FyneFest Trip – Day 5

Published on 2nd June 2023

FyneFest: Tasting Time!

Today was the first full day of FyneFest!

I started the day with a bacon and egg breakfast roll from Hector & Harriet. After that there was not much else to do than wait for the bar to open. It was supposed to open at eleven, but there was a bit of a delay, and I actually didn’t mind at all!

After a couple of beers, the first live band of the day, and a pork burrito from Meksikan, it was time for a Malt Masterclass, led by Muntons Malt.

After that it was already time for dinner: some brisket on fries from Ròst.

Followed by more beers, more music, and then some more beer…

FyneFest Trip – Day 1

Published on 29th May 2023

Out of Kilter in Glasgow!

For breakfast on the Caledonian Sleeper I had the full Scottish, as usual. I’m happy to report it’s being served on real crockery again! Mere minutes after I finished my tea, my train arrived in Glasgow Central fifteen minutes early.

To change things up a bit and try something new, I booked a room in the Z Hotel Glasgow this time. It was my first port of call after arrival, not to check in—it was still a bit early for that—but to drop off my baggage.

Today I started with coffee quite a bit earlier than yesterday: at 7.45 I was already sipping my first cortado and killing some time at Gordon St Coffee.

Something I simply had to do after seeing and enjoying the show “Inside Central Station”, was a Glasgow Central Station Tour, so I was booked for the one at 10:00. For a moment I thought I had to do the tour without any celebrities present, but eventually Paul Lyons did make a few appearances!

After an early lunch at Riverhill Coffee Bar, I could then already check in at my hotel, giving me some time to recharge before starting a filled afternoon.

Just before my trip, I renewed my membership of the National Trust for Scotland, and the first of their properties I visited this trip, was the Tenement House.

Because I was well ahead on my schedule, I decided to already visit BrewDog Glasgow Kelvingrove, my favourite Scottish BrewDog bar. Then I reverted back to my planning, to have an Indian style fully vegan burger—the Roberto Bhaji-O—and some beers at BrewDog Merchant City.

By then it was time to change into my hash kilt, and head to The Rose Reilly, to hash with Glasgow H3, where I’m still known as Out of Kilter…

London Trip – Day 3

Published on 28th January 2023

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More Hashing & Hammerton

Another day starting with a breakfast buffet! Not to fuel me for a morning of museums this time, but for a mid-day run. Today I ran with another kennel: the OG London Hash House Harriers. I packed all my stuff, put on my running gear, checked out, and headed to The Golden Fleece, where the run would start at one. More nice hashers—and some familiar faces from Thursday—a lot of banter, again a really nice, touristy trail, and of course some beer at the end…

After the run I still had some time—although less than planned—to check off a few more beery places on my list. Caps and Taps and Indiebeer are primarily beer shops, so an excellent opportunity to buy a couple of cans to take home. Of course I also had to taste a some of the beers they had on draught…

My last stop this trip was the Hammerton Brewery, a microbrewery in Islington. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed, so I had to forego the pizza I was hoping for… The beers and cracklings were nice, though!

Eventually I made it back to St. Pancras International in time for my Eurostar back home.

So long London, is has been a blast, and see you again in a couple of months!

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London Trip – Day 1

Published on 27th January 2023

Waterloo & West London H3

The last time I was in London for more than a couple of hours, is almost four years ago! About time to visit it again, so today I finally found myself once again on a Eurostar under the English Channel. Lots of queueing—the train was full—but at least the biometric gates now worked with my Belgian comic strip passport.

Since I didn’t have time for a coffee before my departure in Brussels, and because I had a bit of time to kill before I could check-in in my hotel, my first stop in London was at Redemption Roasters for some—apparently—prison-roasted coffee, and a piece of banana bread.

My hotel for this trip is again the very conveniently located—right next to the station—hub by Premier Inn King’s Cross. I’ve stayed there once before, returning from one of my Scotland trips. A swift check-in, change into my kilt, and it was time to hit the town!

First up was Mother Kelly’s Bottle Shop & Taproom in Vauxhall. Their taprooms had been on my to-do list for years, but somehow I never made it… This one has 33 beers on tap, so it wasn’t hard to find some beers I liked! The music I didn’t like that much, so after two beers I moved on.

The second stop was the Waterloo Tap. The bar is part of the same family as the Euston Tap, my usual last stop before boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, so I kind of knew what to expect: a nice selection of keg and cask beers. I wasn’t wrong about that, but the venue itself was so much more open than the Euston Tap: it was basically a rather narrow railway arch with windows put in on both sides!

Then it was time to visit BrewDog Waterloo. At that moment it was still the newest London BrewDog bar, but that would soon, very soon, change… I’ve visited BrewDog bars of all sizes, but this one is just ridiculously large: apart from the bar space itself—with 60 taps—and a micro-brewery like we’ve seen in other Outposts, this location also has a separate coffee bar, an indoor ice cream van, a hidden cocktail bar, a podcast recording studio, duckpin bowling, and a slide! My stomach was still on Belgian time, so I seized the opportunity to give the Vegan Allstars menu a try, and had a portion of Loaded Skins.

I didn’t want to eat too much, because the next activity on the schedule was a run, with the West London Hash House Harriers. In The Old Star pub I quickly changed into my running kilt and shoes, and off we went! As usual when hashing, I met a lot of nice people, and as luck would have it, it turned out to be a very tourist friendly trail!

The last stop of the evening was BrewDog Wandsworth, for its Equity Punk (pre-opening) night, that just happened to be during my visit to London. So yes, from now on until the next one opens, that is the newest BrewDog bar in London! I managed to chat to some people I’ve been reading on the EFP forum for years, and some I had met before. It was a really nice way to end my first evening in London.

Wien, Bayern & Berlin Reise – 7

Published on 1st October 2022

Berlin by Boat

After awaking in my last hotel for this trip, I had breakfast at Zeit Für Brot, and a visit to the Tränenpalast, to learn a bit more about a side of Berlin I wasn’t too familiar with yet.

A first coffee at Café Neundrei, and it was time for a little cruise on the Spree, in a canal boat from Amsterdam, converted to be 100% electric now.

For lunch I went to Markthalle Pfefferberg, one of the newest trendy food places. Fewer restaurants than I expected there to be, but the Kerala fried chicken burger was quite tasty nevertheless. Quality over quantity, right? Although the quantity of the food from Gully Burger was more than sufficient as well…

In the far east of Berlin was Dark Matter, where I discovered—among many other mesmerising things—the clean future of campfires.

Another coffee at Tres Cabezas, and it was finally time for beer! First up was Straßenbräu, followed by Bräugier Ostkreuz—where Certified Cicerone Oli gave me some helpful tips for my upcoming exam—Schalander, Protokoll of course, and to finish the night with some dirty fries and a stamp, Brewdog Friedrichshain.