Scam in Brugge

I just want to warn travelers that beautiful, idyllic Brugge also has its scam artists. Walking down one of the side streets in the middle of the afternoon, we were stopped by a young man wanting us to take his picture. He seemed nervous, though, as he was having trouble explaining how to use his video camera. Suddenly, a second well-dressed man in a sport coat came toward us, flashed a badge %26quot;Polizei%26quot; that also had a name and his picture on it, and demanded our passports. My husband and I immediately turned around and started quickly walking back to the main street while my husband shouted at the guys, %26quot;You, you follow me.%26quot; He loudly repeated this three times. The men stayed where they were with shocked looks on their faces. The %26quot;policeman%26quot; finally said, %26quot;No problem%26quot; and walked off in the opposite direction. Our intent, if they followed, was to go to a shop on the corner and have the shopkeeper call the police.

We could not find a Brugge policeman, so we continued our walk back to the train station. Guess who was there? Our %26quot;policeman%26quot; and %26quot;video camera man%26quot; were there together buying train tickets. Luckily, they did not get on our train. We had had all the drama we needed for one day! A man I met who worked in finance (Euro) told me that a stolen passport is going for 17,000 euros. Not letting those jerks get ours, though, was %26quot;priceless.%26quot;

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If anyone claiming to be a policeman flashes a badge that is not in the national/regional/local language (%26quot;Polizei%26quot; is German: in Dutch this would be Politie, in French, Police), you had better be suspicious!

A good tactic is to ask to accompany the %26quot;policeman%26quot; to a police station.

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My wife and I just returned from a trip to various places in Europe, including Brugge...and seem to have met these same men, by the details of your experience!!

We were taking a stroll inside a beautiful church campus near the lake, when the first guy walked up to me and (with the same nervous exporession) asked me to click his picture. No sooner had he started talking that the second guy (the %26quot;policeman%26quot;) approached us, and demanded to see all our passports, and even our wallets!!

Quite taken aback as we were, we did show him our passports (the point about the badge not being in the local language hadn%26#39;t struck yet!)...and that%26#39;s when he demanded to see our credit cards (he did the same to the other guy, who complied and even told him his PIN). That%26#39;s when we got suspicious, and refused point blank to show him our credit cards.

And just as your case, it didnt take a moment for him to back out...he started saying %26quot;yes yes, you go, be careful..do not talk to strangers%26quot;...yeah, like we would, after this!!!

We looked for a (genuine) policeman all the way back to our hotel but couldnt find any...

Probably the crime rate in Brugge is still not alarming enough for the police to be very alert, but if this was any indication, they better buckel up while its still so..

These guys didnt really look very professional after all, their play seems to fall apart the moment their %26quot;victims%26quot; get suspicious...but people, Brugge may not really be the safe haven it looks for long, if conmen like these are not nabbed on spot!

Till then, please beware...keep your wits about you..though its easy to get carried away..what with so much beauty around you!! :-) :-)

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Same again...me and my fiancee came across the same pair, plying the same scam, in the same location but their roles were reversed - we didn%26#39;t have passports or foreign currency - only euros - the pair were uninterested. Brugge needs to sort this out. it would be simple to set this pair up with a honey trap...

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This once happened to us in Barcelona, about 10 years ago, but it%26#39;s the first time I%26#39;ve heard of it happening in Brugge.

My advice to anyone worried about this, is don%26#39;t let it stop you from visiting Brugge.

We%26#39;ve been going there for 12 years, and have always found it to be one of the friendliest and safest places we%26#39;ve ever visited.

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Removed on: 4:20 am, October 01, 2009

Christmas in Brussels

Eight of us are thinking about spending a long weekend in Brussels for the Christmas markets and anything else thats on.

We are not sure if we should fly or use the Eurostar and I am looking for anyone who can give some advice about places to stay and what parts of Brussels that are a must to see.

Thanks

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The christmas market in Brussels is pretty big. But i%26#39;ve only been there once. And if you can get a good deal on the eurostar, i would go for that.

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Removed on: 1:20 am, October 05, 2009

Parking in Ghent

Next weekend it´s us to enjoy beautiful Ghent and the belgium beer, which is by far the best in the world.

As our hotel, the Holiday-Inn Express is far out of the center I would like to know a good place for cheap parking.

The Hotel is situated south of Ghend at E 17 close to

UZ Ghent. Thanks a lot. Dank U wel!

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Not sure what you consider cheap but underground parking in Gent costs around 1.5 euro per hour during the day and slightly less at night.

There are parking lots around the old center of Gent but for you I would suggest the following, parking REEP.

From your hotel you drive back onto the highway in the direction of Antwerp and get off at the next exit (very short distance) called Gentbrugge.

At the end of exit turn left towards the center of Gent and keep driving straight for a couple of km%26#39;s.

There are several stoplight but you keep driving till you get to rather big roundabout and from there you should see signs for REEP parking and possibly others too.

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Removed on: 3:17 am, October 05, 2009

brugge to paris;

how far is it to travel from brussels to brugge? from brugge to paris? we will be driving.

any suggestions for a place to stay outside of paris where we catch a train into paris?

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According to Viamichelin:

- Brussels to Brugge: 102 km, 1h17.

- Brugge to Paris: 296 km, 2h59

Place to stay outside Paris: not really a question for the Belgium/Brugge forum, but you could consider Lille (1 hour from Paris by TGV) or if you want to be closer, Chantilly, 25 minutes from Paris-Nord: station is Chantilly-Gouvieux.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Chantilly%2C_Oise

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sorry about the paris question got off track. thanks for the info

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Removed on: 4:22 am, October 05, 2009

Novice backpacker trying to see as much as possible~~Advice?

I know this is somewhat of a general question not specifically related to Belgium itself but I%26#39;m trying to look for any type of feedback...positive or negative. I am trying to make the best trip possible seeing everything I can in a 2 week period. I was planning on making a giant loop through western Europe. Starting in Spain, Southern France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and to finish Northern France. Am I getting ahead of myself by trying to visit all these places in the time allowed? I%26#39;ve done plenty of research but I%26#39;d like to hear from experienced travelers who have done such a journey.

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I think what you will mostly see is trains, assuming that that is how you intend to visit these 6 countries in 2 weeks! Not counting day of arrival and departure, that%26#39;s 2 days per country, and you have asked this question in the smallest one you would be visiting, or perhaps merely changing trains in.

All I can say regarding Belgium is that if you are coming to Brussels from Amsterdam, make sure you get an InterCity train and not Thalys (both take 3h), then you can get off at Gare centrale which is the best area both to stay in, if you are, and for visiting - the Grand%26#39; Place is just 5 minutes%26#39; walk down the hill. When continuing to Paris, however, you will have to take a local train one stop from Gare centrale to Midi, since that is where Thalys (1h22 to Paris) starts and other than by bus (4h) it%26#39;s the only way you can go. If you are using some sort of rail pass, bear in mind that you will have to pay a supplement for Thalys.

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Thanks for your input. I made a vague preliminary list of places I%26#39;d like to go no matter how unrealistic it may be. And eventually I will be cutting it down probably 2-3 more times before I am satisfied. I know a lot of the trip will be seeing the inside of a train but I do wanna make the most of it.

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It may be more realistic to spend 2 weeks each on Spain, France, N. Italy, S. Italy, Germany, and Benelux. Or you can cross countries by perhaps e.g. tracing the pilgrimage route from France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

To me, to be a backpacker has a different meaning than %26#39;living out of a suitcase%26#39;. It implies a down-to-earth traveling experience with emphasis on the local life and splendor. This aspect is not attainable by a whirlwind tour. Please goto the website of New York Times and read about the blogs of the Frugal Traveler currently doing the Grand Tour of Europe.

My experience is: without adequate time one should try to minimize long distance trips.

I don%26#39;t know if you are interested in museums. The Louvre alone needs more than a day, The Vatican needs a day. The museum island alone in Berlin needs 2 days. Munich will need 2 days. Even in Brussels it needs the greater part of a day.

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Well, with my work schedule and economy looking so dim right now it%26#39;s gonna be hard to make my trip any longer than what I already have planned. I think I may shorten my itinerary to focus more on a region. That way I can take more time in each place. You are right, I%26#39;d like to %26quot;get a feel%26quot; for a place and its people rather than just a glimpse. But on the other hand, the whirlwind tour to me would give me kind of a general idea of what its like in multiple countries. Eventually at a later time I could take another trip and actually explore a specific place that I had liked from my previous travels. I hope all that makes sense. I believe there are adv/disadvantages to both types of travel...I just want to make the most of it and enjoy my surroundings.

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I replied to you in another forum--France I think--and said it would be best to pick three places and go with those. It is tempting to try to %26quot;see%26quot; as much as possible, but you really aren%26#39;t experiencing a place when you just breeze through it.

My backpacking buddy and I spent less than a day in Venice--imagine!--and I barely recall it. We spent the following three days in Florence and we loved it. Why a %26quot;kiss%26quot; only of Venice, I don%26#39;t recall, but I%26#39;ve always wanted to go back and do it justice.

This won%26#39;t be your only trip to Europe. So relax and enjoy where you do manage to get to on this trip.

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Hey Tex, thanks for your comments they are definetly appreciated. All the feedback by other travelers like yourself are gonna help me plan a way better trip than I imagined. Thanks again.

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Removed on: 6:21 pm, October 04, 2009

travel to Ghent

I am thinking of having a 3 night stay in Ghent in July. Which is the best way of getting to Ghent? We will use Eurostar but don%26#39;t know which is easier - changing at Lille or Brussels. (or some other station?)

Having recently read (on Trip Advisor) some woeful reports of the dangers at Brussels Midi I am not sure about going there, although we never encountered any in February this year.

Your advice is much appreciated.

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It depends what you mean by %26quot;easier%26quot;, but if you change in Lille a) you have to change stations from Lille-Europe to Lille-Flandres (not far away) and b) you will usually have to change again at Kortrijk. Although it will take you about 3 hours (London to Ghent) in both cases, slightly less via Brussels and slightly more via Lille.

I would suggest you put your date and time of departure into http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en and see what connections it gives you, entering London and Gent-St. Pieters.

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as i keep saying brussels midi/zuid is not dangerous - may not be the most pleasant place on earth but...

your eurostar tix include onward travel to ghent if you go to brussels but not if you go to lille

i think it%26#39;s much easier to go to brussels - no change of station as at lille and at least 3 trains an hour from brussels

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Hi,

I would change in Brussels. Brussels-Midi is not such a nice train station, but as long as you stay in the station itself everything is fine... off course you need to watch out like you have to in every place where a lot of people are around !

Changing at Brussels-Midi is much easier why in Lille you have to change station.

And from Brussels you have a train to Ghent about every 1/2 hour !

Have a nice stay in Ghent ... be aware that there are %26#39;Gentse Feesten%26#39; from the 17th until the 27th of July : party and concerts all over town, but difficult to find a hotel room then !

Kathy

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Hi,

Sorry but Kathy has made a mistake about the period of the %26quot;Gentse Feesten%26quot; (Ghent Festivities), they are from 19th until 28th of July.

The Ghent Floralies exist this year 200 years and there will be a historic parade in the city centre on 21th of September. It%26#39;s still a while but it will be something unique and a must to see.

If you want more information about Ghent (history, monuments, events, publications, etc) you can find it on www.visitgent.be. It%26#39;s also in English.

Have a nice time in Ghent!

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Bruxelles Midi / Brussel Zuid is not dodgy at all, they wouldn%26#39;t exactly house Eurostar and Thalys there if everyone got mugged .....

As people have said , via Brussels will be cheapest , quickest and easiest (about 35 min train ride to Gent). In Lille you%26#39;d have to change trainstations and the train from Lille to Gent is a slow one , takes over an hour.

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Change at Brussels-Midi because (a) you can use your Eurostar ticket to get there for free (b) you have to traipse from Lille-Europe down the road to Lille-Flandres and (c) you%26#39;ll have to queue up for ages to buy a ticket at Lille-Flandres. Brussels-Midi is not dangerous so long as you keep your wits about you - stick all your valuables in your case, you%26#39;re only changing platforms so you won%26#39;t need them (obviously on the return journey only get your passport out once you get in the Eurostar departure hall). The Gent trains usually depart from round about platform 15 - look for trains whose destination is Ostend or Blankenberg/Knokke-Heist on the departure boards, they always stop at Gent. Check on the sncf-be website to check on train times.

Oh and when you%26#39;re booking on Eurostar, depending on the gap between connections, make sure you%26#39;re booked in coach 17 or 18 as they%26#39;ll be nearest the exit at Brussels-Midi - invaluable if you%26#39;re getting the 8.05 out of St Pancras and wanting the 11.05 to Gent out of Brussels!

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ReuzeEmma - excellent advice. Thank you. Thanks also to everyone who has replied. Changing at Brussels it is then.

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Removed on: 1:25 am, October 01, 2009

Is the station far from the centre?

Hello all

Am considering a trip to Ghent on Eurostar but the station (St Pieters?) looks a bit far from the centre? Am I just misreading the map? Otherwise, is it easy to get a tram or something else to travel around?

Thanks in anticipation!

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it%26#39;s a couple of km but take tram no 1 towarsds wondelgem and get off at the korenmarkt. buy tickets at the machines - in english and take change. about 1.50 euros

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It is too far to walk.

The Number 1 tram mentioned above is sometimes also marked %26quot;Evergem%26quot;. Both take you to the center. I like to get out at the castle stop. To return to the station, take the number 1 marked with the direction %26quot;Flanders Expo%26quot;.

The ticket machines sell single ride tickets as well as the day passes. Buy a ticket before you board. The day pass needs to be date and time stamped. The individual tickets also need to be stamped and you can do that on the train.

For the single tickets, insert it into the cancellation machine and press the button corresponding to the number of zones you intend to travel. To the center, press the buttoon marked %26quot;1%26quot; for one zone. And you should see the time and date printed on the ticket which means you have a valid ticket.

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Removed on: 6:21 am, October 05, 2009