This weekend, we took a trip to multiple cities in Northern Belgium. We went west to Heuvelland and Ypres, then headed north to Ostend and Bruges.
Our first stop on our tour was in Heuvelland to visit the Wijngoeg Monteberg winery. It was family owned and much smaller than a typical American winery. Their property was only about 25 acres and was the biggest in the area. For comparison, the average Californian vineyard is about 5,000 acres. Their family does all of the farm and winemaking work themselves, occasionally hiring a person or two to help prune the vines or pick the grapes. Because of the winery’s size and Belgium’s high export taxes, the wine they produce stays in Belgium. We were able to taste several of their wines, including a sparkling blend of chardonnay and pinot gris, a pinot noir, and a rosé. They showed us all of their production equipment, talked about their grape growing methods, and taught us how sparkling wines are made. At the conclusion of the tour, we were treated to a picnic in the vineyard that overlooked the countryside.
Fresh food is readily available in many places. At the winery, since they are surrounded by farms, our picnic was comprised of entirely locally sourced foods. Fresh markets are available in several cities. In Gent, there are fresh markets set up every Sunday selling breads, cheeses, meats, fruits, and veggies. In Ostend, there was a fish market near the sea that sold the morning’s catch.
At the picnic, several meat spreads/salads were available. These were similar to tuna salad but made with pork or beef. I made sure to try some since similar products are not available in the United States, and they were very good.
This excursion let us see a few more cultures present in Belgium. During our time in Ostend, the main language I heard was French, and many of the restaurants on the pier had French names, such as “Toi, Moi, et la Mer” and “Le Chevailer.” There were many children on the beach as well, something that we haven’t seen a lot of in Gent. Ostend was a more casual place, since it was near and beach and so many different people come to stay. I also noticed that there were more runners and people exercising. In Gent, I have seen one person running in athletic gear. Either they get up earlier than I do, or they work out mainly in a gym or not at all. It was more similar to Arkansas, seeing people as they walk/run the trails.
In Bruges, there were many tourists. The city is very tourist-driven on a normal day, but even more so this weekend. There were many groups celebrating the final game of the FA Football Cup. The entire town square was filled with people wearing their blue jerseys and scarves celebrating their team’s win. The tourist crowd was a little more friendly than the normal European crowd. When we went on a boat tour, we waved at many people along the canal, most of whom waved back. This is not a common occurrence in Gent, but more so in Arkansas.
Overall, this weekend was wonderful! It was great to get out and see more of Belgium. As always, thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers sent my way!
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My name is Maddie, and I am a 4th year engineering student. This May, I will be traveling to Ghent, Belgium to learn about Sustainability in the Euro Food System. I can't wait to learn more about green practices and share them with you all!
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Biological Engineering major Maddie Oxner is spending the May intersession 2018 in Belgium with our U of A Faculty-Led: Sustainability in the Euro Food System with the help of our our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship and the College of Engineering Study Abroad Grant.
Read more from Maddie at at sites.uark.edu/mjoxner
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