Belgium

TPD · 14-08-2015 08:56PM

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

LordSutch · 14-08-2015 09:12PM

I think the Geldof family hail from Belgium!

...as do Brussels sprouts!

conorh91 · 14-08-2015 09:20PM

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 · 14-08-2015 09:22PM

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 · 14-08-2015 09:30PM

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 · 14-08-2015 09:40PM

LordSutch wrote: »

I think the Geldof family hail from Belgium!

...as do Brussels sprouts!

As did Irish school book publisher Albert Folens.

Fratton Fred · 14-08-2015 11:32PM

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 · 14-08-2015 11:49PM

Tin Tin and Eddy Merckx both from Belgium.

Sky King · 14-08-2015 11:56PM

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 · 14-08-2015 11:57PM

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

Banjo String · 15-08-2015 12:00AM

wendell borton wrote: »

Tin Tin and Eddy Merckx both from Belgium.

And Doctor Evil.

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

XsApollo · 15-08-2015 12:01AM

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 · 15-08-2015 01:03AM

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 · 15-08-2015 01:17AM

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!!

15-08-2015 01:40AM

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 · 15-08-2015 01:41AM

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 · 15-08-2015 01:47AM

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 · 15-08-2015 02:23AM

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 · 15-08-2015 02:24AM

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 · 15-08-2015 02:28AM

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?

Joe prim · 15-08-2015 02:32AM

wendell borton wrote: »

Tin Tin and Eddy Merckx both from Belgium.

Don't forget Jacques Brel, people always forget Jacques Brel.

SpaceTime · 15-08-2015 02:34AM

And Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax who invented the Saxophone!

crockholm · 15-08-2015 02:42AM

SpaceTime wrote: »

And Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax who invented the Saxophone!

To think,without his invention we would never have such intense musical scores in the lovemaking scenes from the 80s and early 90s films.

Without it,they may well have used a Ukulele.

DarkyHughes · 15-08-2015 02:44AM

The country made me cry when I was 12.

gctest50 · 15-08-2015 02:44AM

if only nukes didn't have fallout and side effects

flatten it and refer to it as place- on-the- way-to-holland

DarkyHughes · 15-08-2015 02:46AM

dd972 wrote: »

But,... there's a border here

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

There's dozens of borders between Belgium & Holland.

shane9689 · 15-08-2015 02:47AM

Deleted User wrote: »

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.

I find the Germans are like that too. Whenever you order food in a more traditional place (or even some of the modern places) they give you a HEAP of food. I love it! better than the ****e you get in our restaurants with their half a potato per meal.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 15-08-2015 05:51AM

DarkyHughes wrote: »

The country made me cry when I was 12.

98 World Cup Playoff? Made me cry too, I was 9 time at the time. I only had a vague memory of 94 with the blow up hammers and wolfhound doll mascot. I was fully aware of the game at the time of that playoff and I was devastated when we fell short. I remember they had a controversial goal from a throw in also, I never heard my father swear as hard at the tv.

15-08-2015 06:20AM

The defeat in the 98 play off was grand.

The defeat in the 82 qualifiers, now that WAS was a sickener. Because we all know they cheated.

That was the era when Belgium teams bribed refs regularly - the other thing I know about the country, after the Congo and Dutroux, was that the Belgians always bribed the ref. Stapleton had a perfectly good goal ruled out and they scored following a free after their captain Gerets dived with no one near him in the 89th minute. The ref was later caught accepting bribes in other games, the Irish players told him he was a cheat afterwards. That denied the great generation of players the chance to play in the World Cup, after we had been right in the mix in a group with Holland, Belgium and France.

And no amount of chocolate or mayonnaise on chips can make up for that.

Fratton Fred · 15-08-2015 06:34AM

crockholm wrote: »

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.

I think it is because it is often described as the Venice of the north. I liked the town, but it doesn't come close to Venice.

Belgium

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