The Potty Post

This post has been a long time in the making. For the last year I have encountered many bathrooms worthy of a photograph. More often than not I don't have my camera with me on these visits, but since being a tourist is my current occupation, I've had it with me enough to document a few of the most interesting restrooms that I've found.

And so, without further ado, here is my collection of favorite restrooms...

The bathrooms in Germany are generally super clean -- even the public ones on the autobahn. Here's a video of how some of these rest areas stay so fresh with self-cleaning toilets.


Though you hear stories about a hole in the ground, I've only seen one of these "toilets" since we moved here last October.

The French have so much style. Here, even the toilet is fancy.
In Ghent, Kevin and I saw these pods and I had no idea what they were at first.
Then, after we figured it out, I asked Kevin to demo it for the picture. He never actually used this pod, though we saw lots of men who took advantage of them during street festival we were attending.
You'd never believe that this is the bathroom for a very pleasant creperie in Paris. Entering the restroom was like going into a whole different world.


This picture documents the craziest sink I've seen.

Bill Was Here

On the news this morning I heard an interesting statistic: If Germans were allowed to vote in the American election, over 75 percent of them would vote for Barack Obama. Indeed, everyone I've met — from friends and colleagues to shopkeepers and random people in my travel — tells me to vote for Obama as soon as they discover that I am American.

But still, there's another American politician that the Europeans enjoy talking about. Not W of course. They get angry when they talk about him. They get excited when talking about Bill Clinton.

What's interesting is that I rarely hear about Bill's policies or political legacy. Instead everyone wants to point out where Clinton ate, drank, slept, and partied. I'm not sure how many times he traveled to Europe during his eight years in office. But it seems that everywhere I go, Bill Clinton was there too.

Bill Clinton was in Berlin. Yup. He made a speech at the Brandenburg Gate. But I also saw were he had lunch. Of course he visited London and Brussels, but do you know what hotels he slept in? He even visited the small German city of Aachen. Naturally he had a snack there too.

In Lisbon I saw the cafe where he was serenaded by one of the city's most famous Fado singers. He ate pizza on the same piazza as I did in Naples. I also know where he had pasta in Rome. There's even a story about a coffee shop in Amsterdam where he smoke some hash with Christopher Walken.

As a matter of fact, from the balcony of my apartment I can see the Petersburg Hotel, where he stayed while visiting Bonn.

Most recently, this trend continued in Dublin. The tour guide on the hop-on, hop-off bus pointed out a restaurant saying, "Clinton ate a steak there." Later in the weekend, one of the locals at Sheehan's Pub wanted to take us to a place where, "Clinton drank a pint."

Belgium Eats

We ate like kings in Antwerp.

On Friday night Kevin and I had dinner at one of the many cafes near the cathedral. I can't remember the name of the place, but the wood-burning stove drew me in. I anticipated that the food would not be great, thinking that it was more the location that got the crowds. I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

We shared an order of mussels. On all the menus in Antwerp they were offered three ways — natural, with white wine, and with garlic. We went for the garlic and were not disappointed. The mussels were plump and briny — honestly some of the best I've ever eaten. We also split an order of spare ribs, which I was surprised to find on many menus in the city. The spare ribs were also excellent with a slightly spicy, slightly sweet glaze that really hit the spot.

On Saturday night we ate at Het Vermoeide Model Restaurant. A bar and staircase so steep it closely resembled a ladder occupied the first floor. The dining space is on the second floor, with tables in every nook and cranny. In the center of the room, which opened to the floor below, a grand piano was suspended along with a piano player who provided the soft background music.

We started with a plate of house-cured Norwegian salmon. It was lightly spiced with dill and chives and exceedingly tender. Next was a steak with Roquefort sauce and pork braised in a calvados-spiked sauce. Both meals were very good and (disappointingly) left us too full to try the desserts, which included something that looked like and old-fashioned ice cream Sunday and pound cake served with fruit and cream.

Sunday morning Kevin and I enjoyed something that we haven't had since leaving the states last year — a proper brunch. At Chez Fred in the shopping district along Kloosterstraat, we were delighted to have omelets and quiche. The prefect brunch experience was accented by great music, good coffee, and really nice dark brown bread that is served whimsically in a brown paper bag.

I knew we were on to a great food scene, but received confirmation of this fact while sitting a brunch. The very stylish and hip gay couple that sat at the table next to us on Saturday night arrived at Chez Fred for brunch just as we were paying our bill.

Ghent Summer Festival

On Saturday Kevin and I took the train from Antwerp to Ghent. The trip was super easy, especially since our hotel was directly across the street form Antwerp's Central Station. We decided to take the train instead of driving because we expected the city would be overrun since it was the first day of the Ghent Summer Festival.

Known to locals as the Gentse Feesten, as far as I can figure, the reason for the ten-day festival is nothing more then an excuse to have a great big party. Each square to the city center is transformed into the venue for different events, including concerts, comedy performances, dance productions, children's theater, and puppet shows. We managed to catch the opening parade, where people on floats threw flowers into the crowds, and a Salsa band. The streets were filled with all sorts of vendors sell food and miscellaneous trinkets. And, similar to life in Germany, no festival would be complete with out plenty of beer tents.

Kevin and I spent afternoon in Ghent, but I think we missed the real action, which we expected started in the early evening and lasted to the wee hours. Tons of DJs are scheduled to play as part of the 10 Day Dance Festival, which is one of the four events to happen simultaneously.

Antwerp Weekend

I made a spur of the moment change in my weekend plans. Rather then going camping in the rain in the Mosel Valley, I pulled together a trip to Belgium instead.

On Friday afternoon Kevin and I traveled to Antwerp, Belgium. The drive took about two and a half hours and we were settled into our hotel by 5:00 PM. That gave us some time to wander along the Meir, Antwerp's main shopping street. Before setting out on this adventure I was unaware that Antwerp claims to be one of Europe's fashion capital, along with London, Paris, and Milan. The street and surrounding neighborhood is home to standard chain stores, as well as high-end designers and new, avant-garde boutiques.

I'm not really in the market for any clothing these days, though, so shopping wasn't high on my agenda. (Especially when using Euros to pay.) So, I was happy that the frocks weren't the only things on display in the windows.

As part of a summer arts event, a number of store's windows were taken over by circus-like installations. The vignettes change on a regular basis. (We weren’t able to figure out the schedule, since all of the literature about the installation was in Dutch.) After the display is changed, a new drawing is added to the window to show viewers how the scene transformed itself.


From a man melting into a puddle, to a fire rescue, to a midget with a chain saw, each window was both humorous and creepy. I totally loved it! And, I don't think I was the only one who enjoyed the work. People were enjoying the windows all weekend, but concrete proof that the residents of Antwerp support project could easily be seen on Sunday. The street packed with pedestrians even though all the shops were closed.

Beer School Session 8

Belgium is one of the only countries that can truly rival German in its claim to producing the best beers in the world.

This weekend, Kevin sampled some of what they had to offer. The hands-down winner of the weekend was Leffe Braun.

Despite the claims made on the banner, Delirium Tremens, has not been "elected" the best of beer school. (Though I do love the elephant logo.)

Belgium Travel Guide

Brussels
Before heading to Brussels, a number of Germans asked me why I was going, saying that it wasn't the best city to visit. I'm glad I didn't listen to them. I spent a great day eating, window-shopping, and wondering around.

Attractions
Musee Bruxellois de la Gueuze, Cantillon Brewery, Rue Gheude 56, Tel. 00 32 2 521 49 28. Admission 3.50. The nondescript wooden garage door gives little away about what's inside. The reasonable entry fee to this operational brewery allows you to take a self-guided tour, replete with a detail brochure, and taste two of the lambic beer brewed here. For any one interested in beer, brewing, factories, traditional production methods, or "old stuff" this is a must-see attraction. (See Beer, Beer, Beer.)

Restaurants
The cobbled streets between the Grand Place and the Saint Hubbert Royal Galleries are lined with tons of restaurants – all competing for your business with grandiose seafood displays and hawkers trying to get you to come in. Though I generally don't like to eat in this type of tourist-laden neighborhood, I decided to give this area a try since to sculptural mounds of fresh fish, mussels, scallops, clams, and lobster looked so delicious. I made my selection by going to a place that looked cozy, busy, and didn't pressure me to come in.

• La Cotelette, Rue des Bouchers 300, tel. 02-512 59 19. Our meal was a little price, but we walked away happily filled to the gills with great mussels and beautiful paella chocked filled with lobster, shrimps, scallops, clams, mussels, and white fist. (See Mussels in Brussels.)
• La Maison des Crepes, Rue du Midi 18, tel. 0475 95 73 68. In a town known for its chocolate, I was surprised the it was a little difficult to find a place for dessert. Once spotted though, La Maison des Crepes was worth the hunt. A small coffee shop with a local feel, they offered good coffee and a standard, but tasty selection sweet crepes.
• Lebeau Soleil, 25-27 Rue de Rollebeek, 0479 420 382. This cafe/studio, run by a livey violin maker and his bow making partner, offers a nice brunch served on tables between the instument-making work benches.

Accommodations

• Bedford Hotel, Rue du Midi 135, Tel. 32 2 507.00.00. Great location within easy walking distance of the Grand Place. Breakfast included. Small rooms, not the best bed, but still one of the best deals in a town commands high-priced rooms.
  

Beer, Beer, Beer

On Monday morning we visited the Cantillon brewery in Brussels. Here they make lambic beer, which is an acidic, sour beer that takes some getting used to. (I liked it; my beer-drinking father could take it or leave it.)

The self-guided tour comes with a great brochure that explained the process of making this strange brew. Wild yeast, spontaneous fermentation, and cobwebs are all part of the brewing process that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years.

Mussels in Brussels

On Sunday morning we drove to Brussels. Though the city is not as charming as Amsterdam, it has its share of gorgeous squares and charming crooked streets. But, for me the highlight of Brussels was the festival of eating and drinking it offers at every turn. What could be better then a city known for chocolate, waffles, beer, and mussels?

I loved the waffle wagons on the street, ogled over the windows of the chocolate shops, and enjoyed sitting in a pub and having the waiter suggest his favorite beers for a round or two. Dinner here was also a highlight – mussels followed by lobster, clams, and more mussels.