La Trappe and Eindhoven

Good afternoon everyone!
The last few weeks, I refrained from continuing the European vacation blogs and instead spent all of my energy on Michigan's NCAA Tournament run.  As most of you know, my team couldn't put together a full 40 minutes in the title game, but it was a great three weeks of basketball nonetheless.  C and I (plus soon-to-be Baby Cattey) were all on the edge of our seats throughout the tournament.  We are very proud of the team.

Moving on with the Europe blog, we just left Bruges and headed back to Eindhoven for our last day with Megan and Todd.  In the afternoon, we had a brewery tour booked at La Trappe, which is located approximately 25 minutes from Eindhoven in the town of Berkel-Enschot near Tilburg.  Contrary to most breweries, La Trappe does much more than make beer.  First, it is one of only eight "trappist" breweries in the world.  In order to qualify as trappist, a brewery must meet the following criteria:

• The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, either by the monks themselves or under their supervision.
• The brewery must be of secondary importance within the monastery and it should witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way of life
• The brewery is not intended to be a profit-making venture. The income covers the living expenses of the monks and the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. Whatever remains is donated to charity for social work and to help persons in need.
• Trappist breweries are constantly monitored to assure the irreproachable quality of their beers

The brewery is actually called De Koningshoeven, and it partnered with Bavaria, a large Dutch brewery, to help package and distribute their beer to a wider audience.  Therefore, La Trappe is one of the largest and most commercialized of the eight trappist breweries.  In return, the brewery is able to create a more vast line-up of beers than the other trappists.  In addition to the standard belgian styles, the brewery even creates a blond, a bock, and an organic beer.  It also creates some pretty kick ass glassware, which made it safely to the United States with us!

Despite the large scale production, the beer is still produced entirely within the walls of the abbey.  The monks oversee much of the brewing, and they create bread, cheese and other products right on the property.  Further, the brewery donates millions of dollars every year to charities around the world, specifically to help provide food to families in third world countries.  What a great reason to drink some beer! 

Both the grounds and the brewing facility are immaculate.  The monastery even has a small fire station and its own fire engine.  In the pictures below, you should be able to see the brewing equipment.  Also, different parts of the monastery even have solar panels on the roof that help power the brewery and the living quarters....pretty progressive for a bunch of monks.  The big guy talking to Todd and me was our tour guide.  He was awesome and very excited to share his knowledge with us. Wow, it did not disappoint.  Take a look at various photos from the brewery and grounds. 

We then headed to the bottling and packaging facility.  It probably goes without saying, but the packing area is extremely well maintained and high-tech.  Seeing the amount of bottles and kegs that are filled daily really gives you an appreciation for the scope of the brewing operation.  Our group even got to see some of the oak barrels that the brewery uses for aging its quadruple.  

After the tour, the group headed to the tasting room.  The tasting room has a very cool combination of modern and vintage designs.  There are plenty of wooden tables for communal drinking and dining.  We did not eat too much, but C and I were able to try bitterballen.  Bitterballen is a typical Dutch appetizer/snack that is basically fried dough with gravy in the middle.  Our hosts told us that basically the gravy has to be scalding hot, and it certainly was.  This bitterballen was served with mustard and mayo.  You can see one little ball on the plate below.  

After a few hours at La Trappe, we headed back to Megan and Todd's in Eindhoven for our last night with them.  They had reservations for us at a really great place in town named Cook's.  We had a great final meal and then wandered around Eindhoven one last time.  Our train for Amsterdam left relatively early the next morning, so we capped off a great few days in Eindhoven with a low-key night.  Here are the last couple of pictures from our night in Eindhoven.  

One last blog of our Europe trip will be coming shortly: Amsterdam.  C and I are expecting a new addition to our family any day now, so that will likely take precedent over another blog.  But, whenever I get the opportunity to post again, I will recap the amazing city of Amsterdam.  Until then....

Bruges! Part 2

When we left off on our European Christmas recap, we had just got done eating a late lunch in Bruges after finish a tour of De Halve Maan brewery.  Figuring we needed a bit more culture in our lives, and a brief beer break, we decided to head to the historical town center of the city, the Markt.  The main attraction on the Markt is the belfry, which dates back to the 12th Century.  As I noted earlier, the belfry is prominently featured in the film "In Bruges."  The line to climb the 366 steps to the top was relatively long, but we braved the cold and rain with the rest of the tourists.  The staircase is very narrow and winding.  It reminded C and I of the climb to the top of Il Duomo in Florence.  C was obviously a trooper and carried our future little girl up the stairs with us, taking only a few breaks along the way.  The carillon bell is pretty impressive from inside.  There are currently 47 bells in use.  But, the view is really the main attraction.  From the top, we could see well beyond Bruges' city limits in all directions.  Unfortunately, it was a bit overcast like much of our trip, but we did get a few pictures.

After descending the belfry, we decided to head inside the Basilica of the Holy Blood located on the Markt as well.  As the name implies, this chapel claims to have a cloth with the blood of Jesus on it.  The chapel was built in the 12th century, and around that time, the story says that the cloth was brought there.  The chapel itself is small, but impressive.  Unfortunately, the blood had been packed up and put to bed for the day, so we didn't actually get to see it. Who knew that a piece of cloth could only be out for view during certain times of the day?  C and I lit a candle for some of the people in our lives that we knew would have enjoyed the adventure we were on.  Anyway, here are a few photos of the Basilica below.

By this time, everyone was cold, hungry and thirsty.  So we left the Markt  and made a short walk down a little aisle to one of the absolute must-sees in Bruges, De Garre.  De Garre is an old-world bar that serves delicious beer and provides a glimpse of true belgian beer culture.  If you blink, you might miss the alley.  But, the four of us were able to find it, and Megan was even able to work on her budding modeling career before we entered...

For good reason, the place was nearly full.  Luckily, there was a nice pair of Americans who gave up their corner four top table to us and moved to a small table; so we basically sat right away.  Any visit to De Garre requires a order of the house tripel, which we received almost immediately.  As you can see in the picture below, the De Garre tripel is served in this amazing glass that really enhances the flavor and appearance of the beer.  The head slowly subsided as I drank the beer, but it clings to the glass in a unique way.  At 11.5%, this tripel means business.  However, the alcohol is not overpowering.  The three of us that were drinking all enjoyed it immensely.  Without a doubt, one of the best tripels I have ever had.  A truly world-class experience.  To make it even better, an order of the tripel comes with a plate of cheese, which compliments the beer in every way.
Once we finished the the house tripel, we decided to stay a bit longer.  Being the end of December, the bar had plenty of Christmas beers available.  At the recommendation of the server, I ordered the Bush de Noel, and I could not have been happier.  This beer was super rich and creamy with a hint of holiday spice in the finish.  If I ever have the occasion to drink this beer again, I will definitely do so.  Below are a few pictures of our night at De Garre.

After leaving the bar, we wandered around the city and took in the lights.  We quickly found out that nearly every restaurant in the city requires reservations.  Eventually, we made our way to De Hobbit for all you can eat spare ribs and pasta; the spare ribs were not exactly the best, but to be honest, I wasn't all that picky at that point.  One last picture from Bruges at night is posted below.  Like I said, Bruges was one of my favorites stops during the trip.  I could probably use another three or four days there in order to really appreciate the people and culture.  But, we had more places to visit and only so much time.  Early the next morning we headed back to Eindhoven for our last day with Megan and Todd.

Bruges! Part 1

Hello again! After leaving Ghent, the four of us made the short drive to Bruges. Bruges is an incredible city. It is the largest city in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The city's population is only about 120,000 people; so it is not very large. At one time, the city was a major European trading center. This allowed the city to create plenty of wealth, much of which is still visible today. It is easy to see why Bruges has become a popular tourist destination recently. One of the best features is its walkability. Every turn features a new canal or cathedral, and the all of the sights are located within walking distance. The town also features a few really nice European squares with restaurants, cafes and shops lining the outside. Our bed and breakfast was an old three story home from the 1500s just a few blocks from the Markt. The Markt is one of the town's main squares and is featured prominently in the film "In Bruges." It also features the picturesque Belfry, which we climbed later in the day. Passing through the Markt in the morning, our first stop in the morning was the Church of Our Lady. The church is famous for its Michelangelo from the 16th century. Unfortunately, the sculpture was off limits because a section of the church was under construction. The inside, however, is impressive nonetheless. A few photos can be seen below. To the rear of the church, the four of us found a great garden area with impressive bridges and canals. We did not see any canal tours presumably due to the winter temperature, but they would definitely be a great way to see the city.  Here are some photos of our morning:

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After our cultural morning, we were thirsty.  Megan had been kind enough to book a brewery tour for us at the only active family-operated brewery in Bruges, De Halve Maan.  In English, the name is The Half Moon. Our tour guide told us that the name most likely comes from the area of town where the brewery resides.  In the old days, different areas of the city were noted on maps with symbols because many residents could not read.  This specific area was represented by a picture of the moon, and thus, the brewery drew inspiration from that symbol when selecting its name.  De Halve Maan is actually located down a short alley.  At the end, the alley opens up to a big beer garden with tables.  Being winter, we did not have an opportunity to see the beer garden in full effect, but I can imagine it is the place to be during the spring and summer.
The tour began in the extremely modern and sleek current brewery.  The guide then took us upstairs, which houses some of the breweries old equipment (copper kettles) and plenty of Belgian beer memorabilia.  We even climbed all the way to the roof.  From up there, you get quite a view of Bruges, with its many cathedrals poking out above the buildings.
The shear size of the brewery is actually quite impressive.  De Halve Maan must own an entire city block right in the midst of the old city.  They even moved their bottling and packaging 3 kilometers offsite due to the need for more space.  The tour ended with a visit to the taproom.  Much like the other parts of the brewery, the taproom is a great mix of vintage and modern.  It has plenty of communal seating at large wooden tables.  In addition to beer, the menu also features sandwiches and appetizers.  Every visitor receives a glass of the Brugse Zot, the brewery's bestseller.  My powers of deduction tell me that Zot must mean "jester" in English due to the picture on the glasses and bottles.  The Zot is a Belgian pale, but a bit different from other pale ales we tried on our trip. De Halve Maan taproom serves the Zot unfiltered and claims to be the only spot in the world to do so.  It likely goes without saying, but it pours a cloudy straw color.  The yeast is prevalent both in aroma and taste.  There is a spicy banana and clove flavor, but nothing overpowering.  The Zot is a refreshing and easy-drinking pale ale by Belgian standards.  I enjoyed mine, but nothing groundbreaking.  Since we had a bit of time to relax, I then ordered the brewery's Quad, and it was a great choice.  The coffee, caramel and dark fruit are easily identified.  The yeast is nearly entirely hidden by the other flavors, but it works extremely well.  It was a great Quad that I would drink again if I ever get the chance.  And, at 11% abv, it was a nice way to start my lunch.  Below are a few photos from the brewery.  I would highly recommend a visit for any tourist in Bruges.

By this time, we were all getting hungry, so we wandered around looking for a little cafe.  We found one a short walk away that seemed to have some of the simple lunch items we were craving, although I have no idea what it was called.  After putting up with all of us (especially me) all trip, C finally got some drinks for herself.  As you can see below, she got a trio of hot chocolates, milk, dark and white.  The little item on the side was almost like a mini-cheesecake in a cup.  It was tasty.  C had a grilled ham and cheese.  Actually, two of them came in one order.  She also enjoyed some vegetable soup.  I ordered a smoke salmon quiche, which was quite good as well.  Todd and I both ordered the Steenbrugge Tripel.  It was a good, not great tripel.  We will soon encounter a great tripel. (stay tuned)  It has a bit of pepper along with tart apples and bananas.  A really solid tripel to be enjoying on a rainy afternoon in a Bruges' cafe.  Here are some photos of our lunch.

Our visit to Bruges was just getting started, but I have a feeling this edition of the blog is coming to an end.  I will save more for a later date.  Many more sights to be seen and brews to be enjoyed. Until next time...

Ghent

Good afternoon everyone, The last blog finished with Christina and I exploring Brussels. We then made the short 45 minute drive to Ghent, which is slightly northwest of Brussels. This will likely be a short blog because we only spent one night in Ghent, but we were both extremely impressed without short stay. Ghent has the feel of a medieval city complete with canals and cathedrals. First, we stopped to get some drinks and a few pre-dinner snacks at a brewpub that Megan and Todd enjoyed on their previous visit. Gruut, the brewery, is quite a contrast to the old bars and breweries located throughout Belgium. The inside is completely renovated and modern. Surprisingly, Gruut is the only brewery in operation in Ghent. After our trip to the brewery, I learned that Gruut is actually a medieval term for plants and herbs that were used to flavor and preserve beer before hops were utilized. Obviously, hops won that battle, and gruut fell by the wayside. The brewery Gruut claims to use the old flavor technique, and no hops are used in its beers. Gruut currently brews five varieties: amber, white, inferno, brown and blonde. The beers we sampled did not taste dramatically different from what might be expected, but they did have a more subtle spicy taste than what we found during the remainder of our trip. Overall, it was a great brewery to sit and chat with friends. I would highly recommend a visit. Below is a photo of my beer, the amber, and some chips that C enjoyed.

After leaving the brewery, we walked to the old city center. The river running through the city is called the Leie and provides some of the best scenery we enjoyed during our vacation. A quick walking tour of the city center provides great views of the belfry, Saint-Nicholas church and the cathedral. The Gravensteen is an old castle that sits in the midst of the canals. Unfortunately, it was closed when we were there, but you can see how impressive it looks at night. It is really easy to walk and explore the canals. Nearly every turn provides another picture-taking opportunity. Various pictures are posted below.

Too bad we would not spend more time in Ghent, but we had to get back on the road to Bruges, which is a short trip west of Ghent. I would definitely like to return to Ghent at some point in our lives. We spent the next two nights in Bruges, which was fantastic. I have plenty of photos to share and beers to explain. Until next time....