what is belgian food and drink like? are their supermarkets like those in france? do they have a seafood counter selling oysters like most supermarkets in france? do they have a large selection of cheap wine like in france? or are they totally different.
Belgian food and drink
- Thread starter BarneyCumbria
- Start date
Hi Barney
Quite similar to northern France and Holland.
Good quality food at prices not a lot different to UK.
Biggest problem we have is sourcing pasteurised milk. If it's there, you often have to search for it. If not, its the long-life. For that reason we take a 6 pinta with us, which gives us a bit of breathing space to source some more. We put it in the van at the last minute, straight from the freezer, as it keeps the food cold when you're on the ferry.
The nearest supermarket to Blaarmeersen is a Carrefour, about three miles round the southern ringroad.
Sue and Keith
Norwich
Quite similar to northern France and Holland.
Good quality food at prices not a lot different to UK.
Biggest problem we have is sourcing pasteurised milk. If it's there, you often have to search for it. If not, its the long-life. For that reason we take a 6 pinta with us, which gives us a bit of breathing space to source some more. We put it in the van at the last minute, straight from the freezer, as it keeps the food cold when you're on the ferry.
The nearest supermarket to Blaarmeersen is a Carrefour, about three miles round the southern ringroad.
Sue and Keith
Norwich
hi again sue, do the supermarkets have a fish counter with mussells, oysters and crabs in tanks, like most french one do? i agree with the milk problem, we struggled each time in france, i'm lucky i don't drink milk, but susan has it all the time in coffee, she just takes the cartons of uht. does blaarmeersen have a "places to visit" nearby? as i went to our local library on thursday and they didn't have one book on belgium, (the price you have to pay for living in such an icolated part of the country i guess)
If you like oysters, as you seem to indicate in your post, you can't get them much fresher or better than along the Belgian coast. Oysters and chips is a national dish throughout Flemish Belgium.
Sorry, I meant mussels and chips, but Belgian seafood can be recommended without reservation. I can't confirm a problem getting pasteurised milk anywhere but the 'sell by' date seems to be shorter than in the UK so the quantities you will find on the shelves may be less.
French blue topped milk is more like full-cream milk in the UK and their red top is similar to our blue top!
If you get what I mean!
If you get what I mean!
Hi - Belgium has probably the best and most strongest beers in the world (including Germany. The seafood is excellent and mussels and chips are in abundance However beware that horsemeat is sold in some restaraunts. Ostend, Bruge,Gent and brussells are fine places to visit and the roads the best in europe (must be the EEC capital influence.
go,go,go great place
go,go,go great place
Hi Barney,
Milk (Melk) - full fat milk may be difficult to find - the most common milk you will see is "half vet" which is semi-skinned.
Milk - I adore Karne melk - which is buttermilk - and an acquired taste
Wine - yes - actually much more like the UK with a lot of South African wine
Beer - just stunning. If you like lager - try Leffe Blonde. If you like dark beer try Leffe Bruine or Palm - then try anything from the other 400 breweries.
Seafood - we've veggie so no comment - but the Southern Dutch and Belgians pride themselves on the quality of their seafood - absolutely fresh and top quality.
Tipping in restaurants - around 5% is expected.
Robert
Milk (Melk) - full fat milk may be difficult to find - the most common milk you will see is "half vet" which is semi-skinned.
Milk - I adore Karne melk - which is buttermilk - and an acquired taste
Wine - yes - actually much more like the UK with a lot of South African wine
Beer - just stunning. If you like lager - try Leffe Blonde. If you like dark beer try Leffe Bruine or Palm - then try anything from the other 400 breweries.
Seafood - we've veggie so no comment - but the Southern Dutch and Belgians pride themselves on the quality of their seafood - absolutely fresh and top quality.
Tipping in restaurants - around 5% is expected.
Robert
The roads best in Europe .... ?????????
Not some that I have been on. In my experience Belgian roads are the worst of UK, Germany, France, Benelux. Only last week we were on the N60 heading north towards Gent, and we actually stopped to see whether we had a flat tyre. The motorway towards Antwerp is pretty rough and we crossed a bridge on a motorway somewhere that had ruts at 5 metre intervals over the whole length.
Not some that I have been on. In my experience Belgian roads are the worst of UK, Germany, France, Benelux. Only last week we were on the N60 heading north towards Gent, and we actually stopped to see whether we had a flat tyre. The motorway towards Antwerp is pretty rough and we crossed a bridge on a motorway somewhere that had ruts at 5 metre intervals over the whole length.
'However beware that horsemeat is sold in some restaurants.'
What's wrong with that?
Have you tried it?
If you've eaten Italian salami you have probably eaten donkey!
What's wrong with that?
Have you tried it?
If you've eaten Italian salami you have probably eaten donkey!
I find Belgium great for food and drink. I visit Ypres a lot, doing WW1 battlefield research and find that although I've been there weeks at a time two or three times a year for the past three years, I still find something new to see or do.
While Ypres is a small-ish town, there are several smaller supermarkets, including a Spar where fresh milk is available.
Seafood is available also, but Ypres is 1 1/2hrs drive from Oostende where fresh seafood is sold each day along the front. Brugge is a nice day's trip also.
Belgian beer, well... best I have ever come across. Rob Jax has already identified two great beers from the expanding Leffe range... Leffe blonde great (6.2%) as is Leffe Bruine. They also do a Leffe Tripel at 8.8%, and this year introduced a new one Leffe 9% with a blue top (not to be mixed with the blue top milk). In Ypres, you can get the local fermentation... called Ypra.. silk from the tap. Hoegarden is a nice beer but the exclusive Trappistes Rochefort.... drool... 10%alc.. a beer !!!
While Ypres is a small-ish town, there are several smaller supermarkets, including a Spar where fresh milk is available.
Seafood is available also, but Ypres is 1 1/2hrs drive from Oostende where fresh seafood is sold each day along the front. Brugge is a nice day's trip also.
Belgian beer, well... best I have ever come across. Rob Jax has already identified two great beers from the expanding Leffe range... Leffe blonde great (6.2%) as is Leffe Bruine. They also do a Leffe Tripel at 8.8%, and this year introduced a new one Leffe 9% with a blue top (not to be mixed with the blue top milk). In Ypres, you can get the local fermentation... called Ypra.. silk from the tap. Hoegarden is a nice beer but the exclusive Trappistes Rochefort.... drool... 10%alc.. a beer !!!
Hi Richard - been pondering about visiting this area for a while but not sure of any decent sites. Can you suggest any reasonable sites for a large single axle van.
Cheers
John
Cheers
John
Hi John,
I work in Rotterdam, live in the UK and Holland - and commute through Belgium on a regular basis.
Really love the Belgian cities of Brugge (Bruges) and Gent, also the town of Damme just north of Brugge. Highly recommend Northern Belgium and Southern Holland.
We are currently running a test web-site for the migration of the Eriba Owners forum, and I've placed two introductions to Holland and Belgium on that site:
http://eriba.jconserv.net/viewforum.php?f=20&sid=8f97806f96c9c32e6cee82acf00bb0dc
or if you can cut and paste that into your web-browser, navigate to the "touring experiences" section
Otherwise, if you use the search facility (top right of screen) and search this site for "Camping Blaarmeersen" you'll pick up the threads when Barney (Cumbria) basically asked the same question as you a few months back.
Regards, Robert
I work in Rotterdam, live in the UK and Holland - and commute through Belgium on a regular basis.
Really love the Belgian cities of Brugge (Bruges) and Gent, also the town of Damme just north of Brugge. Highly recommend Northern Belgium and Southern Holland.
We are currently running a test web-site for the migration of the Eriba Owners forum, and I've placed two introductions to Holland and Belgium on that site:
http://eriba.jconserv.net/viewforum.php?f=20&sid=8f97806f96c9c32e6cee82acf00bb0dc
or if you can cut and paste that into your web-browser, navigate to the "touring experiences" section
Otherwise, if you use the search facility (top right of screen) and search this site for "Camping Blaarmeersen" you'll pick up the threads when Barney (Cumbria) basically asked the same question as you a few months back.
Regards, Robert
John, it depends what facilities you are looking for. The wife and I visit Ypres each year. We found a site in Ypres on the first visit. It is a council run site and has hot showers 24/7 (no tokens to buy but a keyfob to grant access), water and toilet facilities and toilet emptying. For us, that's all we need. The site is a pleasant 10 min walk from the Menin Gate and Ypres main centre. Unfortunately the site closes Oct to March, which still suits us. Last visit, I have to say, the toilets had been vandalised with writing, but they are cleaned every day. There ia a small bullring for caravans and plots 2,3,4 and 5 are longer than the others. We have a Bailey Pageant Bordeaux and have not had problems with any emplacement.
Their website is not comprehensive, but a taster of what they offer.
http://www.jeugdstadion.be/index_english.htm
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