Belgian

Search: I also like Brugges (that's in Belgium, right?) being a craven tourist. Enjoyable canal ride, and on first impression I thought it would be a tiny town from the outside; then you get inside, and find out what a labyrinth it really is.

Dud: Louvain...the college town, didn't seem too exciting.

Anyway, according to my Let's Go Europe tourbook: "According to legend, the river ports of the city were once guarded by a merciless giant named Druoon Antigroon, who punished toll evaders by cutting off their hands. His reign of terror was ended by a brave Roman soldier who cut the giant's hand off and threw it in the river. The name 'Antwerp', some claim, comes from a combination of the Dutch 'hand' and 'werpen' (to throw). Less colorful linguists dismiss this derivation, claiming the actual derivation from the term for a sandbank or silt deposit." I knew I had read the story about someone chopping off someone's hand from somewhere!

The Let's Go also says that Antwerp has over 300 bars and nightclubs and a hella DJ scene.

I love the beer and the food and the bars and - most of all - "My Suitor" by Berntholer.

Is Marc Arcadipane Belgian? He bloody well should be.

I also like Marc Acardipane (though he seems to have gone to ground of late). So did Belgium. IIRC 'I like it loud' was a top ten hit there.

Plus hearing French tourists having to lower themselves to speaking English as the best way to communicate with Flemish people is absolutely CLASSIC for any Englishperson who has been grumped and snooted at by Parisians for not pronouncing their words exactly right or using the wrong gender or needing to hear everything halfspeed because their damn stupid habit of not pronouncing the last half of any word means that every word sounds like several others. HAH. ;)

The chocolate, how could you forget? (I have been scared by going to visit relatives who then lived in Brussels the Easter I was nine. There were slabs and rabbits and castles and lace work and every concievable thing ever made out of chocolate in every other shop window. And my Aunty Jenny organised the biggest Easter egg hunt for my cousins and I.)

On a more mature level, I cannot spell or pronounce her name, but fashoin designer Ann Demeulemeester. And Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela (although he does come across as being as mad as a box of pegs). Never been keen on Victor and Rolf though. There's impractical, there's radical, there's visionary and leading the way and then there's putting large and random bits of padding everywhere to make already ill looking models look even more disfigured than the poor things do already. I well aware that all high fashion is bloody stupid, but they take the Belgian chocolate covered biscuit.

Anyway, Antwerp is my favorite European city, I could live there! I bought my first designer clothes there: a big Raf Simons sweater!

All this talk of Belgium makes me want to go there properly. What's the weather like in October? And how does one get from Brussels to Bruges?

Sorry, I'm, err, waffling.

PJ is correct once again, Belgian league = best bit of Eurogoals, so many goals, and some of them have quality.

Belgium has provided us with some cool footballers.

What are the best bars and clubs in Brussels then? And are there any cool record shops?

I've discovered that the Darkness are playing at the Ancien Belgique - unfortunately, on the day I come back to England!

I'm going to Brussels/Bruxelles for a long weekend this fri-sun - any top tips? any bands on? any decent clubs on? any nice restaurants anyone can especially reccommend?

all assistance welcomed! ta/danke/merci/can't speak flemish...

looks like we'll be heading for the ABBox/ABClub thenn!

Do check out that record store I mentioned in this thread - the one near the Manneken Pies. You have to have an open mind, not intent to really find what you're looking for, but you will find some great records for ridicously low prices.

(Christ, my English is going down the drain due to sleep deprivation.)

"ONE YOU LOCK THE TARGET"

"...AND FOUR YOU CATCH THE MAN."

Can you believe I only recently learned the lyrics of this song? I'm such a loser. :-)

What else was weird?

Ah yes, that Front 242 reunion. DIdn't one of the guys in DeadManRay and Kiss My Jazz , Elko, play with'em?

i guess they must have been the only two decent events on that night, in the whole city. poor buggers.

Also, that weird Belgian game where you count the number of times a caged bird will sing, marking each instance with a notch on a stick.

http://www.westhoek.be/info/ned/jewaserbij/2005/mei/woumen-2905/Woumen-Vinkenzetting-04.jpg

http://www.saxgourmet.com/history/connfa~1.jpg

What negative list? I never mentioned anything bad, aside from the fact that some think it's boring. :-)

Also, that weird Belgian game where you count the number of times a caged bird will sing, marking each instance with a notch on a stick.

This isn't done in other countries? I never realized this!

Stan, am still awaiting reply from Stubru.uit. I really badly would like to attend but... I ph34r it'll be a no-go. :-(

http://www.hasselt.be//upload/pics//gratis_bussen_aa002.jpg

now, you might think that oh, its a standard belgian bus run by de lijn. but look at the departure blind - hasselt.

since hasselt has been runnning a scheme called gratis stadsbus

guess what that means! its awesome!!!!

Beer

Drugs

Small cars that look like shit and go like stink

Massive airports

Plenty highways like the "a10" the final exit of the E40 to Oostende not many ppl kno it but ppl go full out on that 22 km highway with no cops cameras or anything like that but, if youre lucky and fast enough, u can impress the chick on the train. The track stays next to the road for 5 km, plenty of time for some massive "representation" of power.

And last but not least

Drivers who KICK ASS!!! i was in germany a few weeks ago and my dad was doing about 220 kmh and i felt good in our 2001 bmw m5 with 400 horse stock v8. until maybe a pack of belgian in subis, crx's mitsu colts, peugeuot 406's and various other car including lancia delta integrales and Rover turbo's. We tried but we could not keep up at 296kmh and over, CHAPEAU, HAT OFF

BELGIAN RESPECT!!!

compensating for *small feet*? rofl

I'm trying to find a cheap room to let and I'm emailing a woman about one in Etterbeek near the Petillon metro station. Does anyone know anything about that area?

So what are you going to do in Brussels for three months? :-)

Does the Brussels metro stay open late, do you know?

In case it doesn't work: about 5AM to about midnight. It's on line 1A, which is one of the biggest lines in Brussels.

(Annoyingly, that MIVB site is only in French and Dutch.)

I am so excited!

http://www.stib.irisnet.be/artKunst/images-groot/petillon.JPG

:-)

(I don't know much about Brussels, to be honest. I can find the Ancienne Belgique by car, but one roadblock and I'm lost. So I'm afraid I can't help you with the region around Etterbeek.) (I'll gladly google stuff for you, so ask away anyway)

This thread makes me want to go to Belgium right now.

Was looking for restaurant and stuff to do ideas for my son and his girlfriend who are visiting shortly