If you get a chance, take a trip to Belgium!

rossyamaha

Specifically Ghent. Im over here at the moment and it's a stunning city. So much history and beautiful places. Came over on the Eurostar and it only took 2 hours from St Pancras. 

Add to that there is the new GuitarGuitar store ran by my old mate Frank. If you've seen the pictures, they really don't do it justice. It's huge and breathtaking. 

Havent been to Belgium since I was touring. Have to come back soon. 

guitars4you

Isn't Ghent where they have the big track cycling tournament soon - something like a 4/5 day festival

Nice beer and chocs they say

Are you on your own or with Debs

rossyamaha

guitars4you said:

Isn't Ghent where they have the big track cycling tournament soon - something like a 4/5 day festival

Nice beer and chocs they say

Are you on your own or with Debs

There has just been a big festival last week. Not sure what it was though.

just on my own mate work stuff but will bring her next time. 

thermionic

Yes, the Ghent 6-day is legendary.

professorben

Driving through on Sat.....might take a pit stop

Drew_TNBD

I went on a Booze Crooze when I was 16 and got stranded by a fat Midlander bus-driver in Belgium. Cost my cousin £200 to get us back!

duotone

Was thinking about joining a mate and his family when they go to Bruges next month...but am still undecided.

Vaiai

Brussels is a lovely city too - went there with work once to visit Agfa HQ. Old European capitals are generally really nice!

UnclePsychosis

I've been quite a lot---Ghent is lovely, Bruges is lovely but very touristy, Antwerp is good fun. Brussels is good for a short trip but I'd rather go to one of the other three. 

scrumhalf

Bruges is great as a base, and Ghent is only half an hour away on the train for a day trip.

Plukky

Great news about GG. Nice to have an alternative to the dodgy bastards at Max Guitar in The Hague. 

sinbaadi

Good alcoves?

TimmyO

My abiding memory of Belgium is their motorway Police pulling me over for speeding, confiscating my car and leaving me by the road.

Belgium can fuck off!

duotone

All booked up, Bruges for 5 days, middle of October 

exocet

I went to Ghent last year. I actually went to Bruges but found it so much of a let down that I hopped on the train to Ghent. I liked it.
I spent a great weekend in old Brussels 2 years ago and thought that Bruges would be a smaller version of the same. In reality I found it to be a bit of a museum piece that is set up for coach tours (of the old person variety). 
I thought that the range of bars / restaurants to be very limited. 
Ghent was great though. 
The friends that we spent the weekend with had been to Antwerp the previous day. They prefered it to Brugges.

martinw

I was in Mons last week. The town square was nice but the rest of it was a dump. We were accosted twice by people trying to nick our phones.

duotone

exocet said:

I went to Ghent last year. I actually went to Bruges but found it so much of a let down that I hopped on the train to Ghent. 

Cheers, will bear that in mind if we feel the same and fancy a change.

cruxiform

I've been through Belgium lots of times on the way to Germany on my motorbike but never actually stopped in the north. I did get lost in Brussels once though. I like the area around Spa and further south around Bastogne. Some great roads around there.

fields5069

I've been to Ghent. I bought the 7" of Free Nelson Madela by the Special AKA. It had a bloody great big hole in the middle of it!

quarky

Belgian drivers are crap, but Ypres is a nice place too, as is Bruges.

ESBlonde

Took my mother to Ypres,  her father was shot and survived there in WW1. She had never been. All together the people were nice and took good care of us. Appearantly the Belgians are on the verge of a split through political discourse.