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The Netherlands and Belgium
In 2002 I flew to Amsterdam to stay with my Swedish sister. She had taken a job that had her living there, so I was able to stay with her for free. She worked during the day and then we spent time together in the evenings. There are some fantastic museums in Amsterdam, but my favorite were the Van Gogh Museum and The Anne Frank House. It was also fun to walk around the Red Light District and see what the buzz was all about. Amsterdam has an intricate canal system that is an experience to see.
The cheese in the Netherlands really stood out to me. The way things are processed in the USA changes flavors in ways we often don’t notice…until we do. And then it is hard to forget. Another thing I was fascinated by was the hooks on the roofs of apartment buildings. Since the stairways are narrow, furniture can’t be carried up. Instead, it is hoisted up by these hooks.
It is very easy to take the train to little towns outside of Amsterdam, such as Delft. Delft is famous for pottery, but it has also been referred to as “The cutest village in Holland.” If you can’t make it to Delft, but you like that style pottery, you can buy knockoffs here.
It is also easy to take the train into Belgium. Arriving into Antwerp’s Central Station is a delight. My picture does not do it justice. It has been voted most beautiful in the world on multiple occasions. Inaugurated in 1905, it is a gorgeous building that has over 20 types of stone and marble. The structure survived multiple WWII bombings. I stayed at the Alfa de Keyser, which was a very affordable hotel and was very close to the station.
The city was built around Steen Castle (aka Het Steen, which means “the stone”), located on the east bank of the Scheldt River. The castle was burned down by the Vikings in 836 and rebuilt in the 11th century. It was a military stronghold because it was situated at the main roads to England and Germany. In 1823 it was used as a prison. It now houses the National Maritime Museum.
Antwerp is well known for their diamonds and considered the diamond capital of the world. 84% of the world’s rough diamonds and 50% of cut diamonds travel through here. You can tour shops where they show you bags of stones and you can pick one out to purchase and have set, a very fun experience!
Continuing past Antwerp takes you to Brussels. Brussels is quite large and spread out so I took the tourist bus to see as much as I could in the short time I had. The most fascinating thing I saw was the Atomium, an architectural wonder. It was built for the 1958 World Fair and represents the atomic structure of an iron molecule, enlarged 165 billion times. The design was meant to capture the spirit of mid-century scientific discovery and technological progress.
I had mussels in Brussels and CHOCOLATE. I had never been a chocolate person, but Brussels changed me. Like the cheese in the Netherlands, the chocolate was incredible. I honestly don’t remember much else about Brussels other than seeing the Manneken-Pis because when I wasn’t eating chocolate, the beer and mussels had my attention. I learned that you eat mussels using an empty mussel shell!
The beer in Belgium is a big experience. I had thought that when you pour a beer, it goes into a pint glass. NOT IN BELGIUM. There are different glasses for different beers. Skinny glasses, wine type glasses, round glasses, square glasses…they are all used for different types of beer. If you are interested in getting some different beer glasses, you can find some here or if you want a larger set, here. And if you don’t drink beer, there is always chocolate!
