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Today Newsletter, 11th Edition.
24 Hours of Beer Festival: Sat/Sun Nov. 3/4
(More Details at Official
Festival website)
25 days to First Sip!
NOTE
Phew!
Events have conspired to speed time a bit, perhaps.
I find that we're only 25 days from first sip and just
over 3 weeks from departure to Belgium! I hope that
by this point you have all considered how you'll be
packing, have your passports updated and ready to go,
have tickets (in hand, preferably, rather than electronic,
but you can get them printed at the counter during departure
check-in), and are ready to have a great time!
ROSTER
With
the commencement of military action, I thought I'd take
a last look at our preparations and see if everything
is ready to go.
It
looks like our roster has finally stabilized and is
relatively complete now and we'll have a total of 7
people for the Beer Festival weekend and several staying
on for different lengths of time. Please see the Who's
Going page for updated details.
There
were some threats of last-minute additions to the roster,
but it wasn't to be. Poor bastards will just have to
wait until next year!
PLEASE
notify me immediately if you have any questions on the
details or any change of plans is considered.
MONEY
SECTION
The
exchange rate continues to be stabilized, which is good
for us, around $1 US = 44 Belgian Francs.
Again,
I'll let everyone know if it starts to spike downward
significantly (so that we can purchase some Belgian
Francs over here if necessary).
ITINERARY
CONCEPTS
Last
edition I discussed possibly "starting by hitting
Brussels for the day before winding up in Antwerp. Then,
we can do the festival over the weekend, and try to
hit some country breweries and Abbeys on Monday/Tuesday.
After that, perhaps we'll head back to Bruges for a
day or two, and then spending a few days in Amsterdam
to finish up, or vice versa with Bruges and Amsterdam.
See
Belgium Today Edition
#10 for a detailed itinerary proposal.
I'd
still like to follow this itinerary. The only change
is internal to the day in Brussels. Due to Brussels'
being a mainstay of UN and European Union presence,
I would suggest that we make short work of hitting a
few Brussels' sites and then move on quickly to Antwerp.
Also, I'll try to ensure we stay away from any large
international government buildings which might not be
super-safe.
AIRLINE
UPDATES
We arrive Friday morning from 7am — 8.15am.
Could
everyone please update me on your final (as of now)
itinerary including flight numbers and arrival/departure
times? This will help us coordinate at the Brussels
airport.
Airlines
have changed carry-on baggage guidelines. You will only
be allowed one carry-on now, plus a purse (for Steve
Urban).
FYI
- your tickets have almost CERTAINLY changed, either
in the flight number, or dealing with the departure
times, or seat assignments. I again urge you to double-check
your tickets, and remember to show up about 3 hours
or so early for your flights.
I
recently double-checked mine, and United changed one
of my flights for no good reason. Due to flight cancellations,
I strongly recommend reconfirming your itinerary.
NewsFlash!:
Jaser and Beckmann double-checked their flight and found
Sabena Airlines declared bankruptcy! Sabena is still
flying and isexpected to be bailed out, so pay close
attention as we get closer to departure. October 3rd,
the Belgium government gave Sabena $120 Million for
operations. As of October 9th (this morning) Sabena
has reported that they've received protection from creditors
through November 30th, so we should be okay.
Beckman
and Jaser are on Sabena from New York (see
Edition #7 for details), arriving 8.15am. Urban
is likely to join them on this same flight.
Bill
is arriving 7:20am on United from Washington Dulles.
(see
Edition #3)
Dan
and Chad are coming in on Continental at about 8am.
George
Anderson arrives late Friday night in Antwerp (via train
from London).
HOTELLING
We
are booked for Antwerp!!!
Yep,
we've got Fri/Sat/Sun
— Nov 2/3/4:
this is the weekend of the beer festival. I've got George
booked for Nov 2/3 only as he's returning Sunday evening.
And,
by "BOOKED" I mean that my credit card was
charged, so no funny business from you'z guy'z!
We
are booked at the Alfa
Theater Hotel ****
Address:
Arenbergstraat
30, Antwerp 2000
Telephone: (32) (0)3 203 54 10
Booking #: 20113446
Details
for the 4-star Alfa Theater Hotel: It was the closest
option to the beer hall, has a moderate price, and includes
a jacuzzi/sauna (with girls if the website pictures
are to be believed)!
It
is 350 M from beer, 600 M from the train station, approx.
$54/person. This price includes the room, breakfast,
and all taxes. The
Alfa Theater is probably the closest to the general
downtown action. There's a closer hotel (Less than 200
Meters from the beer hall) but the price is closer to
$100/person per night.
By
the way, I called direct and couldn't get a better discount
than online, so there we are! I used Bookings.be to
finalize details. In case we get separated, remember
the booking number is 20113446.
My
guess is that this will be about the most expensive
room we'll see for the trip. All other hotel reservations
will be made on-the-ground from Europe, although I'll
bring suggestions and prices with me.
ATTENDEES,
LENGTH OF STAY (LOS) & SNORE QUOTIENT
In detail on the Who's
Going Page!
Tote
Board:
7 Men of Impeccable Honor – Confirmed for Belgium.
REMEMBER
Don't wear American flags or red/white/blue
clothing on the trip. Obviously, we're not going to
look much like Europeans with backpacks and luggage,
but we can reduce the need to inflame any situation.
Regards,
BilFish
Editor, Belgium Today!
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