Recommend August 2011 - (Page 43)

Opposite page: The family-owned De Landtsheer Brewery in Buggenhout. of Amsterdam, Prague and even its sister city Bruges, which gets most of the accolades. This is a city of canals, winding fairy tale-like, cobblestone streets, serious museums and not so serious pubs and bistros. There’s plenty of things to do in the daytime and more than plenty of places to go for nighttime fun. It’s a charming city that combines the whimsical with the historical, with curious shops that offer everything from the ubiquitous Belgian lace and chocolates, to specific products like a variety of uniquely seasoned mustards. Add to that a collection of both classic and eclectic museums, parks and historical attractions. To give you an idea of why this town has maintained its historical flavor without looking like some Disneyland-esque monstrosity, consider the fact it escaped two world wars with barely a scratch. It has more historically listed buildings than any other Belgian city, including its share of castles like Gravensteen, the 12th century Castle of the Counts, which is the only medieval fortress in Flanders. In the area known as Patershol, the byways still follow the original 15th century street patterns, while most of the current buildings date to the 17th century, when folks were given grants to replace the original wooden structures with stone to minimize the destructive fires that plagued European cities and towns. The hotel we briefly stayed in, the Hotel Harmony, owned and operated by the De Smet family, is located in the midst of Patershol and consists of two buildings with a beautiful garden in the center, where breakfast is often served in good weather. It’s a cozy, friendly and trendy place with ultra-modern, colorfully furnished rooms, impeccably well kept and with unique design touches that make it so “Ghent.” by Chef Stefan who converted an old, rundown building into a sort of French farmhouse-style eatery with an emphasis on beer-based cuisine made all the more palatable by an excellent assortment of wines, as well as beer pairings—many of which come from the nearby, awardwinning brewery. brussels Brussels is the last stop on the quest for the Holy Ale, dropping by the Nero/Marc Sleen Museum for a tasting of its new Nero beer, and the Comic Strip Museum across the street in the Art Nouveau building of the Waucquez Warehouses, considered to be one of the masterpieces of the most famous Belgian Art Nouveau architect, Victor Horta, who built the house in 1906. The warehouses were restored between 1987 and 1989 and now make the perfect home for the museum, which focuses on Belgium’s most famous comic strip character, Tintin. The museum traces Tintin’s evolution from an almost featureless line-drawing in the original newspaper strip, to a fully formed, full-color character in later editions, gaining his trademark quaff. The Nero/Marc Sleen Museum focuses on Belgian’s famous cartoonist creator Sir Marc Sleen’s character Nero. The cartoonist himself was a Nazi concentration camp survivor, and an influential political and editorial cartoonist who was cited in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for the longest running editorial cartoon series. Next up, we headed to Cooking-Time, to learn how to prepare hoppas (Belgian beer bites), and, of course, sample the brews that go along with them. The focus of the program is to put everybody to work doing something, then sit down and enjoy the final collective product, which in this case was a kind of spicy tartar, mussels and Belgian fries, all washed down with—you guessed it—beer. We wish we had more space to talk about the rest of the afternoon savoring the central square with its magnificent buildings and Brussels’ wonderful little side streets and their waffle kiosks, the sweet smelling chocolate shops and little sidewalk cafes. But we’re going to go more in-depth about that in our special Flanders supplement coverage in the September issue. You won’t want to miss it! But we do need to reflect on how traveling across the Flanders countryside has allowed us such an interesting look at Flemish culture, particularly at an aspect that gives you an insight into how subtle historical and cultural nuances can affect society long-term and become just as much a part of the contemporary as they are of the past. The Flanders beer, cuisine and social cultures and fabric are tattooed on their society and the people of Flanders react to it and absorb it as naturally as breathing, making it part of their national pride and an inherent aspect of their culture and at the same time, treasure it enough to savor and preserve it for their future offspring. And as visitors to that culture, we’re all the better for it. n Archived related articles (available on recommend.com): Discover Flanders (August 2010) contact information Cooking-Time: cooking-time.be Hotel de Medici: hoteldemedici.com Hotel Harmony: hotel-harmony.be Tourist Office for Flanders, Belgium: visitflanders.us august 2011 43 bruges The iconic and beautiful town of Bruges, a World Heritage city, is a medieval marvel with an enormous warren of winding cobblestone streets, with most of its old city walls still standing. Here, we checked into the Hotel De Medici, a 101-room, genuine four-star offering located on a beautiful canal, a few steps shy of a bridge taking you across the canal toward the magnificent city square about a 10-minute walk away. This is a walking city and even if bus tours were available—and they are to a degree—you have to walk anyway because there’s not enough access for them in much of the city. Besides, you’d miss the wonderful scent of chocolate, waffles and fries wafting through the air. But the food, ah, the food. Our first dinner was enjoyed at the Den Dyver Dijver 5, a family affair and a restaurant, aptly enough, specializing in food and beer pairings. The restaurant won a silver medal at the Beer and Gastronomy Awards in 2008 and a gold medal in 2009. Mind you, this is not the kind of beer—in fact none of the beer we’ve sampled at the breweries and restaurants on the whole trip—you’re probably used to. They’re all varietals—some of which are similar to American beers (but better) and some so fruity tasting you could have them for breakfast. Just outside of Bruges is Watou, home to the Brewery Van Eecke, makers of Hommelbeer with a brewing tradition going back to 1629 and operated by the brewing family Leroy from Boezinge. After the tour, our beer tasting was done in a delightfully eclectic pub next to the brewery, decorated with an assortment of kitschy memorabilia, making it a fun, laid-back kind of place. That was followed by a fabulous lunch in the nearby Hommelhof restaurant, filled with families enjoying Sunday lunch together. And yes, this too is a family operation started http://www.recommend.com http://agent.recommend.com/destinations/europe/discover-flanders/ http://www.cooking-time.be http://www.hoteldemedici.com http://www.hotel-harmony.be http://www.visitflanders.us

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend August 2011

Editor"s Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk: Regent Hotels & Resorts
Tour Talk: The Wayfarers
Africa Travel Options Mix the Classic with the New
Thailand's Koh Samui
Jade Mountain, Saint Lucia
Escaping to San Juan's Condado
San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Central America: Roads Less Traveled
In Search of Flanders' Holy Ale
Downtown L.A. in the Thick of Things
Scrumptious Savannah
Cunard's Queen Elizabeth

Recommend August 2011