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Tag: Eurostar

Simmer Dim Trip

Simmer Dim Trip

Published on 17 June 2025

Finally! Another ‘big trip’! Not unexpectedly it’s to Scotland again, but with a very specific goal: experience the shortest night of the year—Simmer Dim—on Shetland. As usual, the first day is all about getting to Scotland: 1287 km in under 21 hours, including over 7 hours in London…

Faithfully filling out all those questionnaires from Eurostar meant I had gathered enough points to upgrade to Eurostar Plus. There’s no lounge access included in that class, but in Brussels that’s usually not really needed anyway. For me the most important advantage of class upgrades are the solo seats, but on trains to London, Plus actually includes a light meal and drinks as well! On the menu today: roast beef bowl with horseradish and lovage potato salad, green beans and courgettes, apricot bakewell. I also got to try the Two Tribes beer Nomad, brewed exclusively for Eurostar.

A wheelie bag, with a kilt roll and a backpack strapped to it, on the tiled platform of a Brussels metro station.

After arrival—just seven minutes late—I first headed to Hoppers for the second part of my lunch. Not that I didn’t enjoy the food on the train, but it was just a light meal, and definitely not enough for what was about to come… Also, Hoppers had been on my to-do list ever since I saw the founder as a guest chef on the Sorted YouTube channel. So I had an egg hopper, the Lankan chicken kari, tomato chutney, pol sambol, and seeni sambol, all of that with a Toddy Ale by SALT. 

I wouldn’t go too far from the train stations today, but still, taking my big wheelie bag—with a kilt roll and a smaller backpack strapped to it—would be quite annoying. So it was time to store my bag at what turned out to be the cutest Nannybag location I ever used. The lady running the shop calling me ‘dear’ all the time reinforced this even further…

Nineteenth century wooden shop fronts
Wheelie bag, with on top of it a yellow luggage tag with the number 08

After that I had some time to relax a bit and have the first decent coffee in days, at Store St Espresso. 

Inside view, a customer at the wooden counter

From there it was just a five minute walk to The Queen’s Head. I’ve been to this bar a couple of times—probably already my very first time in London—but the beer menu never disappoints! To soak up a bit of the beer before my last stop, I finished off with a Mr. Barrick’s pork pie. 

Classic pub facade, wooden tables in front
Beer on the bar, bar stools and people sitting at tables in the background
Interior
A half pint of pale ale on the bar
Dimple mug with dark beer on the bar, pump clip in the background

Then it was time to retrieve my bag while the shop was still open—even though the nice lady gave me clear instructions on what to do if it was closed—and head to my traditional pre-sleeper stop: the Euston Tap! It was sweltering inside, so after my first half, I ordered a pint to take outside. 

19th century gatehouse, stones engraved with destinations of trains leaving from Euston station, drinking after work people in front of it
Glass of beer on a table, with taps mounted to a copper plated wall behind it
A glass of beer balancing on a fence railing, the Euston Tap and its terrace in the background
Derelict 19th century gatehouse, stones engraved with destinations of trains leaving from Euston station

I didn’t stay too long, since I hadn’t tested the new Caledonian Sleeper lounge yet. It’s definitely nice they have a space of their own now: you already get your room key card—pre-activated, so no messing about with double-tapping—and an announcement when it’s time to board. And of course all the shortbread and Irn-Bru—and coffee and tea—you can stomach! The lounge was quite busy, but I still found a seat. 

When I was finally on board, I quickly dropped my bag in my room, filled out the breakfast card, and headed to the Club Car, for my traditional whisky and Scottish cheese plate. After my second dram, I decided it was time to go to bed, and spend most of the 914 km to Inverness sleeping. After all, breakfast will be served at 7:15…

So for now, time to take off my trousers and stash them away for the next two weeks, and get some sleep!

Paris Beer Festival: The Run

Paris Beer Festival: The Run

Published on 25 May 2025

Okay, technically the run isn’t part of the Paris Beer Festival… However, the Paris hashers made it a tradition to end the run in the festival week at the beer festival. Obviously, I joined them for this run!

After enjoying a coffee and some cake at Café Tranquille, I dropped off my bag at a Nannybag location near the Gare du Nord. That way, I wouldn’t have to go back to the hotel on my way home, yet still spend the day running and drinking unencumbered by a backpack.

Facade of Café Tranquille

Once that was taken care of, I went to metro station Michel Bizot, the start location of today’s hash.

I was a bit early, but soon the members of Sans Clue H3 started to arrive. As it turned out, there were only two runners, including me! In order to get to the beer festival in time—Sundays can be busy there, apparently—it would be a rather short run, and an even shorter circle.

Up until that point it had been quite a drizzly day, which probably helped to keep the queues short so far. It also meant that by the time we got in, most of the outside tables were still empty, so we managed to secure a spot for ourselves for the remainder of the festival.

Eventually it was time to go home though, so back to the Gare du Nord I went. The Eurostar left perfectly on time, and I was home again before dark…

Paris Beer Festival: The BarsFive small stemmed glasses filled with beer on a bar, tap handles in the background.

Paris Beer Festival: The Bars

Published on 23 May 2025

I’m back in Paris! This time the reason for my visit is a beer festival—my first French one—and a run—also my first French one!

I didn’t try any of the newer—cheaper—train options available, but took the comfortably quick Eurostar again. After arrival, I whipped out my Navigo card—which surprisingly still had a lot of rides on it—to take the métropolitain to my hotel for the weekend, the ibis Paris la Villette, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. After check-in, some coffee and banana bread at Kaffeebar 19, I was ready for an afternoon and evening of beer bars and breweries!

The slanted nose of a red Eurostar high speed train, waiting at the platform in Brussels Midi. The red lights give away this actually is the back of the train.
A busy platform in the station, red Eurostar trains on either side.
Paris Nord station in the background, an art nouveau style metro entrance in the foreground.
Double bed in a hotel room

With some places only opening at four or five, it was a bit of a puzzle. However, in the end I had a schedule that enabled me to visit all the bars and breweries I picked out for this trip! First up was Paname Brewing Company, near my hotel.

View on the terrace and facade.
The bar at Paname Brewing Company.
A beer on the bar at Paname Brewing Company.
A brewer between his kettles and tanks at Paname Brewing Company.

After that I had to take the metro again to get to Le BaB OPERA. While they didn’t actually have a Paris Beer Festival event on Friday, they still had most beers from a Nuka Brewing tap takeover the day before.

Five small stemmed glasses filled with beer on a bar, tap handles in the background.
Facade of the bar.
a drawbridge, with a very high and steep pedestrian bridge right next to it.

There were no events at I.B.U Petites Écuries and BEER Paris either, but they had some nice beers on nevertheless.

Facade
Facade
A glass of beer on the bar, a cutting board with a dry sausage and bread next to it, the tap handles and the menu in the background
Blackboard with beers listed in the background
Fridges full of beer, customers queueing
Racks full of beer

At brewpub Les Cuves de Fauve they did have a Paris Beer Week event: a Sudden Death tap takeover and collab brew.

Last stop of the night was L’Atalante—back near my hotel again—where they had a Kauri Brewery and Wabi Brewing tap takeover.

I could easily have spent hours in each of those bars—which were all new to me—but it was nice to at least have visited them briefly!

A lovely glass of beer on the bar.
A bowl of Chicken strips with a tub of sauce.
A glass of beer on the bar

Day 5 – Last Day, Last Hash…

Day 5 – Last Day, Last Hash…

Published on 21 September 2024 
Reached this post by just scrolling through my blog? 
If you want to read about this trip from start to finish, instead of in reverse order, click here!

On the last day of my trip I had one more hash to go, with London H3 this time, and at noon already. Once again, in the west of London, meaning another day spending quite a bit of time on trains again…

No hash with at least some food in my stomach, so my first stop of the day was at BrewDog Waterloo , for a Croissant Brunch Burger and some pancakes. Being at an Outpost, I had to try some of their beers brewed on site… Good morning!

After that, and had no time to lose, and took the South Western Railway to Barnes Bridge, from where the P trail lead me to The Coach and Horses pub, where the London H3 trail would start. It was a great hash to do as the last one during my London visit, but even though I only walked this one—I didn’t want to too sweaty on the Eurostar—if was definitely one of the longer ones!

After trail, it was time to get closer to my final departure station, and to my favourite London BrewDog bar: BrewDog Camden. I originally had other dinner plans, but since I was running a bit late, I just had some Korean loaded fries in the bar. 

Getting to the Eurostar station, through security, and onto the train: it all went pretty smoothly, so that marks the end of this trip.…

Day 1 – A Proper Visit to London

Day 1 – A Proper Visit to London

Published on 17 September 2024

Time for a proper revisit of London! While I did manage to squeeze in a new bar on my day trip in June, this week I’m actually staying for a couple of nights. That means I should be able to visit a whole lot more new—for me—bars, taprooms, museums, coffee shops, and even two hashes I didn’t run with yet!

The day before my trip I tried to change my seat on the Eurostar, so I wouldn’t have anyone next to me. However, when scanning my ticket upon entering the Eurostar terminal, I was reallocated a new seat and coach… It turned out to be one of four seats around a table! Luckily nobody showed up to sit across from me, so I could stretch my legs, and the guy next to me left soon after departure to find another seat. 

To find an affordable hotel in London, I had to venture a bit from the city centre, so after arrival in St. Pancras International I took the Piccadilly line all the way to Earl’s Court, to check in at easyHotel South Kensington to check in and drop off my bag. 

It was then time for my daily coffee, at HJEM Kensington this time, serving coffee from kiss the hippo roasters. 

For my first beers of the trip I went to The Queens Arms, one of the pubs listed in my book An Opinionated Guide to London Pubs, by Matthew Curtis. The first time I actually made it to one! I had a couple of halves and some miso chicken skewers, before heading back to the hotel to get changed for tonight’s run. 

After taking the District line to Putney Bridge, I arrived at The Bricklayer’s Arms to meet up with the City Hash House Harriers. Head torch at the ready, and off we went! It was a lovely trail, but rather dark, so I wasn’t able to take many useable photos…

After trail, I rushed to BrewDog Shepherd’s Bush, hoping to get there before the kitchen closed. I actually made it in time to enjoy The Feast, and some beers from their German Craft Beer Showcase! The last time I had been in this bar was in 2018, but it’s still definitely one of the nicer, small ones!