EuroTrip ‘24 Part III: Amsterdam & Bruges
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The final half of our cruise trip takes us to the Netherlands, Belgium and UK. It may seem that embarking on an eighteen-day vacation is long, and yet, as the remaining days edge closer to the end, you beg of being back to the first day. There’s a fear in going back to reality with such a huge planet to explore. Having finite time is I guess, what we are afraid of. If only we can travel more often than not, if only we can experience new things and learn from different cultures more often than not, then we shouldn’t be feeling such fear of missing out. While you still can, do it! Travel and get out of your comfort zone.
We got to Amsterdam with another awful weather. At this point, we were joking that the clouds and rain were following us wherever we dock, giving plenty of reasons to ruin our beloved vacation. Taking good photos became a challenge, but eventually the sun showed up in the afternoon after waking up from a deep slumber. Where was he all along? We could have used him more back in Iceland and Norway. Below, you will see the facade on our way to the Zaanse Windmills. See how gloomy the weather was?
Zaans Windmills
The trip was about 20-25 minutes from the port. If you are traveling with a big group between 6-8 people, you’re better off taking a taxi cab that’s big enough to carry everyone. The taxi trip by the meter will cost you about 70 euros. We got there early at about 9:30am, which is an idea that I would highly suggest if you are planning to visit as the crowd multiplied tenfold by the time we were about to leave after an hour or an hour and a half. There were at least six full sized buses that dropped of their passengers and thank god we were out by then.
The area provides a nice stroll, you can definitely capture amazing photos and learn about the deep history that still exists in this community. I highly suggest getting in one of the windmills to get a glimpse of the dated ingenuity they had back in the days. At one point, there were at least 10,000 mills erected to collectively support the country’s golden age. Now, these windmills are working less than what they used to, shadowing only a tiny image of what they once were, masquerading as iconic tourist figurines.
Each and every mill village in the Netherlands carries a distinct mark or manufactures a merchandise that they are known for. The Zaanse community are known for their cheeses that come in different forms and flavors. They mostly use goat milk to produce these delicacies.
Aside from the cheese, they are also known for making a particular type of shoe made out of wood. When I was younger, my mother had a pair of these shoes displayed in one of our wooden glass shelves in the living room. It only dawned on me that those shoes came from here! The shape is distinct, like that of an elongated teardrop, having a point tip while the back bends into a perfectly rounded curve. In the old times, the design was mostly carved on the shoe. Nowadays, the designs are endless, from being painted to having studded with gems, you can only imagine what it will look like. Looking at it, I don’t think that these were comfortable to wear or maybe they weren’t really meant to be worn? Come to think of it, I think this is where Crocs got the inspiration from.
Below are more photos of the area.
Downtown
It was my first time visiting Amsterdam. Aside from the city being synonymous to weed and the notorious glass windows with neon lights, I didn’t know what to expect. Yes, certain streets reek of marijuana and human trafficking is not typically being frowned upon, but when you get past these things, you will find a busy and modern city that breeds diversity, allowing different cultures to shine and represent themselves.
Despite the town being a little bit dirty, untidy and way too touristy, it is actually quite a cool place. The canals were not as impressive as how they are shown in reels and video clips. I guess it’s better at night, when the lights are glowing, and people are out & about to accentuate the whole town.
While the towering establishments were impressive, the cable lines of their public transportation kind of ruined the vibe. Reminds me of mission st. in SF. They should have kept those underground so people can really appreciate the town. There was also plenty of construction and rehabilitation projects happening within the city. Just be prepared to avoid scaffoldings, steel barricades and blocked roads.
If you notice below, it may look like that there’s a flaw in the engineering of these buildings, but this is a signature of Amsterdam architecture that dates back more than a hundred years ago. It adds a quirky humor thinking that it’ll trample you down at any moment.
This particular street brings Harry Potter vibes for me. Where is platform nine and three quarters?
My MIL mentioned that we must go and find the original Bulldog cafe and try some baked goods… I don’t know what had gotten into her and we actually did. They’ve been here before and just showing us around, I guess. I didn’t partake in any of the consumption, and luckily I didn’t. We went to chinatown and had lunch. Food was amazing and by the time we were about to be done, the cupcakes that they consumed had already started to kick in. HAHAHAHA. Let’s cut the story short and say that they had to go back to the ship to rest.
The Bulldog Cafe is the famous coffee and weed shop in Amsterdam. It has become so popular amongst visitors that they have three different shops on the same street filled with merchandise and goods! I am not one of the cool kids, so I skipped.
Chinatown
I never expected that there is a chinatown in Amsterdam. It is as vibrant as other chinatowns that I’ve been to, full of life, culture, amazing food and other finds. Apparently, asian food is big in this part of the world. There’s also a huge population of young asians living here, probably for school to learn english and get away from their harsh parents.
Window Shopping
Of course, we got to see the famous girls posing behind the large, and well lighted windows. That’s what they call, window shopping. You cannot take photos of them, just FYI. Don’t come here and start taking photos of these business savvy talents or you will find yourself floating on one of the canals. There were not many of them to see since it was too early, although, there were a couple of them already on duty. We even saw an old man enter a room at 10:00am to do his thing. Quite early for that kind of exercise, isn’t it?
Planning to move?
Modern 21st century problems don’t always need 21st century solutions, just like this thing you will see below. Notice the hooks hanging out of these apartments’ front walls? Turns out that the staircases of these buildings are so narrow that whenever they bring in furnitures, they tie them with a rope and use this hook as a pulley to carry them to the appropriate floor. Smart. So if you’re moving here with a $100,000 grand piano… good luck.
More photos of Amsterdam
By the afternoon, the sky had cleared out and we did a canal tour prior to heading back to the cruise ship. It came out to 17 euros per adult for a whole hour of tour, not bad if you ask me. Navigating through the canals while a guided tour was mentioning some key points was comprehensive and helped a lot in understanding the nature of the city. I couldn’t help moving left and right to get visually stunning photos. Good thing we sat in the back, so we didn’t bother anybody. But the moment a woman saw what we were doing, she joined in and took a spot for herself. The audio guide basically talked about what each district was known for, where the affluent places are, how life was like back in the old times and how much properties cost.
Some of these floating boats are actually hotels or living quarters. The rent has gone so high that the people with boats opted to live in them.
We also got to try the famous cookies from Van Stapele. They were good and freshly baked! They put a piece of white chocolate in the middle of every chocolate cookie. It was still warm when we got a bite of it, nice and chewy. They were not too sweet, which is the most important part.
And that is it from Amsterdam. It would have been amazing to enjoy the town at night to get a better experience. That will be a good idea to note when we come back!
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Bruges, Belgium
We now turn our heads to Bruges.
Bruges had the same effect as what Bergen, Norway gave to us. It was magically Harry Potter-ish. The facade is similar to Amsterdam’s but more rustic, heavier on the gothic and baroque style architecture, and was way cleaner. You can see that the town is well maintained, no trash on the floor and little to graffiti anywhere. It was pleasant to stroll around and wander.
From the port, we had to take a cab for 35 minutes. The driver dropped us off in the middle of the city, where the plaza is located and we took it from there.
At the plaza, are plenty of restaurants with outside tables, museums, shops and other interesting landmarks. If you look at the map of Bruges, it is literally at the center of everything and all roads lead to this area. If you get lost by any chance, just follow the sound of the church bell and you’ll be back to square one again. When we got there, the shops were still closed and there were only a few people roaming the streets. But when we left around two in the afternoon, we couldn’t even find each other by the sheer amount of tourists flocking the destination. So, again, if you are planning to come here and take lovely photos, do it in the morning. If you are caught in the afternoon, your photos will be full of people and less of what you’re really trying to show.
Here are some photos of the town square to enjoy.
There’s a reason why Belgium is known for their chocolates and waffles. Bruges was filled with artisanal chocolate shops that offer a variety of confections. There’s no shortage of cacao flying in to this country and they use it really well. I found myself snacking some cookies dipped in chocolate and couldn’t stop. No photos of the said snack, unfortunately. My mouth was quicker than my finger to trigger the camera.
The waffles were good but not what we expected. I discovered that Belgian waffles are doughy rather than what we normally are accustomed to. Here in America, we make a batter to make waffles. Over in Belgium, I saw a shop pulling a piece of dough and putting it in the waffle machine. The result is a crispy, flavorful yet doughy waffle.
We took a canal tour (again) which was more informative and personalized than Amsterdam’s. It felt like I was in Venice, with our own private chauffeur, guiding us through the long winding canals of the city. He was pretty funny too. The tour took around thirty minutes and by the time we were done, it felt like we needed more. Bruges truly is a romantic place to explore, perfect for honeymooners and people of age.
Below are all the photos I was able to take while on the boat.
Bruges has plenty of religious landmarks. Christianity is pretty much displayed everywhere you go. One thing to note was a church that had a vial claiming that it contains the blood of Christ. The vial was encrusted with precious gems and unfortunately, you can’t take a photo of it. The group mentioned that the blood still looked fresh. I thought about it, shouldn’t it be brown by this time already? How could they have saved it and keep it looking fresh all this time? We did read some reddit posts that claim it to be faux. But whatever, I fell into a short nap while waiting for the group in the church.
More photos of Bruges
Lunch was held at Brasserie Cambrinus, serving traditional Flemish or Belgian cuisine. In summary, Flemish cuisine is a mixture of German, French and Dutch influences. They are heavy on incorporating local beer into their food so expect a lot of beer-braised meats. The group pretty much had a variety of dishes that we ordered ranging from pasta, fish to this famous beef stew paired with an apple sauce. The beef was braised in aromatics and you guessed it right, beer. Everything was amazing. We were the first ones to dine in at around 12 noon, hence the empty photo below. It filled up pretty quickly and the servers found themselves moving and groovin' after an hour.
And that’s it for Bruges folks! I wish I can write more about it. But due limited time, there’s so much that’s left out. Our final stop is London, so stay tuned! For now, just take a lovely look at this wonderful view.
