![Image 1]()
Meeting at
EuroCPian Spring 2004 in London.
Left to Right: Roger, Colin, Anna, Ian,
Casper and Jonathan
Introduction
Get ready for the second EuroCPian event! If you love Code Project and you
are in Europe and want to meet up with some of the great people that help make
the Code Project community what it is then this is the event for you!
What is the EuroCPian Get Together?
It is an informal and unofficial get together of CPians in Europe. It is open
to all who wish to attend. It is unofficial because it is arranged and organised
by the good users of Code Project and not by Code Project staff themselves.
![Image 2]()
At the Science
Museum in London at the EuroCPian Spring 2004 event.
L-to-R: Sam, Anna, Joel,
Casper, Ian, Iain, Brendan, Roger
Location
Okay, the first phase is over. The general location and date have been
choosen. The winners are
Brussels, Belgium
4th September
Brussel / Bruxelles
Brussels situated roughly in the centre of the country, with Flanders to the
north and Wallonia to the south. Brussels is not only the Capital of Belgium, it
is also home to the European Union and to NATO. Its multi-lingual,
multi-cultural character is due to its history as the great meeting place of
Europe. Traces of the Austrians, Spanish, French and Dutch can still be seen in
its architecture and in the lifestyle of its people. There are superb
examples of art and architecture past and present.
To do and see
Grand Place
This enormous, open-air square is surrounded by georgeous façades and a
dazzling baroque and gothic skyline formed by the tops of the
buildings . You will instantly see why it is called the Grand Place.
However, the site was originally marsh land until the 12th Century and was
originally a large market place called "Grote Markt" which expanded into the
nearby streets and explains the commerce oriented street names. The
prosperity of Brussels was further emphasised by the building of the awe
inspiringly Gothic Hôtel de Ville which is still used today as the City
Hall.
The centre of Grand Place is regularly used as the venue for various events
from mock jousting events to evening concerts in the summer. It is also the
rendezvous point for people to plan the evening's acivities, or just sit in a
café and watch the world go by.
Drink Bière
Belgium produces a staggering array of different beers, some esitmates go as
high at 800 different brews. Obviously not all beers are going to win a gold
medal, but the overall quality and sheer diversity of Belgium's beer production
is second to none.
One of the fustrations of visiting Brussels is that there is so much beer and
so little time to sample them all. The important thing to remember is that
Belgian beer is designed to be tasted. If you try to drink
lots different beers in a rapid fire fashion you won't appreciate the
different flavours.
How to get there
Brussels is at the crossroads of Europe and so there are many ways to get
there.
Train
Within Belgium on the NMBS/SNCB (Nederlands | Français | Deutsch)
On the EuroStar from
London, Ashford and Lille.
On the Thalys from a number of European
through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.
Air
The following airlines fly to Belgium.
British Airways
BMI
KLM
Virgin Express
RyanAir (Nerderlands | Français | Svenska | Deutsch | Italiano | Catalá | Castellano)
VLM
General Travel Sites
Expedia have some good offers on for
the weekend of the fourth of September. For example 3 nights + return flight to
the UK in the 5-star Raddison SAS hotel is currently at £215 (~300€) (UK | Germany |
France |
Italy |
Netherlands)
Lastminute.com also have some good
offers. (UK | Netherlands |
Italy | Sweden | Spain | Germany | France | Belgium)

All smiles after lunch at
EuroCPian Spring 2004 in London.
Left to Right: Allan, Sam, Ian, Colin, Iain, Joel, Anna-Jayne, Jonathan, Casper, Megan, Brendon
Credits
Thanks to Peter
and Megan
who actually remembered to take their cameras to the previous event, unlike
me.
Most of the information on Brussels here was taken from the Lonely Planet
guide to the "Best of Brussels"
History
- Version 1.0 - Looking for a location and a date.
- Version 1.1 - Found a location and date, added some travel links and some
information about Brussels.