Gess Where Travels: Beer, Waffles and Chocolate

Brussels is a completely different feel than Amsterdam. The walk from our hotel took us through the botanical gardens, up stairs and through some interesting streets. A much greater mix of old and new buildings, lots of areas of flowers and of course a statue or two.

The historic centre is actually quite small with the gem being the largest square. The Grand Place is surrounded with beautiful old buildings and many restaurants.

Beer, waffles and chocolate are the 3 words that best describe Brussels. To experience this we went to a waffles and beer workshop. In between the waffle making we tasted a few beer including cherry, peach and a nice dark beer. If there was any doubt this is a beer culture, our host told us that she was served 1% beer when she was in primary school and the drinking age for beer and wine is 16.

The young woman teaching the waffle class had studied in Canada, was totally impressed with our cooking skills and that we knew how to crack open an egg and separate it - apparently lots of people do not know those basics. She guided us through the class and we loaded up our waffles with powdered sugar, whipping cream and other delicious toppings.

It would be interesting to know how many chocolate shops are in Brussels - it seemed like 2 or 3 per block. We solved the problem of which chocolates to buy by doing a chocolate workshop and making our own chocolates. The instructor was quite the character which made it a lot of fun and we each walked away with a box of our handmade chocolates.

Waffles and chocolates covered, it was time to visit Delerum Cafe to sample a beer. With a selection of over 2000 it’s tough - fortunately a kind waiter helped us with selections.

And then there is the famous peeing boy statue known as Manneken Pis. You might ask why, I did. According to AI, Brussels embraces a playful, self mocking identity which this statue represents. Expecting a bigger statue one has to laugh over its size. The boy has a wardrobe of hundreds of costumes and can be dressed for special events, holidays or visiting countries. Not sure which country he was wearing the day I saw him but two days before he was not wearing anything.