Westvleteren, Belgium

Oh, my gosh! I can't believe we actually made it to Westvleteren (a tiny town in West Flanders, just a few km north of Poperinge) to see Sint-Sixtus Abbey!!!

One of my life goals (you realize I, Gumballhead, was just born in July of 2008, right???). To beer enthusiasts, this is something akin to making a pilgrimage to a holy site. For a cat like me, it's a really cool place to just hang out.

It all started at a friend's apartment in Chicago, actually ....... long before I was born. Jeff and Deb were having dinner with friends, and Kevin? Dave? (sorry - too long ago to get the facts straight) - pulls out this beer and says something like: "you've gotta try this - it's got a reputation for being one of the best beers in the world." They got to have a little taste, since there was only one bottle for the whole group to share. Gotta tell ya, Jeff and Deb were mighty impressed and vowed to get more of this stuff someday. It is not available for sale in the USA, and generally hard to get in Europe as well.

Well - after a year of trying to figure out how to pronounce it [vest VLAY ter ehn], and probably a month of trying to find the place on a Google map (thanks to Beermapping.com), ....... and then Lindsay suggesting we take this trip to Germany to meet them on vacation, ....... and then Jeff and Deb deciding that, as long as they were going to Germany, why not add a few days in Belgium - and then the whole story about the Belbus reservation (see the Poperinge post!). . . . we finally made it there on a cool, rainy, August day. Here's a picture of the main entrance. The shrubs are planted in the shape of a heart. Can you feel the love???????????????

I love this cool, dark, mossy alley. It's so...............monk like! The Sint-Sixtus Abbey is a popular place among beer enthusiasts - all over the world. It should be. These monks have been making the same beer for hundreds of years. After a while, you can imagine that they would get it right! The problem is, they really don't want to step up their production to meet the growing demand. They just want to keep doing what they do well, for the glory of God, and to make just enough money to support their ministry. They now have to put up with tourists wandering around, probably knocking on the doors (that probably explains the fence, below), ........taking photos............ and asking if they can buy cases of the wonderful Westvleteren beers (currently they make a blonde ale and two bruins (which are high-alcohol browns, aka Trappist ales - the 8 and the 12). The 12 is rated one of the best beers in the world, if not the best. Because of the limited supply, I am sure the demand has also gone up, whether the beer deserves the title or not. (But it is a very wonderful beer, I assure you!). It is dark brown, lightly sweet, and has a pretty high alcohol content.

With the demand so high, and production being held constant, obviously not everyone can have access to the wonderful stuff. The Abbey has put some strange restrictions on the sale of their beers:

* they may not be resold - especially to the American market (though we did see some in a liquor store in Brugge)

* to purchase a case of beer, you must call in advance to make a reservation

* but - you must call at a particular hour, and hope you get through

* at the time you make your reservation, you must give your car's plate number

* you must be driving a car with Belgian plates to pick up your reserved beer

* you must be willing to take whatever is available that day (no guarantee you're going to get the much-coveted 12).

* you drive up this driveway at the appointed time, while American tourists stand and watch in awe:Needless to say, we didn't buy a case! Who needs all that stress????? Note the sign is written in both Dutch AND French!!! That's helpful for all the American tourists in their Belgian rental cars!!! ;)

Below are some pictures of the In de Vrede cafe (run by the Abbey, I think), across the street. It is actually a relatively new facility, designed to meet the growing tourist demand. It serves as a tap room for the Westvleteren beers, a restaurant, and has a gift shop (where they sell small quantities of packaged ales).

There, you can sit down in a noisy, but attractive dining room (see above), or a pleasant outdoor patio (which we chose, despite the fact that it was raining - see below), and enjoy some fine food and a nice big goblet of Westvleteren (the name given to the beer brand, even though it is produced by the Sint-SixtusAbbey).

We actually enjoyed the 8 AND the 12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (this is why you DON'T want to rent a car when you go to Belgium).

Below is a picture of me, hanging out with a glass of 8 (or 12?????), Jeff's "man bag," (necessary for haulin' beer and glassware home, of course), and the famous (now mysteriously missing) TV Guide umbrella (Deb swears she didn't accidentally throw the hideous thing out, lol.....................)

Here's an artsy-fartsy photo (below) for people like Lindsay, Jen, and Dave! Those are empty Westvleteren goblets, and by then, we didn't care if it was raining anymore. Just a peacefuly, easy feelin'.................. and a pretty, pastoral view.

Maybe we rested a little too long, though. After lunch, we went inside to buy some take-out beer in the gift shop. Sometimes you can buy a six pack, but today they were selling a gift pack, containing two blondes, a 12 and an 8, and a goblet. There was a limit of one per person. We had to stand in line, and by the time we got up there, they ran out. Oh, NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Deb (this won't suprise most of you, I'm sure) whined, "but we came all the way here from the US!!!! How disappointing!!!!" ............ and the nice young lady told us to hold on, disappeared into the kitchen, and came back out with a box. We were only able to purchase one, but it's better than none!!!!!)

Westvleteren is along a well-traveled hiking and biking route. If you're into either, this region of Belgium is great. The weather is cool and I swear - we never ran into mosquitoes!!!!! The terrain is relatively flat, with an incredible number of breweries and great pubs (often serving up over 100 different local brews). Great art scene, pretty, quiet scenery, and easy accessibility all make Belgium a great vacation destination that most Americans seem to overlook (well - yeah, the dollar was pretty worthless against the euro this summer, but we still had a great time). You can get just about anywhere in Belgium by train (except probably Westvleteren and a few other small towns around Poperinge - but you can ride the train into Poperinge and take the Belbus anywhere you'd want to go). Trains are cheap and efficient, and bicycle rentals are available at or near most stations!

Here I am, waitin' for the Belbus to take us back to Poperinge so we could catch the train to Brugge:
We spent a couple of days in Brugge, so maybe that will end up being a couple of posts ............................ until then, may the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, and may it rain Belgian beer until the sun shines again! (yeah, I made that up - but it works, so go with it!).

Until we meet again,

~ GBH