In April/May 2009 I flew to Brussels, Belgium for nearly 2 weeks in Belgium and The Netherlands. I had a lot mapped out, but knew I wanted to spend most of the time in The Netherlands. I was going to try and get a couple centralized spots to spend the night in order to minimize having to find places to stay. Except for Amsterdam (which I had no plan on going back to), most of what I wanted to see was along the south and east part of The Netherlands.
After landing in Brussels, I drove to Utrecht in The Netherlands. This was actually pretty central to what I wanted to see. I spent several nights there. I spent the days seeing the towns of Gouda, Leiden, Amersfoort, and the surrounding countryside. While it is relatively flat, it is still very scenic and they have farms of colorful tulips being grown in pastures that are just on the sides of the roads.
I spent almost an entire day in Keukenhof. Keukenhof is a massive garden that is open only during the bulb season, about 2 months of the year. You just wander around the 9 miles of trails they have and see the various gardens they have created on the 80 acres. They not only have tulip bulbs, but they also have a lot of other bulb plants too (don't ask me what kind, they all look like flowers to me). It really is spectacular to see, but you have to go at the right time of the year and this was it.
I spent a day driving around the Markermeer and IJsselmeer (2 lakes north of Amsterdam that join up with the North Sea). This was mostly scenic, but the drive was really to get to the town of Sloten. It is a pedestrian only walled town, settled in 1063 that pretty much still has the charm of that era. To get back from the Friesland province to the North Holland province, I had to cross the IJsselmeer on the 20 mile long Afsluitdijk. On the map it looks like a bridge, but it is actually a causeway that is only about 24 feet above sea level. That may not sound like much, but in The Netherlands 24 feet above sea level is on par with Mount Everest. Well OK, Vaalserberg in the southern most part of The Netherlands is actually the highest point at 1,059 feet (it also happens to be a point where Germany, France, and The Netherlands all converge).
While in North Holland province I went to Hoorn, Haarlem, and the Zuiderzee Museum. Hoorn and Haarlem were pretty much big cities, though very clean and easy to navigate around. The Zuiderzee Museum was really interesting. To get there, you have to take a scenic boat ride. The museum is set up as a village, with lots of exhibits and crafts being done. I always say, if there is an outdoor museum you should go there.
I knew Den Haag and Rotterdam were places to go, but not necessarily places to see. In other words, I had a couple things I wanted to see there but neither city was high on my list. I probably spent only half a day in each city, which was enough. In Den Haag I had to see the Binnenhof and the Ridderzaal (Inner Court and the Knights’ Hall). This was very regal for a government building. I also had to see the Vredespaleis (Peace Palace), though built only in 1903; it really is an international landmark. Rotterdam redefined itself in the 1950’s and 1960’s by rebuilding in a more industrial manner.
Before leaving The Netherlands, there is one thing I would like to point out. The ‘normal’ rules of the road do not apply. You have to remember bicycles are everywhere, in mass. They have their own lanes, stop signs, stop lights, right of ways, everything. You really need to watch where you are driving and watch the signals. I think they have more rights than pedestrians.
To round out Belgium, I went to Brugge, Gent, and Brussels. I had read a lot about Brugge and was expecting spectacular sights, but I was not impressed. It was way overcrowded with people and busloads of tourists - imagine that! I did spend an entire day walking around, not only the top spots but most every street in the town. I will admit that about 9pm the Markt (Main Square) did empty out and it quieted down. Overall, Gent was much nicer. Less crowded and almost every corner you turned was another great view with fantastic building architecture, and even a castle. My last night was in Brussels, so I did the square and took the effort to see the Atomium just on the outskirts of town.
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