I'll be going to Brussels in two weeks and I've done a bit of research on the forums, with friends and the good beer guide. I get there on a tuesday morning and leave on friday late afternoon. One of my doubts is whether it'll be enough time to visit 2 out the 3 cities I'd like to - Antwerp, Brugges and Ghent - My hotel is booked already in Brussels for al the trip and I'm not sure if it's too ambitious. If I had to pick one not only for beer but also to experience some culture and great food what would be the best option, which one would you drop? Part of me thinks that there are enough museums and things to do in Brussels for 4 days, but I might be loosing the chance to see another city. I'm not going to visit any breweries other than Cantillon, I'd like to buy some beer to bring home, possibly even ship me one case, but that seems time consuming and expensive. Are there any stores where I could buy in person and they'll ship to the US? I've done it in other places without problems before. Other than all the go to whales, what can I find nowadays that's great and maybe not so well known, I'm all for trying the up and coming guys as much a the heavy contenders. Last but not least, if anyone is interested in a share PM me. Thanks.
I would spend Tuesday in Brussels. You are going to be very tired that day. On Wednesday I would visit Antwerpen, Thursday Brugge. You might want to just have some beer shipped to you before hand via shopping on the net. Kulminator in Antwerpen opens at 4 on Wednesday. On Thursday the Brugge bear in Brugge opens at 4 also. Degarre around noon. You might consider this place in brugge for dinner http://www.pieterpourbus.com/ Close by and less formal is Vino Vino http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...-Vino_Vino-Bruges_West_Flanders_Province.html Don't forget to bring home some chocolates. Moeder Babelutte is a good choice. Cheers
imo 4 days in Brussels is more than enough. one option would be day-tripping - so I wouldn't recommend switching hotels lots, these cities are close enough that I think day trips are reasonable. that is, assuming the train schedules work. for buying beer, I think your best bet is easily going to be at Cantillon. afaik they won't ship, you would either need to mail a box home or bring an extra suitcase (depending how much beer you want to buy). I actually brought a huge duffel bag (rolled up empty, took up very little space), a few cardboard boxes that I broke down (flat, they took up little space in my bag over there) and a LOT of bubble wrap. then in Belgium I wrapped the bottles, built the boxes back up, put the beer in the boxes, and put the 3 boxes into my duffel bag. then checked the duffel bag (I had 2 free bags coming back, but only one going over) everything made it back no problem. this way I only needed to bring one bag over there, and had 2 bags coming back. this was a bit of a process but really shipping beer home would require the same packing + a trip to the post office, customs forms, etc. so I think unless you are buying it from a place that ships for you, its easier to just pack it yourself and carry in my experience , there is a lot of great beer in Belgium. but there is a lot of great beer in the US too. so personally I wouldn't really bother bringing stuff home unless it was something that nobody local does at all - ie lambics. this is the same reason I don't bother bringing home beer from Chicago or LA etc.
