Discovering Pancake Day, Belgium Style

By A Venturing Nomad

A six foot poly-foam banana is cycling towards me, smoking a cigarette and waving to friends sitting at a pavement café. Snow flurries are whirling in giant circles around the town, whistling around
those sheltered under heated awnings drink hot chocolate or warm, cinnamon-spiced milk on this wintery March day.

The outdoor food stall on the cobbled medieval square is a haze of smoke from the grill, and the heavy scent of fried onions wafts through the icy air. People, three or four deep queue for a burger or hot dog.
A giant Winnie the Pooh runs up to a police officer and lands a custard pie in his face; the crowd at the pavement café cheer, and tensions rise as the the policeman pulls out his gun and fires…..Winnie the Pooh is shot with a bright pink and green super soaker.

We join the crowds huddled under the outdoor heaters and sit at one of the vacant café tables. A waitress comes to take our order dressed as a cowgirl; it is like being on the Toy Story set with Jessie looking after us. Where is Buzz Lightyear?

Desperate to understand what is going on in this quaint moated Belgian border town, Hulst, we ask the people at the next table what is happening; Carnavaal is the only answer; despite several earnest enquiries with expectant faces, we are still none the wiser.

More and more people steadily stream onto the town square, with the majority in costumes from all categories. Mostly adults, an action man is seen having a beer with a teddy bear, who in turn is standing next to C3PO. Darth Vader walks across the square, hand in hand with Cinderella.

The bizarreness of the situation is still hitting home. What is going on? Why today, this cold, snowy Saturday in March? Is this an annual gig? why now and what on earth is Carnavaal that everyone seems
to be so blasé about, as though it is the most normal thing on earth to have Little Red Riding Hood on the back of a bicycle with Superman cycling.

Dressed in innocuous jeans and a leather jacket you can’t help but feel out of place. How can such ordinary clothes make you stand out, quite clearly when you feel you are in the centre of a Hamleys Christmas window display.

The surrealistic elements of the day continue to grow, and your sanity darts between fleeing the scene and feeling you should join the party, though you have absolutely no idea why. Compounding this is the Flemish matter-of-factness that this is totally normal, and why do you crazy English even question why a town full of adults would wander around their town centre on a Saturday afternoon dressed like they were attending Comic Con?

The busy waiting staff in our bar seem in desperate need of rollerblades as they continue their endless service, never losing their smile or patience with the slow-ordering hordes. Cowgirl Jessie breezes past us, placing bright orange deely boppers on our heads, orange feather boas round our necks and giant plastic orange sunglasses on our faces.

“Its Carnavaal”, she smiles. After a quick Google check-in, we discovered this is Pancake Day / Shrove Tuesday but celebrated across Europe in a slightly more excitable fashion. And whilst the day itself is obviously not until next week, it seems the party has already started in this little province, and everyone is invited.

Despite the differences in behaviour, from a UK pancake day, one thing that is constant is pancakes. We were fortunate to be able to join the queue to the French Creperie food truck that had travelled up for the occasion. Revelling in a delicious plate of fluffy, syrupy gooieness momentarily transporting you to another level of bliss.

For your own Shrove Tuesday, why not try our pancake recipe to create your own little Carnavaal at home?*

Costumes optional!

* Always remember to check for allergies 

 Not travelling overseas until age 19, this Venturing Nomad's work and life have taken her to just under 70 countries, with more adventures always planned. Twelve years as a Diplomat led to excitement and adventures across the globe, and she is now enjoying travelling with her young daughter and seeing the world afresh through her eyes.

A published author in fact and fiction, she firmly believes in the mantra "take only photos - leave only footprints". More of a feeder than a foodie, she has cooked her way around the globe, from the hill tribes in Thailand, Nonna's kitchen in Italy to the beachfront hotel in Morocco. There is always a story and, more importantly, a recipe.

You can contact her at [email protected]  or find out more on Instagram