Looking back, we couldn't have planned a better trip. With a loose idea of the things we wanted to see and an open minded perspective on asking locals for recommendations, we stumbled across a perfect week in some incredible cities.
Keep reading to find out what we did!
Day 1
We arrived into Amsterdam after incredibly easy travel on the NS rail from the airport to central station. If you're traveling to Amsterdam, don't waste your money on a cab from the airport. This train line was so easy to use and super clean.
Immediately after hopping off the train, we wanted to understand our surroundings, so we grabbed a canal tour. We paid about € 15 for the canal tour, which felt like an incredibly fair price. We learned a little bit about the different neighborhoods that we wanted to explore and some history to ground our trip.
Next, we explored Centraal. This is the neighborhood of the city closest to the major train station. It is also the most touristy area, but definitely really fun to explore. Chris and I just wandered in awe of all the adorable buildings and alleys just filled with shops and restaurants.
Eventually, we decided to make the hike to our hotel. We stayed right across the street from the zoo in the museum district of the city. It was a bit far out (about 30 minutes walking), but still a beautiful area that was away from the hustle and bustle. There is a coffee bar next door, so we sat down and enjoyed an espresso.
After a rest and a freshen up in our hotel room, we decided to head back out to explore and find some dinner. We explored the De Pidj neighborhood, which is decidedly less touristy and more diverse than Centraal. I liked De Pidj - it reminded me of some of my favorite neighborhoods in Chicago!
When finding dinner, our jet lag caught up to use. We could hardly get our bearings and couldn't make up our mind to save our lives. We walked past about 20 different food options, but we couldn't settle on a solution. Finally, we opted for burgers because we literally couldn't walk another step without getting food.
On the way home, we took a quick lap through the Red Light district. It truly was fascinating, and we determined to take a tour to learn more of the history when we returned.
Day 2
We woke up early to travel to Efteling! Efteling is an amusement park based on old fairy tales, and it was really the reason why we settled on visiting Amsterdam in the first place. Though the order of the trip was a little funny (fly into a city, only spend the day there, then immediately head out to another part of the country), it was important to us that we were visiting the park on weekdays to avoid crowds.
We took the NS rail to Tillburg, then a bus directly to Efteling. The commute couldn't have been easier and took less than 2 hours.
To prevent our ravenous experience from the evening prior, Chris and I deemed it important to eat BEFORE entering the park. We also had to drop off our bags at the hotel, so we opted for our hotel's continental breakfast, which was lovely. We got to the park just after opening, and we stayed until close. I'll do a dedicated post about Efteling another time, but just know that the park is fantastic, and we had what we consider to be the perfect day.
Day 3
We dedicated two entire days to Efteling, so we were off for our second day in the parks after eating breakfast at the hotel. Again, we had the continental breakfast and got to park right at opening. The second day was as charming, magical, and perfect as the first.
We didn't stay until close this time, but instead only until mid afternoon. We ate a large lunch, went back to the hotel to gather our bags, and took the bus back to a train station that would get us to our next generation - Brussels.
Getting to Brussels was also simple (deceptively so, we were sure that somehow our good luck with travel across cities would catch up to us).
When we arrived in Brussels, it was a bit eerie... Everything felt quiet... too quiet... until we realized that Brussels was playing the World Cup and virtually everyone was inside of a pub watching the game! We took the time to enjoy the quiet (albeit a bit eerie) nature of the city when headed to our hotel.
We were staying in Ixelles, which felt like an up and coming part of the city. Definitely local vibes, not touristy at all. Upon checking into the hotel, we knew that we wanted to head out for a bite to eat and a drink. We hadn't eaten since our last meal at Efteling, so we were starving. It turns out that Belgium won their game in the 16 to 8 round, so the city was rowdy. So rowdy, that most restaurants and pubs we discovered were too busy to serve their normal menus. We decided to drink our dinner.
This was one of our favorite nights of the trip. The energy in the city was incredible. The pubs in this neighborhood were around these community squares, so everyone took their drinks and celebrated outside. Being Americans, where most things surrounding us were built in the last 100 years, it was almost surreal to be sitting next to a church built in the 1500s with a beer in hand. Additionally, the relaxed nature around drinking in public in Brussels was pretty foreign to us. In the United States, bar owners are so particular about keeping drinks confined to patios because of our liquor consumption laws.
Finally, we headed home - having consumed no real calories aside from beer or cider. At this point, everything was closed, so we relied on the snacks we had from Albert Heijn. Chris had gluten free Ontbijtoek (a ginger flavored Dutch breakfast cake) and I had stroopwaffels (thin waffle cookies with a creamy caramel in between).
Day 4
Again, we had the continental breakfast at our hotel. By this point, we were decidedly sick of continental breakfasts. The only item on the agenda today was exploring.
We took our time getting to our next hotel - basically, we took the extra long way, so we could see some of their public park spaces. It was so nice to see how well Brussels used their park spaces. So many people were out and about! We also walked around the palace, which was gorgeous!
Of course, we had to get Belgium frites, so we chose a spot that appeared several times in our perfunctory research. The pubs surrounding the frites stand all had signs that said "frites allowed with drink," so we ordered a cider and a beer, sat on the patio, and enjoyed the frites and beer.
We then headed through the shopping district as we got closer to our hotel. I couldn't believe that the Les Galeries Royales was a shopping mall! It looked like it should be a museum. The buildings in this part of town were magnificent. We stopped and watched a 3 on 3 basketball tournament for about an hour. It was so wild to see a basketball court set up in the middle of these beautiful, ornate buildings.
We had already walked about 8 miles at this point and it was a hot day, so we were exhausted. After checking into our hotel, we took an hour long nap. Luckily, we woke up recharged and ready to explore. Item #1 on our agenda? The Grand Place.
Boy, is this really a "grand place." It's the most incredible public square with the most ornate buildings I have ever seen on all sides. The streets surrounding are all quaint, pedestrian roads lined with pubs, brasseries, chocolate shops, waffle stores, and quaint boutiques. It was like a dream! Chris and I feel in love. We ate at a brasserie (steak and frites, hello) in an ally with a view of the buildings in the grand place. We went to a pub that dates back to the 1400s, a spot that is known for having the best lambics, and a massive 12+ room pub that took up an entire ally. Walking back, Chris and I could hardly believe what we saw at the grand place - people just sitting on the cobble stone ground, enjoying drinks, and taking in the sights.
Day 5
The next day, we decided to explore a neighborhood outside of the downtown area that contained the "Atomium," a giant atom built for the World's Fair. We enjoyed navigating the public transit in Brussels - it was designed so efficiently!
After we had our fill of this odd structure, we headed to the train station back to Amsterdam. Getting out of Brussels wasn't as simple as getting in, and we struggled a bit to find the right ticket that we needed. After some time, we figured it out and were headed to Amsterdam.
Our last 2 nights in Amsterdam were booked in the same hotel (a first on our trip) in the neighborhood of Jordaan. This was my favorite neighborhood in all of Amsterdam - it was filled with young professionals, trendy shops, cool restaurants, and gorgeous buildings everywhere. The walk from the train station in Central through Jordaan to our hotel was one of my favorites of the trip.
After relaxing in our room for a few, we went out for a tour in the Red Light District. On the way, we grabbed pancakes at a Dutch pancake spot. Though it is neat to walk this area without guidance, understanding the history from a local's perspective made it all the cooler.
Day 6
On our last full day in the city, we decided to head outside of Amsterdam and into a small town. Before leaving, we ate apple pie at a spot known for having the best and ate at a casual breakfast joint known for having good gluten free options. Then, we did the Heineken experience, which I actually HIGHLY recommend. Typically, major brewery tours are somewhat underwhelming, but Heinken provided a ton of guides with information and made great use of technology.
Chris and I had been joking that "if we don't see windmills, we want our money back," so we went to a small town, Zaanse Schans, known for having picturesque windmills. The town also had a wooden shoe museum and store, so we got our fill of all things "Dutch provincial." It was a great day trip (not far away, easy to get to on the train), and it made for some great, picturesque spots.
To finish out our trip, we just took a stroll around our favorite spots, stopped at a few quaint pubs (one named Chris's Cafe), got a second round of apple pie, and called it an early night.
So what was favorite part? I have to say that Brussels stole my heart. It was definitely a surprise - Chris and I knew very little about Brussels - but that might have made it all the better! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! Comment below with how YOU plan trips! Are you a "plan every detail" kind of person, or do you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants? Let me know!
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