polkacat

A number of us have been going to BRU over the last few years for the Zythos Beer Festival (ZBF), the biggest beer festival in Belgium. Belgian beers are considered by some to be the best in the world.

ZBF 2017 is coming the last weekend of April: http://www.zbf.be/index.php?lang=UK&page=1. The festival is held in Leuven in an top-notch non-smoking convention hall, a short train/shuttle commute from BRU.

Presale of glass and tokens now available through April 20th: http://www.zbf.be/voorverkoop/.

If you'd like to join us in BRU, or might do so, please comment in this thread. If you would like an idea of last year's activities, the thread is here. Thanks.

Tentative Schedule
21 April dinner tbd, drinks tbd
22 April Zythos Bierfestival 12:00 - ???
23 April Zythos Bierfestival 11:00 - ??? or excursion TBD

Attending
polkacat
arollins +5
ellyse +2
KMA26
miko2a
krazykanuck
CDKing
srletend
iris30
ANC RED-EYE +1

Maybe
toomanybooks
nomadic.relief
PV_Premier
hcuk94
FlyinStone
vbh812
der_saeufer
Mrp Alert
island82
BoyAreMyArmsTired

toomanybooks

Maybe!

krazykanuck

I'm going to save the date, but I'm getting back from the Japan/Korea Do like 2 days before this...so...that's a ton of travel (and more importantly lots of vacation time). We'll see

nomadic.relief

What an idiot I am!! It never occurred to me that I could also could have tied it in to the Japan/Korea Do's!

As tempting as it is to push my limit of ridiculous itineraries, I think it'll be a miss for me. Again I'm working on the Monday.

If work cancels, I'll reroute!

arollins

Tickets have been bought 2 months ago already, me and +5.

ellyse

I was thinking of the Japan DO, but I may be more interested in this one, actually. I've been to Japan numerous times so there's not much novelty for me there (though it's close by), and I haven't been to Belgium yet.

polkacat

Wow, thought it might be a bit early to post but seems it's a good time to get it on folks' radar. Hope the maybes move to the attending!

ellyse

Are we going to spend 2 full days just drinking beer? I do like beer, but if I'm going so far, I'd like to see more of the country. Currently thinking of spending about a week there, 1 day Leuven, 2 days Brussels, 2 days Bruges, 1 day Ghent, and remaining 1 day extra for either Bruges or Ghent.

polkacat

Most attendees do spend a little additional time in Belgium in order to see a bit more. Some of us take the opportunity for additional beer-related travel (e.g. Westvleteren) while others take in more cultural sites. The train system makes it very easy to get around, as well as the Belbus. Belgium is wonderful for cycling as well if you enjoy that.

Bruges is a favorite of mine and I highly recommend it. Depending on your interests, a 3rd day may be a bit much there. I personally prefer Antwerp to Ghent, but others may disagree.

ellyse

Gosh polkacat, you must be psychic or something. My Swiss CouchSurfer (who just left my place yesterday) may be joining me, he's a big beer fan, and he also suggested Westvletren. My Belgian CouchSurfer from Ghent (who left my place a few years ago, haha) recommended 2 days for Ghent, only 1 day for Bruges, and 2 days for Brussels.

My rough itinerary thus far, before I heard your suggestions:
Mon 17/4: flight in, arriving BRU either 1910 or 2220) -> still possible to grab a train to Bruges if I arrive on the later flight?
Tue 18/4: Bruges
Wed 19/4: Bruges
Thu 20/4: Bruges (morning) / Ghent (afternoon)
Fri 21/4: Ghent
Sat 22/4: Leuven
Sun 23/4: Brussels
Mon 24/4: Brussels

I then have the option of flying out on:
a) 24/4 on TK at 1335 or 1930
b) 25/4 morning or 26/4 morning on SK or SN/SK with a long stopover in CPH either day
I'm looking for recommendations and opinions on which option to take, but I guess that would be another thread of its own!

ellyse

Ok you can move me to the confirmed list, here's what I booked:

TK027 17/4 PVG-IST 2235-0510
TK1061 18/4 IST-LJU 0655-0815
JP394 18/4 LJU-BRU 1640-1820
SK594 25/4 BRU-CPH 1030-1200
SK997 25/4 CPH-PVG 1840-1055

182500 miles + 456.8 SGD... All J except for JP flight in Y.

arollins

Aside from Brussels, here are some other events that will be occurring around the same time. In case others might plan to visit other locations.

Munchener Fruhlingsfest, in Munich Germany, April 15 to May 1st. This is identical to Octoberfest, in the same location where it is held, along with the carnival rides, music, food, beer tents/hall. Etc. I did this last year.

King's Birthday in Amsterdam Netherlands, April 27. Numerous activities and celebration across the Netherlands. If attending, you should plan your reservations timely, as it gets pricey.

Day trip to Ghent, Brugges.

ellyse

Ah... Too late for me! And anyway I was avoiding LH because the taxes are terrible. I was looking at flying LX PVG-ZRH and continuing on, except that I quickly found that taxes on LX are also expensive... And OS was even worse, astronomical. So since SK (the cheapie option) wasn't available, I ended up with TK and trying to move on from there...

srletend

Thanks for getting this out there polkacat!

I will start working on my plan to make the trip work for me (yet again). Please count me as a definite maybe for now.

polkacat

Awesome!

ellyse, so glad you will join us! If you want any input on what to see or do in Belgium, let us know.