http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20963 It's only a few minutes walk from Den Haag Centraal Station so is a perfect place to kill time before your train arrives. Though you might get too settled and miss it.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20963 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20962
The only down-side is that it's too dimly lit if you like to read a book while quaffing the Netherlands' finest ales.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20962 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12723
There are roughly 80 regular beers on the menu as well as monthly specials, some of them unusual (for example, Het Anker's Gouden Carolus Triple on tap - what a night that was!).

Service is efficient and friendly.

Poechenellkelder means "mannekin cellar" in the local Brussels dialect and you'll find that your bill is also in that dialect, which is similar to Dutch.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12723 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1785 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1785 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1760
You'll meet beer-lovers from all over the world at this event which has out-grown two venues since it was first organised in 1999. It is now held on the Groenplaats in the heart of the city. It IS a commercially-organised event, so there are some beers from the mass-produced, not-very-interesting end of the market, but even so there are more craft-brewed beers than any one person can sample in a weekend.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1760 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1557
The reason for the hand is a legend that a giant called Druoon Antigoon lived on the banks of the River Schelde on the site of what's now Antwerpen and he used to extract a toll, punishing anybody who refused to pay by cutting off one of their hands. He was finally defeated by a Roman soldier, Silvius Brabo (often claimed to be a nephew of Julius Caesar) who symbolically cut off Antigoon's hand and threw it into the river. Thus, according to the legend, the city was named after Brabo's throwing of Antigoon's hand into the Schelde, from the Dutch hand (as in English) and werpen (English: throw).]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1557 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1424
Every two years, HORAL, the trade organisation for the producers of this beer, organises the Toer de Gueuze. On one sunday in April, virtually every producer opens its doors to visitors so they can see how this wonderful beer is made. You can make your own way around the producers or you can take a seat on one of a number of coaches that tour around (each coach visiting a different selection of brewers and blenders).

You can sample the beer at every producer and many of them also put on food and entertainment. The day isn't well-publicised outside Belgium, but judging from the number of people I saw when I went on it this year (2005) it's pretty well-known in Belgium. Guided tours round the various producers are only in Dutch, since there isn't really time for multi-lingual commentaries. However, even if you don't understand the language, you'll find the whole experience fascinating (and you'll love the beer.)]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1424 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1374 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1374 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1165 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1165 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1113 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1113 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1110 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1110 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1108 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1108 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1103 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1103 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1101 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1101 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1089 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1089 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1087 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1087 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1084
It isn't somewhere to go if you're in a hurry; in true Belgian fashion the chips are part-cooked first, then refried when you order them for that perfect "soft inside, crisp outside" texture.

As you'd expect in Belgium, mayonnaise is the usual dressing for your chips, but they have a wide range of other sauces, some with "interesting" names, like "mammoth". Personally I don't like sauce on my chips so I just sprinkle some of the tasty salt/paprika mixture on them.

If only the suckers buying junkfood from the nearby McDonald's knew what they were missing.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1084 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1081 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1081 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1080 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1080 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1076 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1076