Belgium by Bike

Rebecca and I have been talking about buying bikes, so on Thursday night, we went finally did it. I now have a pink and grey 18-speed city bike, reminiscent of my first real bike -- a pink and grey Huffy 10-speed. Either bikes haven't changed that much in 20 years, or I have the same taste as I did when I was a 10 year-old. No, I think the real problem is that I refuse to spend over $500 on a bike so I'm stuck with what is in my price range!

Our motivation to buy bikes was the gorgeous weather we have had this week. We decided that if we bought bikes, we'd bike out to Waterloo this weekend. And that is exactly what we did today. We set off on the 18 km ride (about 11 miles) to Waterloo at about 1 pm. The ride is really nice ... most of it is through la Bois de la Cambre and le Foret de Soignes, two beautiful parks/nature reserves that begin in Brussels and spread out into the suburbs.

Unfortunately, the trip was not without complications. Both of us had some issues with the seats on our bikes, but thanks to Rebecca, we sorted that out after a few stops trying to fix them. The thing we couldn't fix without help though was the flat tire I go half way through the forest. However, we got very lucky and found a great bike shop as soon as we got out of the forest. We had to wait for about an hour ... which we put to good use eating sweets at a bakery across from the bike shop. But for a small fee of 12 euros, my tire was fixed and we continued on our journey.

We finally arrived in Waterloo about 4 hours after we began, but it was well worth it. See that hill in the background? That is the monument to the Battle of Waterloo. It is called the Butte de Lion ... there is a giant lion statue at the top of it.

At the top, you can look out and see the countryside and imagine how the fateful battle ue nfolded. And of course, there are re-enactors! They promised to show us how to load and fire a musket, but they also promised us it took a long time, so after climbing to the top, we decided to head back to Brussels.

So while it took us 4 hours to get there, it only took us just over an hour to get home to Brussels, all bike parts working up to standard.

The trip was fantastic. We had the weird experience of actually being in Belgium while we were riding, stopping at bike shops, and visiting Waterloo. Brussels is just a city ... it could be anywhere ... and with its dual Flemish/French identity, it doesn't have much identity. But being out in Waterloo, which really is just a suburb of Brussels, it really felt like we were in Belgium proper.

I'm so glad we made the trip and now I'm looking forward to planning more bike trips. If the weather is nice next weekend, I think my bike and I will be hopping a train to Oostende to see the Belgian beach.

More Champagne, s'il vous plait!

This was one of the best weekends I've had in Europe so far ... amazing weather, beautiful countryside and lots o' delicious champagne! After renting a car and figuring out how to drive an European version of an automatic transmission, my friend Carson and I were off for a roadtrip to the Champagne region of France.

Champagne is conveniently located 2 and 1/2 hours from Brussels. Our first stop was Reims, where we began the weekend with a tour of the caves at Mumm. A very educational tour and three tastings later (Cramant, Grand Cru and a Rose), I left with a delicious bottle of Grand Cru and great early afternoon buzz.

Next stop was the Cathedral at Reims ... a beautiful Gothic cathedral. They were in the process of cleaning the Cathedral when we were there, so we were able to see the difference. Pretty stunning ...

Also stunning were the Marc Chagall windows above the nave. Chagall is my absolute favorite artist ... it was a real treat to see some of his work in real life.

After a lovely lunch in view of the Cathedral, we headed to Taittinger for a tour and tasting. The term 'nouveau riche" definitely applies to Taittinger. It was trying so hard to be classy and project the 'champagne' image of luxury, it ended up just coming off as clumsy and uninterested in trying to connect with the potential customers coming in to see there caves. Oh well, there are a million other champagne houses to visit. Off we were to Epernay!

Epernay is a drive over the Montange de Reims about 35 minutes. You drive through a nature preserve to get to this gorgeous little village ... really lovely. We spent the evening drinking perhaps too much champagne on a nice little terrace and then at a champagne shop down the road from our hotel. After sleeping off the champagne, we got up bright and early for a tour and tasting at Moet & Chandon.

Now Moet & Chandon is like the Microsoft of the champagne industry. They are big, they are bad, and everyone feels like they prevent small maisons from breaking into the marketplace. But really ... we were in Epernay, how could we not go to Moet? The tour ended up being really great. And after three cave tours, I think I have a really firm grasp on how champagne is made and why I like the champagnes I like. My favorite fun fact from Moet & Chandon: their best selling champagne -- the Brut Imperial -- isn't sold in the U.S. Americans don't like it cause it isn't sweet enough, so they make the White Star just for the Amerian market. And the you don't even want to know how much sugar is in the Nectar Imperial (my favorite). I am going to just forget that and continue to enjoy it anyways.

Before we headed home to Brussels (so sad), I made some significant purchases from some local petite maisons de champagne and then we went for an amazing drive through the vineyards. I can't even tell you how gorgeous it was. It was exactly what I wanted from the weekend ... just being out in the country, in the vineyards, and experiencing what Champagne country is all about. We drove through dozens of little villages and saw hundreds of vineyards. It was very cool. And I know I will return ...

Why Belgium Sucks #2: It Isn't France

Even Mary and the Angel on the Cathedral at Reims are in on the joke. They know France is amazing and they are laughing at their good fortune of being trapped there for eternity.

No wonder Belgians have such chips on their shoulders! Wouldn't you if you lived next door to one of the most beautiful countries in the world?