Festival Going in Kortrijk

Kortrijk, Belgium

After a mere 11 days in France, we decided to head for Belgium. Our first destination was a city I couldn’t even pronounce! We were going to Kortrijk (fyi – it’s pronounced core-trike) – a city just 30 minutes from Lille in France. Our awesome CS host offered to give us a lift across the border and we spent the day exploring the city together.

History

Kortrijk is situated along the river Leie and there is a small island in the city centre where the river splits. The city itself is filled with old buildings and monuments that pay homage to its history. The Gate of the Golden Spurs (Groeningepoort) is one such monument that commemorates the victory of the Flemish forces over the French. This victory occurred on July 11, 1302 in the Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag). The golden spurs are what the Flemish Army wore on their boots – many of which were recovered from the battle site are are preserved in museums today.

Another historical feature of the city that we explored was the Beguinage. These collection of houses in a courtyard were home to beguines – religious women who promised not to marry and lived quasi nun-like, but did not take formal vows. The last remaining beguine in Kortrijk (and the world!) died recently at the young age of 92 (she entered the Beguines at age 21!). The homes are now open to the public and some have been converted into restaurants.

Frituurs

You can’t go to Belgium and not have fries. It’s their national food! Our CS hosts took us to “The Best Fries in Belgium” (a sign we would later see posted on nearly every fry stand in the city). De Blauwe Frituur was packed on a Thursday night (student night!) so we were starving by the time our food arrived. It was tasty and well worth the wait!

Belgian fries are made differently than ones in North America and that is what makes them special. The secret? Double deep frying. (Can you feel your arteries clogging already?!). Cut potatoes are fried at 150C, set to rest, and then fried again at 170C. The second frying at a hotter temperature makes the outsides crispy with tender insides. And don’t forget the mayo! Belgian frites wouldn’t be complete without some sort of dipping sauce, and while most prefer mayo, ketchup and mustard are common too.

Allez! Chantez!

After our dinner of burgers and Belgian fries, we headed to a monthly event in a park in the city. Allez Chantez is a regular gathering of 50-100 people that come together and spend the evening singing! We were given pages with lyrics to about 13 songs. Most of the songs were in Dutch, one was in Flemmish, some in French, and even a few English ones! (You’d better believe that after fumbling/giggling our way though the Dutch songs that we belted out the English ones as hard as we could!).

It was such a fun evening and we were so grateful to have awesome hosts that invited us to join them to this unique event. Singing these songs all together had me wondering if an event like this occurs back home. If not, I might have a new project when I get back! Anyone know somebody proficient in piano playing… and singing for that matter??! (Trust me, my voice is better when it’s drowned out by a huge crowd haha).

Sinksenfeesten

The main highlight of our stay in Kortrijk was Sinksen ‘18! This huge festival took over the city from Friday through Monday. There were several stages for music and performances, streets were blocked off from cars, and there was even a huge light and performance art show on the river Leie at the tower bridge (Broeltorens). The pedestrian access meant that cyclists were in full force!

The first musical act we saw was Bizkit Park – a ‘90s cover band that played Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Korn, and many others that I did not recognize. This is because I spent my high school years listening to country music – unlike Mac, who absolutely loved this band!

We danced at a basketball court-converted to an ‘80s rock DJ set tent and watched crowds go wild in the packed streets. We even witnessed the mayor of Kortrijk take the stage with his own set (helped immensely by an actual DJ).

The most impressive show of the weekend was the performance at the tower bridge on the river. The place got absolutely packed with people so we didn’t have the best spot for viewing. What we were able to see though was pretty fantastic. The performers combined lights, water, and fire to create a magical play filled with flare.

Kortrijk was an awesome introduction to Belgium. It was also the first country in which Mac & I entered that we had absolutely no preparation for the language. We became semi-fluent-ish in Spanish while travelling Central & South America, and we studied French in school (which only minutely helped us navigate in France), but neither of us had any insights into the Dutch language before we arrived. It was certainly eye-opening and we were thankful that most people spoke English. Time to brush up on my Dutch!

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