At Bouillon, near the French border, stands the most striking fortress I have laid eyes upon. Built astride narrow high ground, within a tight bend in the Semois River, its scale quieted my mind for a moment or two. The architecture made clear that it had stood on that rock for a millennium or so. Bouillon castle is associated with Godfrey de Bouillion, reputedly the first Crusader king in Jerusalem, not to be confused with Godfrey de Saint-Omer, a founder of the Knights Templar.

I happened upon Bouillon many moons ago while touring battlefields with a friend, TB. We decided to tour the castle, which was self-guided, and it remains one of the two most memorable castle explorations of my lifetime. An underground great hall, which was then bedraggled, evoked thoughts and images of lords holding court and council, before feasting, imbibing, and debauching themselves. In the moons since passed, I have never seen anything like the carved stone pool that holds natural spring water flowing upwards from the rocks. The water looked spectacularly blue, with green hues, in low light no less. At a time when many major decisions were made by people who mostly drank ale, mead, and wine, for lack of potable water, residents of Bouillon Castle had the option to go about their daily lives unbuzzed.

The castle’s length and tactical layout, later additions notwithstanding (later being a relative concept in the context of 1,000 years or so), call for a raised glass. Belgium is beer country and everything about the Bouillon Castle invites toasting it in local brew. Indeed, evening views of the lit walls, from eateries that grace the Semois’s eastern bend, invite raising more than one glass. I do not recall the libations we enjoyed that day, but I know we did.