Joe,

Very much enjoyed your commentary on Brugge and Amsterdam. (Was last in Brugge in '03 and A-dam in '00). I will be returning to both cities for about 7 days this September prior to a conference in the Hague.

I did have a question about your train connection. I will be landing at Schipol on a Friday (late morning I assume) and wanted to catch the train that same day to Brugge. Did you catch a direct train from Schipol or did you first have to to to Centraal station and go from there? And were you able to buy your point-to-point ticket to Brugge at the Schipol train station? Also, I noted that you didn't need reservations but since I'll be travelling on a Friday in September....? Since I'll be arriving on a long overnight flight from Los Angeles that day, I wanted to make the train connection to Brugge as seamless and simple as possible.

I will be returning to A-dam the following Monday, so hopefully the weekend party element-vibe you encountered will have gone back to work? Sorry to read about your impression of Amsterdam. I often note this same "feeling" there occasionally later in the evenings on weekends, but maybe it's just a weekend bachelor party thing....

My email is in my profile if anyone has info on train connections between Schipol and Brugge.

Thanks,


Cagey

Hi, great report.I'm going next July.
Hey, VIVI: question about the bus from
the trian station to the Markt.
Is it easy to find?
Does it say anything special- is it mark "the markt", or something?
Do I have to go anywhere specific to
hop on it? after arriving @ the station. I'm going to Brugge from Brussels as an independent day tour.
I would appreciate any help. THanks

ilovetulips

Yes we did have some of Belgian chocolate and it was great. There were a large number of chocolate shops in the street where our hotel was located so we were spoiled for choice. Unfortunately, I can't remember the names of the different brands. I enjoy Amstel beer so stuck to that while in Bruges - didn't get the chance to try any Belgian beers though. If we had been there longer we would have!

Cagey, we did indeed buy our tickets at Schipol and got the train to Bruges from there. We did not need to travel into Centraal. I had wondered about buying in advance but some postings here changed my mind. The ticket office is easily found in the main airport block not long after you come through from arrivals. From the ticket office you walk only a few yards to the stairs down to the station platform to catch the Bruges train. If I remember correctly most of the trains I found when checking the online timetables for this this service did stop at the aiport.

We too were concerned that the carraiges would be too busy and we would not get a seat. For that reason we took first class. The carraige only had about 6 poeple in it. Coming back from Bruges on the Friday we travelled 2nd class and although busy there were plenty of seats available.

Find the timetabnles at the International Services section link:-

www.ns.nl/

I hope you have a great trip!

Ah Joe, thanks for the reply. I think I'll go first class then just to be safe. Looking forward to my trip in September, again thanks.

ilovetulips --

Had to butt in since you ask about chocolates and beers. I posted a trip report from my last trip which you can read here:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34464289

We loved Leonidas for mass produced chocolates and Dumon hands down for independently produced chocolates.

My husband and I are beer connoisseurs (at least we like to think we are) and I listed our fave watering holes in my trip report itself. As for specific beer recommendations, I highly recommend Duchesse de Bourgogne (especially on draft if you can find it), a very unusual but extremely tasty sour red flemish ale. We also really enjoy beers from Het Kapittel, especially the Prior style. You'll find Stella Artois everywhere, but you can find that everywhere in the states too...have fun experimenting with new beers in Belgium that you won't find in the states - they are phenomenal. Have a great trip.