Visiting Belgium in December

A friend and I will be visiting Belgium in December, including the Kerstbierfestival. I am posting our itinerary here in case anyone who will be in the area would like to join us at any of our various visits. This is the schedule so far.

Friday, December 10:

We will be arriving in Brussels. We are renting a car for 3 days. We will first drive to Creperie Bretonne in Louvaine-la-Neve. Then it’s up north towards Holland. We expect to go to Spytighen Duvel in Turnhout, ’t Brouwershuis in Baarle-Hertog and make our way up to Tilburg in the south of Holland for the evening, stopping at Zomerlust and Café Kandinsky and staying at a hotel there.

Saturday, December 11:

We will drive down to Essen for the Kerstfest, and will spend the day there.

Sunday, December 12:

We will first drive to Inglemunster, and visit the Kastell Cafe (and hopefully have some 1989 Kasteel Dark! It’s been a few years) then we will drive down to Huise, and stay at a hotel near Gans, and of course stay at the Gans that evening.

Monday, December 13:

During the day we will drive to De Heeren van Liedekercke in Denderleeuw. After visitng there for their lunch hours, we will drive into Ghent and drop of our car, and spend the evening in Ghent.

Tuesday, December 14:

We will spend the day visiting additional cafes in Ghent.

Wednesday, December 15:

We will take a train to Brussels, and spend the evening at several cafes there, including the the new Delirium Cafe.

Thursday, December 16:

This is the day we will be in Bruges...hope to hang out with you at Dickies and the Beertje.

Friday, December 17:

We will take the train to Izegem Emelgem and spend the evening at ’t Kroegske. We will be staying at the hotel near there.

Saturday, December 18:

We will take a train (I guess several trains, actually) to Antwerp and spend the day there.

Sunday, December 19:

We will take a morning train to Brussels, and fly back to the USA from there.

Originally posted by JorisPPattyn
See you in Essen!

Gee, Joris, that was quick!!!

Put me down for Essen as well.
Jez

Originally posted by rauchbier
Put me down for Essen as well.
Jez

Hopefully me too.

I have had a look at a couple of sites but don’t seem to be able to find out exactly where Essen is located. My interest is now piqued as it looks like my family will be swapping houses with a family in Paris for the Christmas break.

How far is it from Paris to Essen? I imagine a train is the best bet.

I hope to finalise plans in the next week but would be really keen to attend the festival, and to meet some of our European colleagues as well.

How far is it from Paris to Essen

One thing I have to say for you - that’s a pretty original question. How far ist Poughkeepsie from Los Angeles?
Look at it this way. Essen is a small town north of the town of Antwerpen, conveniently located on the Antwerpen - Roosendaal - Amsterdam railway line (BEWARE! far from all international trains stop in Essen. Some do, as the local trains). The festival is 10 mins walking from the station, and indicated.
Antwerpen can be reached from Paris via a lot of international trains, including the Thalys, which is a high-speed supertrain (goes around 300 kph on some stretches). Take a look athttp://www.b-rail.be/main/E/index.php (if they’re up!) for more info.
Hope you can make it.
Joris

Thank you Joris. I found the timetable useful and note that the only problem may be the 73 euros one way. I imagine there may be a slower train. Anyway that will be something to deal with as the time draws closer.

I am bemused by your comment re Poughkeepsie to LA. I could answer how far it is from Kempsey to Gulargambone.

I looked at the 2003 list and must say it is a real temptation to attend.

The event is now looking to be more of a reality now. I will in fact be in Amsterdam from the 9th of December and by the looks it is an easy option to take the train to Roosendaal and then on to Essen.

Is this the sort of festival that you need to spend the whole 2 days or is it possible to do it in one? It seems to me that it would be cheaper to stay in or around Essen rather than commute back and forth from Amsterdam.

What do you locals think?

Originally posted by maltydog
During the day we will drive to De Heeren van Liedekercke in Denderleeuw.

Somewhat off-topic, but...since this place wasn’t in our Places section for Belgium, I just added it. Please add your comments/ratings if you’ve visited! I for one am interested in hearing people’s thoughts on it.

Places link for De Heeren

Is this the sort of festival that you need to spend the whole 2 days or is it possible to do it in one?

Depends on how many of the beers you want to sample. If you want them all, I advise a week and a hospital reservation.

It seems to me that it would be cheaper to stay in or around Essen rather than commute back and forth from Amsterdam.

Yes. Obviously.
Joris