Bryan, Brussels and Amsterdam
Christmas in a foreign country.
How is it we chose to do this for Christmas?
Of course, some of his plans changed a bit over time.
Instead of being in Germany for Christmas, he heard Edinburgh, Scotland, was the place to be for Hogmanay.
Bryan likes beer. And he likes craft beers especially.
Since part of what he wanted to do on this trip was sample local brews, I passed on the information gotten from a Belgium man in Venice, that Belgium has better beer than Germany. They are known for their great pilsner beers.
And that's how he decided to make Brussels a part of his trip. It just happened that that is where he would be at Christmas time.
And then on to Brussels for Christmas.
Mike and I arrived on Dec 23 and immediately the three of us went exploring nearby.
(yes, this was a mere 2 days after being in Amsterdam with Kathryn!!)
Actually, everything was nearby. We stayed in an AirBnB flat that was a 3 minute walk from the Central train station and about a 3 minute walk from the Grand Place.
We had amazing views and could hear the sounds from below, when we stood out on the balcony or opened a window. What an ideal location.
Immediately, we walked over to the Christmas market nearby.
We ate bratwurst and pommes frites (twice-fried potato fries. You don't DARE to call them FRENCH fries here!!) topped with mayonnaise, and drank gluhwein (mulled wine) and walked around among the many people from all over. Such a mix of languages. It was a happy and festive atmosphere. And the festive Christmas lights were strung up over each street, just as it was in Amsterdam.
Grand Place was amazing.
It had a gigantic decorated Christmas tree in the middle and they played both Christmas music and classical music over the loud speakers and the lighting on all the buildings changed with the music.
We could see and hear this from our flat.
We needed to buy a few groceries that first night. We were already going to eat out all the time, and I did not want to have to start each day by looking for food (or coffee). Plus, the next day would be Christmas Eve, followed by Christmas day, of course, and there was the very real possibility that everything would be closed. In addition, in Europe, things are often closed the day after Christmas as well. In the UK, it's called Boxing Day.
So we went to the grocery store.
We ate Belgium waffles (but we ate them so fast that I forgot to take a picture of them first!). We actually got three - one with powdered sugar, one with caramel and one with brown sugar.
We ate waffle sandwiches - Bryan's was the best-tasting with pesto and tomatoes between 2 panini-pressed waffles.
There was one brew pub in Brussels on Bryan's bucket list - The Delirium Cafe.
It serves more than 2,000 types of beer.
How does one choose a beer when there are so many choices?!?
We each chose a different beer and sampled each other's. Then we ended up sharing a grapefruit beer and I think we all agreed that was the best one! Wish I could have that one again!
We also learned in Belgium - and maybe this is true of other places as well - that each different beer is served in its own glass.
Now, besides Christmas markets and beer - what else is Belgium known for?
Why, its chocolate, of course!!
World-renowned chocolate!
So, we went on a chocolate tour to learn about it and experience it.
We visited 6 chocolate shops and sampled 2 chocolates in each one!!!
We started with the "very good" chocolate shops and ended with the "exquisite" chocolate shops. Not only is there a difference in taste, but also in the cost.
The first shop was very good and had very reasonable prices, whereas the next to last shop sold their chocolate at 180 Euros per kilo! Seriously?? I love chocolate, but I would not say their chocolate was so much better as to pay that kind of money. I think that's just snobbery.
It was interesting to learn that although one company has very good chocolate, it would be an insult for a local to give that chocolate as a gift. No, the higher priced, better chocolates are the ones you are not supposed to buy for yourself, but to give away.
Christmas day did not feel like Christmas day. We had brought a couple of very small things to exchange and open. My gift to Mike was two small card games.
I have given Mike a game for Christmas every year since our first year of marriage, so I found two small ones to pack in our case.
One was goofy - you can see the pictures. And the other was "talk for a minute on the subject given without repeating yourself." Mike is the only one who could do it. Is anyone surprised?
And we ate at a lovely restaurant for our Christmas dinner.
After 4 nights in Brussels, we took a train to Amsterdam, where we stayed in a lovely B&B and were treated very wonderfully by the host. The weather got colder every day and then it started to rain and got windy. After 3 days, we were all ready to move on.
However, Amsterdam was interesting. Of course, I had just been there a week prior with Kathryn (granted, for a mere 17 hours), so I was the one with the experience. ME!
I mentioned in my post with Kathryn that marijuana is legal in Amsterdam.
That was not quite true.
It is tolerated.
Some time ago the police/government decided that what happened behind closed doors should not be illegal, basically. They decided that marijuana users were not harmful to themselves or to society and if people used it behind closed doors, without being in-your-face about it, then they would 'ignore' it, in essence.
However, it is regulated, in a way. For instance, if you are a coffee lover like me, be aware of the difference between "Cafe" and "Coffee House."
A 'cafe' serves coffee.
A 'coffee house' serves marijuana.
And the names of the shops reflect types of marijuana. And the customers are allowed to smoke it within coffee houses - even though many of the shops are open-air and have outside seating. And apparently, these are the places you would buy your product. (We learned all this on the walking tour)
On another night, as we were walking back from a restaurant, we mistakenly ended up walking through the red light district.
Firstly, the streets were crowded, and yes, there were people with children walking along, but secondly, it was creepy, with the red lights in the windows and women standing in the dark windows with red light. We made our way through it as quickly as we could!
We ate pancakes, which were extremely large crepes, filled with whatever you could imagine.
They were as big as a large pizza!
Bryan again chose the best one, filled with pesto and sun dried tomatoes.
Our third day there, we went by tour bus to see Zaanse Schans working windmills,
to Marken to watch how wooden shoes were made,
then cheese-tasting.
a delicious lunch of fresh fish
and then stroopwafels in Volendam!
Stroopwafels were on Bryan's list and our goal was to have a fresh one.
The Stroopwafel House in Amsterdam had closed and so was a little challenge to find a fresh-made one. The pre-packaged ones were everywhere.
And this is where we parted.
It was different.
It was decorated like Christmas and it was cold, like Christmas is supposed to be, and there was Christmassy music, but it sure didn't feel like Christmas.
Last summer, Bryan decided that he wanted to spend New Year's Eve in Germany, and so he made plans to be in Europe for several weeks.
So we asked if we might join him for part of it.
So we asked if we might join him for part of it.
Instead of being in Germany for Christmas, he heard Edinburgh, Scotland, was the place to be for Hogmanay.
Bryan likes beer. And he likes craft beers especially.
Since part of what he wanted to do on this trip was sample local brews, I passed on the information gotten from a Belgium man in Venice, that Belgium has better beer than Germany. They are known for their great pilsner beers.
And that's how he decided to make Brussels a part of his trip. It just happened that that is where he would be at Christmas time.
And that is where we met him.
So in mid-December, Bryan went to Germany - to Berlin and to Cologne, where he stayed in hostels and met lots of different people from all over.
And then on to Brussels for Christmas.
(yes, this was a mere 2 days after being in Amsterdam with Kathryn!!)
Actually, everything was nearby. We stayed in an AirBnB flat that was a 3 minute walk from the Central train station and about a 3 minute walk from the Grand Place.
 |
| view from our balcony |
We had amazing views and could hear the sounds from below, when we stood out on the balcony or opened a window. What an ideal location.
 |
| view the other direction from our balcony |
Immediately, we walked over to the Christmas market nearby.
We ate bratwurst and pommes frites (twice-fried potato fries. You don't DARE to call them FRENCH fries here!!) topped with mayonnaise, and drank gluhwein (mulled wine) and walked around among the many people from all over. Such a mix of languages. It was a happy and festive atmosphere. And the festive Christmas lights were strung up over each street, just as it was in Amsterdam.
 |
| Grand Place |
Grand Place was amazing.
It had a gigantic decorated Christmas tree in the middle and they played both Christmas music and classical music over the loud speakers and the lighting on all the buildings changed with the music.
We could see and hear this from our flat.
We needed to buy a few groceries that first night. We were already going to eat out all the time, and I did not want to have to start each day by looking for food (or coffee). Plus, the next day would be Christmas Eve, followed by Christmas day, of course, and there was the very real possibility that everything would be closed. In addition, in Europe, things are often closed the day after Christmas as well. In the UK, it's called Boxing Day.
So we went to the grocery store.
Now THAT was an experience.
NOTHING was in English.
Even trying to figure out what was pouring cream (for my coffee) was a real effort.
NOTHING was in English.
Even trying to figure out what was pouring cream (for my coffee) was a real effort.
The next morning we took a walking tour.
I am thankful to my friend, Katrina, for telling me about Sandeman's Free Walking Tours early last summer. It's the first thing I schedule to do when I am in a new city.
("When I am in a new city" - LOL! I can say that because I have been in, like, 9 new major cities in the last 6 months!)
I am thankful to my friend, Katrina, for telling me about Sandeman's Free Walking Tours early last summer. It's the first thing I schedule to do when I am in a new city.
("When I am in a new city" - LOL! I can say that because I have been in, like, 9 new major cities in the last 6 months!)
Besides wandering around the Christmas markets, we ate.
Of course.
Of course.
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| waffle sandwiches |
We ate Belgium waffles (but we ate them so fast that I forgot to take a picture of them first!). We actually got three - one with powdered sugar, one with caramel and one with brown sugar.
We ate waffle sandwiches - Bryan's was the best-tasting with pesto and tomatoes between 2 panini-pressed waffles.
We ate potatoes with meat, which is basically authentic Belgian food.
 |
| The Delirium Cafe |
It serves more than 2,000 types of beer.
How does one choose a beer when there are so many choices?!?
 |
| the grapefruit beer |
We each chose a different beer and sampled each other's. Then we ended up sharing a grapefruit beer and I think we all agreed that was the best one! Wish I could have that one again!
We also learned in Belgium - and maybe this is true of other places as well - that each different beer is served in its own glass.
Now, besides Christmas markets and beer - what else is Belgium known for?
Why, its chocolate, of course!!
World-renowned chocolate!
So, we went on a chocolate tour to learn about it and experience it.
We visited 6 chocolate shops and sampled 2 chocolates in each one!!!
 |
| one of the good chocolate shops |
The first shop was very good and had very reasonable prices, whereas the next to last shop sold their chocolate at 180 Euros per kilo! Seriously?? I love chocolate, but I would not say their chocolate was so much better as to pay that kind of money. I think that's just snobbery.
 |
| our tour guide was French and was just delightful - full of personality! |
It was interesting to learn that although one company has very good chocolate, it would be an insult for a local to give that chocolate as a gift. No, the higher priced, better chocolates are the ones you are not supposed to buy for yourself, but to give away.
Our guide taught us 4 ways to express our pleasure (or not) with the chocolate we were tasting - basically from 'just OK' to 'OMG!' And while I cannot remember all the expressions because I did not write them down, the 'OMG!' experience is called "formidable" in French. (That is not at all how it sounded, but that is what she typed into my phone.)
And I actually had that experience!
On the very last shop - one we were not intending to go into on the tour - it was the very last chocolate I tasted. It was meant to pop the whole thing into your mouth because the inside was liquid, and when I did that, it was just a taste explosion! It was fabulous chocolate with caramel that tasted like coffee!!!! What was NOT to love??
And I actually had that experience!
On the very last shop - one we were not intending to go into on the tour - it was the very last chocolate I tasted. It was meant to pop the whole thing into your mouth because the inside was liquid, and when I did that, it was just a taste explosion! It was fabulous chocolate with caramel that tasted like coffee!!!! What was NOT to love??
I have given Mike a game for Christmas every year since our first year of marriage, so I found two small ones to pack in our case.
Bryan taught us a new, fast-paced card game called Karma, which we played a lot.
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| Christmas dinner at a lovely restaurant |
And we ate at a lovely restaurant for our Christmas dinner.
After 4 nights in Brussels, we took a train to Amsterdam, where we stayed in a lovely B&B and were treated very wonderfully by the host. The weather got colder every day and then it started to rain and got windy. After 3 days, we were all ready to move on.
We started with the canal boat light festival the first night, followed by the walking tour the next morning, which gave us some history of Amsterdam.
1. It's built over the River Amster. They dammed the river, which was a big sewage problem - hence, Amsterdam.
2. It's the world's largest importer of cacao. Think Dutch cocoa.
3. It is the most progressive city (in Europe? in the world?) And within that category are two things I want to tell you about.
That was not quite true.
It is tolerated.
Some time ago the police/government decided that what happened behind closed doors should not be illegal, basically. They decided that marijuana users were not harmful to themselves or to society and if people used it behind closed doors, without being in-your-face about it, then they would 'ignore' it, in essence.
A 'cafe' serves coffee.
A 'coffee house' serves marijuana.
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| did I mention it was COLD??? |
Another thing I mentioned in my last post was that prostitution is legal. That is true. It was decided some time ago by their government that prostitution was not going to go away, but if they regulated it, it could reduce crime and 'ownership' that often happens between prostitute and her 'manager.' So, if you want to be a prostitute in Amsterdam, you apply for a license and you work for yourself. And there is a certain area that you are allowed to operate within. Basically, the Red Light District.
(We also learned about this on the walking tour and were taken to a small portion of the Red Light District as part of the tour.)
Firstly, the streets were crowded, and yes, there were people with children walking along, but secondly, it was creepy, with the red lights in the windows and women standing in the dark windows with red light. We made our way through it as quickly as we could!
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| the 'pancakes' |
We ate pancakes, which were extremely large crepes, filled with whatever you could imagine.
They were as big as a large pizza!
Bryan again chose the best one, filled with pesto and sun dried tomatoes.
Our third day there, we went by tour bus to see Zaanse Schans working windmills,
to Marken to watch how wooden shoes were made,
a delicious lunch of fresh fish
and then stroopwafels in Volendam!
 |
| this stroopwafel was as big as your face |
The Stroopwafel House in Amsterdam had closed and so was a little challenge to find a fresh-made one. The pre-packaged ones were everywhere.
A stroopwafel is a 'syrup' waffle. A very thin batter is poured into a waffle iron and cooked till crisp. Then the two thin layers are put together. Imagine an English muffin, where it is 'stuck' together, but easily pried apart.
So they took this very thin waffle, ran a knife through the middle of it to slice it into two, spread the yummy, warm caramel sauce over it and put it together again and pressed it. Yes, it was good and a lot better than the prepackaged ones, but still not quite as delicious (and definitely not 'formidable') as I had been expecting.
So we spent Christmas in a foreign country with none of our familiar sights or sounds or belongings around us.
But it was a good time.
And it was memorable.
So we spent Christmas in a foreign country with none of our familiar sights or sounds or belongings around us.
But it was a good time.
And it was memorable.
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| You cannot tell here just how cold and windy (and later, wet) it was! |
Bryan went on to Edinburgh and Glasgow for Hogmanay, and Mike and I flew on to the Canary Islands for a week of sun and warmth.
Do you think there will be a post about that?
Yes, indeed!
Do you think there will be a post about that?
Yes, indeed!
You guys are just having the best time!! I’m so glad that Bryan is going the hostel thing and getting around seeing things. Sounds like you guys needed to thaw out big time! LOL! Again, Thanks for sharing your fun and describing it all in a very humorous way! That chocolate look amazing!
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