Weekend in Belgium

A few weeks ago Matt went to Belgium for work. He was there Monday through Thursday and then I flew in on Friday so that we could spend the weekend. I flew into Brussels early in the morning. Then I took the train to Antwerp to meet Matt. I realized that the Swiss have spoiled me with their trains. Rarely are trains late in Switzerland. This was not the case in Belgium. My first train was cancelled and then my connecting train was more than 45 minutes late. I was a little late arriving to Antwerp but it wasn’t a problem because Matt was having his own issues getting to the train station by bus. He had a bus or two pass him by because he didn’t know how to make them stop. I didn’t mind waiting for him as there was plenty to look at (the train station in Antwerp is beautiful) and plenty to do (eat waffles with sugar or waffles with chocolate or waffles with whipped cream).

Our hotel was a block away from the train station and just a few blocks from the city centre. We braved the rain and wind and put in a full day of sight-seeing in Antwerp. We window-shopped at the diamond stores. Matt told me that he bought his one and only diamond, so I was out of luck there, but I made up for it at the chocolate shops. I adored the chocolate in Belgium, especially at the Leonidas shops. I had so much fun picking out the different kinds to fill the little box I bought. Not only did they taste good, but they were all so pretty, too. Matt said that Belgian chocolates are only good for 10 days after you buy them. I’ll have to research a bit as to why that is, but it wasn’t a problem for me as I consumed all mine well within the 10 day period.

The rest of the day we spent walking around Antwerp with some stops along the way, including the Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp and a few pubs. Matt loved the selection of beers. I even found a few that I liked (a cherry-flavored one called Kriek). The highlight for us in Antwerp was the Mexican restaurant where we went for dinner. It didn’t look like much from the outside of the restaurant but after the first sip of our very strong, but very good margarita, we knew it was just what we were looking for. We devoured our food as we have not been able to find any decent Mexican food in Switzerland.

The next day we took the train to Bruges. It was about an hour ride by train. Same kind of weather as the day before: wet, cold and rainy. Bruges is described as a touristy city but I liked it, with its canals meandering through the city and beautiful architecture. It was a busy place, too, as the Christmas shoppers were in full force. Our first stop was a brewery tour at De Halve Maan Brewery. Matt and I agreed that we’ve been on better tours before; however, the beer at the end was worth it. Another stop we made was to the Church of Our Lady to see the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo. This statue is said to be the only piece of his work to leave Italy in his lifetime. We also made a few stops that are not worth mentioning, you know the kind that are listed in the guidebook but if you haven’t read about them then you don’t know what you’re looking at. That happened to Matt a few times in Bruges as I had read the book and he hadn’t. We went to the Market Square and the Burg Square, where the Christmas markets were being held. We saw the Belfort bell tower, which dates back to 1300, but decided not to climb it. At this point Matt wasn’t feeling very well. I attributed it to him eating a brat for lunch in under two minutes. He said that wasn’t the reason. By the time we took the train back to Antwerp, he was running a fever. He was sick in bed the rest of the night with the flu. I made the most of our evening in. I got some Belgian French fries with mayo and had a little picnic in bed as I watched a movie and Matt shook with fever next to me. Not a great ending to the weekend but up until Matt got the flu, we had a good time.