Brugge

Travel:
Ho hum, another day, another medieval town filled with ancient buildings at every turn...Brugge is the epitomy of old Europe, and gorgeous (even with the grey weather). I think the entire town has cobblestone streets and sidewalks, right down to the white stripes for pedestrian crossings. The "transit" plan that was enacted involved making most of the streets one-way, and closing lots of them to cars altogether. The number of bikes is impressive--there was a series of bike racks at the train station, and I bet there were easily more than 1,000 bikes locked up. A guy was actually issuing tickets for illegally parked bikes!!

Found a nice (and cheap) a little off the beaten path, and then wandered around for several hours. Brugge has it all--canals, cobblestones, cathedrals, a beautiful market square, and so on. It really is something out of a postcard.

After a quick lunch, I headed to de Halve Maan (the Half Moon), the last old brewery still operating in Brugge. The tour there was really fun--the tour guide had many well-rehearsed jokes and kept us all laughing for the 45 minute tour. We saw all the more modern equipment, in addition to lots of very old stuff. They still have a cooling tub on the top floor, but it is no longer in use--they now use cultured yeast for fermentation instead of spontaneous fermentation.

My next (and last) stop for the day was Brugs Beertje (the little bear), which has over 300 Belgian beers available. It is a tiny little spot on an even smaller street, and it was obvious that this is where the locals come to hang. I took a seat in the "non-smoking" section, which is about five feet from the smoking section--this was probably one of the smokiest places I've ever visited, and mind you, I lived in Europe for a year during the 80's. I ordered the cheese plate, which had five different cheeses on it. I didn't know that Belgium makes hundreds of varieties of cheese, and these were terrific--I am a fan of stinky cheeses, and these fit the bill! I began sampling beers--with only three days in Belgium, this would have to be the closest thing I could get to a grand tour of the country.

After I'd finished dinner, the bar/smoking area had thinned out a bit, so I decided to try my luck over there. Daisy, the owner, was totally gracious and knowledgeable the entire time, and when I sat at the bar, she began introducing me to two couples who were sitting there. I was drinking a beer called Pannepot, and one of the men asked me if I liked it. I said I did, and how I had come to choose it (the brewer in Brussels had recommended this one). He then let me know that he was the brewer of that beer! So once again, I found myself in the right place at the right time, and we all had great conversation for the rest of the evening. I finally called it a night, and headed home with some new glassware, and a huge new book on Belgian beers (autographed of course...). Today I'm headed to Westvleteren, where I have an appointment to buy some of their beer--then I just need to figure out how I'll get it home...

Beer:
Well, my biggest lesson today was that I can't taste beer when there's smoke around, much less when there's LOTS of smoke, i.e. you can barely see the other side of the room smoke...as Lyn said one day in class, "Sometimes we tasting, sometimes we just drinking." So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and I sampled many great beers.

de Halve Maan:
--Brugge Zot, blonde--cloudy, coriander, orange, crisp carbonation. Very refreshing.

Brugs Beertje:
--'t Smisje Honing--copper to amber, honey, subtle tartness (Brett?)
--Rochefort 8--deep brown/ruby, rum notes, chocolate finish
--Ichtegem's Grand Cru--tart nose, red/ruby, floral
--Pannepot--prune, warming, ginger, malty--reminds me of my doppelbock
--Aardmonnik (Earth Monk)--mild tartness (this beer is a blend of Pannepot and lambic, with more Pannepot after fermentation), deep brown color, extremely refreshing and surprising for its color
--Delirium Noel--ruby, malty/sweet, lots of bubble gum, yum!
--Carmeliet tripel--sweet/fruity, lots of bubble gum
--de Dolle Export Stout--sherry notes, chocolate

Quite a night, definitely a bit swimmy this morning!!! Onward to Westvleteren...