Les Marchés de Noël de Belgique

Last weekend, my friend Kate and I went to Belgium to shop the Christmas markets. We first went to Liege (took the Eurostar via Brussels) where we spent the day on Saturday, then went to Brussels on Sunday.

I selected Liege because I read on the Internet that the city hosts the largest Christmas market in Belgium with 200+ stalls of food, drink, presents and crafts. Because of this, they call it "Christmas Town." What's not to like about that to get into the holiday spirit?

We left on Friday evening from the new Eurostar terminal at the newly restored St. Pancras Station in London (it's rather grand with a very nice champagne bar on the upper level). We arrived in Brussels about two hours later, then caught a commuter train that landed us in Liege in about another hour and a half (we were on a very slow train with many stops). We got to Liege around 11:30pm.

Liege is the third largest city in Belgium behind Brussels and Antwerp. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was not a pretty city. The weather was pretty cold, grey and awful, so that didn't exactly cast a nice light to help matters. I should have suspected it's not a stop on the tourist trail given my Lonely Planet guide to Europe didn't even bother including it.

Anyway, Kate and I stayed at a hotel located in the "Outremeuse" neighborhood, as it is on the other side of the river Meuse from the city's historic center...sort of like the left bank of Paris, only Liege is not in any way like Paris, except for the fact that like most European cities, it has a river running through it and the people speak French.

I'm still a bit confused by the city. Nowhere did I read that it was ugly or strange, which was my first impression. I read it had some interesting churches, museums and cobblestone streets. But it's charm (if there was any) was completely lost on Kate and I - it seemed like the city time had forgotten, with evidence of some past grandeur, all of which had seemingly fallen into neglect and decay. And whatever architecture wasn't old was just plain.....ugly.

The Christmas market (Le Marche Noel, to be native) wasn't so bad, and its appeal actually grew on us as the day and evening went on. It is located in the city's vast but unimpressive main square (backed by an old palace that is in need of a good power-washing), peppered with all the little log cabins and a big gaudy ferris wheel. 

The majority of the cabins offered food and drink -- waffles, sausages, chocolate, vin chaud (hot red wine), cider, fruit-infused vodkas, french fries (served with mayonnaise), assorted cheeses, cotton candy (or candy floss as they call it here), a local savoury dish that looked like mac and cheese, beer, bars of nougat with almonds, crepes/pancakes (cherry, apple and banana), homemade candy, hot baked Cammebert....it was a feast for the eyes and all deliciously tempting. There was also an assortment of craft booths with a variety of small treasures....ornaments, wooden games, candles, jewellry, pottery, etc.

We started the day at a warm and bustling little cafe and bakery we found off the main square. Obviously a popular spot with the locals, we had a couple coffees, Kate had a warm goat cheese salad and I had a delicious ham and mushroom quiche. It was a nice haven for what seemed to be such a strange place.

Over the next few hours, we browsed all the stalls, picked up a few gifts, enjoyed a delicious fresh waffle and warmed up with some vin chaud (many of the booths served Gluwein, a popular German hot red wine that was a yummy revelation to me).

Around 4pm, we strayed from the market to explore beyond the main square and see what else was in the city center. Though still a seemingly deserted city (or maybe it was just the dreary rainy weather that kept the world indoors), there were a couple streets full of antique shops and art galleries - so clearly there is some culture to be found in Liege, perhaps enhanced on a nicer day. We also came across a couple old churches/cathedrals and climbed the massive "Buren Stairs" which provided a sweeping view of the city from the top (and also reminded me how dreadfully out of shape I am as I found myself winded during the climb).

Our wander ended with a stop in a sweet little cafe and chocolate shop where I picked up some more treats. It had started to rain, so Kate and I stopped into a cute little bar on the main square. We enjoyed a couple Chimay Bleu beers, which are 9% alcohol (I love Chimay, it's so good and served in big fun round glasses) so we felt warm and dizzy after. 

We ate dinner at a rather fancy restaurant called Nun's, tucked away in an old building by the Buren stairs. We walked into the almost hidden entrance and found ourselves in a warm downstairs area with a swanky little lounge. There were two levels of the restaurant which served different cuisine. Downstairs was "continental" and upstairs was Thai. We chose the Thai option and went upstairs to a lofty and light dining room where we enjoyed some appetizers and curries. It was pretty good.

After dinner, we were compelled to go back to the market, which by that time seemed like a completely transformed place. Much prettier at night, all the stalls were alight and it had turned into an all-out festive and crowded party. Only then did we understand the allure of the Christmas Market. It's not about daytime shopping, but about a place that locals from all around can come together to enjoy time with their friends and family over lots of food and drink. The place was packed, with people warming themselves under the propane heaters drinking and eating all the warm yummies. We stuck around for another glass of vin chaud and enjoyed being part of the crowd as we talked and people-watched. By this point, the weekend had become a rather enjoyable experience. 

Before leaving the market, we stopped at one last food stall where Kate got another waffle (the batter goes into the waffle iron as a ball of dough rather than a liquid, which is what I think makes the consistency so nice and delicious), and I got an apple pancake - which was doused with powdered sugar and then folded and eaten like a thick crepe -- oh my golly was it good. We ate on the go as we crossed the river back to our hotel.

As we arrived back to our hotel on the dark, rainy street, we had to stop and laugh. A dark and foreboding looking building, the hotel sported a green neon light that ran the length of the hotel, with an accompanying green neon sign that said "Hotel." It looked like something out of a Martin Scorcese film. We laughed quickly though and ran inside -- it was not the kind of street that said "hang out and stay for awhile silly tourist girls..."

Neither one of us slept well that night. The street outside was very noisy all night with lots of loud people passing by, car alarms going off, and a man who seemed to be locked out of a place across the street at about 4am who yelled up to a window for about an hour in a language that couldn't be identified. Though we should have been angry when we both woke up the next morning with dark circles under our eyes (that was strange), all we could do was laugh. It was an adventure. It was funny.

We packed up our stuff and went downstairs for breakfast. We had a local Leige specialty which was like a rice pudding in a quiche-like form...it was good. The lady who ran the hotel was very nice and called us a taxi to the train station when we were finished. I was really impressed with Kate's French. She did all the talking for us and though she said her French was bad, I found her to be quite good.

Feeling we had seen all we wanted to of Leige, we got the heck out of dodge and took the train to Brussels. It must have been an express train, because the ride back was a bit shorter with only a couple stops.

We arrived in Brussels around noon, put our bags in a locker at the train station, then took a taxi to the Christmas Market in St. Catherine's Square. This was a pretty big market too, running the length of the long, rectangular square next to the cathedral and also sporting an ice skating rink and ferris wheel. This market was more crafts than food, but there was still plenty of vin chaud and waffles to satisfy the round of seconds we knew we would want later.

After browsing the stalls, we went for a late lunch/early dinner on the square where we each had a big lovely pot of moulets et frites (mussels and french fries) - a Belgian specialty. Yum. Then, we walked out (in the rain again) and it seemed the temperature had dropped by about twenty degrees. We then went into the old cathedral and had a look at the exhibition of Russian icons on display, then went back to the waffle stand at the market where we each had one last hot Belgian waffle -- this time served with a hefty dusting of powdered sugar AND melted warm chocolate. I have one word about this....no, two: YUM and GLUTTONY.

Stomachs uncomfortably full, we set out to find a taxi which proved to be really hard. Walking around the city in the drizzly rain, Brussels put me in mind of a smaller Paris. We finally got a taxi about a half hour later and made it back to the station about an hour before our train left.

A successful shopping trip, I left with an array of lovely chocolates (including a bag of butter truffles which truly do melt like butter in the mouth), some hard candy flavoured with violet, a few bars of nougat with almond (one of which I just finished consuming myself this morning, it was a big bar that took a few days to get through), two wooden puzzle games, a couple wooden ornaments, two silk pashminas for gifts, a gorgeous set of painted glass ornaments of the three wise men (those are keepsakes for me), and some very nicely-scented French soaps.

I had (appropriately) brought the book "Chocolat" with me which I read on the ride home. It is a REALLY great book -- I am almost finished with it, and think I will be sad when it ends! It is one of the most enjoyable books I have read, and after a weekend filled with chocolate, I am completely into it. Actually, it has given me the delusion that I would like to learn to make chocolate and open a shop. Could it be that Liege, of all places, has been the inspiration for my next career?   

We like to party.

Edelman had its annual Christmas party on December 4th (they call it "Christmas" here, not "holiday" like in New York). It was held at a very nice venue called the Lindley Hall in London (part of the Royal Horticultural Halls and Conference Center). I worked late, so I missed dinner and most of the performance (which was a bit like Cirque du Soleil), but I came in time for plenty of drinks and dancing. This is a picture of some of the gals I work with. From left to right: Kate, Vinnie, me, Amber, Nicole, and Faye. I especially like this photo because of Amber's disregard for the fact that a photo is being taken in favour of fully enjoying her drink. Who can blame her?


This is a picture of the Lindley Hall

The Stroopwafel

While visiting my friend Kate in Amsterdam last weekend, I discovered the Stroopwafel. Two super-thin small crispy waffles pasted together with a thin layer of gooey vanilla syrup. And boy are they delicious, the perfect partner for coffee. I've since discovered that EAT, a sandwich shop chain in London also makes/sells them under the name "Toffee Waffles." However, they are not as good, so the original will have to remain a guilty pleasure when in the Netherlands.

The Hotel New York, Rotterdam

Last week I attended a meeting in Rotterdam. It was a cold, dreary day -- certainly not weather that enhanced the look of the city.

The cab pulled up to the meeting venue, the Hotel New York. A large industrial brick building facing the waterfront on the city's "left bank" of the Maas, I assumed the interior, based on the name, would be some ultra-modern affair, mimicking the SoHo or Tribeca Grand variety of hotel in Manhattan that has become the cliche style of so many boutique hotels around the world these days.

But when I walked into the stark brick entryway, past the random stack of old fashioned luggage and through the heavy black iron revolving door, I was a bit confused and hit with a very different sensation. Was this New York? Was the hotel finished? What did it smell of....old books? What is this decor? It's kind of....retro...sort of...super old school.....like...Ellis Island New York. There was a palpable energy in the place....a good energy, but a bit somber. Or, maybe it was just the dreary day.

The air of mystery was lifted when a Dutch colleague told me that the hotel was built more than 100 years ago and served as the former headquarters of the Holland America Line (somehow I missed the giant "HOLLAND-AMERIKA LIJN" sprawled across the top of the outside of the building -- that's the thing that happens when you're rushing into a meeting).

America and Holland are inextricably linked. And moreover, so are nearby Amsterdam and New York....after all, New York was originally known as "New Amsterdam," founded by Henry Hudson in 1614, who left from Holland and fell upon what is now Manhattan via the (aptly named) Hudson River while seeking a passage to the East Indies.

The first ship "Rotterdam" was built in 1872 and the Holland-Amerika Lijn was started in 1896 with direct steam ship service to America, thus placing Rotterdam in a place of prominence in migrant transport history -- the primary destination being New York from 1873 to 1978.

But as the hotel's brochure so poignantly points out, high points in migrant history equal low points in world history. Rotterdam saw huge numbers of Eastern European migrants, mostly Jews, leave their homes in huge numbers for America in the most unhappy of circumstances. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, 1,300 journeys were made: 90,000 saloon passengers and 40,000 third class passengers made the crossing.

In November 1971, the Nieuw Amsterdam II made it's final crossing from Rotterdam, marking an end to Rotterdam's 100 year shipping history. In 1977, the Holland-Amerika Lijn's headquarters moved to Seattle in the U.S. where the company became the Holland America Line and the old HQ in Rotterdam was put up for sale.

"And so the building stood there, with its two green towers acting not only as a landmark in the Rotterdam harbor, but also as a landmark in history. A silent witness, wondering about the fate of those people she had seen depart the shores, and all of those who had sailed under the banner of the HAL."

A solidarity is no doubt felt between the cities of Rotterdam and New York. And when you step foot into the Hotel New York (especially if you're an ex-New Yorker), you feel it. Despite the bustling cafe/restaurant and all the modern touches the hotel might offer now, it feels of a past that you were not part of but somehow know and understand...maybe it was a dream you had many years ago or a story that was told to you. It’s a place that you know, though the city is unfamiliar. The ambience is unmistakably New York, though in a different time and different era... maybe you experienced it in another life. The past and present come together in this place far away from home, and it's a little bit of magic in yet another corner of the world that you never expected to be, but that makes you feel part of something in time and space that’s all connected.