chocolate in bruges

While half of Europe headed to the slopes last week, we decided to drive to western Belgium for a look see. Driving on the highways in Belgium is fun because up until they joined the EU, Belgians did not sit drivers tests. You can imagine. Especially at high speed.

We went to Gent first, a lovely town replete with 7th century abbeys, a 9th century castle, old markets and canals. The sun shone for a change and it was lovely for wandering. There is a university here, and the large student age population makes the town vibrant even in winter. Visiting the castle and seeing yet another trove of armour, weapons and gruesome instruments of torture made us more keenly aware of the long and bloody history of Europe. I wonder what folk from the 7th century would think of the EU?

After Gent we headed further west to Bruges - the scene of the crime - well at least it was in the movie called 'In Bruges'. Historical Bruges is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site for being the oldest intact medieval town. It also has canals, a huge belfry, but no castle. The canals froze over while we were there so it must have been cold. There is alot of flemish art here, but we decided to save most of it for another visit when we are more in the mood.

Phil's highlight of Bruges was a tiny coffee shop called Brazilia, which sold freshly roasted coffee, brewed almost perfectly, and not much else.

On the way home we decided to visit the fields of Flanders, around Ieper, where so, so many died in the Great War. There are many, many cemeteries in the region, but we found two dedicated to Australian and NZ forces - Butte and Polygon Wood. We both were (suprisingly) very moved, to see the grave stones for NZ soldiers who fought, and died, in a battle on the other side of the world. We also visited the British cemetary Tyne Cot where they had letters written by soldiers, wives, and the telegrams sent to next of kin.

On a more upbeat note, I'll finish with the sweet stuff - the chocolate! In addition to its boutique beer, Belgium is reknown for its chocolate and Bruges has ALOT of chocolate shops. I won't go as far as saying that it is the most I have ever seen, because we also saw alot of chocolate shops in Argentina (eg. Bariloche and St Martin de los Andes). I read somehwere that Belgians have an annual average rate of chocolate consumption of more than 7kg per person. Isn't that close to Australia and NZ?

I've noticed that like many things, food tastes different in different places. Chocolate included.
Like any composite product, the quality of the ingredients count, so the type of cocoa bean and sugar make chocolate taste different.

We grew up liking NZ chocolate of course (ie. Cadburys). We were shocked to discover in PNG that Australian cadburys is not the same as NZ because they add emulsifiers to slow down the speed of melting. In south America, they use sugar made from sugar beets instead of sugar cane so the texture and flavour are distinct (Argentinians loved their chocolate but we did not). If you have tasted north american chocolate (aka Hersheys) you will know the flavour is different again. Belgian chocolatiers tend to use criollo and trinitario cocoa beans (apparently rare) to produce a flavour that is less better and more complex. After sampling the wares of at least 6 different chocolate shops in Bruges, Phil has decided that he prefers swiss chocolate (Lindt), but I am now sold on the belgian variety.

food glorious food

It's something we do every day, but people do it differently all over the world and it's always interesting to see how! I've got to say that the food on display in Luxembourg often looks as if was made for artistic pleasure rather than mere consumption. From lunch time fare to party treats, the attention to detail is often exquisite.

I've been told the french influence is the greatest in regard to food, although the heavy sausages and pickled vegetables are undoubtedly german. I certainly need alot of german and dutch/flemish at the supermarket to read the labels (I'm very thankful for little pictures at times)!

We haven't tried all of these delicacies (yet), but we can say that the bread is the best we have ever eaten, and the pastries are VERY good. Filled baguetes are sold in their hundreds for lunch every day, and I see lots of people walking out of Patiserre's with pastries in the mornings. The most common breakfast pastry is one filled with chocolate - not a particularly good start to the day. I doubt that anyone actually bakes here given that there are so many beautiful and sweet goodies for sale; I'm surprised that the average waistline is not bigger.

There is a patisserie just a few doors down from our apartment that makes the most amazing creations (photos below). They vary from week to week, as the decorations on the tortes reflect local celebrations and events. I try not to loiter too long outside, but they literally are works of art.

Oh, and the guy at the top is eating a fresh waffle laden with strawberries and cream - waffles are a big thing here too!