The NETHERLANDS and BRUGES – Beers, countryside

and more

Our short trip to The Netherlands and Bruges was fabulous and while I wish we had stayed on longer, we made the best of our short time there.

First stop was Amsterdam and since we arrived past 8.00 p.m., all we had time for was a quick beer and some bites at a neighbouring restaurant, Gent Aan De Schinkel. As it turned out, this would become our ‘go to’ place for a couple more dinners in Amsterdam after a mediocre and overpriced meal in the tourist area of Leidseplein. (Tip: There are tons of ‘Argentinian Steakhouses’ but all of them are far from it.)

Our B&B, a 20-minute tram ride from the city centre, was lovely. There was great attention to detail, generous breakfasts and free use of bicycles as needed, making for a wonderful stay. That it was very close to Vondelpark made it much lovelier as it allowed us to easily stroll and cycle in the park and watch the locals go about their daily lives. Outdoor gym and yoga sessions seemed to be very popular, as well as dogs joining their owners for an evening run!

Visiting the Anne Frank house, Heineken Experience and Van Gogh Museum were the highlights of Amsterdam for us. Thankfully we had booked tickets online well before hand so avoided the queues on the day. The commentary for the museums was very informative. The Heineken Experience was well-curated, especially the interactive exhibits at the end that made for some great family moments. That we were already in high spirits, having downed the free beers that came with the tour (a very generous 3 half-pints each!), likely helped in that regard 😉 

Walking around Dam Square, the Museumkwartier, the Jordaan neighbourhood and the 9 Streets was interesting. We managed to find some great cafes for lunch where we got scrumptious sandwiches and pancakes, while buying the famous Dutch cheeses at one of the morning markets and the cheese shops that were literally around every corner. And of course, one can’t miss doing a canal cruise when in Amsterdam as it gives a great introduction to the city from the water as well as a visit to the famous but not-so-PG Red Light district 😊

We were recommended the Zaanse Schans Windmills, Marken and Volendam tour, which provided a glimpse into the working of windmills, a cheese factory and how clogs are made. However, the tour was too rushed we felt and tour companies would do well to add on another 1.5-2 hours to the tour so that customers can savour each of the towns at leisure. If one has the time, these are doable on one’s own over a day so would recommend that, though would involve slightly more effort.

The highlight of the Netherlands for us though, was the day trip to Delft and Madurodam. The little town of Delft was beautiful and had an old town feel. The Markt was a lovely place to sit, people-watch and catch a performance. We were fortunate to be able to watch the Durham University Brass Band in action. While in town, a short walk to Oostpoort is highly recommended for the lovely views. 

The boys decided to climb all of 375 steps of the tower of the New Church (the 2^nd highest tower in the Netherlands) for the views while I shopped around the Markt square for cheese and pottery 😊 It was here that we indulged in our best dessert of the trip – poffertjes - at Willem Van Oranje. Other must-try food while in the Netherlands are Kibbeling (a Dutch snack consisting of battered chunks of fish, commonly served with a mayonnaise-based garlic sauce or tartar sauce), croquettes, bitterballen (a Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef or veal, minced or chopped, beef broth, butter, flour for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper, resulting in a thick roux) and of course the endless varieties of Dutch cheese.

From there it was on to Madurodam, a theme park, which has all the key monuments in the Netherlands in miniature (built at a scale of 1:25). It was intended to be a happy memorial to George Maduro, built by his parents following his passing at the end of World War II, where he fought the Nazi occupation forces as a member of the Dutch resistance and died at Dachau concentration camp in 1945. 1.5 hours is sufficient to cover the park given its small size. I just had to tick this off the list given my Mum used to talk about it a lot. We managed to buy lovely souvenirs at the shop too before being picked up for dinner with a friend.

Then it was on to Bruges by train where we spent our final two nights and this was definitely the best part of the trip. The Belgian countryside is beautiful and travelling by train allows one to take in all the sights – fields, cattle grazing, windmills, etc. The town itself is absolutely stunning and we thoroughly enjoyed walking through the streets, taking a different route each time. The streets were lined with all kinds of shops with a predominance of gourmet chocolate and some Belgian waffle ones. Need I say more?

Catching two World Cup soccer matches at two different pubs was an amazing experience given how soccer-crazy the Belgians are. And of course, with the awesome, freshly-brewed Bruges Zot beer to go along. In fact, very surprised that I had never heard about this particular beer given that it is so delicious and widely available all over town. In fact, one can do a brewery tour at De Halve Maan where it is brewed, though we didn’t have time. Bieratelier, where one can do a 12-beer tasting session was interesting and very quaint and a lucky find on the way to Minnewater Park and the Beguinhof. Our meals at the oldest café in Bruges, Vlissinghe, and Café Cambrinus (where we tried the famous Flemish beef stew) were great though the service at the latter was terrible! The piece the resistance however, was the fabulous cycle ride through the countryside to Damme where we had the best meal in Bruges at Tante Marie. Viren’s ex-boss offered to be our guide for the trip and we would never have been able to do it on our own so we are really thankful to him. He even guided us in ordering lunch which included the tiny North Sea grey shrimps, croquettes, salmon quiche and the famous Dutch pancakes, Pannekoek, and boy was everything mouth-watering! Stopping along the way to admire fields of barley, corn and potatoes and watch the various water birds tend to their young was simply amazing. Apparently, it was the season for the eggs to hatch and we were fortunate to encounter several bird families with their young. Adorable!! What an ending to the holiday!

So there you have it. Couldn’t have asked for more for my early 50^th birthday celebration. Feel blessed. Signing off till the next travelogue…