Belgium over Thanksgiving hols - tips?

woodstock

woodstock

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I'm heading to Belgium in a few days. I know we have a lot of beer aficionados here, not to mention chocoholics (well, who isn't one, I ask?).

I'll be staying in Bruges and Brussels but moving around a little bit - Ieper for a day (WWI battlefield tours) and Ghent. Possibly Antwerp if I have time.

Any tips? I have a list of beers and chocolates to seek out, just thought I'd check in here too. General "you gotta see this" ideas are great too. I haven't planned much - I figured I'd play it all by ear and there is no way I'll run out of things to see. The lodging is secured and I know what tour guide I'll use for the battlefields but not which day I'll tour them, yet - I figured I'd wait for the least rainy day to tromp battlefields.
 
Chimay is a great Belgian Ale ( I like the red label better than the blue) But experiment have fun.
 
Has anyone mentioned beer?:D:D

I'd love to do a battlefield tour. I visited Verdun last time I was in France. My objective would be to combine a visit to Belgium with a stop at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa. And drinking beer. Did I mention that?

Bruges is supposed to be quite nice. My brother, not a "nice, cute" kind of guy, thought Bruges was nice. So it must be pretty nice.
 
Passion chocolat (on the eastern general side of Brussels) is my mom's favorite place to get chocolate, and she does so regularly. They only open after noon, though.

Antwerp has a little restaurant that I could get the name of for you that has something around 350 beers available. It's a neat little place, not what you'd expect. I enjoyed checking out the zoo there, too (we spent the better part of the day there), and explored the city some. It's a neat town.

I spent some time in Ghent three years ago, but don't remember a ton about it.

If you haven't been to the "Grand Place" (is this your first trip to Belgium?) make sure to go. Just ignore the people who will try to get you to go into their restaurant, and go to one of the good ones. I can get you some specific names if you want. Make sure you get moules (mussels) while you're there. The beer is good, but don't forget that the wine is, too.

Hmm... what else. My godfather lives in Belgium, and I have some friends there, plus my mom is there frequently. If you want, I could try to get some additional ideas for you. Driving there is confusing because the streets are marked extremely poorly. Technically you're supposed to pay for the trams and subways, but nobody checks it and they make it rather confusing to buy a pass.

Feel free to PM me if you have anything else you want to know. :)
 
Beeeeeeeer.

Have you seen In Bruges? That is what shot this trip to the top of the hit list.

Ted, I've been to and through Belgium - "to" in that I took the ferry, pre-Chunnel days, from Oostende to Dover. It was a night ferry so I spent the evening in Oostende and then got on the ferry close to midnight. "Through" in that I've connected in the airport at least once, and then on a train through Belgium a few times. Other than that - not Brussels and not Bruges.. I'm really excited - despite the crappy weather I'm sure to see next week.

I won't have a car. Don't think I'll need one this time around - the battlefield tour will have a pickup in Bruges and I'll be with them all day, and the other towns are apparently a 30 minute train ride and then I'll wander in the towns.

Sure, if you have resto names, and can get them without too much bother, that would be great. They will go on my list!

This is trip number 5 to Europe this year, muahahahaha
 
Only been there twice - 1971 and much more recently for meetings in Brussels. Can't help much with this one. Have fun. And did someone say something about enjoying the beer? :D
 
Funny movie, but I find it ironic that someone would go to Europe over Thanksgiving considering part of the reason for the Holiday is we wanted to get the hell away from there in the first place.
 
I'll see if I can get my mom to send some names of good places to go. I'm sure you'll have fun, although the weather this time of year is rather depressing. When I was there earlier this month we actually had nice weather, though (surprisingly).
 
The beers brewed by Trappist monks are the best, Chimay is one of many. Pricey, but well worth it. Bruges is sort of like a European version of Dearborn village or Colonial Williamsburg. It has its charms, although the Groeningmuseum is worth the trip. They have a collection of primitives that is unbeaten anywhere. I stayed away from anyplace selling chocolate and waffles, they were just stops for fat English tourists.

The train will take you just about everywhere. The number 11 tram goes to the city center in Ghent, and it is quite spectacular. I mostly walked everywhere in Brussels, the center city isn't all that big. The central square, with its Stathouse and Guild halls is not to be missed.

The Belgians claim to cook French food better than the French. I don't know about that, but the French restaurants in which I dined were far better than anything I can get in the US. Have fun.
 
woodstock said:
I'm heading to Belgium in a few days. I know we have a lot of beer aficionados here, not to mention chocoholics (well, who isn't one, I ask?).

I'll be staying in Bruges and Brussels but moving around a little bit - Ieper for a day (WWI battlefield tours) and Ghent. Possibly Antwerp if I have time.

Any tips? I have a list of beers and chocolates to seek out, just thought I'd check in here too. General "you gotta see this" ideas are great too. I haven't planned much - I figured I'd play it all by ear and there is no way I'll run out of things to see. The lodging is secured and I know what tour guide I'll use for the battlefields but not which day I'll tour them, yet - I figured I'd wait for the least rainy day to tromp battlefields.
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If you haven't read it before, read The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. If you've read it (or have other knowledge about how WWI came to be), you'll know exactly what I'm talking about; if you haven't, it will help put what you see into perspective.

Seriously. It's the type of book that you can read in a single night, because you can't put it down - and, on top of that, it's an accurate book.
 
woodstock said:
This is trip number 5 to Europe this year, muahahahaha
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flyersfan31 said:
You are a bad person and I hate you.:mad3::mad3::mad3::mad3:
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Gee, I only got to Europe twice this year (well, three times if you consider the break in the middle of the trip this summer where I hit Asia and Africa sandwiched between starting and ending in Europe) :D:D:D I spread it around a bit as I also went to Australia and Taiwan. :D:D:D Difference for me? Only one trip was for fun, the other three were for work.

We won't talk about Scott's travels. :frown2: He makes Elizabeth and me look like stay-at-homes. :rofl:

In Q1 next year it will be Europe (Germany) and Taiwan again. Q2, who knows? Work never ends.
 
Ghery said:
Gee, I only got to Europe twice this year (well, three times if you consider the break in the middle of the trip this summer where I hit Asia and Africa sandwiched between starting and ending in Europe) :D:D:D I spread it around a bit as I also went to Australia and Taiwan. :D:D:D Difference for me? Only one trip was for fun, the other three were for work.

We won't talk about Scott's travels. :frown2: He makes Elizabeth and me look like stay-at-homes. :rofl:

In Q1 next year it will be Europe (Germany) and Taiwan again. Q2, who knows? Work never ends.
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I'm very lucky in that none of them were work trips. In fact, this year is the first year in a long time that I didn't get on a plane to go somewhere for work - although my biz trips are typically only to New York City or Chicago for legal-ed conferences which means I stay an extra day to go sightseeing and shopping.

Next year I may get a few trips to South America - for work - but I do plan to extend a few days to get some sightseeing in.

David, I should have asked you this a few weeks ago so that Amazon would have had time to deliver a copy to me by now. Maybe I'll swing by B&N tonight - that can be my plane book.

Ted, sure, any ideas are great.

Steingar, I HAVE TO have gaufres! I was told it was a must.

Ed, last year I only went to Europe twice, most trips were in the US, don't worry, I do my eco-stimulus part all the time here anyway.
 
woodstock said:
...

David, I should have asked you this a few weeks ago so that Amazon would have had time to deliver a copy to me by now. Maybe I'll swing by B&N tonight - that can be my plane book.

....
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I would.

It's well worth reading simply as a monument to the stupidity of man; knowing (or perhaps not knowing, depending on how you look at things) what the battlefields you'll see were for will be...I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for here.
 
Obi Heed Kenobi said:
I would.

It's well worth reading simply as a monument to the stupidity of man; knowing (or perhaps not knowing, depending on how you look at things) what the battlefields you'll see were for will be...I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for here.
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Hey!

Duh - I thought her name rung a bell - I'm halfway through "A Distant Mirror" which I think I may take with me, if I can't find the Guns of August tonight.
 
In honor of your upcoming trip, I'm having a Gulden Draak for my own little happy hour right now. Ummm. Yummy.

I happened to buy a mixed case of Belgian beer last trip to the beer distributor. What a coincidence!
 
Obi Heed Kenobi said:
I would.

It's well worth reading simply as a monument to the stupidity of man; knowing (or perhaps not knowing, depending on how you look at things) what the battlefields you'll see were for will be...I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for here.
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Bought and going in suitcase.
 
La Grand Place in Brussels has lots of good bars and restaurants. I forget what Belgian beers I liked as its been a while since I've been there. Brugges is very nice, but I never got the lace thing. I'm a guy so I'm not supposed to, but Elizabeth, you may like it. Very picturesque. Enjoy!
 
Ghery said:
Gee, I only got to Europe twice this year (well, three times if you consider the break in the middle of the trip this summer where I hit Asia and Africa sandwiched between starting and ending in Europe) :D:D:D I spread it around a bit as I also went to Australia and Taiwan. :D:D:D Difference for me? Only one trip was for fun, the other three were for work.

We won't talk about Scott's travels. :frown2: He makes Elizabeth and me look like stay-at-homes. :rofl:

In Q1 next year it will be Europe (Germany) and Taiwan again. Q2, who knows? Work never ends.
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I was in Europe only once this year as well. Well twice maybe if you consider passing through Frankfurt getting to visit Europe

I got to Dublin. I was disappointed in the beers there. It was all imported; Budweiser, Lienekugel, etc. CRAP! I could have stayed in the US and gone to fake Irish pubs and gotten that crap. I am looking forward to going to Amsterdam this summer. It will be my third time there and it is such a nice city.
 
EdFred said:
Funny movie, but I find it ironic that someone would go to Europe over Thanksgiving considering part of the reason for the Holiday is we wanted to get the hell away from there in the first place.
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I thought the reason for the holiday was America's pride in defeating the Native Americans and then making them hunt for us and build casinos? :rolleyes::D
 
This time of year? A pair of rose color Maui Jims to cut through the gloom and put a tinge of color on the grey. Also Ooestende, probably my favorite town in Belgium, The Mercator is very photogenic and affords a nice view if you can talk your way into the rigging...

2780850042

2780845612
 
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I'm here! In Brussels - left Bruges this morning (4 nights). I absolutely love Bruges, despite the almost non-stop rain all week (actually it did stop each evening which enabled me to get to and from dinner without getting soaked).

I spent one entire day in Ieper on a guided tour of the battlefields. That was incredibly interesting. I did not know that they are STILL conducting funerals every year for soldiers that turn up - literally turn up, as in when a farmer is plowing his field! :yikes: There are about 57,000 missing soldiers, still, and each year they find a few more. Almost 100 yrs later! That blew me away.

Other than Ieper, I spent the whole 4 days in Bruges and didn't run out of things to do - though to be fair had it been nice walking weather I probably could have stepped up the pace and seen more (for instance I didn't even bother to leave the B&B until almost 11 AM each morning and came back by 4 to dry off and warm up before heading out again). I did do an awful lot of walking though - there are a lot of canals with pretty canalside walks!

I left for Brussels this AM, and here I am. I'm calling Uncle on the weather though - after wandering the Grand Place, the Musee des Beaux Arts, and an early dinner, I had a nice hot soak and am now ensconced in this REALLY nice hotel with a book and some goodies I've acquired over the week. (Speculoos, chocolates, some Kriek, La Chouffe, etc...). Tomorrow I'll venture out for a few more museums and more choco-binging I mean buying, and then Sunday AM I am heading home. I'm actually ready to come home - I don't do "cold AND rainy" on vacation very well - pick one! just one.

By the way, I don't think it's possible to go wrong with a Belgian beer pick, so, my tip of the week is that if you ever find yourself in a bar and in need of making a beer choice, go Belgian if you can and you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Henning - I've been to Ostend before but it was in the pre-Chunnel days - I took the night ferry from Ostend to Dover on that trip.
 
woodstock said:
By the way, I don't think it's possible to go wrong with a Belgian beer pick, so, my tip of the week is that if you ever find yourself in a bar and in need of making a beer choice, go Belgian if you can and you are unlikely to be disappointed.
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Yes you can...Rodenbock, it has a hint of....what is that flavor?..... Oh yeah, battery acid.....:eek::eek::eek:
 
smigaldi said:
I am looking forward to going to Amsterdam this summer. It will be my third time there and it is such a nice city.
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Amsterdam's OK, but it's far from my favorite European city. When you do go, it's worth the trek out to the Kroller-Mueller museum in the country....
 
wsuffa said:
Amsterdam's OK, but it's far from my favorite European city. When you do go, it's worth the trek out to the Kroller-Mueller museum in the country....
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I am contemplating (contemplating) a trip there in April to see the tulips. I'm on the fence because I only visited the beach twice this year (5 nights total) and should spend more time at my house there, and, I'm also eyeing Mendocino/the Redwoods/Napa sometime next summer. Plus the trip to England with the fam. Next year might bring only one European vacation, we will see.

Meanwhile, I got a small start on the photos - better yet, in this link are three short vids of the Hotel de Ville son et lumiere show. Xmas lights!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalkerbeth/sets/72157622766130925/
 
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