Another evening behind a screen again, but nevertheless, dressed up for the occasion, and a plate of haggis, neeps, and tatties in front of me.
Slainte Mhath!

Another evening behind a screen again, but nevertheless, dressed up for the occasion, and a plate of haggis, neeps, and tatties in front of me.
Slainte Mhath!
This evening once again I mixed traditions.
Tartiflette is actually a French dish, but it’s also a staple at the Christmas market, that under normal circumstances, would have been right in front of my door for the past month. Chêne, a Belgian dubbel by Brussels brewery La Source, fits nicely with the nuttiness of the reblochon cheese, and with the the caramelisation of the bacon.
For dessert I went with oliebollen, a typical Dutch New Year’s Eve delicacy. Unlike the Belgian deep fried dough balls smoutebollen, these have raisins and currants in them, which I off course soaked in beer first!
With this sugar and fat overload, I had to choose a beer with enough character to withstand this sensory overload, so I picked OverWorks‘ Hocus Pocus, a 10.1% sour stout with raspberries and cocoa nibs, aged in Speyside whisky barrels. It was like having a raspberry-chocolate sauce on the side!
No hours spent on trains and buses on Christmas Day this year, the Corona restrictions and common sense made it impossible to travel to the Netherlands to spend Christmas with my family… Instead, I just made the best of it alone at home, trying to recreate a family Christmas as much as possible.
If there’s one night to drink BrewDog OverWorks‘ Krampus Nicht, it would be tonight: Krampusnacht!
Today, the 20th of November, is Saint-V, the day when the VUB and ULB students and alumni celebrate the foundation of the free universities of Brussels, and what they stand for.
This year the celebrations mostly take place online for understandable reasons, but that doesn’t keep me from wearing my traditional ‘studentenklak’ on this special day!
Every year special medals are made for the occasion, carrying that year’s motto. The Dutch version of the current edition would translate as “At a distance, but not distant”…
Halloween is not really a holiday I celebrate, but the mask seemed appropriate for the times we live in…
Don’t call the mask medieval, by the way: it is based on those of the now iconic 17th century plague doctors.
My collection of reusable coffee cups is getting a bit out of hand… I do use most of them, though!
In a few blog posts I’ve already mentioned I’m a BrewDog Equity Punk. This means I’ve invested a couple of pounds in BrewDog, and own some equity shares in the Scottish craft beer brewer and bar operator. Since they’ve just launched another round of Equity for Punks, and it’s announced to be the very last, I thought I’d share a thing or two about it, and maybe entice you to seize this final opportunity to become an Equity Punk yourself!
Of course, I’m not being entirely selfless here: if you invest using the button below this post, there might be a couple of beers and goodies in it for me…
… and the Scottish weather asks for a Scottish mask…
And for my Barbour Icons Bedale wax jacket of course!
My first leg of the journey was on an IC train. I’m not sure if it’s typical for this type, but it felt quite a bit older: lots of fake wood, actual curtains, no airconditioning… Next time I’ll try to make sure I only book ICEs!
And like it was on purpose, to rub in the fact that I had to cancel a large part of my trip, there was a ÖBB Nightjet waiting in Köln station!
The last leg was a proper ICE again, and even in seat 61! Perfect temperature, comfy seat, loads of space, and Komfort Check-in again! No clue how they actually check it, but every time I used it, they’ve always passed me by during ticket control.
Well, that was it, I’m almost back home! Hopefully next trip will be a bit longer again…