"You Had Me At KWAK..."
So the last time I had seen a Kwak served in the distinctive glass in it's miniature wooden holder was in Belgium.
It's a requirement when serving it properly.
By Belgian law.
Or tradition.
With 700 different beers - and particular glasses for each one - it can get confusing.
But
Oak Barrel Tavern in West Ashley does it right.
If you're heading to Gene's Haufbrau or crossing the street to Triangle Char or Mellow Mushroom, you might miss the small store front.
Seek it out.
You'll be glad you did for a change of pace. And taste.
And, speaking of Easter, it's time for me to dust off my two favorite "seasonal" shots.
The bunnies of course came from the internet.
I buy a chocolate bunny each year but keep forgetting to take pictures as I bite off the ears.
The other shot of a cancellation sign was taken on James Island about 12 years ago.
A church's annual Easter tradition ran into problems and could not be presented.
I love tradition.
Chocolate bunnies or reliving a beer drinking experience in Bruges, Belgium.
(Clicking on the pictures usually produces more detail. A shot taken from the internet does not always enlarge. My small collection of beer glasses includes a tall
yard of ale glass, a
half-yard, a
foot and a tiny
toe. Collect glasses responsibly.)
Labels: Belgium, Bruges, chocolate bunnies, glass for each beer type, Mellow Mushroom, Oak Barrel Tavern Triangle Char, Pearlz
Scale models .....
I remember reading years ago about a place in Holland that has a complete miniature town. A scaled down version 1:64 or 1:16 or something.
Looks pretty neat huh?
This was taken in Amsterdam which, of course, is in The Netherlands which some people call Holland.
Very realistic. I especially like how they do that
"water effect" for the canal.
The
"aerial" picture is how the town of Bruges (in the neighboring country of Belgium) would look if you climbed to the top of the bell tower in its famed Market Square.
Certainly a lot easier than trudging up more than 335 steps!
Oh, wait a minute...I DID walk up all those stairs in a narrow and confining passageway. The view WAS great from the top of the belfry.
I just experimented with a photography process called
"Tilt-Shift" where you take a regular photo and manipulate it so it appears to be a true-to-scale model. The top photo really was taken from atop the Westerchurch next to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
People. cars and a canal boat frozen in place. Enhanced color saturation. A strong out-of-focus effect to simulate taking a close up shot of tiny objects.
Kinda fun to play with.
(You know how this works..click on the photos for more detail.)
Labels: 1:64, Amsterdam, Bruges, miniatures, scale models
Travel note: August 26....
Well, yes, it WAS a Tuesday. And I was climbing up and down hundreds of steps in churches, bell towers and museums in Brugge. In Belgium.
After leaving Amsterdam I had gotten adventuresome and hopped off the train in Antwerp - instead of the planned route through Brussels - and then realized the Dutch conductor had mentioned several possible track numbers.
Ended up on a "local" that stopped at MANY picturesque and possibly even charming small towns along the way. The sun had set and it was very dark out.
Arrived in Brugge (in Flemish) or Bruges (in English) where a rail station person showed me the
"let your fingers do the walking" gesture with his hand when I asked how I might get downtown. Eventually found a cab driven by a NASCAR wannabe.
I had already been in Amsterdam for a few days before and a return trip was scheduled back there. Might have missed a museum. No, not likely. Had even found and explored a 4-story church hidden inside a canal-side private home.
I intend to get a copy of the
1969 movie and see if any of the sights look familiar.
Hey, they should, they date back to at least the 1400s.
Labels: 1400s, Antwerp, Belgium, Bruges, Brugge (Flemish), Dutch
So the last time I had seen a Kwak served in the distinctive glass in it's miniature wooden holder was in Belgium.
