a'dam/Brugges- trip report
 

We have returned from our travels to Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Brugges (Belgium), and what a week it was. I kept a diary during our travels. If part of the fun was in the planning, perhaps another part was in the remembering, each morning over several cups of outrageous Dutch coffee, served with caramel colored condensed milk and always a cinammon cookie to help wash it down.

We fell in love with A'dam, with its criss-crossing canals and narrow cobblestone streets along, with their small cars and people on bikes everywhere. Beautiful 3 story brownstones line each street, with its old, old buildings . Our neighborhood - Jordaan - was perfect. Sort of a charming Greenwich Village, with beautiful boutiques and little restaurants and lots of places to meander.

Our first meal was appropriately "pannenkoeken mit" (whatever - I had ham and apples), (plate size, thin crepe-like pancakes, served with syrup as thick as molasses), in a restaurant with dark wood walls and traditional Dutch hanging fringed lamps every few feet...All of our meals were wonderful - ate in 2 different Dutch restaurants, both of which served delicious fish and always french fries, which they eat with mayonnaise, an excellent Thai dinner, savory cheeses, delicious pureed soups, "broodjes" (sandwiches)...and lots of different beers to wash it all down. The weather was chilly, and a little damp here and there, but the drizzle or rain never lasted more than a few minutes, and never prevented us from any activities.

We visited the expansive Keukenhoff Gardens, with its manicured displays of tulips and daffodils and meandering trails and lakes and streams...a canal boat ride...the floating "Bloemenmarket" (flower market) - a splash of colors along the Singel canal- shopped and dined on the Leidesplein, saw the treasures @ the Rijksmuseum, the profoundly moving Anne Frank Haus, and even peeked in @ the Sexmuseum in the (infamous) Red Light District. Hopped on the convenient "De Oppstapper" (minibus), which took us up to Central Station...We adopted a local little grocery store, got some cash @ the "Rabobank" (no kidding).

Watched a little television - the Dutch version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," "ER," but en francais. We also saw some (British) CNN coverage, which had much more graphic depictions of our soldiers in combat and injured than CNN ever shows us here in the states. We delighted waitstaff when we explained - "We did not vote for George Bush; the Supreme Court did that."

Took a morning's excursion to Haarlem, a 15 minute trip on a quiet and smooth train, past tiny cottages and farms and windmills and lots of green. In and out of little shops, bought some cheese, drank hot chocolate with whipped cream, overlooking the Grote Kerk (St Bravo's Cathedral, where they began construction in 1390).

One evening we inquired of our hotel desk clerk and visited the "Dutch Flower," overlooking a canal, one of A'dam's famous "coffeehouses," where there isn't a cup of coffee in sight. I was handed a laminated menu, showing the various varieties of pot and hash. Although I requested a "milder" blend, the joke was on us. Let's just say we 4 middle aged American women got wonderfully, amazingly messed up and spent the later part of the evening in bent over, silent hysterical laughter trying to buy a mere bottle of water and sandwich.

On Wednesday we journeyed to Brugges, a 3 1/2 hour train trip from the Netherlands into Belgium, changing trains in Antwerp. As the cab from the station entered the little medieval city we were, indeed, awestruck. You immediately step back 1000 years, and see why Brugges is called "Venice of the North." You entered our little hotel from a small courtyard; our rooms overlooked a canal, with old brick towers and gables rising from the water in every direction. Narrow cobblestone streets, shops with lace and chocolate and tapestries and beautiful (and expensive) clothing everywhere. More good food. (My first lunch was marinated herring, a childhood food memory, for sure.)

In Brugge we take a canal boat ride, horse and buggy tour of the old city. It was cold, but it doesn't prevent us from breathing it all in. In the main Markt Square and adjacent Burg Square, you turn 360 degrees and see the Bell Tower, then the Bascillica of the Holy Blood, City Hall...We see the only Michelangelo sculpture ("Madonna and Child," sculpted simultaneously with "David") to leave Italy during his lifetime, @ the Church of Our Lady. We meander and find the Minnewater (park) and Beginhof (monastery of sorts for lay women clergy), the oldest hospital in northern Europe, and little beautiful apartments, all with dainty lace curtains.

The hotel staff and shopkeepers were charming, but some of the restaurant staff were slightly rude and condescending (to all tourists, or only Americans, we couldn't be sure). (Me: "What's in the vegetable sandwich?" Reply: "Vegetables.") The food was delicious, and we tasted a few of the 400 varieties of Belgium beers...and, of course, we did partake of a the Belgium waffles

I admit that our Dutch never improved, and nor did our Flemish. Such strange, gutteral sounding languages, and yet many of their words sound amazingly similar to ours. Our last evening ended with witnessing the profoundly moving silent Good Friday processional for peace, @ sunset, with single drums beating and many people walking holding wood crosses and large torches...

You can see we had a wonderful trip. I was, I must admit, a very capable "TG," (tour guide, as they affectionately referred to me throughout the week) thanks to all of the help of my Internet friends @ this website.

I am happy to share these memories with you.

Hi NNY,

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for reporting back - very nice report. It sounds like you all had a blast.

Thanks, NNY,
Where did you stay in the Jordaan and Brugges?

In A'dam, stayed @ Hotel Weichmann on the Prisengracht. In Brugges we stayed @ Relais Bourgondishe Cruyce. Both - 20's on a scale of 1-10!

NativeNewYorker,
Thanks for a very evocative report.
Wasn't it a unique experience to order the special Amsterdam product off a menu, as though you were perusing the choices for brunch!

Congratulations on having had such a great time! Successful trips require both information and imagination. Sounds like Fodors provided the information and the coffeeshop lots of imagination.

You were braver than I. Although a true wild child of the '60's, I was alone while in A'dam and too chicken (at age 55) to try the coffee house offerings. Was afraid I'd wander out the coffee house door and never find my hotel again.

So, I compromised by inhaling really deeply as I passed all such establishments. Figured the 50-50 mixture of fresh air and smoke wouldn't be quite so lethal. Anyone observing my behavior probably wrote me off as a pathetic cheapskate.

Thanks for bringing some chuckles re: "coffeehouse" and making my mouth water re: "pannenkoeken mit" (fruit for me)- sounds like you had a great time!!!!

I agree with the above post that good vacations require information and imagination....also, reflexibility and a genuine sense of awe and delight help!

NativeNewYorker -

Reading your trip report was like being in Amsterdam and Brugge again. I can taste the banana pannenkoeken on my lips, I can hear the bells of the bicycles and the rumbling of the trams like music in my ears, my eyes are filled with colliding colors from the tulips, I can smell the sweet waft of herb sitting in a cloudy haze at the Dutch Flowers, my thirst is quenched with a delicious glass of wine or mug of beer. I feel "gezellig." Ahhhhhhh! Thanks for the memories.

I am glad you had a wonderful time and safe journey home. Where are you four women travelling to next? Peace.

Robyn

Robyn - You ask wher we are travelling to next, and my response is - Do you or others have any suggestions? This was such a wonderful trip and I know there are so many other wonderful possiblities out there.

hillview (& NativeNewYorker)

I would recommend Italy. There is an abundance of art, history, culture, good food and good wine. The perfect place for four women to escape to. Peace.

Robyn

Thank you, Robyn. We had considered Italy for this trip, but decided against it when I realized it would be Easter week and didn't know how the crowds would be in Italy...Italy is on a future agenda, as is perhaps Switzerland, and maybe Scandanavian countries, Ireland/Scotland/Wales...Gosh I love this website!

Thanks for your excellent report, Hillview. (I'm assuming that you and NNY are the same person.)

I remember your pre-trip posts and recall that we were staying at the same hotels in both Amsterdam (the Wiechmann) and Brugge (Relais Bourgondishe Cruyce). We too thought they were both excellent... comfortable, friendly, quaint, and well-located. The only minor annoyance was contruction of a new canal bridge right out front of the Wiechmann... not noisy, but it detracted from the view.

We took our trip April 17 - 24. With the exception of the first couple days, when it drizzled, the weather was consistently better than the forcasts. I even got a sunburn when we took a bike tour of the countryside outside Brugge (highly recommended, BTW, with the "Quasimundo" company).

Wasn't Keukenhoff Garden fantastic?! Did you get to see the endless flower farms in bloom on your way from Amsterdam to the gardens? Incredible when we were there (on another bike trip, this one on our own), and capped off with a couple hours wandering around in the Gardens.

We made our "coffeeshop" stop at Grey Area, not far from the Anne Frank House. The place was too small to sit down and relax, so we partook back at the hotel. We bought the smallest amount possible (a gram) and didn't consume half of it before we had to go. (I very much recommend a buzz prior to the Van Gogh Museum.)

Glad your vacation went as nicely as ours!

Yes, Balto, I remember your pre-trip posts, too...and yes, Hillview and NYN are my home/work names....What wonderful places! I'm ready to leave tomorrow. :-)