. On Saturday night, a celebretory concert and fireworks show took place in front of the EU Parliment. Signs were plastered all over the place inviting the public to come and party like its 2010 and Belgium can actually make a difference for the EU. I am a little skeptical but I think the country will keep it together.

It was interesting that the theme of the concert is loving the EU. Sounds to me like the saying "I love NY." People truly love New York. Do people love the EU? I am not so sure. I know that all the member countries are not cozy or kissy kiss with each other.

I did not attend the concert because I needed to be responsible and stay home with my baby. My main concern was her sleeping through the music and fireworks which she did. She is such a trooper. I was so proud of her. Believe it or not but I also fell asleep during the fireworks. Call me a bore but I can not stand fireworks. They are loud and usually I am in bed when they happen trying to sleep.

My assumption is that Belgian taking the seat of the rotating EU presidency is a big deal. Maybe it will force the Wallonians and Flemish to put on some sort of appearance and get along. I am hoping that this stint will also give Belgians a renewed sense of joy at being Belgian.

No concert or gathering here is complete without beer. Now beer is something the Belgians have a lot to be proud of. From past experiences, I am sure Place Luxembourg was littered with crushed Jupiler beer cans, plastic cups with the Maes logo and dark brown beer bottles.

PS Isn't it amazing that I can link beer with anything having to do with Belgium?

Beautiful Budapest trumps Brussels. Also I drank Tokaj wine

These are just two of the many pictures I took during my little Budapest interlude. I was fortunate enough to get out the drab Brussels and a new place. While I complain and moan about Brussels, I am the first to admit that it is so centrally located that within hours, I can find myself in a new country. The flight to Budapest was so short that I barely had time to freak out about turbulence or plane crashes. My baby and I met accompanied husband for a conference so we were fortunate enough to stay at a prime location. Our hotel was directly across from the famous Chain Bridge. Every time, I left the hotel, my eyes feasted on this majestic bridge.



Budapest, is one of those cities that is still being discovered by tourists. People flocked to Paris or London for decades but it is only in the past couple of years, people are discovering the countries that for so long lived under communism's dark veil. I believe Budapest is one of those cities. The city felt so regal and its buildings especially the bridges were befitting of a city that was once the capital of an empire. The bridges spanning across the Danube connecting Pest to Buda reminded me of Paris. Paris has many small bridges connecting the Left and Right banks. However, unlike Paris, Budapest's bridges were massive, with traffic flowing from one side to the other. All hours of the day, tourists and locals alike walk from one end to the other. What a lovely way to get around the city, especially when the sun is shining and a soft breeze is coming from the Danube.



While there is no more Austrian Hungarian Empire, Budapest proudly shows off its vestiges of an era ruled by kings and emperors. I mentioned in a previous blog that I sampled some Hungarian beer which was delicious. During this trip, I learned that Hungarian wine is also pretty damn good. Apparently, there is a rich and fertile wine region. Many people are not familiar with Hungarian wine but I think that will change in the near future as more and more visit the country and request their spirit shops to carry the wines. Tokaj is a famous wine region in Hungary. The wines are wonderful. I enjoyed a wonderful Tokaj sweet white wine. It was delicious. Highly recommend a nice glass of Tokaj.

As the French say, Chink chink.

Do Belgian's have harder heads?

What makes this sign particularly Belgium other than the graffiti? The bicycle. Many people here ride bicycles as a form of transportation. Bicycles seem to be everywhere in Brussels. You can even rent a bicycle from Villo! (http://www.villo.be/). According to Villo!'s website there 180 Villo! stations every 450m. You can't miss these stands with all the yellow bikes neatly locked up. These can be very convenient for tourists that would love to tour Brussels like the "locals."

My question is how many people actually wear helmets? I am guessing not many. Today was unusual as I saw about 4 or 5 cyclists actually protect their head. Many bike riders are dressed for work. No spandex a la Lance Armstrong. I have even seen some men dressed in suits ride their bicycles. While I don't stay up all night worrying about all the helmet -less cyclists, I do wonder how many Belgians have actually damaged their brains by falling off their bikes without a protective covering. Belgian drivers are not the most patient or most careful.

Another question I have is how many Belgians ride their bikes after drinking a few beers? Since drinking a beer alfresco is quite common, I would guess a good many. On the Villo! website, there is a picture of a bike rider wearing a helmet http://en.villo.be/Safety. At least the company is aware that cyclists should wear a helmet. I am not sure if you can also rent a helmet but am not sure if that would make sense. Would you want to wear a helmet that a previous customer sweated in?

In any case, since the weather has been nice here in Brussels for two days in a row, riding a bike through its streets may be a nice way to see the city.