This time I’ll be quick and reveal my secret in the very beginning. I’m totally in love with Belgium, because once it was my home. I lived in this tiny and a bit weird country for almost 5 months and I totally experienced it to the fullest, so now I can strongly admit, that Belgium is the second most familiar country to me after Lithuania… And I love it! Everything, starting from funny national foods and dangerous bicyclists, to breathtaking architectural wonders and self criticism. So I’ll give you a short tour around the best of Belgium and what is more… Special thanks to Renata Liubertaite for these amazing photos I’m using for my post. They are just great!

What is Belgium for me? I’ll try to describe in just few words.

It’s beer, waffles, mussels, french fries, art nouveau, gorgeous churches, bicycles, chocolate, coffee, art, rain, internationality, small cars, hierarchy, humor, European Union, French and Dutch, bully, messy…  . … .Messy? . . . . … . Just think about it. THE BIGGEST symbol of Belgium probably is Manneken-Pis or so called “peeing boy”. How isn’t it a bit messy? 🙂

Of course, this secret love that I hold for Belgium comes from my personal experiences, my friends and my Erasmus exchange, but I can assure that anyone could find something very special in this country to LOVE. Wanna find something for yourself?

Well, let’s try!.

So are you a guy? If you said yes, I’m giving 95% that you love beer. And [ohmygash] Belgium has the best of it in the world. Some Americans may argue, that they are the owners of some of the best beers in the world, but sorry, no offense, I DOUBT IT. Bud Light or Budweiser could never beat Leffe, Grimbergen, Cuvée Des Trolls or Delirium (especially [!] no one could rival its wonderful  g l a s s  decorated with tiny pink elephants!!!)… And If you are a girl, who doesn’t prefer strong dark beers, I guarantee, you would love   Kriek (cherry flavored beer).
By the way, didn’t I tell you about the best beer in the world made by monks in a monastery? No? I will 😉 Oh oh! One more fact! Do you know why there are so many sorts of beers in Belgium (more that a thousand of ’em)? Because during Medieval ages, no one could drink water… It was too polluted!

Going further… If you read this post, it means that you are at least a bit interested in traveling. That also means that you like nice architecture and all the other touristy stuff. So Belgium… is like an open museum of Medieval ages. Especially Brugge. One cannot stay indifferent when it’s Bruge. [Even though Colin Farell said that he hates the city {check the movie IN BRUGGE } … oh yes, you’re right. He wasn’t indifferent 😉 ] So. there are plenty of stuff. My favorites totally were the Basilica of the Holy Blood (more of it later…), Belfry tower and The Markt square, all the venetian channels and swans in it and surely the wall of beer!

<<<You can see the Belfry tower up above. No, not in the left, on the right. 😉 But I agree, that girl on your left looks really sweet and … … >>>

What’s next? FOOD. If you’re a human being, you do care about food a lot! So as I do. Belgium has a variety of wonderful foods and it’s truly good stuff. Let’s say coffee. I love coffee in Belgium because every time you order it in a cafe, you get something in addition. It could be a biscuit called speculoos or a chocolate candy or a shot of Advocaat liqueur. Sometimes there are even two of them!
And of course, chocolate is the king in Be. There are numerous tiny shops full of unimaginably beautiful candies (also unimaginably expensive), chocolate bars and choco puddings, candied nuts and waffles. Everything you ever saw in your childhood dreams and even some things you didn’t even  know that they existed! I’m a bit ashamed to tell you but I still have a carton bag from Neuhaus chocolate store… It is just so nice… Yummy.. .

But of course! Don’t you dare to think that Brugge is the only great city in Belgium! There’s also Ghent {full of students and superb cozy bars} with its famous Gravensteen castle and millions of cheeky bicyclists… Antwerp (or Antwerpen [dutch]; or Anvers [french]) – fashion capital and also one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world… Brussels – EU capital and… Well, there’s nothing more there in Brussels… Maybe except for art nouveau and concerts. Seriously, nothing really more… 😀 But it’s only my opinion. And of course – all the nice Wallonian cities like Liege or Namur. BUT. I didn’t visit them. OOps. SORRY.

So yep, Belgium is really complicated, with two completely different cultures and weird stereotypes. But, I’m madly in love with it. Even though Brugge and Ghent are full of super touristy TOURISTS… These two cities are on my T O P best cities in the world list :))) .  What’s the number one? Oh, I still don’t know. Hope to find it soon! ***

{as i mentioned before, one of my favorite attractions in Brugge was the Basilica of the Holy Blood {up above}. it’s famous because it is believed that one relict of the huge important is left there –> the blood of Jesus. i have no idea if it could be true {i am also not a big believer but more of a ‘respecter’} but there is always [by that i literally mean  a l w a y s ] a person guarding this relict. someone is always taking care so that the Holy Blod wouldn’t be harmed or stolen. what is more… the altar of basilica is probably one of the most impressive altars i have ever seen in my life, even though from the outside it could look quite simple…but then again… no i haven’t visited the Cathedral of Seville in Spain (it has a huge golden altar…) but  i will!}

 

Ending notes.
Have you seen a movie called “In Bruges”? I mean, Colin Farell is hot, but that wasn’t my point. You can take a short introduction to Be just by watching this movie. So, the plot takes place in Brugge. Mhmm… One of main characters falls out of the Belfry Tower. Another tries to kill himself in kids playground which is located in the park you can see up here… And yes, that sense of humor. It is very similar to the Belgian one. Try it! 😉 You might like it!

Bon appétit!