Trip to Belgium and Amsterdam

awesome, thank you, its much appreciated! Are all lambics fruit beers or are fruit beers a subset of lambics? I've had fruit lambics before
 
ucunc156 said:
awesome, thank you, its much appreciated! Are all lambics fruit beers or are fruit beers a subset of lambics? I've had fruit lambics before
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Neither really. Lambic is the base beer (unfruited) but you can get fruit lambic. It's a spontaneously fermented beer, no yeast is added by the brewer, it's yeast comes from it's environment.
 
Only place I enjoyed in belgium was that one town scquare where its super cool. I remember a lot of gold leafing and awesome stone work, and it was like a legit huge square int he middle filled with tourists, but had a nice vibe to it.
Do not drink the milk over there, served at room temp. also the oj too.
amsterdam is fun all over no matter when or where. do that for the bulk of trip, maybe dfo a day trip to belguim, only like 3 hours from amsterdam if i remember correctly.
 
I dont drink milk or OJ so I am safe. You are talking about the Grand Place I assume? I definitely plan on spending more days in Amsterdam than anywhere else, but I was curious what people thought about Antwerp and Bruges as well, especially considering the subsequent 3-4 days in Amsterdam. Thanks for the input!
 
You have eight days free. I wouldn't kill to much of it traveling.
Amsterdam will require three days. That leaves 5 days. Two more cities/ three if you feel like shoehorning something else in (Like a small town for an overnight)
Don't sleep on Haarlem. I hear it's wonderful.

haarlem-the-netherlands.jpg
 
Once you are in Amsterdam you won't want to leave. I went with 2 of my buddies and one is a sex crazed fool, the other just wanted to eat, drink, and smoke weed. The peep show wasn't worth the money IMO (I paid like 80 Euro for 2 shows or something like that), definitely visit the Heineken Brewery, Rijkmuseum, Anne Frank House and go to as many coffeeshops as you can. There was this really good coffeeshop but I don't remember what it was called as the whole thing was such a hazy time for me but I do remember it was kind of lower than ground level and had a bright red neon sign. I went to about 20 different coffee houses in total but I was there for a week. The RLD isn't the place to be in Amsterdam, There is this other place that's close to the Heineken Brewery...Park 118...it's legit trust me. Jacuzzi suites and everything bro.
 
ucunc156 said:
Thanks, thats what I was thinking with Bruges just being so beautiful. Doable on a day trip and returning to brussels?

I was in Paris and Munich back in Dec/Jan for my honeymoon. Both were okay but I preferred Rome for things to see and Venice for pure beauty and uniqueness of the city, which is what is attracting me to Bruges as well.

I'm not the typical American (first of all, I am indian), my wife is american though. We like to consider ourselves cultured with an interest in the whole world. and we certainly aren't the type of people who visit other countries and cultures and say "this is shit, america is better" (except for the food in italy).
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If you thought the food in Italy was shit, you weren't going to the right places. In Rome, the good places are in Trastevere or just a little bit past the Pantheon. I remember there was a terrific Gelateria just a block away from the Pantheon. There was also a really nice cafe next to the Pantheon with great pastries/espresso. House wine was always cheap and pretty decent. Florence was my favorite for food though. I'd say that you won't be able to find a Lampredotto anywhere except Italy and the Panino's...MY GOD...Where you ate...I don't know man but those were some of the best meals I've eaten and I eat at nice restaurants all the time.
 
I spent two days in Brussels and that was plenty.

Love Amsterdam though, its also worth catching a quick ferry over to North Amsterdam really beautiful over there.
 
hbdope said:
Once you are in Amsterdam you won't want to leave. I went with 2 of my buddies and one is a sex crazed fool, the other just wanted to eat, drink, and smoke weed. The peep show wasn't worth the money IMO (I paid like 80 Euro for 2 shows or something like that), definitely visit the Heineken Brewery, Rijkmuseum, Anne Frank House and go to as many coffeeshops as you can. There was this really good coffeeshop but I don't remember what it was called as the whole thing was such a hazy time for me but I do remember it was kind of lower than ground level and had a bright red neon sign. I went to about 20 different coffee houses in total but I was there for a week. The RLD isn't the place to be in Amsterdam, There is this other place that's close to the Heineken Brewery...Park 118...it's legit trust me. Jacuzzi suites and everything bro.
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bulldog is probably most famous one
 
NoGoodNamesLeft said:
bulldog is probably most famous one
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bulldog was okay. I remember that one because there were a couple of them but that wasn't the best shop I went to. It was either blue lagoon or barney's lounge.
 
bruges is aesthetically amazing (reminds me of Trier or Cologne, but w/ a higher frequency of older bldgs), but it's not that large and there really isn't that much to do. antwerp is very cultural and brussels is all around legit.

amsterdam speaks for itself. IMO my favorite cities in europe were Prague and Budapest, but i was in the military so i couldn't fully enjoy Amsterdam then, so to speak. i rated amsterdam third, but it'd probably jump up higher. i was also married then too, so ya.
 
hbdope said:
If you thought the food in Italy was shit, you weren't going to the right places. In Rome, the good places are in Trastevere or just a little bit past the Pantheon. I remember there was a terrific Gelateria just a block away from the Pantheon. There was also a really nice cafe next to the Pantheon with great pastries/espresso. House wine was always cheap and pretty decent. Florence was my favorite for food though. I'd say that you won't be able to find a Lampredotto anywhere except Italy and the Panino's...MY GOD...Where you ate...I don't know man but those were some of the best meals I've eaten and I eat at nice restaurants all the time.
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I didn't eat anywhere crazy expensive and the gelato was always great. I liked the white sauce pizza fine but everything was just kinda bland for my liking. I also tried veal and hated it
 
Does anyone know how the nightlife is in Ghent? Or if its possible to do daytrips to Ghent and Bruges from Antwerp or Brussels? Thanks!
 
Don't try to fit in too much into one trip. Rushed is the worst way to see the world. 3 cities is already one too many IMO, unless you're scouting for longer stays in the future.

I got sent to language school in Brussels and used to work out of our Amsterdam office. I've spent untold hours just wandering around both of these cities. Both are cities where you should take your time to walk around, sit down at a cafe, watch people walk by and enjoy your time.

Never could understand all the people who are in such a rush to see everything, they never actually see anything.
 
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Well unfortunately with limited money and limited vacation and a want to see basically the whole world, some things do get rushed. And I don't want to be rushed in Amsterdam, so I figured 4 days is good. Might I miss some things? Sure, but I'd be okay missing a few minor things if it meant getting to see Bruges or Ghent. I get that not all of these cities are possible, that's why I am curious what's best. If Bruges is dead at night, no point staying there. Rather as well enjoy the nightlife of Antwerp, etc.
 
You can do Bruges as a daytrip, IMO. It's only 50 min from Brussels by train. And you can take in a lot of the city in a day. By car shouldn't be all too long either, around 1h10m.
 
brussels is a great city. their main square area is beautiful, and there are great bars and restaurants around. it's the first place i ever got laid in europe, so it has sentimental value to me hahaha. the little angel thing that pisses from its weiner is pretty funny. 2-3 max in brussels, i'd say. a day in brugge. and spend the rest in amsterdam.
 
Doughbelly said:
Don't try to fit in too much into one trip. Rushed is the worst way to see the world. 3 cities is already one too many IMO, unless you're scouting for longer stays in the future.

I got sent to language school in Brussels and used to work out of our Amsterdam office. I've spent untold hours just wandering around both of these cities. Both are cities where you should take your time to walk around, sit down at a cafe, watch people walk by and enjoy your time.

Never could understand all the people who are in such a rush to see everything, they never actually see anything.
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completely agreed on not rushing. you try rushing to different cities, and you'll end up knowing more about trains and train stations than the actual cities.

when you talk about sitting down at a cafe and observing people, that's how i felt when i was in switzerland. it's especially interesting if you do this in zurich, just because there are so many business folks around, and it's quite an eclectic mix of folks. i felt the same way in berne, and even in a smaller town like zug.
 
yeah because I will be in training all day, the time I spend in Zurich (before heading to Belgium/Amsterdam) will be spent people watching, hanging in cafes, etc.
 
ucunc156 said:
Does anyone know how the nightlife is in Ghent? Or if its possible to do daytrips to Ghent and Bruges from Antwerp or Brussels? Thanks!
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Gent is a student city, nightlife is resumed mostly to students drinking beer and puking all over the place. A few very good places and a lot of parties though.

Nightlife in Bruges is non-existing besides a few parties in Entrepot or drinking around the Eiermarkt.

Brussels and Antwerp have the best nightlife.

I live 15 minutes from Bruges now (Ostend). It isn't hard to go from Brussels or Antwerp to Bruges, there is a direct train from both cities.

Brussels to Gent is approximately 30min by train
Brussels to Bruges is approximately 50min by train
Antwerp to Gent is approx 50 minutes by train, add another 20 minutes to go to Bruges (same train line)
 
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