Dining Traveler @ Brussels Flower Carpet by Rahul Venkit on Vimeo.

Behind the Scenes: Brussels Flower Carpet 

The Event:  The 2016 Brussels Flower Carpet took place from August 12th until August 15th.  The event was open to the public but guests were also able buy a pass for 5 Euros to gain a view from above from the balcony of Brussels City Hall.  The city has been hosting this event for years, highly recommend to make your way to Brussels during this event.  What also makes the event special is that many volunteers from young to old, from every part of Belgium, come together to manually place the flowers one by one on the design which literally covers most of the area of the Grand Place.

The Theme:  As mentioned before, the city partnered with the Japanese Government to come up with the design. Young  Japanese designer Fuji Suzuki, says she drew inspiration from Japanese representations of flowers, birds, the wind and the moon to depict the beauty of nature. She also mentioned that she was inspired by patterns she had seen in kimonos to come up with the design. Belgian Mark Schautteet, the architect of the Brussels Flower Carpet decided which flowers fit best into Ms Suzuki’s design.  Although this was her first time in Brussels, Ms Suzuki felt that “she had been there many times before” as she spent time in the city.

Thoughts:  This was my first time back in Brussels after the city experienced the terror attacks on March 22nd.  My friends who live here are still trying to recover from the horrendous effect it had on the city.  Hotels and restaurants have seen a drop in guests, which sadly affects small, local owned businesses the most.  Sad to see that many people are still afraid to visit this beautiful and vibrant city.  I tell you, as a traveling pregnant woman, I felt incredibly safe in Brussels.  As I stood at the balcony of Brussels City Hall, with a view of the beautiful Brussels Flower Carpet I knew the city will heal fully from the unfortunate events of March 22nd. Je suis Bruxelles…

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One hundred and fifty kilometers away from the fast-paced life of Brussels, there’s the town of Bastogne best known for the battle of the Bulge.  Nestled in the countryside of Wallonia, there is the Brasserie de Bastogne, an artisanal beermaker.  Upon arrival, we enter a small barn where the whole operation takes place.  As we park our car, we see chickens roaming freely on the driveway, adding to the sounds of the country. This is not the typical flashy beer producing operation you may see in the United States.  It feels like you’re at someone’s home due to its intimate feel.

Marc, the manager and beermaker happily welcomes us.  There are a few men in the background, processing bottles of beer.  He goes on to explain to us that this is a community behind the beer.  There is an older gentleman with long white hair and beard who volunteers at the Brasserie.  There’s an intern, the brewery owner, and a loyal customer in the background working packaging, processing, and of course tasting the final product.

The operation is small, but you can see the effort placed on each of their brews. Not one of them is alike.  We sampled light beers with floral hints to malty dark beers. Our favorite: La Trouffette Belle d’Ete (beauty of summer), a light summer better with sweet undertones.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t taste as much as I wanted because I had to drive to Luxembourg.  Thankfully, you can buy your beer to go. This is not a large operation where you get a full guided tour but rather a place where you can purchase the beer and witness firsthand the process of artisanal Belgian Beer.

Brasserie de Bastogne is a small producer of beer who supplies mostly local restaurants, specialty exports, and local consumers.  If you are on a road trip through Bastogne, I definitely recommend for you to stop by and try the beer! Afterwards, headed to the city center of Bastogne for lunch and a walk through this historic town.

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