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Tag: Martijn

Hash Pride Hash in Amsterdam

Hash Pride Hash in Amsterdam

Published on 1 August 2026

No, not that kind of hash—although I’ve been offered to buy some in Amsterdam many times—but as usual for me, it was time for another beery run! For the third time in a row (after 2025 and 2024), I joined the Amsterdam H3 to run, drink, and watch the Pride Amsterdam Canal Parade.

This time I didn’t take a Eurostar, nor a ‘normal’ train to Amsterdam, but for the very first time, I took the EuroCity Direct. Annoyingly, this train doesn’t stop in Brussels Central station, but like most international high speed trains, it departed from Brussels Midi. The train wasn’t too crowded though—at least until Rotterdam—and I was happy to discover there were power sockets and USB A ports at every pair of seats! 

After arrival in Amsterdam Zuid train station, my first order of business was to get to the general area of the parade and hash, and get some coffee in me. My pick of the day was photo gallery and coffee shop LYUBLU on the Waterlooplein, serving coffee by local roastery Stean’s Beans.

Then it was time to find the hashers in the Wertheimpark. Usually they’re quite easy to spot, with their flashy clothes, but on a Pride day, they didn’t quite stand out that much! We didn’t wait very long before starting the run, because the aim was to be back before the start of the parade. So the run was short—just a little over 5 km—and sweet, with some nice views on the floats and spectators getting ready. After the run we convened back in the park for lunch, and to watch the parade.

Apparently it was WorldPride, so a bit of a special edition of the Pride Amsterdam Canal Parade, drawing even more visitors than usual to Amsterdam, and to our little corner of the park in particular. This made it a bit harder to get a good view—or photos—of the floats, but luckily I could see a bit more from the nearby bridge.

After a nice afternoon with hash friends, barbecuing, and beer, I slowly made my way back to Amsterdam Zuid train station, but not after a stop at Gollem. So, there are actually several Gollem beer bars in Amsterdam, and by foolishly just following directions of a map app, I ended up at Gollem aan het Water, not the Gollem I actually intended to go… The beer offer was a bit smaller—especially on draught—but I didn’t have time to try that many anyway. They did have a Flammkuchen though, which I needed and enjoyed.

I made it to the station just in time, so two hours later, I was back in Brussels again.

InterScandi Saturday

InterScandi Saturday

Published on 13 June 2026

Regular readers will know by now: the Saturday of a weekend-long hash event always includes a long run during the day, a nice dinner, and a party. InterScandi was of course no different. 

After breakfast, colourful groups of participants took off at different times for each of the different difficulty levels of trail. For the trail I chose—simply know as the “long” trail—the start was actually from Snippen, a train station one stop away from our accommodation in Kjelsås. From the train we could already see what to expect: lots of rocky climbs and descents, dense woods, and rain… While clouds and mist obscured some of the views, it was still a beautiful 16km run/walk/climb.

For dinner we had a tasty and satisfying Indian curry—I guess my exploration of Norwegian cuisine will have to wait until Sunday evening—and some kind of crumble for dessert. 

The party—themed “Circus”—included live music by “WrONg DirectiON”, a group of musical hashers. Oh, and I found out Face ID doesn’t work if I’m wearing a clown’s nose…

Sunny Sweden, Rained Out Run

Sunny Sweden, Rained Out Run

Published on 10 June 2026

A new country, a new city, and a newfound appreciation for beer! First impressions of Sweden were great, and as expected, the hashers in Stockholm very welcoming. 

A hot shower to start the day in sunny Sweden. Well, it was sunny for about five minutes after I opened the window blinds of my compartment… It was just enough though to enjoy my boxed breakfast in the sun. In the end, the train was even fifteen minutes ahead on schedule, allowing me some extra time—and snacks—in the SJ Lounge at Göteborg Central. Any other week I would not have needed to stop at Göteborg, but track works—although announced well in advance—made a transfer there unavoidable. 

After queuing for a bit to get on the SJ X 2000, I found my extremely roomy seat, and I was on my way to Stockholm, the original destination of my sleeper. Within minutes a train attendant came to confirm my lunch order, and then later served it at my seat, at exactly the requested time. 

After arrival, and a short metro ride, I could already check-in to my hotel: Citybox Stockholm.  No people involved at all, or even in sight, but I was able to sort it out with just the consoles. It even seemed the machines had upgraded me to a very roomy, accessible room on the ground floor! Considering it was a room without windows—so no street noise anyway—that was just perfect!

Then it was time for my first proper coffee since Monday, at Drop Coffee, with some pastry from Svedjan Bageri. 

But then it was time for a big moment: my first alcoholic beer in a month! In case you missed it: after my birthday brewery crawl, I had given alcohol a rest for exactly thirty-one days. So my first proper, alcoholic beer after that time was in Stockholm, in Akkurat, to be accurate. And boy, did it taste good!

I also had some homemade köttbullar there, served with cream sauce, pickled cucumber, lingonberries & mashed potatoes. 

A new city usually also means a new hash, so I went back to the hotel to change, and was off to Fruängen—with the underground—for Stockholm Underground H3 Run 1656 – The Hot Dog Run. A sudden downpour just before the run was about to start, meant not all markings were as legible as intended… We found the drink stop, though!

After circle I headed back to the centre, for the Fjäderholmarnas Bryggeri tap takeover at The Mad Hatter. 

To finish the night, I went to Omnipollos Hatt, for some IPAs, and of course a slushie…

Brussels Breweries Tattoo Tour – Quinquagenarian Edition

Brussels Breweries Tattoo Tour – Quinquagenarian Edition

Published on 9 May 2026

When I just had my Brussels breweries tattoo in 2022, featuring my seven favourite local breweries, I celebrated the occasion by visiting them all in one epic taproom crawl… It became an annual event, and since I was turning 50 years old this year—and apparently that is significant—I did the fifth edition of my Brussels Breweries Tattoo Tour a bit earlier than usual, actually on my birthday, on the 9th of May!

The visited breweries were—as always—Cantillon, L’Ermitage, Mazette, La Mule, La Senne, La Source, and Surréaliste. Seven breweries, seventy minutes in each taproom, and at least one birthday beer in each…

Continue readingBrussels Breweries Tattoo Tour – Quinquagenarian Edition
Brussels Ink…

Brussels Ink…

Published on 5 March 2026

Once you start getting tattoos, you can’t stop yourself from getting more, I’ve heard people say. Well, I guess that is what’s happening, because here is my fifth tattoo all of a sudden…

It all happend a bit more sudden than even I expected! I actually had a big project in mind for my next tattoo—still a work in progress—but instead my fifth tattoo turned out a little cute one… My first flash tattoo!

The unexpected occasion was a “Tattoo Party” for International Women’s Day at BBP Bailli, with the tattoo artists of Koko Tattoo doing their thing, and the launch of the beer Brussels Ink. Among them was Laïs, the artist who did my Brussels breweries tattoo on the other side of my arm.

The day before the event I looked at the the proposed flash tattoos shared on social media, and I immediately noticed the little Teku glass with a dot on it—a simplified version of the typical Brussels Beer Project glass. It would make a great addition to my arm! When I arrived at the bar—quite late, because I had a meeting first—I checked if it was still available, and luckily it was. So, a beer and half an hour later, I had a new tattoo…

Fun fact: almost ten years ago, I actually met one of the creators of the Teku glass—Lorenzo “Kuaska” Dabove—at a beer tasting he hosted at Nuëtnigenough!