A Different World

The problem with me writing this blog now is that I have become accustomed to the Belgian way of life.  The longer I am here the more I forget what the differences are between the UK and here, although there are some quite fundamental differences in culture and way of living.

I was chatting to some relatives about trips they have made to London and what they thought about the place.  I was quite fascinated to hear that their first thought was 'this place has never been occupied by the Germans'.  I was thinking that everyone seems to think that London reflects the UK in terms of stereotypical image.  I have to be honest and say that I did not really have a view on Belgium or what it was like.  I had heard of Belgian beers but could not name one.  I thought Stella Artois was French as much as I thought Antwerp was a Dutch city.  Stella is regarded as a pils, a relatively weak and standard beer, nothing special.  In the UK it is or was regarded as a premium beer known as 'Wife Beater'.  The people of Antwerp are quite special, so they will tell you...  I quite like Antwerp mainly because I have some lovely family and good friends there, they are proud of their city and I don't mind if they like telling me this.  I am quite proud of Newcastle (even though I am from Gateshead).

One of the big differences that you can see without too much trouble is that there do not seem to be the very large out of town retail parks and shopping centres that have sprung up all over the place in the UK.  24 hour supermarkets do not exist in Belgium and choice of products and indeed competition seems a bit thin.  There are retail parks but they tend to be smaller and open for shorter periods of time.  You really have to get it right sometimes as a lot of shops close for one of the weekdays, to compensate for being open on Saturday I presume.

What you cannot readily see and is quite a big difference is the taxation and employment law.  Belgium has quite high taxation compared to the UK and some incredibly strict and protective employment laws.  This means that the workforce is not as flexible and that there is a fair degree of tax evasion that goes on, so called black economy.

When I first arrived and sampled the local cuisine I was very impressed with both the value and quality of the food.  Even in everyday cafes and restaurants the standard of food is very high.  This is very different to the quality of food I have found in the UK.  The price was also very good, although it has become quite expensive since I arrived and relatively speaking I think the UK offers better value when you match the quality.  You can get caught out if you go to a tourist trap but you would have to be quite unfortunate, the best advice is to walk past the first place you see after getting off the train or bus and have a look down some side streets and alleyways.

One of the most difficult things I have found is deciding what drink to go for.  You do get used to the range and after a while it somehow seems like it is not much of a choice.  In reality you can have anything up to10-15 quality beers on average and they will be different depending upon the town or region you are in.  Now, I am a cider drinker and so to be presented with beers was not easy for me.  As I have got older I have been a bit more adventurous and willing to try recommended beers.  You have to take a chance as there is such a range.  After a while you do acquire a range of favourite beers, more of them in later blogs.  The UK on the other hand is dominated by big brands and although there is a drive to have real ales, you have to seek them out.  I have the added bonus of living just around the corner from a large specialist beer warehouse, quite handy for BBQs!

I will need to come up with my recommended beer list but then my tastes are probably not quite so normal as a UK beer drinker.  Be warned though, they are potent, it really does not take much to hit home.  One of my favourites, although quite strong, is Kwak.  The name comes from the sound it makes as you drink it.  I need to explain that the glass, as with pretty much all Belgian beers, is a particular shape.  If you can picture the yard of ale glass which has a spherical bulb at one end and a flare rim at the drinking end, well the Kwak glass is a mini version of that.  It comes in a wooden stand and it was designed to be drunk by coach drivers as they drove their coaches (horse drawn ones in case you were wondering).  As you get to the end of the drink you can hear the kwak noise and you either end up catching the beer or wearing it.

Well this thread has become rather specialised so I will close it off for now.