Skip to content

Tag: Martijn

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!

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!