Belgium

meliselis

who has been to Belgium already? Did you like it? there were things you did not like? You liked the Belgian people?

Always wondered what others think of our country

AgileMyth

meliselis wrote: »

who has been to Belgium already? Did you like it? there were things you did not like? You liked the Belgian people?

Always wondered what others think of our country

Lived there for a year. Meh.

Bit boring all round.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Good beer and good people.

Icaras

Was there for a weekend, very warm, cheap beer, nice people mostly.

conorh91

"Europe's hole"

A blank space, which has simply tended to reflect the power dynamics in Europe, depending on who occupied it.

They did invent chips alright.

RichardCeann

Any country whose national dish is mussels and chips washed down with loads of good beer is alright in my book.

jimboblep

Lived there and loved it, great beer,great people, beautiful women, lots of history, loved brugge in particular.

Cienciano

Best beer in the world

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

TheBody

Got engaged in Brussels. Love the beer and waffles!!

kneemos

Are those the crowd that put Mayonnaise on chips?

Duckworth_Luas

The Longford of Europe

TomBtheGoat

Apart from having some nice chocolate, I don't really know what else they do well.

Badly Drunk Boy

I went to Bruges for 5 days with an ex. Thebeer was good, and some great chocolate there too. My ex loved the wafel mit slagroom. It rainy nearly all the time we were there, and I wasn't used to that, being from Ireland.

ISOP

I love Brussels, a great city, great food, drink and nightlife. I can see why your typical Irish muldoon would hate it

DEFTLEFTHAND

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

The Longford of Europe

And we're the Westmeath.

Buona Fortuna

Been there a few times, with the lads when I was single and then with wifey. Great everytime.

TheBody

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I went to Bruges for 5 days with an ex. Thebeer was good, and some great chocolate there too. My ex loved the wafel mit slagroom. It rainy nearly all the time we were there, and I wasn't used to that, being from Ireland.

Oh yea, I heard Bruges is supposed to be amazing.

kneemos

TomBtheGoat wrote: »

Apart from having some nice chocolate, I don't really know what else they do well.

I think they lack a proper identity given their proximity to other countries.
12 million odd of them though.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Spent quite some time in Brussels over the years. Just another city, not much of great interest. The people were nice, the beer great, bit boring too.

crockholm

Lovely cities,Brugge,Leuven,Genk,Antwerpen (Bruxelles was a lot less impressive imo),some of the finest of European architecture coupled with fantastic,cheap and dependable public transport,a rich History,the best beer in the world.I met mostly Vlaamische people,not too many Walloons,but there were A1 in my book,very nice scenery.
Would readily recommend as a place to visit.
You're cool by us Belgium.

drunkmonkey

Antwerp is a nice city, great beers, easily lose a weekend there. Stupidly easy to get bombed on the beer.

ISOP

some great red light action too up around gare du noord, great great city

Fr_Dougal

It's like a fucking fairytale.

I've never been but I love waffles, chocolate and Kipling bags.

I know two Belgians and if they're representative of the general population, then it's a land of lovely people with kind hearts and gentle voices.

Buona Fortuna

My first time, was like a porn/beer cruise with work.

Incredible time but spent something like 36 hours on coach, ferry, walking around, porn shops, bars.

It was quite an eye opener. We were all as green as. Two or three girls or boys or variations of, going into the boothes. And back again for seconds. If we'd have had overnight accomodation - well who knows


Went to a place called Sluice - spelling is obviously $hoite

pickarooney

I've been there about twenty times but never once by design.

pauliebdub

It's ok overall. Loved Bruges and Antwerp. Brussels is a bit of a dump to be honest, boring and run down.

the evasion_kid

Been a few times,first time was with a few mates and I was like why Belgium?!? Had a ball there and didn't want to come back.

Grandeeod

Duvel is fantastic, but I still havent forgiven Belgium and a corrupt Portugeuse referee for destroying our chances of qualifying for the 1982 Soccer World Cup.

Therefore I will never be in Bruge or any other part of it.

Pee'd on the streets of Ostend waiting on a ferry. That was my only revenge. I'm classy.

conorh91

ISOP wrote: »

I love Brussels, a great city, great food, drink and nightlife. I can see why your typical Irish muldoon would hate it

I find that if there is one city in Europe seasoned travelers (especially non-Europeans) enjoy bitching about, it's Brussels.

Brussels or Milan.

What's a muldoon?

TPD

I've been to Bruges, lovely place but everything closes very early.

LordSutch

I think the Geldof family hail from Belgium!

...as do Brussels sprouts!

conorh91

LordSutch wrote: »

I think the Geldof family hail from Belgium!

Yeah you're right, sounds like an interesting story too.

*ahem* Must be where Sir Bob gets his love of waffle

robman60

I was in Brussels last summer and I really loved the city. So many landmarks that I hadn't even heard of until I visited. Bruges is a bit boring though.

Banjo String

meliselis wrote: »

who has been to Belgium already? Did you like it? there were things you did not like? You liked the Belgian people?

Always wondered what others think of our country

Been there three times including my stag weekend, as I had a mate running a bar there.

Great, very reasonable beer(Jupiler was fantastic), great locals, very friendly indeed.

Not sure about the food though, each time I was there it was a lads weekend so, didn't get to sample national dishes.

I was sick in three different countries in less than 3hours on way home from the stag do though.

Turnhout (Begium), spewed the whole way in taxi to Eindhoven (Holland), and continued spewing the whole flight home to Dublin.

Great weekend though.

DEFTLEFTHAND

LordSutch wrote: »

I think the Geldof family hail from Belgium!

...as do Brussels sprouts!

As did Irish school book publisher Albert Folens.

Fratton Fred

I've been to Ypres a couple of times for football tournaments, there's a lovely barmaid in a little bar by the Menin gate that is responsible for possibly the worst hang overs of my entire life. I mean, what sick bastards knock out beers at 12 to 15%?

I really like Ypres, but the only other place I've been is Bruges and to be honest, I thought it was a bit over rated. Fab chocolate shops though.

wendell borton

Tin Tin and Eddy Merckx both from Belgium.

Sky King

If you like friendly polite customer service, orderly queues that have some sort of logic to them (i.e. first come first served) and efficient service in general, avoid Brussels at all costs. I have been many many times and every single time I visited managed to be astounded at how awful the service is. Also Zavendem airport is the most expensive airport I have ever been in in my life (E4 for a 500ml bottle of water and no drinking fountains).

Brussels is the filthiest city I have ever been in.... even around the European quarter. There is dog **** *everywhere* and the inhabitant don't use wheelie bins, they just leave the rubbish in bin bags on the street for vermin to tear asunder.

It would put you off ever visiting the country. Honestly. I fking hate that city.

ON the plus, I visited The Ardennes last time I was there, where it is extremely beautiful, the people are more friendly and the beer is just as excellent. I had a great time in The Ardennes. I am told Bruges and Antwerp are lovely too. So don't judge the country on Brussels alone, because if it was all like that I would never ever go back,.

BeardySi

f*****g Bruges....

Banjo String

wendell borton wrote: »

Tin Tin and Eddy Merckx both from Belgium.

And Doctor Evil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jZiKFLL6MI

XsApollo

Drove through a few times.
Only time I stopped there was when I was pulled over for speeding.
190euro speeding fine probably tainted my view of the place :-P

OneOfThem

Fond of rubber, ivory and neutrality. Full o' monks that brew really quite ok beers. Good waffles (not the potato kind, sweet sugary things). Dead cert for coming third in Euro 2020 (if you're a betting man).

brooke 2

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I've been to Ypres a couple of times for football tournaments, there's a lovely barmaid in a little bar by the Menin gate that is responsible for possibly the worst hang overs of my entire life. I mean, what sick bastards knock out beers at 12 to 15%?

I really like Ypres, but the only other place I've been is Bruges and to be honest, I thought it was a bit over rated. Fab chocolate shops though.

Agree with you re Ypres. Was there a few months ago and loved everything about it. The people were especially friendly. We went to Bruges on the last day of our stay, but I felt it was a let down after Ypres. However, we had the most amazing waffles there! They were divine!!

TomBtheGoat

TomBtheGoat wrote: »

Apart from having some nice chocolate, I don't really know what else they do well.

Mercenaries and pedophiles. No offence to the OP, but sorry, the fact is that that's what they happen to be famous for.

Anyway, most memorable experience in Belgium was in a village called Vise. Walked over the border from Holland, as you do, just for the experience (not something you can do everyday growing up on an island, you know, so just for the novelty).

Stopped for lunch in the first cafe where I saw a menu I understood. Run by a couple of elderly pensioners and looked like they had the front sitting room of their house turned into a cafe while the rest was their home. So I asked for a pasta dish, carbonara or whatever. Your man, about 80 if he was a day, walks off to the kitchen.

Comes back 20 minutes later not with a plate but a huge cooking pot full of the stuff. Thought he was going to serve me at the table or something but no, he just slaps the entire pot down in front of me, hands me a spoon and says "bon appetite", and walks away.

Sweet Jesus you could have fed a family of six with what the old man gave me. Can't remember what I paid but I know it was well under a tenner.

dd972

Love Belgium, the Flemish are much nicer people than the Dutch, learning French at the moment to add to my Vlaams taalkennis so will be able to pass myself off as a Belgian in a couple of years. :pac:

Can stay out all night eating and drinking in Brussels without bar charges, bouncers, aggravation.

A very cultured people as well, really good music scene over there, just a question OP when the French are making jokes about the Belgians is it aimed at the Wallonians or all Belgians?

dd972

Deleted User wrote: »

Walked over the border from Holland, as you do, just for the experience (not something you can't do everyday growing up on an island, you know, so just for the novelty).

But,... there's a border here


Oh no! second thoughts, let's keep this thread on topic. :pac:

Mr. CooL ICE

Went there by accident once. Was staying near the south and decided to drive to Maastricht to see what it was like. Missed the turnoff and saw signs that said "Welcome to Belgium". Thought I may as well go to Liege instead. Drove around for a while, thought it looked like a dodgy part of Cork so left again. Stopped for a coffee in Vise which was kinda nice.

crockholm

brooke 2 wrote: »

Agree with you re Ypres. Was there a few months ago and loved everything about it. The people were especially friendly. We went to Bruges on the last day of our stay, but I felt it was a let down after Ypres. However, we had the most amazing waffles there! They were divine!!

I can't understand how Bruges/Brugge would be a let down to anyone:o.When I was living in Noord Brabant I used to take the train there often on Sundays,this being after I had spent a whole week there once.The Dutch cities like Utrecht/Leiden and Delft were all very nice,but really not in the same league as Brugge.

Joe prim

ISOP wrote: »

some great red light action too up around gare du noord, great great city

You're a traffic light enthusiast, I take it?