Sensory Overload in Brussels

I was living in Germany when the COVID lockdown began in 2020. One of the big perks of living in Europe is the ease of travel and close proximity of many cultures to experience. Germany, and Europe as a whole, were strictly locked down from March to August 2020, they were not allowing border crossing and all tourist locations were shut down. In August of 2020, Europe opened back up for tourism. Three of my friends and I jumped in our car and drove six hours to Brussels, Belgium. Our goal for the trip was to do a city walking tour that included chocolate and beer tasting, the chocolate was in the early afternoon and the beer was in the evening. After being stuck in our homes in Germany for five months, experiencing the taste of fresh Belgian chocolate was almost a sensory overload. We walked up and down the main “candy shop” road, sampling every kind of chocolate and even world-famous macaroons. The smells of chocolate and bakeries almost punching our noses. Later in the evening we went to the Delirium Brewery and sampled seasonal beers that were only available on site. We all enjoyed the experience of fresh crisp taste of Belgian beer right from the keg that you cannot get from drinking out of a bottle or can.

I never thought that the COVID lockdown would numb my taste and smell in a way that wasn't a symptom of the virus. Being stuck in one place eating and drinking the same things day in and day out really makes you long for something different. We were very lucky to be able to have the opportunity to venture out to such a historic and important city of Europe to experience fresh tastes and smells.

August 2, 2020

Bryan Paintiff

Bryan Paintiff

HST643

Arizona State University

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English Travel

English Food & Drink

English Recreation & Leisure

Brussels

Germany

lockdown

opening

trip

taste

chocolate

beer

sensory history

Brussels

Belgium

Foodways

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