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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture I studied in Belgium at Louvain/Leuven for 5 years. Gastronomically, try carbonnades flamandes (beef stew cooked in beer with frites). Also try Belgian frites with mayonnaise (total heart attack) which you eat with a little wooden fork provided. My favourite desert was a 'dame blanche' (vanilla ice cream with chocolate topping and whipped cream - again heart attack). Don't drink Stella Artois which is made in Leuven. It is all chemical. Drink monastic beers like Gueuze or Trappiste - real and stronger. Wines are imported. Places to visit: Brussels/Bruxelles - the Grand'Place with the amazing 15th c. Town Hall and the 17th c. guild houses but the cafes are very expensive & the cathedral. Leuven/Louvain - with its university founded in 1425 and St Pieter's Kerk (bombed but rebuilt) with famous Flemish paintings (Dirk Bouts?). The Grande Beguinage/Grote Beginijnhof. Bruges which is the Venice of the north. Antwerp with its massive cathedral, renaissance Town Hall, house with printing press, and musum of a famous Flemish painter (can't think of his name). Ghent/Gent/Gand - St Bavo's cathedral. Don't be surprised if old ladies bring their puppies into cafes. It's normal. Wtih a cup of coffee you get a little biscuit, often gingerbread. Train travel is very easy. Brussels-Leuven (20 minutes - international train on way to Cologne), Brussels-Antwerp (1 hour), Brussels-Brugges/Brugge (1 and a bit hours). Only in Brussels are street signs bilingual. In Flemish areas the signs are in Flemish and can be very confusing, e.g. Keulen = Cologne, Leuven=Leuven, Mechelen=Malines, Rijsel = Lille, Luik = Liege, Naamse=Namur, etc. In the Walloon part of the country all the signs are in French and give the French equivalents of the Flemish names. The language issue is just as heated as ever and there is still the danger that the country could split. ENJOY!!!!!!! John Cochrane John Cochrane 52/103 Victoria St Potts Point 2011 Tel: 9332-4830 Mob: 041081114 Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2010 14:57:42 -0500 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] any tips for Brussels? To: [log in to unmask] medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture On 07/10/2010 1:34 PM, Rosemary Hayes-Milligan and Andrew Milligan wrote: It is, of course, possible we will just sleep and eat chocolate but we are hoping for good autumn weather to enable us at least to walk around the centre You might also drink some fine Belgian beer! Delirium Tremens is good. And if the weather's nice, there are lots of outdoor cafes. Not to mention several other fine medieval churches besides the cathedral, which, by the way, is filled with splendid 16th and 17th-century stained glass. Enjoy! Jim ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html