Hey everyone, I just booked a flight with Icelandair to Amsterdam in September. After a few nights in Amsterdam, I'll be heading to Belgium on the 10th. I'll have 12 nights before heading back to Amsterdam for my flight home. This won't be my first trip to Belgium so I plan on revisiting some favorites and visiting some new places. I was thinking about using Antwerp, Brussels and somewhere in West Flanders as bases. I was thinking about Bastogne and some other places, just not sure I'll be renting a car so I might hold off. I was wondering if Kortrijk would make a decent base for West Flanders? Any other suggestions? In that area, I was thinking about visiting Ypres and Bruges. It looks like Tournai would be an easy trip from there as well. One other thing I was hoping to get advice on... I took a bus from Brussels to Sint-Anna-Pede and did the Bruegel walk. During the walk, I popped into Cafe Sint Anna and Cafe In de Linde in Vlezenbeek. In both places, I tried ordering draft lambic, but the bartenders weren't solid with English so didn't know what I wanted. At Sint Anna, another customer was able to help out and at In de Linde, I was able to point to a bottle in the fridge. How would I ask for draft lambic in Flemish if I'm in a similar spot this trip? Thanks in advance.
Bastogne is ok if you like the military stuff but I prefer Dinant, and it is close to Caracole and the beer museum in Lustin, and is much more scenic than Bastogne. For West Flanders I'd consider Bruges or Poperinge over Kortrijk or Tournai and Gent is a great place to stay as well. The translation is lambik van het but there really aren't many places I can think of that have lambic on draft outside of the lambic brewing areas around Sint Peters Leeuw or Vlezenbeek since primarily it is a bottled product. Not sure of your September travel dates but Belgian Beer weekend is at the Grand Place in Brussels Sept. 7-9. Strongly advise getting the latest Tim Webb Good beer guide to Belgium book....
Thanks for the suggestions. I do enjoy military history as well as history in general which brought Bastogne (and Ypres) to my radar, but Bastogne would only happen if I end up renting a car for part of the trip. Namur and Dinant are on my radar as well. I have spent some time in Bruges, Poperinge and Gent and would stay at them again, but was just considering alternative options. As far as lambic draught, I have a copy of Lambicland and may venture out to some of those spots, so wanted to be covered just in case.
Being a big WWII history buff, I had to visit Bastogne at least once... In 2011, my base was Liege. I trained from there to Libramont, then by bus to Bastogne. Once there I rented a bicycle and rode out through the battlefields (Bois Jacques, etc...) then to La Chouffe, then back to Bastogne... bus, train... Liege... long day but fantastic. Had a few good biers in town and around the area... In 2012 I based in Maastricht. Rented a car for 1 day there; drove to Bastogne - more fox holes, etc... then stopped in Malmedy on the return trip. Didn't dare drink while driving at all... made up for it back in Maastricht... Drove with a friend in 2014 from his home near Tilburg to Westvleteren... went right by Ypres but no time to stop... I arrive in Benelex 17SEP this year for my next journey... Best of luck on your travels... Prosit!!
That sounds like a great trip. My first time in Belgium included a bike ride from Poperinge to Westvleteren and everything about it was a blast. I think I may end up saving Bastogne for when I have a car though. I'll be in Belgium until the 21st. Do you have your plans set for this trip?
When in Ypres, visit Brewery De Kazematten. It's located within the ancient walls surrounding the city. The ‘Kazematten van het Houten Paard’ (the casemates of the wooden horse) were built around 1680 following the plans of Vauban, the great military engineer of Louis XIV. These 3 unique basements are part of the 17th century walls surrounding the city Ypres. Over centuries these basements were used to store ammunition and military equipment, and were used as sleeping quarters and shelter for the troops who defended Ypres during the many sieges.The British troops during the First World War used the casemates as ‘mess’ for the officers. Their command headquarters and field hospital were also based there. It was also the home of the famous British trench gazette ‘The Wipers Times’. And now there's a brewery on this unique location.
And when you stay in Ypres, you're never more than a half an hour drive from breweries such as : Struise Brouwers, Westvleteren, Dolle Brouwers, Seizoensbrouwerij Vandewalle, St. Bernardus, 't Verzet, Alvinne, De Ranke. Great bars/restaurants nearby are Kaffee Bazaar (Ypres), Molenhof (Oostvleteren), De Snoek (Alveringem) and beershop Deconinck (Vichte). Bruges, Poperinge,Kortrijk and Gent are easy accessible, and all Belgian cities can be reached by train also.
Thank you, I'll be sure to stop into Brewery De Kazematten. I love a place with a good story behind it. I'm pretty sure I'll be holding off on the car rental this trip. I know I'll be back again, so no need to do everything. I have Good Beer Guide Belgium, but apparently, a new edition just came out so I ordered it. Looking forward to doing some more research when I get it.
The place listed here on BA is actually their bar. The brewery, located a little further in the city walls, can be visited. More info here : http://www.kazematten.be/
Thanks, I was a little confused by the hours. I don't think I'll be in Ypres on Saturday as Oud Beersel is supposed to be open for a tour the Saturday I'm there, but I'll email Kazematten and see if by chance they have any groups going during the week.
