Charming Monschau & Riverside Dinant

On June 18th I took a short trip over to Monschau, a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany. Monschau, to me, is like the Brugge of Germany. Brugge is so quintessentially Belgian and Monschau is like a toy town that delivers a very classic German feel. If you're ever visiting a city near Monschau then I highly recommend stopping in for a visit. I felt transported to a little fairytale land - to risk sounding corny.

Cheesin' because how can you not smile in Monschau

Monschau has little streams and larger rivers running between and under buildings all around the town

What started as a quick "peek" into the Lindt shop (for the platter of free samples) quickly ended in dropping serious euros on chocolate. 

Photo op at every turn

Let's take a moment to acknowledge how genuinely happy I look here - thanks, Monschau

View from Burg Monschau - a medieval castle

A tower on the yard of Burg Monschau

The day in Monschau ended as German as it can get - with some schnitzel. Some very delicious schnitzel. And hot, crispy fries of course. In case you didn't get the gist of my message from the photos, I'll reiterate: Monschau is the best. So cute and so German, loved it!

Fast forward to June 25th and we now bring ourselves to Dinant. Dinant is a Walloon (French-speaking) city located on the River Meuse in Belgium. Why did I go to Dinant? Because when you Google it all you see are photos like the one below - the beautiful Church of Our Lady (Collegiale Notre-Dame) set against a rocky backdrop featuring the Citadelle de Dinant up top.

Charles-de-Gaulle Bridge: Bridge of Sax

Leffe beer is named after the Abbey of Leffe in Dinant and was brewed here by monks since 1240. Leffe is one of the most well-known beers in Belgium.

Inside the Church of Our Lady

Going up to the Citadelle de Dinant

Unfortunately, all the Citadel had to offer was a great view. The museum portion was far below exciting and, contrary to what I assumed, there's no entry into the citadel itself aside from the "exhibits". The 8.50 euro price point was definitely too steep, but if you live for a good view then it may be worth it!

The Couque de Dinant (English: Cake of Dinant) is an extremely hard, sweet biscuit flavoured with honey that is native to Dinant. Because the biscuit is so hard, you're warned not to bite into it but to either break off a piece to suck on or dip in tea or coffee. All of the biscuits are shaped in different ways and stamped with various designs.

That's all from Dinant! I'll admit that Monschau definitely out shined Dinant. To be fair, though, Dinant is better known for its castles and outdoor activities further from the city itself. The actual city center offers very few attractions, so I do wish the weather had been nicer to allow some venturing out. Guess I'll have to save that for when I return to Belgium, right?

I hope you enjoyed this quick 2 in 1 post, thanks for reading!

- Alexandra