In about 1600, in the Namur region, it was the custom of country people to fry fish caught in the River Meuse. When winter came and the river froze over, this was replaced by potatoes cut into slim batons. French fries had been invented… Belgium is now among the countries with the highest yield per hectare when it comes to potato growing (Western Europe cluster) and it supplies finished products of a rare quality. Yet Belgium has much else to recommend it. Our towns and rural areas are dotted with other gastronomic traditions. These start with the Belgian Blue, a local breed of cattle that produces tasty meat. Or the famous Trappist beers still brewed in monastery outbuildings… Then, for those with sweeter palates, there are waffles and our famous Belgian chocolate with its authentic, inimitable taste renowned the world over. It is no surprise that Belgians are known as “bon vivants”? Belgium is also highly cultivated… and it is not only potatoes that are cultivated. We can cite the cities of Antwerp, Ghent, Tournai and Liège… with architecture that is traditional or imaginative like the Atomium, the astonishing Brussels structure dating from the Brussels Expo of 1958, which represents the nine atoms of the iron crystal. Our culture also encompasses numerous traditional festivals when people throng the streets for the carnivals of Alost, Binche and Malmédy… And we haven’t even mentioned yet the historic UNESCO world heritage sites (Bruges, Mons, Ath etc.).
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