Thoughts about Belgium Three Days in.

Here are some of my initial thoughts about Belgium (specifically Ghent) that I wanted to write down before bed. Many of these could be turned into further blog posts, but realistically they won't. Life moves on and so do most thoughts.
-It doesn't get truly dark here until 11:15pm so you think it is much earlier than it is. This creates long and interesting nights with the locals.

-More than any other place I have been in the world you really FEEL the effects of colonialism. I'm not sure why that is or what even brings me to say that, but its eerie. Maybe it was because I arrived in Belgium via Antwerp Train Station which was built from the money of killing Africans for rubber. AND... they built a grand and excessively beautiful train station with this wealth? Like THIS is what they decided to spend their blood money on? So that's uncomfortable. Even in Ghent I still recognize somehow that colonialism built this place - maybe it's because all the buildings throughout the centuries are mixed together... its super weird to see a 1500s butcher warehouse next to a 1800s captain's mansion.

- I've really really been enjoying the beer here. My favorite has one so far is called Noir De Dottignies. Its a dark beer from France (not Belgium). But the Belgians at the bar approved of this choice and some of them asked if they could have a sip of it. They all seemed to agree it was quite nice, which made me happy. One of the old gentlemen in the group payed for the next round of drinks. Bless him.

-I accidentally ordered a Belgium IPA beer at an American burger place. I hate IPAs, BUT this was hands down the best IPA I have ever had. It was incredibly smooth and subtle unlike the American IPAs which punch you in the face with hops.

-We went to what is being argued among Chocolatiers as one the best chocolate place in the world. Its a place called Yuzu Chocolates. I could write a whole blog post about what makes this place amazing.

-Being Belgian doesn't seem to be a cultural an identity but a political philosophy. The Belgians are quick to say "I'm Flemish" or "I'm French." Its strange and I'm not sure what to make of it. The two sides hate each other and their politics are built on oppressing each other. The ones I've talked to call Brussels "something else." I'm not sure what that means.

-I went to a castle in Ghent called Gravensteen. It had several rooms of medieval torture weapons. It made me uncomfortable and I learned some things. At the end in the gift shop it had childhood medieval toys that looked cute. But I was kind of like.. SO.... we are just going to gloss over all that awful torture stuff they just showed us and now sell some fake shields and swords for children??? Does this not seem weird to ANYONE else?

- The Belgians are friendly. They like talking to you, especially about politics. But maybe that's just a random sample of the people that I've encountered.