Adrian_Liston's Reviews

Our own private sauna, how can you not love a hotel where you unexpectedly have a monstrous bathroom with separate bath and shower plus a private saun…

The Winter Markets have opened up in Brussels. We spent a delightful afternoon wandering through them. There are tiny stalls selling Belgian delicacie…
This review was featured on Tuesday December 1st, 2009

Petit Sablon Park is a beautiful little space that was a cemetery from the 13th century to the 19th century, when it was turned into a manicured garde…

Hasselt is one of the historic and modern centres of Jenever. Although often called "a type of Gin", more correctly gin is one form of Jenever, taken …

We really enjoyed visiting the Molen de Adriaan in Haarlem. The beautiful windmill sits on the Spaarne River surrounded by gorgeous Dutch Renaissance-…

It is hard to be enthusiastic about paying €120 for a standard hotel room in a standard hotel chain, but after paying €80 for the rat hole we stay…

In beautiful Haarlem, just a 15 minute train outside Amsterdam, the Teylers Museum is a gem within a gem. The museum is set within a gorgeous two h…

I had never been to a Madame Tussauds before, but I had expected a somewhat solemn and series combination between an art gallery and a museum. The wor…

I was quite happy with this hotel. It is very close to the National Theatre Railway station (on the express line to the train station) and the main sh…

The Nobel Peace Centre is a showcase on the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. They have a rotating exhibit on the ground floor (the current one is "Fr…

I spent my last afternoon in Oslo over in Bygdøy, a small peninsular off central Oslo full of rich houses and expensive yachts, as well as several na…

This was a meal to go down as one of the all time greats. I had not expected Norway to deal very well with vegetarians, but the dinner set out by Rest…

The Fight for the Golden Stilt has been held in Namur each year since at least 1411. The battle is held between the Melans (with yellow and black stil…

De Hallepoort (or La Porte de Hal for French speakers) is the last remaining remnant of the once impregnable outer wall of Brussels. Built in 1381, th…

The Hotel Ibis Berlin in Messe is essentially a conference hotel. It is just across the road from the International Congress Centre and out of the way…

I may be alone on this, but on seeing a clean bright white building hosting a "Hygiene Museum" founded by a mouth-wash magnate, I expected the display…

Only rated as two stars, the Ibis Heidelberg was exactly what we were after. It is built into the Heidelberg train station, so when we arrived on the …

Chapitre du Tournoi is held on the first Saturday of September each year. For the day, the Fraternity of the Quarteniers de la Flamiche of Dinant hold…

The icon of Brussels is a small statue of a little boy urinating, Manneken Pis. Manneken Pis is first mentioned in the city records in 1469 as a st…

Everyday in Brussels there are multiple markets going on, for people who like to buy from small local vendors or just enjoy wandering around a busy ma…

La Ducasse d'Ath is a world heritage listed festival that is held every year in Ath on the fourth Sunday of August (but the most interesting events ar…

There are antique shops all along Rue Haute, Rue Blase and Place du Sablon, but on Saturday the Jeu de Balle place is filled with the less glamorous v…

This little Cuban place just outside of the tourist district in Brussels serves great food and great drinks. Meals are leisurely, with a few drinks, t…

As a vegetarian I love Ethiopian food, and Kokob is a great place to get it. The atmosphere is fun, lively and relaxing all at the same time, and the …

The plantation of the Meyboom has occurred on the 9th of August ever year on the corner of the Rue du Marais and the Rue des Sables for over 700 years…

Zuidfoor / La Foire du Midi is a fun fair that is being held by the international train station in Brussels (Brussel Zuid / Bruxelles Midi). The f…

We stayed at the YHA Llanberis for two nights. It was more expensive than I would like for a YHA, ~£20 a bed (the private rooms are a good deal, you …

We had one of the most amazing meals of my life at the Peak Restaurant in Llanberis. The chef, Angela Dwyer, calls herself trained in the "traditional…

Icepedition is a fantastic company just set up by a New Yorker with an enormous love of Iceland. After visiting more than twenty times he has now deci…
This review was featured on Tuesday June 30th, 2009

The Icelandic Phallological Museum is dedicated to the humble penis. Over the years the curator has collected penises from every mammal on Iceland, ex…

The one thing I really want from a hotel is a place to sleep. The Imperial Hotel failed on the most basic criteria. Firstly, I was asked to move rooms…

We tried out the House of Lalibela for a lab dinner. A few people were reluctant to eat with their fingers and were suspicious of the food description…

Last night we went to the Delirium Cafe in Brussels. It is right in the heart of the tourist district, near the Grand Place, and is a great place to t…

I have to say, when I saw the Thai House I didn’t have high expectations, guessing it would be along the lines of greasy take-away Chinese or someth…

With Michelle and Grant in town we wanted to show them the dynamic range of Belgian beers available. Lydia is a big fan of the Kwak, not so much for t…

Himalaya is another Nepalese restaurant in Leuven (the other is Basecamp in the town centre). This one is just outside the train station. As it is ope…

Namur En Mai is a festival of arts held over a long weekend every year in Namur. It got a good write-up in the Thalys travel magazine and we had a pub…

I picked the First Hotel Jorgen Kock because it was a decent price and was right next to the conference venue. For people with all day conferences in …

The Malmö Museer is the largest museum in southern Sweden and set in the oldest renaissance castle in Scandinavia. It was built in 1434 by Eric of Po…

Second Sunday in May every year in Ypres is the Kattenbelletje. Once every three years, the festival coincides with Kattenstoet, the Cat Parade. T…

It is the year of the comic strip in Brussels and the comic strip festival is on. They have downloadable tours of the public comic strip art that litt…

The EL-DE house is a museum and memorial to the Gestapo prison and Nazi era in Cologne. The main exhibit is the house itself, which was the local Gest…

Normally I find chocolate museums rather disappointing. You see, I really quite like chocolate, so I somehow expect a chocolate museum to be equally d…

Belgian festivals in 2009 The Sunday before Shrove Tuesday (22nd Feb, 2009) Cwarme, in Malmedy. The Haguete, covered by masks, wander around with …

Maybe it is because Mere Catherine is linked to the arthouse theatre next door. Or maybe they are secretly owned by non-Europeans. For whatever reason…

I picked Hotel Rothaus because it was the cheapest hotel I could find close to the railway station in Zurich. It is Europe, so I didn't expect it to b…

Mission 21 is a huge old building run by a centre that typically organises conferences and meetings on aid to Africa. When conferences aren't on, they…

After the Cistercian Abbey in Seraing (just outside Liege) was closed down after the French Revolution, it was taken over as a crystal manufacturer. V…

Our foodie friends are hard to impress - luckily the New York Times had given them advice on which places to visit, with two features on Les Brassins.…

Atomium is a giant iron crystal, 102 metres tall, with atoms 18m in diameter and tubes 29m long and 3m wide connecting each atom. Entering the base an…