Belgium and Germany Trip

[jgarretson]

So for my 40th birthday, I'm heading to Europe for two weeks in late September. We're going to start in Paris, make our way to Germany and eventually end up in Venice, Italy. This is a major liver damage trip.

We've got hotel reservations already in Munich and will be going to Oktoberfest on Monday September 26th.

We have a few days after we leave Paris and we might venture into southeastern Belgium. Has anyone been to this area before? There are a few Trappist breweries in the Wallonia region, Rochefort and one other one I think. Have you ever visited these places? Any other must visit breweries near there? We're not going up to Brussels.

Also what about western Germany or Munich? Beyond the big ones, have you been to some off the wall amazing local place or are they all that way?

Hoping to sneak in a Bayern Munich match as well...

 

[jmcquesten]

Can't make suggestions on breweries in those areas, but I strongly recommend that you stop in a town called Garmish (sp?). It's a picture perfect German town/village and I'm sure you'll find something good to drink there. As far as Belgium, anywhere you go you'll find excellent beer. Oh, and don't make the same mistake I did. I was under the impression that you can only bring back a few bottles. That's somewhat true. You can bring back whatever you want to pay tax on (and fit on the plane). I would have gladly paid tax on a case of just about anything over there.

 

[HLSheppard]

So for my 40th birthday, I'm heading to Europe for two weeks in late September. We're going to start in Paris, make our way to Germany and eventually end up in Venice, Italy. This is a major liver damage trip.

We've got hotel reservations already in Munich and will be going to Oktoberfest on Monday September 26th.

We have a few days after we leave Paris and we might venture into southeastern Belgium. Has anyone been to this area before? There are a few Trappist breweries in the Wallonia region, Rochefort and one other one I think. Have you ever visited these places? Any other must visit breweries near there? We're not going up to Brussels.

Also what about western Germany or Munich? Beyond the big ones, have you been to some off the wall amazing local place or are they all that way?

Hoping to sneak in a Bayern Munich match as well...

This = my bucket list! Congrats!

 

[meatcleaver]

I'm jealous.
I was stationed in Berlin 92-94, made it to Oktoberfest in Berlin in 93. it was awesome (from what i can remember) & I've always wanted to go back.
Oktoberfest in Munich is on my bucket list as well.
I always enjoyed walking into a bar & saying "ein bier bitte" & drinking whatever they served me. that's how I was introduced to weizenbier.

 

[TheHopfather]

Just did a similar trip last year. Oktoberfest is a lot of fun and it isn't hard to find a good beer to drink. The grounds themselves are huge, the beer tents shut down at 10:00 or 11:00 PM (hard to remember what time I stumbled out of there). I would recommend you check out Augustiner Bräustuben for food afterwards, its just a couple blocks from the grounds. Since you're in Munich you have to go check out Hofbräuhaus München. Its very tourist-y, but hey, you're a tourist! Its HUGE and a lot of fun. For the grounds themselves, unless you want to get in line for a tent at 7:00AM, I'd just recommend that you be social and friendly. There are a LOT of tourists in the tents from all over the world. The wife and I just made friends with a table that looked like it had room for 2 more and ended up spending the entire afternoon/night singing along to German beer drinking songs and stomping on benches with our new friends from Australia, Sweden, Austria and of course Munich (Spatan tent). One thing to keep in mind is they will not serve you beer in the tents unless you have a seat. Also everyone is dressed up in lederhosen and dirndl's. They are easy to purchase there if you feel like joining in the fun, but they aren't the cheapest things in the world (plus real lederhosen weigh a ton, real fun to lug around Europe for the next 2 weeks, ask me how I know).

We didn't spend much time in southern Belgium, but I can't imagine you'll have a hard time finding good beer. Paris was a bit of a let down beer-wise, but really cool in every other way. Switch to wine, you'll be okay.

 

[jgarretson]

Thanks for the info everyone.

I've looked into making reservations at some of the tents and they won't even let you make one unless you have at least 10 people. We're going on a Monday and there will be four of us so I guess it will just be find some new friends and squeeze in huh?

We're hitting champagne caves outside of Paris and I figured I'd be drinking a bunch of wine there.

Bayern Munich just released their schedule and they're away the weekend I'll be in town but Champion's League match day 2 is on the Tuesday I'll be there so fingers crossed...

 

[NTexBrewer]

We have a few days after we leave Paris and we might venture into southeastern Belgium. Has anyone been to this area before? There are a few Trappist breweries in the Wallonia region, Rochefort and one other one I think. Have you ever visited these places? Any other must visit breweries near there? We're not going up to Brussels.

How are you traveling? Train, Car?

I was in Belgium last summer. We spent a few days in Namur visiting family. Did not go to any of the trappist breweries in that area. Instead we did family tourist stuff at Bastogne, Dinant and Castle Bouillon.

Just doing a quick look there is Chimay, Rochefort and Orval in that region. Even if you don't go to Orval make sure you order one at a restaurant. This beer fresh, tastes completely different than the 9 month to 1 year old bottles we get here.

Also, remember that Belgium is very small. In one day we drove from Namur to Mons for lunch. Then we continued west and stopped in Popperinge which is the Hop Growing region and went to the Hop Museum. Then stopped at In de Vrede for the infamous Westy 12. Then drove to Ostend to dip our toes in the frigid north atlantic and then ended our day in Bruges to check into our hotel and have a late dinner.

 

[jgarretson]

We're planning to rent a car once we leave Paris and drive around France and Belgium. We'll ditch the car in eastern France and take the train to Munich.

 

[Sourz4life]

While your over there, if you enjoy sour beers try to grab a Cantillon. Its expensive to get that stuff shipped over here.

 

[brewbama]

I was stationed in Germany and Italy. Do yourself a huge favor. Get off the beaten path and find small villages. You can't go wrong anywhere. It's all good.

Weinheim near Heidelberg has my fav brewery: WoinemerHausBraurei

Venice there's a great restaurant at the base of the Rialto bridge. Cool place to eat, watch canal traffic, and people watch.

 

[Radboud]

In southeast Belgium close to Bastogne you can find the Achouffe brewery (http://www.achouffe.be/en). Well worth a visit.

 

[LLBeanJ]

We took a similar family trip last fall and had a blast. We had a rental car the entire two weeks we were there and did a lot of driving (too much, really). Instead of Paris, however, our trip began and ended in Amsterdam, which we really enjoyed and are making plans to return.

As mentioned above, Chimay is in southern Belgium and is well worth a visit. They have a small hotel (12 or so rooms) and a nice little restaurant on the grounds. It's located in the Belgian countryside and while very pretty, there's not much around it, so one night is most likely enough. They do have some excellent beer, though!

If you can make it up to Bamberg from Munich, I highly recommend hitting up Schlenkerla. Awesome smoked beer and great food. Bamberg is a medieval town and there is lots to see in the old part of the city. We only spent one night there and really wished we could have stayed for a few days. It's definitely on the list for a return visit.

Munich's Oktoberfest was cool and definitely a must-see, but Stuttgart has their Cannstatter Volksfest going on around the same time. The Stuttgart affair is very similar to Oktoberfest, but smaller and less crowded and we actually enjoyed it more than Oktoberfest due to its smaller size.

I wholeheartedly agree with one of the previous posters that recommended staying in smaller towns. The larger cities can be a bit overwhelming (I.e., stressful), whereas the smaller towns and villages are much more laid back and the people just seemed to be friendlier.

 

[Radboud]

If you want to visit The Netherlands but want to avoid Amsterdam the city of Eindhoven (as made famous by the 101st Airborne Division) might be nice for a short stay. It is close to the border with Belgium and has a number of excellent brewpubs (like http://vanmolleindhoven.nl/). For sightseeing the old town of Maastricht is also very nice (close to southeast Belgium).