Autumn 2004 EuroCPian Get Together

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.

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.