Brussels hook up

Two forumgers (not me) looking for a place to crash for one night in brussels this thurs. Anyone know people out there with a sofa they can use?

You could try getting in touch with fixed gear brussels.
http://www.facebook.com/fixedgearbrussels

this is for me, i'll try the fb link cheers.

Epic thread dredge - I am living in Brussels and have no bike friends. I want to do some weekend road riding. Not skidz, or trix, or polol. Can anyone help? Ta

Purty good dredge there, Olly. I'm up in Antwerp, but perhaps we can meet up one of these days to potter about in Wallonia? That is, if you don't mind riding with someone on single speed going at leisurely speed.

You could, conceivably, join one of the many cycling clubs in Brussels and ride with the local MAMILS, but I'm guessing that you might not really be interested. I know a few MAMILS up here on very flash geared bikes, but they cover in 2 hours the sort of distance I do in 6 hours...

shredder, i am currently working on the new Queen Elisabeth (Concert) Hall for KMDA, in Antwerp.. small world.
based in London though. if you can find video link on our website, to get an idea of what we are doing..
PROJECTS.. CULTURAL.. QEH Antwerp.. competition winning animation..

http://www.iansimpsonarchitects.com/site/main.htm

after tour of flanders, might visit for a couple of rides during the summer, if time,family and money allows :)

almac, I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never been to the zoo, which I think might be the oldest one in Europe, other than the one at Regents Park. However, I have been to the QE Hall for a conference... Is it being renovated / re-built?

Cheers Shredder! If I'm up your way I'll PM you for a cruise!

Almac68, I'll see you on the RvV. Or prob not 'cos there'll be a squillion other people and I've never met you... but good luck :)

Olly, likewise I'll let you know if I'm headed south.

almac, my wife is one of yours (used to be with Chipperfield). Funny that. Out of interest, who are your general contractors over here? Never easy to find good ones (in any city)...

I have been to the QE Hall for a conference... Is it being renovated / re-built?

the hall is being re-built, hopefully. we are well over budget at the moment and things have moved on from the competition winning presentation.. originally 30M euros now around 43M euros.. basically the existing hall doesn't work acoustically, the de Filharmonie want a world class auditorium as their home, but KMDA doesn't have enough capital. also concert halls generally don't make money, hence the use for theatre touring companies/ rock concerts / conferencing..

which all adds up to.. you guessed it... a compromise.. :(

Olly, i'm staying in Oudenaarde for RvV, i'll hook up with you somewhere..

who are your general contractors over here? Never easy to find good ones (in any city)...

too early for that.. on site 2013!!

our belgian colleagues will be handling cost reporting, procurement and contract admin.. while we lord it up, not getting our hands dirty,

must say that's a new experience for me.. i'm usually the poor site architect sorting out all the f@rk ups lol.

back to cycling..

there is a fellow on this forum riding from north england to italy (bergamo), possibly travelling through belgium this summer, i might join him london to switzerland.. would be useful to have local knowledge etc, stay in/near brussels..

al

Now that we've completely derailed the thread, what the hell...

It's a good project, but I'm a bit surprised as funding for cultural stuff has been a victim of increasing budget deficit following the economic downturn. For example, the Royal Flemish Ballet is proposed to be merged with the Royal Opera to cut operating costs (and the power struggle going between the two entities in anticipation of redundancies and powersharing is intense).

Anyway, don't worry about just lording it up. My wife has had her share of experience working with associate architects for projects abroad. You will not be spared the joy of sorting out cock ups. The added advantage is that there is yet another party involved that will be happy to point a finger at you when things go wrong. One upside in this instance is that the site is not that long a journey from London...

local knowledge: happy to share what little I know. Shoot me prime ministers in due course and will try my best to respond.

One upside in this instance is that the site is not that long a journey from London...
London City Airport - Antwerp out 0820 - back 1805 with cityjet.. simples :)

I grew up in Brussels and my folks still live there so I go back fairly often. Alas Im heading out to Oz for a year so I doubt Ill be over there any time soon.
If anyone wants any local info on Brussels, feel free to hit me up. Lived there for 18 years so I know a little bit about the place.

since belgium desolved its parliament last year, how do things work there now?
or is the country on a slow meltdown, liable to grind to a halt soon?

Yes, that ANR-LCY route is very convenient. Fast check-in, quick flight, fast exit. No fuss. It even got better after the DLR extention to LCY, relieving me of the stress of getting utterly stuck in traffic between LCY and Central London.

The problems with the federal government have been recurring like a broken record. Fortunately, the population in Belgium is small and the economy is significantly less complex compared to places like the UK, France or Germany. Furthermore, basic infrastructure and services, such as healthcare and public transportation, have always been very solid, so embarrassments at the federal level don't really have too obvious an impact on the daily lives of people. The provincial governments have a much better grip on their turf compared to their counterparts in other countries, so again the federal problems are mitigated at the local level unless they are net beneficiaries of federal policies, aka funds. In any case, I think Belgium is a case study in why a full European union will never work.