Candy Crush
What would motivate you to visit Ghent in Belgium?
For me it is a question with three answers:
1. “Praline”
2. Bar with the biggest beer selection
3. The Cuberdon shop.
No. 1 the “Praline”, a filled chocolate was invented by Neuhaus a pharmacist who wanted to cover the awful taste of medicine, with a thin layer of chocolate, however, it was his grandson Jean Neuhaus Jr. who thought about filling it with something other than medicine. The “Praline”was born in Belgium but not in Ghent.
No. 2 Dulle Griet a bar in Ghent with over 350 Belgian beers with the largest selection in Gent so a paradise for beer lovers including me. Everyone recommends to drink a beer for which you must leave your shoe as a deposit.
The shoe is hung from the ceiling and returned once the bill is paid and the glass returned.
The reason is that everybody would steal the glass as a souvenir (I would do it too), so to avoid it the bar decided to enforce that form of deposit.
I wonder if this is the true inspiration for Cinderella, maybe she was a kleptomaniac alcoholic who kept leaving her shoes behind.
Maybe. Something to ponder certainly.
No. 3 walking around town I saw weird, purple, soapy looking candies which were called Cuberdons also known as “Gentse Neuzen”(Gent Nose) are the most famous local candies in Ghent, made of Arabic gum, which tastes like violet, also available in different flavours now. It all happened by accident as a pharmacist discarded a batch of medicine and discovered days later, that the syrup formed a crunchy crust, while the inside remained liquid-ish, so “The Cuberdons” were born and the most famous ones are the ones from Geldhof.
In Genth are two shops that sell Cuberdons next to each other, they’ve been fighting over who has the best ones for years. One day it escalated and the two venders got into a fight to decide whose candies were better. This war’s been going on for a very long time. Since then the vendors are not allowed to talk to each other anymore , if they do, they get a 120€ fine.
Ever risked to give your shoe away to get something?
Have you tasted a Neuhaus Praline in Ghent or anywhere in the Europe?
Ever fought with you neighbor about something?
Gent
Read and here and see more pics and what to do in Ghent!
https://aheartynomad.com/2017/03/06/candy-crush-ghent-edition/
5 février 2019
