How to reach the meeting place ?
On Friday we start at C-Mine, the former coal mine of Winterslag (Genk), of which the main buildings have been restored and reused.
- C-mine is close to the E314 motorway. Take exit 31 “Genk Centrum" (Genk Centre) and turn left in the direction of Genk. Turn right at the first traffic lights. Right after the first roundabout you will see C-mine to your left.
- There are several buses leaving for C-mine from the Genk railway station: by day number 31, 47 and G8 and at night number G3. You can check the timetable via the website of De Lijn.
The main Saturday meeting takes place in the former coal mine of Beringen, in the North-East of Flanders, at short distance from Maestricht.
The location is the mining museum (Mijnmuseum)
- On Saturday morning we will organize transport between the railway Genk railway station and Beringen - see the program
Nearby airports
The best airport to travel to is Brussels Airport, having easy train connections to Brussels and all regions of Belgium. The last train to Genk is leaving from the airport at 21:21, the last train to Hasselt at 23:21 (but time tables may change early next year)
Alternative airports are
- Charleroi 'Brussels South' - but be carefull for the connections from Charleroi to other cities. There is a bus bringing you to the railway station Charleroi Sud, from where train connections to Brussels etc. are available
- Maastricht -Aachen Airport - when flying to Maastricht we do advise you to rent a car at the airport
Motorways
Beringen is close to and has exits from the the main motorways E313 (connecting Antwerpen to Liège) and E314 connecting Brussels to Heerlen (The Netherlands) and Germany
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Train connections
Trains in Belgium are stil the compence of the federal state - which means that they are run by the national company NMBS-SNCB
Belgium has a rather good train network, although the Beringen mine has no railway station anymore, while the station of Beringen is at quite a distance form the mine.
We therefore advise participants coming by train and public transport to stay in Hasselt or Genk
- The train connections and timetables can be searched online - available in English, French, German and Dutch
Public Transport (bus)
All public bus and tram lines in Flanders are run by one company 'De Lijn'.
This means that the tickets (single ticket € 3.- ; Line Card for 10 trips € 15.-) are valid in each town and on each connection in the Flemish Region. A line card bought for example in Hasselt or Genk can be used on the coastal trams, but also on the busses and trams in Antwerpen, Ghent or elsewhere.
But be carefull - tickets bought in the Flemish Region are not valid in the Walloon or Brussels Region, as public transport is the exclusive competence of each of the regional governments
During day time there are several busses between
Rent a car
At the above mentioned airports the main car rental companies have an office - see the website of the airport,
Easy websites to compare prices of car rentals however are
There are some local car rental companies in Limburg. Unfortunately their websites are only in Dutch - but when you contact them by e-mail in English or French they will answer you in that language, e.g. Autoverhuur Limburg in Hasselt
Taxis
See a list of taxi companies in Genk. Some of them. Some of them operate a special airport shuttle service, as Taxi Midden Limburg and Taxi PDM
Bicycles
- In most railway stations one can rent bicycles, the 'Blue Bikes'
- In Genk and Hasselt a social non profit association is repairing and renting bicycles, vzw Basis
- while Fietspunt Genk, an initiative of the Genk tourist office, offers bikes for renting e.g. at the info point of the Bokrijk Open Air Museum and in C-Mine