Experience reviews Archives - Nick's Honest

Brouwerij de Halve Maan XL-Tour

Nick Riethoven — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 17:00:00 +0000

Before we start this review, we would like to say to everyone: stay strong, help each other where possible and listen to the government and experts advice about the corona (COVID-19) pandemic.
In the meanwhile, we will keep on posting our weekly reviews. We would love to hear how you are doing so feel free to comment on our post or sent us a message.

The next review from our visit to Brugge is Brouwerij de Halve Maan (Brewery the Crescent Moon). Did you know that this brewery brews the (famous) “Brugse Zot” and “Straffe Hendriks”?
The brewery is located near the heart of Brugge and it excists since 1856. The brewery is still operational on its original location which is very special. To produce more beer, they even build (an crowed funded) a pipeline for the beer to transport the beer underneath Brugge to the botteling factory just outside the city.
We would have never knew all these facts without the XL- tour that the brewery offered!
The tour started at the, currently used, brewing kettles. Our guide told us about the process and how the beer flows through all four of the brewing kettles. She told us how to use each one and how it contributes to the final product, beer.
Our next stop was at the top of the building of the brewery. This might be one of the best views there is of Brugge. You could see the whole city and all it’s assets.
Our tour ended at the bar in the basement. Since we did the XL tour, we got an unfiltered Brugse Zot, a Brugse dubble and we had the choice of a Straffe Hendriks triple or quadruple. We never drank a Straffe Hendriks and it was amazing to finally drink a quadruple beer!
The tour was fantastic and very informative and the guide did a fantastic job at explaining everything about the brewery and answering all the questions from our group. We loved it!
If you are planning to travel to Brugge, you definitely shouldn’t skip a tour at the Brouwerij de Halve Maan!

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Eiffel tower Paris

Nick Riethoven — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:00:00 +0000

La Tour Eiffel, also known as The Eiffel tower, was on our “must visit” list for our trip to Paris. Our plan was to visit the Eiffel tower late in the afternoon so we could see the sun set from the tower. It was our first time visiting the Eiffel tower and ascending to the top. Both of us had seen the tower before but we never climbed it.

During the climb, you get to see the huge massive beams of steel and you receive information about the tower. The view that you will have of Paris is just amazing.

When visiting the tower you have two options for “climbing to the top” (not literally climb it please) . The first option is the elevator which goes to the first, second and top floor. The evelator is the most expensive option. The other option is to go via the stairs and elevator where you climb up the stairs to the second floor (116m) and ascend to the top via the elevator. If you don’t mind making a climb to the top and if you have a good condition, we would recommend this option. It wil save you roughly €6 each and gives you this euphoric feeling when you reach the second floor.
Our biggest tip for everyone planning their trip to Paris is to don’t buy your tickets at any website in advance except for the toureiffel.paris website or at the venue. We bought our tickets at the Eiffel tower and doing so saved us €60! There is only a risk that it might be busy when you’re visiting which means that you have to wait for a while to get your tickets at the venue.
When you’re at the second floor you can (with a ticket) take the elevator to the top floor (276m). We queued up and after about 30 minutes we entered the elevator and went to the top. The view was breathtaking.. just fenominal.
We would highly recommend everyone to not just see the Eiffel tower, but also to experience it! .

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Bricks “Hooch & Brew”

Nick Riethoven — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 18:00:13 +0000

Bricks… words can’t describe how amazing this place is. Bricks uses the Tailored Cocktails to sell you an experience of your lifetime. You tell them what flavours you like, and they make sure you get a drink like no one before. It’s all about the experience.

Everywhere you go you probably order the same drink; the same food and you are comfortable with that. At Bricks this isn’t the case, it’s not even possible. They try to broaden your horizon and make you experience a drink like you never had. Not only are the drinks fantastic, they are eco-friendly and aware of the impact we, as human beings, have on the environment. At bricks they use, and grow, their own herbs and use bamboo or metal straws in their cocktails.

This isn’t everything, the flower decoration around the bar is also used for decoration and garnish of your drink, just amazing! Eddy told us all about the philosophy of bricks and how he feels like the restaurants and bars can set the example of being eco-friendly and zero waste. Both of us felt inspired by him and his words. Now let’s talk about these art pieces they made for us. We ordered two cocktails one was based on a Mojito (with the rose, fruit and leaves) and the second one was Fresh, sweet and with a fruity flavour (with the feather). Not only did we have 2 art pieces we got a charcuterie plank with olives, almonds and ham.

After our first two cocktails we went for another two based on more tropical flavours. We got these beautiful looking cocktails, one in a moai head cup/pot and the other one in a tropical themed can with a rose and feather. All the cocktails tasted and looked amazing.
Never in our lives did we have such an amazing experience. We would recommend Bricks to everyone!

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