Thanks, everyone! DAX, unfortunately I couldn't tell you a thing about Hilversum - from the train station, we walked straight to our meeting, were cooped up inside all day, and headed right back to the train station when the meeting ended. I really didn't see Hilversum at all.

Will continue my trip report later today...

Bookmarking for possible summer '07 trip.

Everybody seems content with the Rijksmuseum being renovated. I will be happy to see the essence only :)

Any "bad" times of the year to avoid this destination? Is winter too cold to appreciate the area (canals etc.)?

I really enjoyed your trip review! I honeymooned last year in many of the locations you visited, including Amsterdam and Brugge.

We liked the pancakes we had at the Pancake Bakery, but agree with you that the price was rather steep for what it was. We loved the Begijnhof, Amstelkring, Anne Frank House and so many of the locations you mentioned. Glad you had a wonderful trip!

Hi Meredith,

Hope that you will find time to continue this soon. I keep looking for it [-o<

Don't worry, Una - I haven't forgotten. Thanks for your interest!! So, where were we?...

Day 6
Today we leave the Netherlands and cross the border into Belgium. The night before, we had asked the concierge what time the train to Antwerp left. She told us it leaves 33 minutes after the hour. So we packed up the next morning and got to the train station with a few minutes to spare... except the train actually leaves 23 minutes after the hour. Damn! We were a little annoyed with the concierge, but it was really our fault for not double-checking or arriving a little bit earlier. We missed the train by about 2 minutes and were stuck at the train station for an hour.

We got on the next train, and I made a prophetic comment about how train travel is so nice because you don't have to deal with delays like you do with airplanes. Wouldn't you know, about 15 minutes into our journey, our train came to a complete stop - apparently, the train in front of us had broken down, and we had to wait about 30 minutes until that train was moved out of our path.

The rest of our trip was uneventful, and we finally arrived in Antwerp an hour and a half later than we had planned on. Luckily, we didn't have any major plans in Antwerp, except to drink beer and relax. In planning our itinerary for this trip, we were torn between Ghent and Antwerp as a stopping point between Amsterdam and Brugge. Both sounded lovely, but we eventually decided on Antwerp because it has a Hilton. I know that's a really lame reason to choose a destination, but as I said above in the "Hotels" section, we were determined to use hotel points for the entire trip. We never made it to Ghent so I can't compare it to Antwerp, but we were very happy with Antwerp. We were there for less than 24 hours, but we enjoyed it much more than I thought we would.

After dumping our bags at the hotel, we headed to the Grote Markt and settled in at Den Engel (right on the square by the Town Hall) for a beer. Today was the most gorgeous day of our trip. The sky was cerulean blue without a cloud in sight, and it was so pleasantly warm that we didn't even need to wear our jackets. After our beer, we spent the rest of this gorgeous afternoon just walking around the city. We got an order of fries and walked around the cathedral (we popped inside briefly, but didn't pay the entrance fee to explore the whole church), through many side streets, up to the river and De Steen fortress, and by the Vleeshuis (Butcher's Hall). We didn't go in any museums today (in fact, I think we went in only one museum our entire time in Belgium!), but instead enjoyed the ambience and the architecture.

In deciding where to go for dinner that night, we got on the computer in the hotel's Executive Lounge and checked out some suggestions from Fodor's and Frommer's. Frommer's gave high praise for a place called Sir Anthony Van Dyck, so we made reservations there. This place was delicious, but we suffered from a bit of sticker shock. Frommer's had said the entrees there were between $22 (that's U.S. dollars) and $35. In reality, I'd say the cheapest entree was about $35. We ended up skimping on our food because we had not planned on spending that much for dinner. I do have to say that what we ate was very very good, and the restaurant is in a very romantic setting in a pretty alleyway. If you are looking to spend a bit more on a nice dinner, I think this place is a great choice - especially since the chef used to be Michelin-rated (he apparently gave it up to have a more relaxed restaurant). But for us, it wasn't the best choice.

Glad to hear that Antwerp is worth a day or so. I plan to visit Ghent from Brugge on the way there for another night a visit to Antwerp itself. Anything special that you suggest?

How did you find the train from Amsterdam to Antwerp - other than the unexpected delays? I was considering getting to Brugge that way, but am now looking to the bus. It takes only an hour more and costs about 1/3 of the price for a senior. No delay will ever bother me again since I sat on a stopped train in Italy for 4 hours!!
or b-(

Ooops. Sorry.

"I plan to visit Ghent from Brugge on the way there for another night a visit to Antwerp itself"

Should of course read:
I plan to visit Ghent from Brugge on the way there <i> and then stay</i> for another night a visit to Antwerp itself

Una, aside from those pesky delays, the train from Amsterdam to Antwerp was great! We traveled a lot by train on this trip and found everything to be easy and efficient. As I noted above, the trip from Amsterdam to Antwerp was about 29 euros for the two of us in second class. Personally, I think about 14.50 euros for one person is a fair price and preferable to taking a bus.

Thanks Meredith. Good to know. I thought that the train was a good deal more expensive. I am seeing rates of &euro;40 on the train site. Did you use a rail pass of any kind for a discount?

Day 7
Today we go to Brugge! After another easy train ride, we arrived in Brugge around 11 a.m. Through our hotel's taxi service (explained in greater detail above), we got dropped off right at Eiermarkt, a little square just steps away from the Market Square. We made our way through the Market Square over to Burg Square and by the Fish Market. By this time we were starving, so we stopped for lunch at a place called Rozenhoedkaai, which is just across the street from one of the most scenic vantage points in Brugge (on Rozenhoedkaai right near Huidevettersplein). For 27 euros, we had two beers, two bowls of soup, cheese croquettes for me and a croque monsieur for Ryan.

After lunch, we did a canal boat ride - which I loved!! There are several tour operators, and as far as I can tell, they all charge the same price - 5.70 euros per person. With the &quot;Book of Rick&quot; you can get a 90 cent discount at Gruuthuse, so that is the one we chose. This company is located across the street from the Groeninge Museum. I would highly recommend a canal boat ride - it's only about 30 minutes long (preferable to the hour-long one in Amsterdam that just about put us to sleep), and the scenery is so picturesque. I really felt like I had just stepped into a fairy tale.

After the canal ride, we realized we were in desperate need of chocolate. Rick Steves recommended a place called Dumon, and wow - I have to fully agree with his suggestion! We didn't try any other chocolate shops in Brugge, so I can't compare Dumon to others. But I can say that I deeply regret not going back to buy more, because the one box we bought was gone before we left Brugge.

After Dumon, we followed Rick's walking tour of Brugge. As I mentioned above, I think his navigational cues could be a bit more specific. For example, with this particular tour, he directs you to visit one of the museums and then picks up his directions from the museum's exit. We did not want to visit the museum, so it took us a while to figure out where the exit was so that we could continue with his tour. It would be nice if he had explained which way to go if you were skipping the museum.

Throughout our walking tour of Brugge, we passed so many restaurants that appealed to us, so we had a tough time choosing where to go. We eventually settled on De Vlaamse Pot (The Flemish Pot) and were very very happy with our choice. This restaurant is just off Geldmuntstraat in a very charming space. I had a delicious fish waterzooi, and Ryan ordered the carbonnade - both dishes were fantastic. He also ordered a goat cheese salad that was out of this world. But the best was the french fries. Of course we ate fries throughout Belgium, and they were good everywhere - but we unanimously agree that the BEST fries we had were at the Flemish Pot. In fact, Ryan is convinced that one fry in particular that he ate was the single best french fry in all of Belgium. :) Our total here was 70.50 euros - that included my fixed price three-course menu for 28 euros, Ryan's salad and entree, a bottle of water, and a 1/2 liter of wine.

Una, nope, no rail pass. We just bought point-to-point tickets as we needed them. Someone here on Fodors had posted a website that helps you calculate whether or not rail passes are a deal for you - let me see if I can find that post. If I do, I'll top it for you...

Una, here's that website:
http://www.railsaver.com/

I found it really helpful in figuring out our total rail costs. Hope it helps you, too!

Thanks again Meredith. No, I shan't be needing a railpass either. It would not be worth while with my itinerary. You bought the point to point tickets locally as you needed them? No advance purchases?

OK Meredith

I have finally realized the reason for difference in price. You are talking Amsterdam to Antwerp and I mean Amsterdam to Brugge. So if you add together the cost of the two trips for one person does it equal almost &euro;40 ?

BTW - Have I mentioned how much I appreciate all of the details? The locations, the prices, the reactions and the feelings involved make this report come alive! Thank you!

I'm so glad that you are finding my trip report useful! So often I depend on trip reports here on Fodors to help me make my plans, so I'm more than happy to share my experiences as well.

As for your train itinerary, sorry I misunderstood! We paid 14.50 per person for Amsterdam to Antwerp, and then 12.40 per person from Antwerp to Brugge. Combining that together is 26.90 - how does that compare to the bus ticket? (Now, I don't know for sure that that's how much your train ticket should be, but logically it seems like it should be right around that price, right?) Oh, and these prices are for 2nd class seats.

As for buying the tickets, we bought everything at the train station minutes before departure. If you'd like to allow yourself some flexibility, I see no reason to purchase tickets ahead of time. (Oh wait, we did buy tickets ahead of time just once - the night before we left to come back home. We had to be to the airport pretty early, so to save ourselves a few precious minutes in the morning, we bought our tickets from downtown Brussels to the airport the night before.)

All these prices are 2006. No 2007 rates posted yet. Don't know how much the rates will rise, but I am advised that they rarely rise by very much.

Train from Amsterdam to Schiphol &euro; 2.20, Schiphol to Brugge (via Roosendaal) &euro;37.60. SO - are you sure that you paid only 14.50 p/p Amsterdam to Antwerp? I do find that confusing :(

Via Roosendaal because the Netherlands trains give a senior discount on national trips only. I am not yet eligible for the Belgian senior discount.

Eurolines bus from Amsterdam to Antwerp (promo ticket w/senior discount) is &euro;11 and the train ticket onwards to Brugge is &euro;12.40.

So it is &euro;39.80 vs. &euro;22.40. That means an extra &euro;10 to buy chocolate :)

Bookmarking this great trip report! Thanks, Meredith, for posting.

Thanks, Lucy!

Una, now I'm scratching my head wondering... In my notes, I jotted down 29 euros with a question mark next to it. I thought it was around 29 for the both of us, but I couldn't remember if that was exact. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it was actually 29 per person...

We paid for those tickets with cash and I don't have a receipt, so I have no way of double-checking. Maybe someone else who has done this trip can jump in with some info? I feel like an idiot for possibly having told you wrong information!! :(