Tag: coffee

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].

34 minutes…

34 minutes…

Published on 17 December 2025

Apparently it only takes a 34 minute train ride to get from Brussels to Lille! So this cloudy afternoon in December, I found myself once again in Brussels Midi for my shortest high speed train ride ever.

This train ride was unique in more than one way: it was also my first time travelling by TGV INOUI. It definitely wasn’t the train’s first ride though! One of the armrests of my seat fell off, and everything else felt a bit dated as well.

Age hadn’t slowed down this train, and it raced through Flanders—both Belgian and French—with a speed of nearly 300 km/h. Consequently, we arrived in Lille Europe perfectly on time.

After a quick check-in at hotel ibis Lille Centre Gares, I headed to Coffee Makers. I had been there last time I was in Lille, but since it’s the specialty coffee shop nearest to the station—and my hotel—it was the obvious choice.

Also near the station was HEIN – Brique House, the Lille taproom of said brewery. From there it was a ten minute walk to BeerChope. As the name would suggest, it is indeed a beer shop, but if you would walk in there unsuspectingly, you’d think it’s just a normal bar…

Just across the square was BBP Lille, another taproom of one of my neighbourhood breweries. Very recognisable as a BBP venue, both from the outside and the inside! And just like BBP Bailli, with a very prominent pizza oven.

For a taste of some northern French cuisine I went to A Taaable. Unfortunately that was a bit of a letdown… I probably should have known that there would be quite a bit of cartilage in Les Pieds de Cochon et Queue de Bœuf en Andouillette, so that’s on me. But the fact that it wasn’t even hot in the middle was totally on them! So when they asked the usual “Was everything okay?”, I actually told them the truth, and they comped me the meal.

On to more beer then, at Beer Square! I had hoped to get some more food there—since I only finished half my plate—but unfortunately the kitchen was already closed. The beers were nice though, as was the artisanal dry sausage!

To finish the evening, I went to La Capsule, the favourite bar during my last visit to Lille. The beer list was just as cracking as last time, and the bar staff was really helpful in helping me avoid the beers I would be able to drink at the Five Cail brewery taproom tomorrow anyway.

Babel & Backhuhn

Babel & Backhuhn

Published on 28 October 2025

Last full day of this trip, still in wonderful Wien! It’s a Tuesday, so the museums are all open again, including the Wien Museum and Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Lots of walking around ahead, so a small breakfast won’t do today. The Morgenmuffel at Café Goldegg was exactly what I needed: basically an English breakfast in a baguette. And a basket of chips…

The Wien Museum was being renovated last time I visited, but today I finally got a proper introduction to Vienna’s history!

Kaffeefabrik, on the other hand, was indeed open last time I was in the city, but definitely worth a revisit.

Caffeinated again, I went to check out where all those Bruegel paintings ended up: in the Kunsthistorisches Museum apparently. Best known of his paintings there probably is the Tower of Babel, but I recognised several others. The Roman collection was quite impressive as well!

By this time, breakfast was largely digested, so I headed to the Bitzinger Würstelstand for a Käsekrainer sausage. Well, I was unpleasantly surprised by a very long queue—there was none when I passed it the day before—so I went to Würstelstand Südtirolerplatz near my hotel for that cheesy sausage instead.

In the evening there was one more bar completely new to me to discover: Die Freunderlwirtschaft. Not that many (craft) beers on draught, but there was a surprisingly diverse selection in the fridge.

achtundzwanzig was the perfect place to meet up with a friend again, and enjoy some Brew Age beers.

The last stop tonight was Gastwirtschaft Stopfer, for the Ausgelöstes Backhuhn im Körberl. A great ending to my last night in Vienna!

Wieder in Wien

Wieder in Wien

Published on 27 October 2025

To break up the return trip a bit—and because it’s a great city—I decided to have a two day stop in Vienna. I’ll revisit familiar places, visit some new ones, and of course enjoy the architecture, food, and beer!

Upon arrival of my sleeper train in Wien Hbf, I could already see my hotel from the platform. How’s that for nearby? When I presented myself at the reception desk of the ibis Wien Hauptbahnhof—fully expecting to just leave my bag there—I was informed my room was already available. Keep in mind, it was only 8:30 in the morning! Since I already had a shower—albeit cold—on the train, and I had tickets for something starting at 10:00, I just hung my MacLaren kilt to air out a bit, and headed out again.

Since breakfast isn’t provided on the Dacia Express, a quick stop at 15 Süße Minuten was in order, for a small breakfast of fresh rolls, butter, and chives. Deliciously simple, and simply delicious!

So the thing I had timed tickets for, was the morning exercise at the Spanische Hofreitschule. Let’s say it was not quite what I expected: it really was just little exercises of a couple of horses and their riders, two thirty minute sessions of that, and just a tiny bit of explanation just before and after each session. Not a rehearsal for the afternoon performance or anything like that. And no photos of the actual training allowed! I wasn’t surprised that halfway the second session, people already started walking out…

After lunch at Leberkas-Pepi, and a coffee at NÜD, it was time for the apparently very popular Haus der Musik. Is was more experience than museum, but it was a bit too busy for me to experience much…

After some shopping at the Original Salzburger Trachtenoutlet—you’ll have to wait until next year’s Oktoberfest to see what I bought—a coffee, at Koun Coffee this time.

I then finally went back to the hotel for a shower—hot this time—and a change, before heading out for my first beers. Unfortunately Hanf & Hopfen was closed this week, so instead I had yet another coffee a little down the street, at Coffee Junkie.

This means my first beers of the day were at Mel’s Craft Beers, where I spent quite a long and pleasant time.

Before imbibing more, with just a small breakfast and a rather small lunch in me, I had to really eat something a bit more substantial. The Waldviertler Knödelgröst´l at Waldviertlerhof was exactly what I needed!

A quick stop at Wombat’s bar—which in despite of serving some craft beer, very decidedly had a hostel vibe—and of course I finished the night at Ammutsøn, where I celebrated Zwanze Day in 2022.

Transylvania Halloween Hash 2025

Transylvania Halloween Hash 2025

Published on 26 October 2025

The drinking already properly been taken care of, it was time to do something about that running problem of ours! So there was a proper Transylvania Halloween Hash trail on Saturday, and a hangover trail on Sunday, to recover from the Halloween party in between.

On those hash weekends I usually don’t pick the most extreme and long trail, aptly called the Ball-Breaker Trail. However, this weekend there were two options to choose from, and I considered the short one too short. We were told the Ball-Breaker Trail “includes extreme increases and decreases in elevation, and is only advised for the hashers looking to run, sweat, and cry…” Well, I didn’t cry, but I certainly felt those more than 600 meters of elevation gain, and was full of bloody scratches. And boy, were my knees happy I brought some poles! This was the first trail I ever did that came with a bear warning, by the way…

After dinner we had the Transylvania Halloween Hash Party, once again with Hop Hooligans on draught!

On Sunday there was a short Hangover Trail, after which the weekend was officially brought to an end with a Closing Circle.

Since many of us needed to get back to Braşov, mismanagement had kindly arranged a bus, to take us to the station.

While most had to catch a train to Bucharest just an hour later, mine was over two hours later, so I dropped of my bag at the station, and headed into town.

Some coffee at Meron—I hadn’t had decent coffee since Friday—and some last Romanian beers at The Beer Corner — and one to go, to drink on the train.

Then it was time to head back to Braşov station to pick up my bag, and catch the Dacia Express sleeper to Wien Hbf. No issues this time either, and it seems I won the en-suite lottery! There are only a few rooms with shower and toilet on this train, and it is impossible to select when booking: one just has to wait and see… I lucked out this time, so I will be able to start my day in Wien clean and fresh!