Living in Vorselaar

Facilities in Vorselaar

How to pay

Commonly accepted credit cards in Belgium are Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club and American Express.  These cards can also be used in cash machines like ‘Bancontact’ or ‘Mister Cash’.  You can find these at the following places:

• Grote Markt

Using the phone

If you want to call Belgium from abroad, dial the international admission number (this number varies for each country), then the area code (omit the 0) and finally the subscriber’s number.  The country code for Belgium is 32.  

If you want to call abroad from Belgium, dial 00 (= international admission number), then the country code and finally the area code (omit the 0) and the subscriber’s number. 

Telephone cards, which are necessary to call from a telephone booth, can be purchased in post offices, railway stations, book shops or in the telephone shops. 

Important phone numbers

100	for urgent medical assistance and the fire brigade
101	police
112	European emergency number
106	'tele-onthaal', a helpful ear for urgent psychological needs
1207	to find a subscriber’s number in Belgium (Dutch)
1307	to find a subscriber’s number in Belgium (French)
1204	to find a subscriber’s number in foreign countries (Dutch)
1405	English directory assistance
03/217 75 95	special centre for the treatment of burns
070/245 245	anti-poison service
02/649 95 55	suicide prevention
02/648 40 14	help-line (English, 24 hours, crisis information and support)
070/344 344	Card stop in case of loss of credit cards

 

Shopping

The supermarket chains Tecno (Kuiperstraat 31) runs their own ‘brand’ lines, especially in daily goods such as bread, milk, rice, …  You can also buy some products (milk, butter, jam, sliced cold meat, drinks) at the local bakeries till 01.00 p.m. on Sunday.  Dairy products, fruit and vegetables can be bought cheaply at the weekly market on Friday morning (Markt Herentals).  

Small grocery stores are a little more expensive.  They usually are open between 09.00 a.m. and 06.00 p.m. and are closed on Sundays.

We also have a few night shops in Vorselaar, which are opened longer than usual stores:

• Shop 24 (Lepelstraat 41)
• Kerkstraat 10 

Bakery	is known as	Bakker
Hairdresser		Kapper/Kapsalon
Bookstore		Boekhandel
Butcher		Slager/Beenhouwerij
Dairy		Zuivel
Fish shop		Viswinkel
Grocery store		Kruidenier/Algemene voeding
Florist		Bloemenwinkel/Bloemist
Pharmacy/Chemist		Apotheker/Drogist
Newsagent		Krantenwinkel/Kiosk

 

Flemish eating habits

In Flanders, people usually have three meals a day:

• Breakfast: sandwiches / slices of bread or cereals, coffee or tea
• Lunch: sandwiches with coffee or tea
• Dinner: 3 course hot meal: soup, main dish with meat or fish and potatoes, desert (served around 6 p.m.).

Typical Flemish dishes are:

• Steak and chips
• Mussels
• Various stews like rabbit in Trappist beer or Gentse Waterzooi

Cheap restaurants and snack bars:

• Take away of Chinese food Gouden Kom (Kerkstraat 41)
• ’t Kleyne genoegen: sandwiches and snacks (Kerkstraat 31,tel.: 014/50 12 66)
• ’t Pleintje: sandwiches and snacks (Heikant 5)
•  Rik en Vic: sandwiches and snacks (Goorbergenlaan 23, tel.: 014/50 66 00)
• ’t Steentje: snacks, all kinds of dishes (Riemenstraat 11, tel.: 014/50 07 30)
• ‘t Bourgondisch Hof: snacks, all kind of dishes (Sassenhout 62, tel.: 014/21 16 81)
• Nickys Fritshop: French fries (Riemenstraat 59, tel.: 014/51 60 82)
• Boulevard (Boulevard 32, tel.: 014/50 67 65)
• ’t Schuurke: French fries (Lepelstraat 82)
• De Wingerd  (Vispluk, 83 , 2290 Vorselaar, tel 014/51.50.13)

Laundry Service

For the laundry service arrangements will be made by the international co-ordinator.
Most of the time the laundry is taken care of by the landlady where you rent a room.

Sockets

If you want to use the Belgian sockets, it’s good to bring an international plug with you. 

Post

Stamps are for sale at the post office (‘postkantoor’).  You can also buy them in some tourist shops where you choose your postcards.  Each town or town area has at least one post office.  We have red post office boxes in Belgium.  The address of the post office in Geel is: Werft 63, 2440 Geel.

For further information visit their website www.depost.be.

Taxi

• Taxi Stan
  Fraikinstraat 57
  2200 Herentals
  Tel.: 014/21 31 20 - 014/21 17 87
• LD Services nv
  Stationsplein 5
  2200 Herentals
  Tel.: 014/21 13 26

Doctors

• Mr Jan Smans
  Ms Karine Lauwers
  Van De Wervelaan 11
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 28 81
• Ms Irène Brosius
  Ravenlaan 3
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 49 45
• Mr Victor Stoop
  Kuiperstraat 12
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 15 15
• Mr Walter Van Der Kerken
  Riemenstraat 58
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 37 97

Pharmacies

• Schyvens – Godin
  Kerkstraat 18
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 13 15
• Thys bvba
  Boulevard 42
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 21 79
  

Dentists

• Mr Dirk Plees
  Riemenstraat 2
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 42 04
• Ms C. Van Tulder
  Kuiperstraat 14
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 50 40

Sports & leisure

In the immediate vicinity of the institute you can enjoy the following facilities

Tourist office

• V.V.V.
  Markt 14
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/50 71 04
  Fax: 014/51 10 05
  E-mail: vorselaar@toerismevlaanderen.be
  Website: www.vorselaar.be

Public Library

• Bibliotheek
  Nieuwstraat 5                                                                     
  2290 Vorselaar
  Tel.: 014/51 22 99
  E-mail: vorselaar@bibliotheek.be
  Website: www.vorselaar.be

Cultural centre

The cultural centres of Geel and Turnhout can easily be reached by public transport

• De Werft
  Werft 32 ,
  2440 Geel
  Tel.: 014/57 03 40
  Website: www.dewerft.be
• De Warande
  Warandestraat 42
  2300 Turnhout
  Tel.: 014/41 94 94
  Website: www.warande.be