Miscellaneous Brussels...

Over the five nights in Brussels, we visited the Grand Place several times, including during the day...

…and at night.

The Cinquantenaire Arch. built in 1905, was especially impressive at night.

We rented an apartment in the shopping district with Carla, who we know from London. We brought our own drinks up to the rooftop of City Hall for happy hour...

..and enjoyed great views over the city.

Luckily our apartment was nicer than the gate to the small alley to our front door.

No trip to Brussels is complete with spotting some street art.

 

Best of Brussels...

That Sunday was Higgins 1000th Hash with Brussels Manneke Piss H3 and he hosted a special circle after a great trail. Afterwards a bunch of us went out for dinner. 

On Monday, Jimmy had to work, but I enjoyed going on Higgins’ Best of Brussels Walk. 

It was fun for our group to see the renovations of the site where the big Brussels 2014 Hash Weekend was hosted.

While I had been there several times over the past decade, this was the first time many of our group had been back since that incredible event.

We covered a lot of ground.

Rather than seeing lots of horse-drawn carriages carrying tourists around the city, we spotted old-fashioned looking electric vehicles. 

Jimmy met up with me later and we found a small restaurant off the beaten path for a dinner of mussels before catching the Eurostar home. 
 

Party Time...

On that Friday, I enjoyed the summer bar crawl through the parks of Brussels. Jimmy joined me for the Meet and Greet, a dinner hosted by Higgins, on the left with RA wearing a shirt of Higgins’ face.   

Saturday night was the official birthday party.

Jimmy was thrilled to juggle...

…and DJ.

 

An Afternoon in Oostende...

After a nice walk in the dunes, we headed to Oostende. With a population around 72,000, it is the largest city on the Belgian coast.

Higgins did a great job choosing our drink stops...

…and our restaurant for dinner.

We saw a lot of funky art, including these huge crushed metal cubes on the beach...

…a variety of murals...

…and this kooky statue.
 

Sculptures on a Belgian Beach...

There were a lot of great sculptures spread across the beach at De Haan. 

Back to Belgium...

In late August 2024, we headed back to Brussels to celebrate Higgins’ 60th birthday. Rather than just have a party, he planned a multi-day experience for around 100 hashers from around the world. While Jimmy had to work that Thursday, I went along on one of the optional tours. Our small group just happened to be led by Higgins. We took a train to De Haan Aan Zee on the coast.

It was a windy day as we walked along the beach...

...to our first optional drink stop.

Many of the buildings were built during the Belle Époque (Beautiful Age) from 1870 to 1914. 

Albert Einstein lived in Villa Savoyarde for five months in 1933. 

Most of us grabbed a snack before going to our first official drink stop in an old bar.

It must be crazy there in the summer when there’s a bunch of underage drivers speeding around.