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Tag: The Netherlands

Visiting the ‘Dams

Published on 30 July 2021

As promised in my last blog post, earlier today I found myself back on the rails again already! This time I was in a Eurostar, and for the first time ever, not to get to London, but to go in the opposite direction, to Amsterdam. That is one of my two destinations for this trip, the other being Rotterdam. A’dam and R’dam for short, or, if you will, the two ‘Dams…

In Amsterdam I’m staying at easyHotel Amsterdam City Centre South again, so that is where I headed first to check in and get rid of my bag. Just a couple of minutes’ walk from the hotel there’s Scandinavian Embassy, a specialty coffee bar, where I got today’s caffeine fix.

And guess what? Now it’s time for some beer!

Brewery Run Virtual Edition

Published on 25 March 2021

I’ve started running a little over a year ago, but didn’t have an opportunity to participate in any events: the 20K of Brussels was postponed, then cancelled, and even the ‘corona safe’ Run for Nature in the Sonian Forest was cancelled last minute…

When Brewery Run popped up in my timeline, I just had to do it! Travelling to the Netherlands for one of the ‘live’ versions still wasn’t an option, but at least I could do the ‘Virtual Edition’ right at home, in Brussels. So I ordered a ‘ticket’—which included some Dutch beers and a medal/bottle opener—and set out a nice 10K route, visiting eight of Brussels’ breweries.

Continue readingBrewery Run Virtual Edition

Kielegat, or—as it’s usually known—Breda

Published on 24 February 2020

Breda is right across the Belgian-Dutch border, and they have a nice brewery there, so I’ve wanted to visit it for quite some time. After a couple of futile attempts to find a travel and drinking buddy for this trip, I finally went by myself this random Saturday in February. Only, it turned out to be not just a normal Saturday…

In the south of the Netherlands—Brabant, Gelderland, and Limburg, to be precise—carnival is a kind of a big thing. I should have known it was the opening Saturday of carnival that day, because I grew up in Limburg… However, it had completely slipped my mind. Only after seeing people dressed up on the train platform where I was to take my train into the town centre, it dawned on me…

Continue readingKielegat, or—as it’s usually known—Breda

Haarlem Trip

Published on 12 November 2016

When an e-mail with a special offer for a two person trip to the Netherlands arrived in our mailbox, we couldn’t let this opportunity slide. So just before the Christmas craziness and exam stress, we’re on our way to Haarlem. Even though the train only started its voyage in Brussels-Midi, it managed to depart in Brussels-Central with a fifteen minute delay…