Trip Review: Lounging in Liege, Belgium
For Black Friday, we took advantage of brief sunshine to explore more of Cologne before heading to the sleep city of Liege, home of the oldest and largest Christmas markets in Belgium!
Brunch at Bastians
Because we moved our train from 10am to 3:45pm, we had another lazy morning at the Courtyard. Thankfully, there was no rain in sight but yesterday’s rain meant a much colder experience! We decided to go to a well known brunch spot called Bastian, located in the middle of the main city centre. Bastian is well known for a German baked goods and is very fun place with cakes, open tables, and coffees!
As it was nearly 12pm and MF refuses to feed me (joking), we ordered our separate dishes and I was looking forward to my meal! I had an Americano with a massive helping of scrambled eggs on toast. MF went on a diet and ordered the goats cheese. I think mine was better and definitely more filling!
Sunny Christmas Markets
Unlike last night, we could wander through the markets in sunshine! Because the Bastian is in the middle of all three main markets of Neumarket, Heinkels, and Dom, we first started with Neumarket!
In the sunshine, Neumarket came to life as the white decor dazzled in the sunlight. Because it is a Friday and the sun is shining, the market was full of people enjoying a nice gluhwein or beer! The vendors were the same folks as last night so I felt a little bad for them!
Black Weekend
Even in Europe, Black Friday is slowly making its way to the main street stores. Unlike America, people are still calm about Black Weekend. Oh right, they also just call it Black Weekend! To make our way back to the HHH and Dom market, we strolled through Cologne's main shopping district.
While I was tempted by several stores, the crowds and German sale descriptions put us off from going inside stores. Plus, the crowds were awful and I didnt really want to carry loads of shoes or other clothes. Thankfully, MF just wanted to escape the shoppers!
One Last Time
For our last time in Cologne’s main markets of Heinkel and Dom, we just enjoyed the sunshine, gluhwein, and fresh snacks.
We strolled through the main markets a few times and then MF kept coming back to one of her favorite shops with alpaca sweaters. I firmly believe everything is pretty when it is sunny!
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MF
Onto Liege
From Cologne, Liege is a quick 1 hour train on an outdated, but fast German train. Thankfully, we arrived at the train station 10 minutes early and nabbed great seats. MF settled into her movies while I researched Black Friday deals! Easy and fast train onto Liege!
Traveling within Liege
Within Liege, because it is a smaller town, there aren’t a lot of ways to travel without a car. Because we were here for only 1 night, I heavily relied on Google Maps. Thankfully, we arrived just in time to catch the intra-Liege area train to a station closer to our B&B. For the remainder of our visit, we would rely on our own two feet and the bus system.
No. 5 Bed and Breakfast
About a 5 minute walk from the city center, No. 5 Bed and Breakfast is an absolute gem. With the exterior portraying an older, yet graceful house, it opened into a beautiful courtyard that we crossed to get to our rooms. As the name suggests, there are only 5 rooms here and we had No. 3.
The room was very spacious for a B&B and it was warm! The bed was also very comfy and the bathroom was great! At night, the room is pitch dark and we both didn’t hear a thing until our alarm woke us up! I will continue to give myself a pat on the back for this find!
The room was very spacious for a B&B and it was warm! The bed was also very comfy and the bathroom was great! At night, the room is pitch dark and we both didn’t hear a thing until our alarm woke us up! I will continue to give myself a pat on the back for this find!
Chez Natalie
During MF’s food research, she was worried about our Liege stay as she wasn’t able to make online reservations. Knowing that Beligans most likely eat late like the French neighbors, we decided to visit her targeted location of Chez Natalie as soon as it opened. The little restaurant was decked in French and Beligan flags and I knew we would be in for a treat!
As we guessed, we were the first people in the restaurant at 6:01pm. To put it this way, we have never walked into a restaurant and have heard the owners say to themselves, are we even open? Oh well! The inside is beautifully decorated with vintage French and Belgian posters with Christmas lights as an added bonus.
The Main Event
For our free hourves, we received fresh, warm bread and butter and a lovely mushroom soup. We thoroughly enjoyed our first courses and couldn’t wait for the main event! For our appetizer, we shared an amazing baked camembert covered in honey and thyme! Unlike the English baked cheese, the honey and thyme are very different and we shall try it at home!
For our true main entree, I ordered a succulent duck confit that practically melted in my mouth! Mary Frances ordered the great sea bass in a creamy tomato sauce - a special for the evening! To wrap up a very successful meal, MF had the creme brûlée. Yummy! All in all, we had a fantastic meal over the course of 2.5 hours!
Liege Christmas Markets
Because the Liege Christmas markets opened earlier that day, we honestly did not know what to expect. Our lovely host showed us the two markets on a map so we were looking forward to exploring the markets.
Over 20 minutes from our B&B, the first market was a real party! The bands were playing and the markets were jammed with holly cheer and mulled wine! Because of the insane lines and crowds, we decided to take our chances with the original and largest Christmas market in Belgium.
As we wandered through the Christmas village, most of the stalls were closed - either because we were in a small village in Belgium or it is too early! Either way, we found the real party inside the main market area!
Liege loves to party!
Inside the main market, the outer tents are mostly drink with some food stalls. Unlike Germany, the Belgians copy their French counterparts and had loads of fancy food at their stalls. We could have had a (cold) chacteruire board with a nice 2014 Bordeaux, if we so chose!
We wandered through the party and enjoyed the festive spirit as loads of others drank to stay warm. Too bad we didn’t speak French otherwise we would have joined them! Also, I had some Black Friday shopping to do in the room so we made our way back to the B&B and retired for the evening.
The UnChartered Summary
- Chez Natalie is amazing if you're ever near or in Liege!
- If you want to eat and drink (in the cold), Liege / Belgium markets are for you! Plenty of tasty treats that differ from the normal markets!
- Cologne is beautiful and well worth a Christmas market visit!