Heading to Germany !!

Wife and I will be in Hilden for the second week in December. I think we are going to spend the first weekend in Brussels, Belgium. Then she spends a week in the office leaving me to my own devices.:rockin:

Any place that is a need to go ? Beers to look for...etc. BTW- We just bought a Garmin NUVI 270 handheld GPS that has both US and Europe maps.

Köln for a Kölsch tour of the Alt Staadt, and an Alt tour in Düsseldorf. nuff said. It is a really great area and both of those towns are a blast.

You suck

Boerderij Kabouter said:

Köln for a Kölsch tour of the Alt Staadt, and an Alt tour in Düsseldorf. nuff said. It is a really great area and both of those towns are a blast.

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Word

If you make it to Munich, the Augustiner Braeuhaus is great and there's a hostel right across the street.

Don't forget to eat Doener!

In Brussels you have to go see Cantillon, anybody who works there will talk about beer all day, the more questions the better. It's where I fell in love with gueuze. Don't mind all the spider webs, there's a rhyme and a reason

If you have time and are willing to make the trek, it was absolutely amazing to go to Westvelteren. It's a days worth of traveling to and from Brussels, and much easier if you have a car, but possible by train/bike. I took the train to Poperinge and then walked (yup) each way to and from the abbey. Beautiful scenery along the way, including hops.

I'm going to second everything BK said. While I was in Köln my favorite was Früh, in Dusseldorf it was Uerige, but you really can't go wrong anywhere in either city. Also, in Köln a neat place was the chocolate factory, and I was a fan of all the above ground water main.

My personal fav in Köln is Pfaffgen, it is just off the square.

If you are interested in some smaller town stuff....

1) Abtei Michaelsberg can be found in Siegburg along the river Sieg. They produce a beer similar to Kölsch and make some very special Schnöpps. They have a nice little restaurant on top of the hill and some beautiful grounds. Great spot for a nice little dinner. Michaelsberg Abbey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2) There is an awesome steak place in Kriegsdorf just outside Troisdorf. I can't find any info on it, but if you go to the town and ask any local they can point you in the right direction.

Boerderij Kabouter said:

Köln for a Kölsch tour of the Alt Staadt, and an Alt tour in Düsseldorf. nuff said. It is a really great area and both of those towns are a blast.

Click to expand...

+1 and you are going to be there at the same time as the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market). Be sure to try some Glühwein (Hot spiced mulled wine) a try, then try some Mit Schuss (with a shot of rum) :cross:



Weihnachtsmarkt Düsseldorf - Weihnachten 2008

Weihnachtsmarkt Köln 6 Kölner Weihnachtsmärkte 2008 Dom Mittelalter Beginn 2009 Neumarkt Öffnungszeiten Termine Mittelalterlicher Rudolfplatz Koln Schokoladenmuseum Rhein Dezember NRW Bilder Mittelaltermarkt November Deutschland Kinder Mittelalterlic

i hate you. ship me some augustiner and i'll forgive you for taking this trip without me.

Thanks everyone-I'm taking notes.

BTW-I bought a Garmin NUVI 270 that has both US and Europe maps for $157 on Amazon. Handheld unit that is auto friendly. :rockin: