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Highlands Detour

Highlands Detour

Published on 10 October 2026

When I opened the window blinds after waking up, I had a first glimpse of the rainy Highlands. So yes indeed, I travelled quite a bit further north than my eventual destination Glasgow, and I would first be spending my Saturday in Fort William and Glenfinnan. 

Of all the routes possible with Caledonian Sleeper London, the one to Fort William was the only one I hadn’t done yet. And I can now attest it is the best one: it is the one with the latest arrival—so plenty of time to lie in and get ready for breakfast—and the views the last couple of hours are incredible! Those views are best enjoyed while having a Scottish cooked breakfast, in the Club Car with large windows of course. 

After arriving a couple of minutes early, The Jacobite steam train was waiting at the opposite side of the platform, which was a nice bonus. 

After storing my bag for the last time this trip in another convenient Stasher location, I first headed to The Wildcat, for a nice Dear Green coffee. 

Since I had some time to kill before my next train, I visited the West Highland Museum. I had no idea the area had been so important for the training of commandos during WW II!

After a quick visit to the Caledonian Sleeper Guest Lounge to hydrate and recharge, I hopped on the ScotRail train to Glenfinnan. 

So I had a perfect plan: hike up to a spot with a good view on the Glenfinnan Viaduct, get there in time to see The Jacobite steam train pass over it, and catch it on photo and video. I made it there according to schedule, set up my video camera to record on a loop, had my phone camera at the ready, and then… nothing! 
Apparently the afternoon service I was waiting for, stopped for winter just two weeks before! I did get some nice photos of the viaduct though, although I got quite wet and muddy in the process… 

I then hiked back down and visited the Glenfinnan Monument & Visitor Centre, where I also picked up my NTS Member Passport. Woohoo, more stamp collecting!

The only train still going back to Fort William that day, was also the last train back to Glasgow. So instead of taking that one, I had booked a Peter’s Taxi to take me back to Fort William. That way I had time for some beers at the Black Isle Bar, and a venison salami pizza, but even more important: time to retrieve my bag! 

Then there was just one more train to take: the West Highland Line—so again great views, albeit duskier than this morning—to Glasgow Queen Street. 

After two nights wit little sleep, I couldn’t wait to check into my hotel—Premier Inn Glasgow City Centre St Enoch Square—have a shower, and go to bed… Because tomorrow will start way too early for a Sunday! 

First Stop: London

First Stop: London

Published on 9 October 2026

A trip to Scotland inevitably—for me at least—includes a train change in London. This time I really made the most of it, and included a visit to a museum, a brewery taproom, and an Indian restaurant for dinner. 

Of course of all days there was a national strike in Belgium today, disrupting public transport quite a bit. Luckily the metro and tram lines I needed to get to Brussels Midi station were still running, albeit less frequent. 

When I arrived—well ahead of time—the Eurostar terminal looked slightly different from last time… I soon found out what changed: whereas the British border control had been an automated passport scan for a quite a while already, the Belgian side now has similar gates as well. No human interaction at all required anymore! 

After boarding, I quickly found my comfortable solo seat, number 61. Not the one The Man in Seat 61 usually books, since his is in Premier class, while I was ‘just’ travelling in Plus. Note to self: check which power socket a booked seat has, because a UK plug and a USB-C cable aren’t much use when the seat only has a EU socket and USB-A outlet…

Plus class includes a light lunch, and today it was a grilled courgette and marinated fennel salad bowl, with Sicilian gemelli pasta with tomato, capers and olives, and basil ricotta. 

After arriving perfectly on time, I first headed to a Stasher location near Euston station, to store my bag for the day. After a rather short night, I was desperate for a coffee, so I headed to Origin Coffee Shoreditch for my first one. 

I picked that area to be already near the Museum of the Home, a free museum I hadn’t been to yet. It turned out to be quite nice! Although you start to feel old when the more recent interiors seem very familiar…

Time for another coffee at Gram’n Degrees, mainly to kill time until the Great Beyond Brewing Co brewery taproom opened. At the brewery they were still in full Oktoberfest mode, but luckily had some non-lagers—brewed in house, of course—as well!

Since my stomach was still on Belgian time anyway, I decided to beat the Friday night dinner crowd and head to Punjab restaurant early. I had one of their specialties, the Acharri Murgha, with some garlic naan and a mango lassi of course. Delicious!

After picking up my bag, I made my traditional stop at Euston Tap, for a last pre-train beer. Or three… 

The Caledonian Sleeper guest lounge wasn’t too full when I arrived, and I had my room key, some shortbread and Irn-Bru in no time. 

After boarding, I headed to the Club Car to hand in my breakfast card, and secured my stool at the window bar. While I was enjoying a Black Isle beer, the Caledonian Sleeper London Euston – Fort William departed perfectly on time. Just 925 km in 12h45 to go…

Razernij 2026

Razernij 2026

Published on 22 August 2026

Razernij – Beerdrinkers & Hellraisers in Rumst is definitely one of my favourite beer festivals in Belgium. This is in large part due to it actually having live music, and the bands are just as carefully selected as the invited breweries! The highlight in the line-up this year was The Real McKenzies.

After a short night—because of a night shift—and a well-caffeinated train and bus ride, I made it to that by now familiar field in Rumst. Somehow I even managed to be one of the first five festival goers to get their tokens, so I ‘won’ a book with beer poetry. No time to read though, but time to try the first beer! Funny story: the brewer from Maktoob Brewing actually recognised me from when I was in Bucharest last year! The kilt I wore probably helped him remember…

While trying and enjoying many more beers, the bands started playing: Mechels Laweit, The Scabby Knees, F.O.D., Shandon, and of course the Canadian Celtic punk band I was waiting for, The Real McKenzies!

Thanks Krikke, for organising this once again!

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.

Misery Fest 2026

Published on 25 July 2026

It had been way too long since I had been in beautiful Harzé to visit Misery Beer Co.… After a failed attempt last year, I finally made it to their birthday festival again this year!

When I visited their opening festival, there was a bus going all the way from Brussels. This time, there was just a shuttle bus from Liège station. It suited me just fine, since this way I had time for a coffee first.

The festival itself was all what I expected: great beers by Misery and three guest breweries—L’Ermitage, Verdant, and Pophin—terrific music, and tasty food. It was a hot day again, so I skipped the imperial stouts, but I tasted pretty much everything else.

After the last band, it was about time to get on the shuttle bus to the train station again. Some would come back the next day for more beers and different groups, but for me, just the one day was enough…