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bruges


invergowrie arab

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Just like anywhere in Belgium, you can't go wrong around the main square, although it's a good bit more expensive than off the beaten track, I guess you're paying for ambience.

And don't call it Bruges while you're there! It's pretty heavy duty Flemish around that bit of Belgium, and that's what the French call it. The locals call it Brugge, and that's all you'll see on roadsigns etc.

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If literally a couple of weeks, you'll be treated to the standard European Christmas market on the main square: stalls, hot wine etc. As cities go its very tourist-dense and tacky in places but you can't argue with the content really. There's apparently a massive ice-sculpting event going on at the main train station, which is outside the old town. The best place I found was the Beer Wall, on Wollestraat right just off the main square, right at the bridge over the main canal. They have a massive collection of bottled beers on the wall (hence the name), with a small bar at the end. They have an outside terrace overlooking the corner of the main canal which is the place to take in the sights with a beer. Definitely try kriek (cherry beer), and there's some fairly wewird and wonderful stuff on tap as well. One of the beers is served in a huge conical flask and wooden holder.

Apparently the tour at the 'Halve-Maan' brewery is excellent but I haven't been.

Edited by vikingTON
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Kwak is absolutely vile. Been to Belgium twice and was never really impressed with the beer. The Czech Republic beats it hands down for the best European beverages

You sound like my mate.

He went into some Belgian pub with about 300 beers to choose from and asked for a pint of lager tops. You can take the guy out of the Hilltown etc....

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Belgium is an alcoholic's paradise,and Brugge is a great place to start.All the best bars are in or around the city center so you can't go wrong. I've went over there a few times with P&O,and every time I've struggled to get back to the bus without getting lost - that's how bad it can get.

There are usually loads to do in Brugge,but if you fancy a wee break from the norm.You can get a 10 train ride to the coastal resort of Ostend (Oostende).They have a restaurant there called KoeKoek,and the chicken is f**king magic.

But you should have a lot of fun over there :thumsup2

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Mon then who has been?

Off there in a couple of weeks to try out some beers. Any recommendations?

Most Belgian beer is great, Duvel and dark duvel cheap and lovely. Brugge is worth a couple of days walking about, Brussels too though not as jaw-dropping as Brugge.

Ostende as ellisdee says and Leuven ( louvain) home of stella.

personal opinion, stay off the fruit beers like Kriek, more like mildly alcoholic Calpol.

beer-image.jpg

Edited by TomMcB
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It's specifically the beer and breweries we are going for. Love kriek but haven't braved any lambics yet. Half moon is on the itinerary.

The likes of kwak, juliper and chimay are all fine but I can get them in Dundee so the weirder the better.

There are specialist beer shops all over the place, so you should be alright. La Chouffe is a no-brainer, Grimbergen is fairly common in bars but is a bit like Leffe (not so weird), Karmeleit Triple, Orval, Kasteel, and there are some lovely Saisons that I can't remember the name of. Watch out for the Scotch Ale though, it'll blow your nuts off (often 10%) and I once had a large bottle of Piraat that forced me to repeatedly walk into doors.

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