Belgium and The Netherlands - Trip Report
 

My husband and I travelled to Belgium and The Netherlands for 2 weeks earlier this month, using frequent flyer miles to purchase our airline tickets. The exchange rate between the dollar and the euro is still lopsided, but not having to purchase plane tickets made the trip doable.

Day 1 and 2:

We flew United from SFO to London-Heathrow and then took a British Midlands flight to Brussels. Flights were uneventful and once we arrived in Brussels, we took the train to the central train station. There is a direct airport express train, which stops at the 3 main train stations in Brussels, fare is 3 euro per person - couldn't be easier.

Our hotel was Le Meridien, which we reserved through Expedia for $107 per night. The hotel is just across from the central train station and a few blocks from the Grand Place, so very convinient. There is major construction between the hotel and the train station, so they've set up a temporary lobby on the back side ofthe hotel - a bit inconvinient, but ok. The people at the hotel were perfectly friendly and our room was very comfortable, reasonably spacious, andthe bathroom was great.

We arrived in Brussels in the early evening on Friday, so we cleaned up a bit from the flight and then went out. A half block from the hotel is a small square lined with inexpensive restaurants, waffle places, and ice cream shops. We had a quick dinner of fries and chicken on a stick at one of the places there. Next we went to the Grand Place, which is a wonderful square - the town hall, the guildhouses - all beautiful and every detailed. There were plenty of people out and about in the square and the atmosphere was very festive and fun. We wandered around a while and then found a small bar down a side street playing salsa music, went in and had a couple beers. Duvel was my first and my husband had the Leffe Bruin. Both were good, although we decided that due to our jet lag, we needed to try them again at another time to make sure :)

Day 3:

We slept in a bit and then went out for breakfast at a little place in the square near the hotel - it was fine, but not overly memorable. We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon walking around the old town center just seeing the sights and soaking up the atmosphere. My husband took tons of pictures, of course (3000+ by the end of the trip).

Lunch was at a restaurant on the Grand Place called Le Roy de Espagne, where we sat outside on the terrace overlooking the square. I had a flemish beef stew cooked in Leffe Bruin beer with potatoes and pears, which was quite good - and of course a glass of Leffe Bruin to go with it. The people watching from the terrace was great.

In the afternoon we went to the Comic Strip museum, which we thought was just ok. The Art Nouveau building that the museum is housed in is great though. Afterwards we walked back toward the train station to see the St Michele Cathedral, I think it is called. Huge cathedral, absolutely stunning. A service was in progress, so we got to hear the organ, which was wonderful. The accoustics in the place were great. Afterwards we relaxed in the park in front of the church for awhile with snacks and a cool drink.

In the evening we got a light dinner on "greek street" as we came to call it, but it is actually called Kaasmarkt, which is a small street a block or so off the Grand Place lined with greek restaurants - each with outdoor seating. After dinner went to check out some bars. We found some live music at a British pub in the old center, so we went in there for a couple beers. We walked through the Grand Place about 11pm or midnight and stumbled on a light and music show - lights were projected onto the town hall from across the square while music played - very neat. I think it may have been part of the Meyboom festival which was going that weekend. Then we wandered around a bit more and found more live music at a bar called Cafe Georgette, also in the old center. Stayed out until about 3, sampled several beers, had a heck of a good time.

So far, Brussels has pleasantly surprised us. We picked it as an entry point because we could get good flights using our miles, but it turned out that we really enjoyed the city.

More to come...

Enjoying this, november_moon! Looking forward to the rest!

Thanks for posting the beginning of your trip report. Can't wait to read the rest of the story....

Robyn :)>-

Great report - keep it coming!
Lavandula

Another vote to have you continue your report. I'm enjoying it. Thanks!

Good to read about some positive experiences with Brussels!

Although it is not my favourite Belgium city (Antwerp it is!), I do think Brussels deserves more credit than it gets here on Fodors.

Love to read more.

I am travelling to Belgium and the Netherlands in the beginning of September, so this is especially of interest to me. Thanks for posting!

Day 4 (Sunday)

We slept in quite late after being out most of the night, so this day was fairly short on sites. We hand lunch at Panos, which is a chain sub shop with a location in the square just down from our hotel. Good sandwiches, nothing fancy, but puts a place like Subway to shame.

We planned to see the Brussels City Museum, which is in the building oposite the town hall in the Grand Place, but when we got to the Grand Place, there was a big festival going on for Mayboom and we got side tracked and didn't make it to the museum because by the time the festival wrapped up, it was too close to the museum closing time. The festival was loads of fun - marching bands, dance troupes, huge "puppets" with people inside, horse-drawn carriages, people in historical military attire, etc. Lots of good stuff.

After the festival, we took a self-guided walking tour to see some of the comic murals around the city. My husband loves comics and he loves murals, so this was one of his pickes. I thought it was neat though because by following the route to see the murals, we walked through some neat neighborhoods. We saw lots of cool art nouveax architecture, some churches, fun plazas, etc. One church that I really liked was on Kolenmarkt, which we found on the walk. I don't remember the name, but it was a little round church crammed in a block with a bunch of other things. Inside was quite peaceful with an understated beauty. We spent a little time just meditating in that church, and we aren't even religious people. Oh, we passed by Mannekin Pis on our walk, so we DID see the symbol of Brussels ;)

The mural walk took us past the Comic museum, which we had been to the day before, but we when we arrived, we found that the Meyboom festival had regrouped and was going strong. There were vendors selling sausages on rolls, drinks, and other food items. They had music playing, people dancing, and just generally looked like a good time. So we hung out, had some food and listened to the music for awhile.

We went back to the hotel to relax a bit - this hotel location was great, we could basically go back any time. Stopped for waffles on the way though. We stopped for waffles a lot.

Later on we went back out for dinner - since we'd recently snacked on a bunch of things, we didn't want a full dinner so we went back to "greek street" for gyros and sausages, and of course beer. This time we had some Chimay bleu and Leffe Blonde - both of which we liked very much. After dinner we wandered around a bit, got some chocolates, and made it an early evening (to make up for the night before)

Day 5 (Monday)

We had planned a day trip or two from Brussels since we weren't sure if we would even like Brussels, but we were enjoying ourselves so much and because we hadn't seen some of the things we wanted to, we decided to scrap the day trips and just stay in town.

We decided to be really touristy and take the Hop-On-Hop-Off sightseeing tour. It was really fun. The recorded information was reasonably good, but it was just fun to ride around in an open air double bus. We stopped at a few places, but our main stop was the Atomium. I am a nerd, so I thought this was great. I mean really - a giant iron atom that you can go inside. What's not to like? Well, it was fun, but be careful on the stairs because they can be slick. I slipped and ended up going down a flight a bit faster than I had planned. But other than a few bruises and some pulled muscles in my arm (fortunately I WAS holding the handrail) I was fine. The views from the Atomium are great. It was rather crowded though, so we were glad we went on a Monday rather than over the weekend.

The Atomium is in a fairly large park, so afterwards we walked through it to one of the other tour stops to pick up the bus again. Very nice walk with some monuments and things along the way - and the weather so far was gorgeous. Absolutely perfect.

Later that evening we had dinner at a place called Le Circe (I think I spelled it wrong), but it is in an old general store, I think it is. Had toasted sandwiches and salads, which were quite tastey. And of course, beers. We wandered around a bit after dinner looking for some bars with live music, but being Monday, not much was going on. We decided to to to one of the places on the Grand Place to sit out, have a couple beers and people watch.

That was our last night in Brussels and overall, we had a really great time. I'd definitely return to that city.

Next up...Bruges

Loved your travel diary. It is quite helpful. We leave on Friday so I hope to read more before we go. Thanks for posting.

I am glad people are enjoying my report. I will try to get the rest done over the next few days :)

Day 6 (Tuesday)

This was the day we moved to Bruges, which we loved.

Breakfast was at Cafe Aroma in the Grand Place - there were some shots my husband wanted to get of the town hall that he hadn't gotten on our last (10?) trips through the Grand Place, so we walked over there for breakfast. Afterwards, we did a little bit of shopping, picked up our luggage, and headed to the train station.

The train to Bruges was very easy and only about 26 euro for the 2 of us. I had a little troule with my luggage because of the pulled muscle in my arm, but not a huge deal. The train was reasonably crowded, but we got a seat no problem.

In Bruges we stayed at the De Barge Boat Hotel, which is just south of the old city and maybe a 10 minute walk from the train station. We were there before check in time, so we stored our luggage and went into the old center to have a look around.

Bruges was so neat - we loved it right away. Our first stop was a tour of De Halve Maan Brewery, which was lots of fun. Great guide, neat stuff to see, definitely recommend it. Plus the Bruges Zot beer was great. Afterwards we wandered a bit more and then went back to the hotel to check in.

The De Barge was cool - definitely a novelty to stay on an old boat. We had the Officer's Room, which was larger than the standard room, still small, but we managed just fine. Our room had nice windows on the back of the boat with a view of the canal - very nice. And the people at the hotel were very helpful. The one complaint that I had, which wasn't the hotel's fault, but one night some people in a couple large buses in the car park across the way decided to have a loud party about 2 am. Not cool. Otherwise, being across from the car park wasn't an issue.

We had dinner at a place called Opus Latino, just off the Burg. A little hard to find, but worth the effort. The terrace overlooks a small canal and is a very nice place to hang out. They serve a selection of tapas style dishes and plenty of drinks.

Day 7 (Wednesday)

Breakfast at the hotel - nothing out of the everyday, but perfectly good. Then we met up for our bike tour with Pink Elephant tours. Definitely recommend this tour - the guide was great, the bikes were in perfect working order, and the route was very interesting. We went through Bruges, then cycled along the canal to Den Haan where we toured the town a bit and stopped for a snack.

Afterward we had lunch at a place that was less-than-memorable since I don't remember anything about it other than the bottle of San Pellegrino for 8,50 euros.

Then we took a canal tour, which was good - neat to see the town from the waterways. Then the weather turned rainy, so we found a cafe to hang out in for pancakes and coffee. The Eetcafe on Simonsplein is a rambling place with a nice courtyard that they cover in the rain. We spent quite awhile there having coffee and hot chocolate and reading our books. Just a nice, relaxing place to be. I was introduced to the hot chocolate where you stir a hunk of chocolate on a stick into a mug of hot milk from choco-o-lait. OMG - this stuff is heavenly. I found some in a shop and bought a bunch to take home with me.

Since it was still raining and it was getting toward evening, but we weren't hungry, we just stopped at a store to buy some beers and walked back to the boat in the rain. I don't mind walking in the rain one bit, but my husband is not so jazzed about it, so the distance to the hotel from the center of town became a negative for him. Once we got back to the boat, we hung out in the room watching the rain on the canal, enjoying our beers.


Day 8 (Thursday)

We had planned to take the train over to the coast and then bum around all day, but it was still raining in the morning, so we decided to just stay in Bruges. We went to Choco Story, which is the chocolate museum - very well done and quite interesting. It was crowded because of the rain, but still good. They have a combo ticket with the Frites museum, so we did that too - learned all about Belgian Fries. Surprisingly, it was a good museum and we learned a bunch.

The weather improved, so we wandered around some of the areas north of the main square that we hadn't seen yet, and then went to the main square to climb the belfry. 366 steps, some of them quite narrow, but a great view at the top.

By this time I was craving the hot chocolate from the day before and we could use a good long rest after the belfry climb, so we went back to the same cafe from the day before - got more panckake, hot chocolate, and coffee. Then we hung around long enough that we were actually hungry, so we ordered dinner too. Good stuff all around.

We liked Bruges a lot and it made for a nice break between the cities of Brussels and Amsterdam.

Enjoying your report very much. :) We were in Bruges earlier this year - wish I'd known about the Frites museum!

Yes, "Bruges is so neat" isn't it? Look at our recent report on "Springtime in Holland and Belgium" where we ended up there. Took in Brussels another earlier trip but in this cruise based trip enjoyed quaint towns in Netherlands plus the stays in Belgium. As it happened we lucked out with sunny days till the end...especially wonderful for the tulips in Keukenhof gardens. I collected some 30 different beer coasters in Belgium...I don't know why!

Ozarksbill [email protected]

Next up - Amsterdam :)

Day 9 (Friday)

This was the day we said good-bye to Bruges and travelled to Amsterdam by train. We bought our tickets that day, 44 euros a piece and took the next available train. We bought sandwiches and beverages at Panos at the train station to have on the train. The ride was uneventful - changed trains in Antwerp, which is a really neat station.

First impression of Amsterdam was sort of chaotic - tons of people at the central train station, bikes everywhere, lots of traffic. But people seemed to be having a good time. We laughed about the number of people who seemed to exit the train station and then light up a joint within 30 seconds.

We rented a small house just off the Neumarkt, so only about a 10 minute walk with luggage from the train station. Very easy. The house was great - funny little place with 3 rooms stacked on top of one another, steep staircases, and a very small bathroom. It also had a rooftop deck. And the location was terrific - close to the main train station and the metro, practically on top of plenty of shops, restaurants, and bars, yet on a quiet street where we hardly heard any noise at all.

After we got settled, we went out to buy groceries at AH, right around the corner - very convinient - and then had dinner at a thai restaurant on Neumarkt square. Quite good, although we did have to ask for chile. We sat outside and the people watching on the square was good - plenty of people out and about.

Then we wandered around a bit through the red light district to see what that was all about - what a trip. The area is actually quite small, so easy to avoid if people want to. We thought the whole thing was quite interesting though, and very ironic that the alley behind the Old Church is lined with red light windows and coffeeshops.

We stopped for beers at a couple places - Rick's Cafe has a nice spot on a canal with good outside seating. The people watching is great, the staff is very friendly, and we had good conversations with the other customers.

Day 10 (Saturday)

After breakfast at the house, we went for a bike tour with Mike's Bikes. We did a tour with them in Munich a few years ago and had a blast, so we thought we would give them another try. Really fun tour - definitely worth the money and time. Biking in Amsterdam is not for the faint of heart though. My husband and I ride bikes all the time, so no problem, but there were a couple people on our tour that were downright dangerous. One person almost got hit by a tram, literally, because she was so focused on trying to keep up that she wasn't watching the traffic. The tour itself was really terrific though - we saw a ton andthe guides are great.

After the tour we went over to the Leidesplein where there are bunches of bars and restaurants - picked one and had lunch and a beer. The beers offered tended to be a mix of Belgium, English, and Irish, with Heinekin all over the place. We actually saw some Budweiser offered in a couple places too - that surprised us. Anyway, lunch was fine and the peoplewatching was great - I think we spent half our time in Amsterdam just watching people. We were "treated" to a little show while we were eating - a man in a green thong doing acrobatics in the square. Not exactly what you want to see when you are eating, but at least he had the decency to shave.

After lunch we wandered around a bit more, stumbled on a troupe of Brazilian dance fighters putting on a show for tips beside one of the canals in the canal ring, and then went back to the house to relax for a bit.

For dinner we went to one of the Doner Kebap places for shwarma and then hit a few bars to relax and have some beers.

Day 11 (Sunday)

Slept in a bit later than usual since we were up late the night before. The weather was beautiful so we decided to get things for a picnic and head out to the Vondelpark. We bought picnic things at AH market - meats, cheeses, bread, chips, cookies, beer, etc. and then took the tram over to the park. We had 96 hour transit passes - the chippenkaart - which turned out to be really handy. I think they were 18 euros each.

At the park there were tons of people out and about, picnicking, hanging out, roller blading, etc. We found a good spot on the grass near a small lake. Nearby a concert started up - we couldn't see the band, but we could hear them quite well - some kind of rock band, but didn't we recognize the music. So we spent most of the afternoon there, just relaxing and enjoying the day. Finally decided to pack it in after the concert was over andthe weather got a little chilly.

The evening we went to an Argentinian restaurant in the old center called Ter Steakhouse. Really good quality steaks, but a small little place so not too many tables. I had some Argentinianwhite wine that was great, but I can't remember the name - this is what happens when I don't write things down!

"We laughed about the number of people who seemed to exit the train station and then light up a joint within 30 seconds."

I doubt you really saw people lighting up a joint. A lot of people in the Netherlands smoke 'handrolling tobacco': http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_(tobacco)

These cigarettes look a lot like joints, but they are just regular cigarettes!

My own little contribution to 'The truth about Amsterdam' :-)

Keep it going though!

TommieG - I can tell the difference between a joint and a handrolled cigarette, thanks though ;)

Okay! But maybe it is useful information for others!

Here in The Hague I fortunately do not see that many people with a joint in public! It isn't my kind of thing.

I have been to Amsterdam 3 times and have never seen anyone smoking pot on the streets. well, except me, i did pause for the cause on a bridge one evening. very discreet, no one was around. im respectful.

Interesting - maybe it was the time of year, who knows? We saw (and smelled) plenty of people smoking pot on the street.

Ok - here is the final Amsterdam installment...

Day 12 (Monday)

We actually managed to do one of our planned day trips during this vacation - we went to Delft. The trip was quite easy by train, no changes and the trip only took about an hour or so.

Delft was really great - picturesque small town with canals and wonderful architecture. There happened to be a student orientation for the university going on that day in the town center, so it wasn't exactly the atmosphere we had in mind, but it was lots of fun anyway. We wandered around a bit and found the tourist office, picked up a map and some brochures and then went to the main square where there are quite a few restaurants. We had lunch at a little place called Het ABC, which was good - sandwiches and beer.

After lunch we walked to the Royal Delft factory and museum - it is a bit of a walk from the center of town, but not bad and took us through some interesting neighborhoods. It would be more efficient to head straight there from the train station and then walk to the old center though - save a bit of backtracking. The museum was really neat - definitely a highlight of the trip. And being able to walk through the factory was terrific.

Then we meandered our way back toward the town center, just taking in the sights as we went along. Once we got back to the town center, we wanted to climb the bell tower, but because of all the students there for the university orientation, the line to climb up was really long, so we decided against it. By this time it wasgetting close to closing time for museums and shops, so we just wandered around awhile longer, poking around some back streets and small lanes. Then headed back to the train station and caught a train back to Amsterdam. Overall, it was a really nice outting.

Once back in Amsterdam, we went back to the house to relax a bit and then went out to dinner - a Malyasian place just south of Neumarkt called Nyonya. Very good food and really nice prices. It is a small family-run place, maybe 10 tables. And the prices were excellent.

Day 13 (Tuesday)

Because we enjoyed our Mike's Bikes city tour earlier in the week, we decided to take the countryside tour with them as well. We picked up breakfast at a bakery on the way to the Mike's Bikes location - crossaunts with cream and strawberries - yum yum yum.

The bike tour was very good - a bit through the city, then the Vondelpark, and then out into the suburbs and countryside sort of south of the city. We went through an area with bunches of houseboats, the Amsterdam forest, which was planted in the 1970s (I think), and then out into some farmland. We stopped at a dairy where they make cheese and wooden shoes - that was fun. We visited the cows, sampled cheese, saw them make shoes. Later we stopped at a windmill and rode along some canals. Overall, a great tour.

Afterward we wandered around the Jordaan neighborhood a bit, hung out in a cafe overlooking a canal drinking beer for awhile, and generally relaxed the rest of the day. Afternoon turned into evening, so we got some eats, and then had some more beer. We spent the evening hanging out on the terrace of a cafe on Neumarkt Square - great place for people watching, relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Day 14 (Wednesday)

Last day in Amsterdam and my husband's birthday. He decided he wanted to go to the zoo. We rode the tram, which was quite convinient, went almost directly to the zoo. The Artis zoo isn't large, but it is fairly well done and a very manageable size. I am not particularly big on zoos, but this was ok. Afterward we had lunch at a small place across from the zoo entrance - chicken shwarma in a pita, which was quite decent.

Later we went to the Brouwerij't IJ, which is a brewery next to a large windmill not far from the zoo - I think it is on Zeebrugestraat. Great place with good beer, low prices, and a nice patio outside with lots of shade. While we were there, a large American-made blue late 60s convertible pulled up in front - we'd seen this car cruising around earlier in the week and we took notice since it isn't exactly a common type of car in Amsterdam. Three guys jumped out of the car and started unloading sound equipment - amps, drums, guitar, microphone, etc. They set up their gear and started playing music, using the car as their stage. The drummer was sitting in the back seat of the car, the guitar player standing on the hood, and the bass player standing on the trunk. It was the coolest thing. They played about 5 songs, came around through the audience with a tip jar, then packed up their gear and drove away.

For dinner we went back to the Ter steakhouse and then had drinks at Rick's Cafe again, sitting out by the canal watching the world go by.

Overall, it was a nice final day in Amsterdam.

Day 15 (Thursday)

Sadly we had to leave Amsterdam - we would have gladly stayed another week if we could have. We really enjoyed our time there.

Took the train back to Brussels since that is where our flight home departed. Again - the train was very easy. I think the trip took maybe 3 hours. It was probably the hotest day of the trip though, so the train felt stuffy.

This time we stayed at the Royal Windsor Hotel near the central train station in Brussels - the hotel was quite nice and we got the room through Expedia for $105 per night. We thought that was a really nice deal. The room was small, but well laid out. The bed was really comfortable and the bathroom was fairly well done. There were some things I would have complained about thoughif we had paid the published ratesin the lobby which were upwards of 500 euro per night. But for $105, we were more than pleased with the room.

We had late lunch on "greek street", which is about a half block from the hotel - mmmmm gyros. Then we did some last minute shopping,wandered around a bit and found a waffle stand to get our fill before we left. Then we went to the Grand Place to sit on one of the terraces and have some last minute beer. Do we REALLY have to go home tomorrow? Can't we stay longer?

Since we were there, we had dinner at Le Roy de Espagne on the Grand Place - sat inside since it started to rain - and then it really rained. Flemish beef stew cooked in Leffe Bruin with potatoes was quite good. We hung out and waited out the rain, had another beer or two while we were there. And then called it a night.

Day 16 (Friday)

Nothing really to tell about Friday - just the trip home. Took the airport express train from the central train station to the Brussels airport. We got there in plenty of time, so we got some breakfast in the terminal - not much choice, but we didn't starve. Flight was uneventful until we got close to Washington Dulles where we had a connection to SFO. There was weather, our plane got diverted, by the time we got to Washington and cleared customs and security, we'd missed our connection. Huge lines at customer service since it seems EVERYBODY had missed a connection. I called United customer service and got us rebooked on another flight. We ended up getting into SFO only about 4 hours late, so overall, not too bad.

All in all, it was a great trip and I would absolutely return to all the places we visited.

Hi november_moon - Thank you for finishing your trip report. I'm glad you had a great time. Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities to visit.

<i>"We thought the whole thing was quite interesting though, and very ironic that the alley behind the Old Church is lined with red light windows and coffeeshops."</i>

I know exactly what you mean! This has got to be one of the most bizarre scenes in Amsterdam. Guys leaning up against the wall of the church checking out the "ladies" in their red lit window cabinets.

<i>Interesting - maybe it was the time of year, who knows? We saw (and smelled) plenty of people smoking pot on the street.</i>

Since a lot of Dutch people roll their own cigarettes, it's not unusual for them to sprinkle a little marijuana in with their tobacco. That's what you might have been smelling. There's even disclaimers in some coffeeshops warning against the hazzards of mixing the two together. Afterall, nicotine can be harmful to your health.

<i>"All in all, it was a great trip and I would absolutely return to all the places we visited."</i>

I know what you mean. We're off to Amsterdam and Belgium (Antwerp this time) in Ocotber. This will be our 6th time through Amsterdam, and our third for Belgium.

Robyn :)>-

Another ironic thing - the signs we saw on the terraces of several cafes that say "no drugs", meanwhile 75% of the patrons are smoking cigarettes. I know what they mean by "no drugs" - obviously - but I just think it is interesting when nicotine isn't classified as a "drug".

I grew up in Santa Cruz, CA where nothing makes sense, so I just love that sort of thing.

cigarettes arent allowed in coffeeshops in Amsterdam :)

"Since a lot of Dutch people roll their own cigarettes, it's not unusual for them to sprinkle a little marijuana in with their tobacco. That's what you might have been smelling. There's even disclaimers in some coffeeshops warning against the hazzards of mixing the two together. Afterall, nicotine can be harmful to your health."

You all must be travelling in different circles than I....I have never heard of these practices. And luckily I don't know anyone doing it. I do know from my high-shool years and college (I am know 34 so about 10-15 years ago) that a lot of young people try joints a few times. But only a small % of people do smoke joints regurlarly.

On Youtube you can find an interesting movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTPsFIsxM3w

It is a reaction to Bill O'Reilly of Fox news, making certain allegations about Amsterdam.

One of the interesting statistics in this movie is the use of cannabis (number of people who have ever used it) in The Netherlands and the US: 22,6% versus 40,3%.

Now I do agree that chances are that in Amsterdam you see more people smoking a joint than elsewhere in the Netherlands (a lot of tourist do like to try it once when they are there...).

But I strongly disagree with the false image of all Dutch people smoking joints and sprinkling cannbis in their rolled cigarettes.

Enjoyed your report november_moon, but I don't think you drank enough beer. ((B))

Tommie...

I never said "<b>all</b> dutch people are smoking joints and sprinkling cannabis in their rolled cigarettes."

But the practice of mixing tobacco and marijuana does exist. If you buy a pre-rolled "joint" in an Amsterdam coffeeshop, it usually contains a mixture of both substances, as well as a cardboard filter.

You are right on with your statistics about Dutch marijuana use vs. the USA. The Dutch model has proven that if you remove the prohibitionist restrictions on the access to "soft drugs", you bring it out of the underground, and less people are apt to want to try it. Because of this, the Netherlands has some of the lowest numbers of new drug users. It's all about harm reduction.

Sorry to take over the thread, november_moon. Now, back to the trip report. I must agree with Melnq8.. you simply didn't drink enough beer.

Robyn :)>-

Very nice trip report. We are going to Amsterdam and Bruges in 2 weeks...can't wait...thanks for posting. :-)

True, you did not say 'all', that was my subjective interpretation. I put it down a little bit too strong. It just irritates me that some people only see the Netherlands as sex and drugs... (not so much of this on Fodors though). Hence the strong reaction. I apologize! Btw. I am not totally against soft-drugs (took some spacecake once myself when I was young ;-), but I do not like the image of 'all' Dutchies walking around with joints etc.

And yes, I do know that a joint is usually a mix of cannabis and tobacco. They are usually much larger than a regular handrolled cigarette. Most handrolled cigarettes will not contain cannabis.

And now back to the trip report. I really did enjoy reading it november_moon!

Thanks guys - glad you enjoyed my report. We certainly enjoyed the trip :) And don't worry about the hijack - I have enjoyed reading the discussion.

Tommie, I can appreciate your frustration with Amsterdam (and the Netherlands in general) being seen as just a place for sex and drugs. We had a fabulous time and other than walking through the Red Light District, our stay didn't include any drugs or extra-curricular sex. I agree with the Dutch model of legalizing things, bringing them out of the shadows, and taking away the mystique. In the US we've got loads of people locked up on petty drug charges and we've got some really serious problems as a result of drug trafficking. We'd be so much better off if we just legalized some things and got on with it. Anyway, I could go on and on, but you all get the gist.

Regarding beer consumption - when we went to the Halve Maan brewery in Bruges, the guide there told us that Germany is beating Belgium in per capita beer consumption, so we promised that we would do our part for Belgium. I have 2 suggestions for Belgium though - serve beer in larger glasses and (more importantly) when someone's glass is low, the waiters in cafes and restaurants could ask patrons if they would like more (yes, of course we'd like some more). We probably would have had 25% more beer if we could have even easily flagged down a waiter, but so often they were really hard to find. :)

I have recommended in Fodorite Lounge a new book by Rick Steves called "Travel as a Political Act" which I do recommend. Rick of course is well know to travelers and in this new book encourages Americans to appreciate other cultures. He sees European solutions to problems. In Holland of course we have many bicycles and rapid transit that one can only hope we in the U.S. might have more of. With regard to the Dutch we know that in a coffeehouse they don't serve coffee but have marijuana over the counter. He makes a case for their acceptance of soft drugs which may mean less hard drugs. Also Europeans aren't as worried as Americans about gay rights, nudity, sex. So Americans who are so religious seems to be quite moralistic about some things.

One minor problem we have is unwanted junk mail. He has a little photo of the Dutch sign at the mail slot...a red NEE and a green JA for example meaning OK for such mail if it has a name on it, otherwise no!

Ozarksbill

So THAT's what those signs on people's mail slots meant - we were speculating about that. I know we could have just asked someone, but continuing to speculate was more fun.

Nice report, november moon! How were you able to book the house in Amsterdam? We're returning in April and have lodging secured for this trip, but I would love to stay in a house like the one you described on another trip.

We booked the house through vrbo.com - worked out great.