Our Beer Pilgrimage

Again we’ll skip the nasty parts of the drive to Brugge and put it in a nutshell – three hours to go 45 miles plus the route into Brugge was closed and we had to trick our GPS into going another way. Needless to say by the time we arrive we are exhausted and just hoping that we can manage to find a place to eat dinner before everything closes. On the plus side, the B&B we are staying in is absolutely beautiful, built centuries ago and remodeled with all reclaimed and eco-friendly materials. I adore the aesthetic, which is a seamless melding of rustic material and modern clean lines. Plus there’s a huge clawfoot tub and bubble bath! Just the thing I need after yet another trek through the rain…

I can’t believe it’s our last day in Belgium. After breakfast we head off to the Westvleteren, legendary to beer lovers worldwide because they are one of only six official Trappist breweries and they do not distribute their beer at all. The only place you can legally buy it is at the Abbey itself. Plus, you have to make an appointment in order to buy more than one six pack per person. We’re fortunate to get to visit at all because they have been closed for several weeks and only just opened today. I feel like we are on a pilgrimage. I’ll admit I had pictured a rustic brewery more along the lines of the others we had seen in Belgium. We didn’t get to visit the brewery itself but the café, grounds, and photos make it clear that this is a top notch, spic-and-span modern operation. And you can taste it, too. So many Belgian beers have very particular “house” flavors from the brewery, the air, the evolution of the yeast. We love them for it. But these beers have all of the beautiful yeasty aromatics and malt characteristics we associate with Belgian brews but are absolutely “clean” – no off flavors, no sugary aftertaste, no biting carbonation. Just perfectly balanced and amazingly flavorful. I am in love!

Back in Brugge, we walk a circuit through the town (they actually play music through speakers along the shopping streets – mostly 90s soft rock. It’s like being in an outdoor mall. Disturbing.), gather up our chocolate and lace souvenirs, and then queue up for the requisite canal boat tour. Actually the canal tour was quite lovely, it’s a great way to see the city from a different perspective. Plus, we get to rest our feet! We also shared one of my highlight meals today in Brugge. At a brewpub called Cambrinus with the thickest beer menu yet! I had a rabbit stew - again with some sort of beer broth - that was so tender and flavorful I am still wondering why rabbit dishes are so rare in our country. Yes, yes, I understand that they are furry and have cute faces but you must admit that they reproduce with surprising alacrity and don’t take up much room (vegetarians forgive me). I’m just saying.

Many misadventures on the way home. The flight was two hours earlier than I thought. Luckily I figured this out the night before and was able to stay up late lovingly wrapping beer and wine bottles in our clothing and struggling to zip the suitcases. The side effect of this, sadly, was that there was no room left for the camera in our bags. I thought it would be fun to go through the pictures on the plane anyway. Not a good idea. We never did go through the pictures and somehow ended up leaving the camera on the plane. Which explains the lack of pictures in these later posts. At the very least I hope I have learned my lesson about making copies, removing memory cards, etc. But I keep thinking about all the great shots we got that are gone now. I have so many wonderful memories, though. Alex and I had such a beautiful journey together and were able to see so many new places and historic artworks that I had only imagined before. I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to do this, and I hope for many more adventures to come!