The writer of the this article is Rishad Saam Mehta, an avid traveler, writer and photographer who writes for the Mumbai Mirror among many other dailies and magazines including international ones.
The aroma came wafting on a stray draft of wind. It told of a rich vanilla and indulgent caramel which combined to create what can very well be described as an agent of salivation. I stopped dead in my tracks much to the displeasure of a pizza delivery girl. She was also on the same track on a scooter and had to stand on her brakes and come to a stop, skidding sideways, to avoid a collision with me. She pulled off her helmet, her mind already forming a rude remark for me, when the same aroma wafted up her nose too. We seemed to have become two hunting dogs testily sniffing the air to locate the source. All around us on this crowded street in Bruges, people were giving in to the same delightful draft. On the corner of the street, the little cafe had just prepared a fresh batch of waffles and put them out on display. It was the fragrant bouquet of those hot Belgian waffles that had brought this busy street to a momentary standstill.
A few months ago, when I was in Brussels, I had the opportunity to drive the new Skoda Yeti for a few days. I’d driven straight to Nijmegen, 200 km away in Netherlands where my friends Peter and Elisabet lived. The forecast over the next few days for Western Europe, which means Belgium and the upper regions of France, was blue skies and summery temperatures. As I had to drive the car around, these two factors combined to form the ideal reason to go camping.
So in went the tents and sleeping bags, food hampers and beer cases, pots and pans and all other camping paraphernalia such as a portable barbecue, a sturdy stove and a refrigerator that could run when plugged into the 12v DC outlet of the car.
Nijmegen is a pretty little Dutch university town located close to the German border, and is not too far from the Belgian border either. We started by heading south on road A2 towards the Belgian Ardennes and a town within it called Houffalize. Belgium is broadly divided into three regions: the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region. The latter – also called Walloonia – is where the Belgian Ardennes are.
The beautiful town of Houffalize
The town of Houffalize lies within a national park called Parc Naturel des Duex Ourthes. It covers an area of 75, 998 hectares and is the largest among the nine National Parks of Walloonia. As the Ardennes with its fantastic forests and parks are so ideal for camping, there are plenty of campsites. Some of them are cloistered with motorhomes and tents in close proximity. They feel more like a city block than campsites. If you look around a bit, you’ll be rewarded just as we were when we found one at 8 km on road N860 from Houffalize to La Roche. It was supremely rustic with a large forest area and a grassy knoll by a merrily gurgling stream.
Easier said than done Camping requires a certain amount of enthusiasm and energy. Once out of the car, you need to unpack and put up the tents. That done, we filled up the inflatable mattresses. While sleeping bags are invaluable as space and weight savers, I prefer a mattress and a quilt when I have the luxury of a car as these are more comfortable and not restrictive like sleeping bags.
While Peter and Elisabet started to set up the stove and the barbecue, I drove to Houffalize to get food and provisions. As camping hub for people, the stores sell camping food such as packed eggs (packed so that they won’t break easily), freshly baked baguettes, and cheese and butter in packets which can easily be sealed after being opened once. The local butcher and charcuterie had sausages and cuts of meat and terrines and pâtés to go with fresh baguettes for breakfast.
I drove back to camp where the coal in the barbecue had just started glowing at the optimum cooking temperature and we put out a few steaks and sausages to sizzle. We cut raw potatoes into halves, scooped out a little of the flesh, put in cloves of garlic and grated cheddar and put them together again. These were then wrapped in foil and put amongst the hot coals. In about 45 min, they had roasted and cheesy potatoes with heady garlic flavour were ready.
Dining under the starry sky Around the campsite, others too were preparing dinner. While some were doing were setting out elaborate three-course meals complete with wine, cutlery and candles. That night we had sizzling steaks and cold local beer under a starry sky and besides the bubbling brook. Life felt good.
The next morning after a breakfast of eggs, bacon and hot coffee we started towards La Roche which lay 18 km from the campsite. This pretty little town had its luck run out in December 1944. It had made it through up until then intact, when the Nazis launched their last serious offensive in Western Europe to try and turn the tide in their favour. La Roche and Houffalize had become theatres for the Battle of the Ardennes or (as it is more commonly called) the Battle of the Bulge. Heavy fighting had reduced the town to rubble, but it was painstakingly built to almost its original version after the war. Today it is as pretty as ever, but at the Museum of the Battle of the Ardennes, which is a must-visit for anyone who’s interested in history and the Second World War, you can still see marks of the destruction that was wreaked on it in 1944.
The river Ourthe runs past the town and its flow is ideal for kayaking. Therefore, there are places where you can rent a kayak and go for a guided or a solo trip. If there ever was a doubt about the Belgian fondness for beer it would be wiped clean here. There are shops that sell over 350 different kinds of beer and their staffs are knowledgeable too. Tell them what you are looking for in your beer and they will provide you with options aplenty.
Thus that night was spent sampling various Belgian beers under a starry sky at the campsite. The next day, once we’d had breakfast and broken camp (again energy and enthusiasm is needed for this), we headed to Bruges in the Flemish region. This was pretty much an east to west drive across Belgium and went through Brussels. We found a campsite on the outskirts of Bruges called Camp Memling. Once we’d set up camp we walked to the bus stop near the campsite and hopped on to the bus that took us to the centre of Bruges in 15 min.
It is then that I was ensnared by the aroma of freshly made waffles and had to give into it before we started exploring Bruges’ astoundingly pretty and old town centre. Freshly-made Belgian waffles are chewy like toffee on the golden-brown outside and creamy like custard inside. You can have them topped with cream, caramel, hot chocolate sauce or ice cream. Waffles, chocolates and biscuits are the confectionery stars of Bruges.
It is easy to see why the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Centre in 2000. Most of its medieval architecture is still intact and the most notable of this is the Church of Our Lady, whose brick spire reaches 401.25 ft, making it one of the world’s highest brick towers. The sculpture Madonna and Child, which can be seen in the transept, is believed to be Michelangelo’s only sculpture to have left Italy within his lifetime.
You don’t need to be told that the Market Square is the most happening place in Bruges. You are just drawn to it. Vibrant and buzzing with energy, it is hedged with cafes and old world architecture. Since 1995, the market place has mostly been a pedestrian-only area except for the horse-drawn carriages which have pretty Belgian girls as drivers and which take tourists for a ride around town. In the center of the square stands the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, both of whom have often been portrayed as patriotic heroes in Belgium because of their passion for Flemish identity.
We spent one entire day exploring Bruges and then drove back to Nijmegen the next day after a quick visit to Dunkirk which lies just across the Franco-Belgian border. It had been a good quick camping trip, thanks to good company, pleasant weather and a spacious and comfortable car.
Rishad Saam Mehta
Feb 2011
http://rishad.co.in/pdf/Belgium-Jetwings-Feb-2011.pdf
