Tag: breakfast

Battleship for Beginners

Published on 11 June 2026

A new day in a city I have only hashed and drunk in so far, that means museum time! And of course, the ongoing quest to try national dishes, and as many local beers and bars as possible…

Sleeping anywhere but home is always a challenge, but after a very shaky night on a sleeper train, a night in that completely dark, immovable room at Citybox Stockholm was pure bliss… After I finally got out of bed, I went for breakfast at Greasy Spoon: a Classic Benedict, and a coffee by local roastery Lykke.

Time for the educational part of the day: the Nordiska museet! For once, a museum that didn’t start in prehistoric times, but in the 15th century. Still, there was plenty of history to cover!

Just around the corner was the Vasa Museum, the perfect example of what happens if you prioritise the customer’s wishes over common sense…Still, a beautiful ship!

For lunch I went to Östermalms Saluhall. After some browsing, I had the Rostbiff med dansk remoulade smörgås at Nybroe.

After easing into beer yesterday, I decided to start a bit earlier today, at Omnipollos Kyrka. A high-roofed building like that, just seems to be made for a brewery!

Quite a bit smaller was Ölkemi—I didn’t find the actual brewery—where I soon dominated the Untappd menu screens…

After so many hours without caffeine—and I wouldn’t mind something to eat either—it was time for coffee and an almond croissant at Café Pascal.

The next beer bar on my list was UDDA.

At Mikkeller Södermalm they were unable to scan any QR codes, but happy to believe I’m a Mikkeller Running Club member and gave me a discount anyway. Well, I did buy one of those very expensive MCR running shirts once, which included a membership, if I recall correctly… Oh, and I had the ‘traditional’ Swedish pizza kebab there.

Both Bar Kaja and Oliver Twist celebrated the launch of Repslagargrannar – Sola I Karlstad, but I had it in the former, and just another beer in the latter.

The last bar of the night for me was Stigbergets Fot, where I had the Dirty Tots to soak at least a bit of alcohol before, and another couple of lovely beers, because I just can’t help myself.

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…

Leaving Lille

Leaving Lille

Published on 19 December 2025

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If you want to read about this trip from start to finish, instead of in reverse order, click here!

The last day in Lille was going to be a very short one. Basically I’d just have breakfast and bail. But considering how easy and quick it is to get there, I might just return for a day trip another time!

Since my train would leave quite early, I had my breakfast in the hotel. Then it was time to say goodbye to ibis Lille Centre Gares, and make my way to the station. I first went to the ‘wrong’ station Lille Flandres, to see if I could get access to the lounge, but apparently my very cheap first class tickets didn’t qualify.

So I spent some more time in the very modern Lille Europe train station, where I discovered some huge wall paintings in the metro station part. But eventually it was time to board my TGV INOUI and head home again…

La Ville de Lille

La Ville de Lille

Published on 18 December 2025

After easing in to it with just a couple of hours yesterday, today was the day to fully experience the city of Lille! As usual I started with some culture, before drowning in coffee and beer.

My day started with the “Classic” bacon and egg roll at PADDO CAFE. It was definitely more fancy than any bacon roll I’d had before, but certainly a good way to start the day.

For the cultural part of the day I then first went to the Hospice Comtesse. Quite unexpectedly there was security with a handheld metal detector at the entrance, so I quickly had to move my pocket knife from my trouser pocket to my jacket, which foolishly wasn’t scanned or checked at all… Half of the exhibition was dedicated to the history of the building as a hospital founded by Flemish countesses—hence the name—and the other half was about the history of Lille in general.

Since I was still totally uncaffeinated at that point, I went for a coffee and a chocolate peanut butter cookie at Bloom Café.

Next on the programme was the Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille. Again there was security here, but this time even with metal detector gates. The jacket trick didn’t work this time—“Please put your jacket back on and deposit anything metal in the tray”—but luckily my knife is slightly smaller than my phone, so I managed to hide it underneath, and… they didn’t notice!

Once inside, I thoroughly enjoyed the museum. The collection was impressive enough, but I especially liked how the building was made into art as well, only fully visible when standing in very specific spots!

After another coffee at Chido Café, it was then time for my first beers at Sikaru, followed by La Mousse Touch’, and the Bar du Singe Savant.

For dinner I went to Le Broc, specialised in cheese dishes. La Trilogie du Broc definitely didn’t disappoint! I do have to mention though, that a country so proud of their cuisine, it’s funny to see how here in the North they’ve adopted a dish from the ridiculed United Kingdom—Welsh rarebit—and serving as Le Welsh in every second restaurant here!

To finish the day in style, two breweries: Fives Cail and hôp[i].

A Day of Deutsche Bahn…

A Day of Deutsche Bahn…

Published on 30 October 2025

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If you want to read about this trip from start to finish, instead of in reverse order, click here!

Time to go home! Just two high-speed ICE trains, with an easy, 51 minute transfer in Frankfurt am Main. Well, that was the plan, but when travelling with Deutsche Bahn, things hardly ever go as planned…

Since it would be quite a challenge to pack my bag—with more beer, pálinka, clothes, and goodies than I originally left Brussels with—I had my breakfast in the hotel. I even got around to trying the waffle iron this time! Once everything was squeezed in my bag, I checked out for the last time in a while, and went across the street to the station.

In Wien Hbf my ICE to Frankfurt (Main) Hbf was already waiting for at the platform twenty minutes in advance. Well, at least half of it was, so people with seats in the missing carriages were slightly panicking… The other half was attached a bit later, and the then complete train left on time, and stayed on time until we arrived at the first station in Germany… There, due to some ‘technical issues’, we stayed at the station way longer than scheduled… For a while, it still seemed feasible to catch my connection, but the closer we got, the more unlikely it became. Luckily it wasn’t my first time travelling with DB, so I had made sure not to be dependent on catching the last train to Brussels in Frankfurt.

We arrived in Frankfurt am Main Hbf about ten minutes after my scheduled connection left. Fine, I already made a seat reservation on the next—and last—train to Brussels, about an hour and a half later. So I left the station to get something to eat and kill the time. My first choice was a trendy hamburger restaurant, but there was a queue outside, so I went to a fast-food place instead. As it turned out, that queue probably saved my return journey…

Back in Frankfurt am Main Hbf, I went to the platform where my train would leave from. Just after I got comfortable for the wait, I noticed something on the departure board: my train would skip Frankfurt am Main Hbf, and depart from Frankfurt am Main Flughafen Fernbf instead! So I jumped on the first train heading in that direction, which dropped me off at the regional train station at the other side of the airport, and made my way over a dozen escalators and through long corridors to the right platform, which I got to in time.

And just when you think it’s over: another train in front of us broke down, so our ICE had to make a detour. Eventually, at ten minutes after midnight, I alighted in Brussels Midi station… Next time I’ll just take the ÖBB NightJet again!