As some of my readers probably already know, Andrew and I had a wonderful trip to the countries of the Benelux Union back in May. And while we all are bidding farewell to this summer, I thought it would make sense to share our travel memories. So, I am inviting you to virtually join our trip to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 3).
Hello folks – I hope you are doing well!
Today we are going to have third and last part of our virtual trip. This post embraces the last 7 days of the trip, and it includes Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Well, technically, it also involves Belgium, too, but I am skipping this part. But first please be sure to check the first and second parts of our travel journey.
Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 3)
So, despite a little setback in our schedule due to a car issue (more about this in the second post), it did not affect too much our stay in Luxembourg. We did skip one planned trail but mostly not because of time constrains but some rains. Overall, a beautiful part about Luxembourg is its compact size and so many gorgeous sites within reach. For two nights we stayed near Luxembourg city. And almost most sites we visited, were around 20 minutes from the capital (and even less between them).
Another beautiful characteristic of this country is its complex landscapes. Unlike the mostly flat Dutch lands, it is an exiting combination of flat and hilly terrains. It also offers many forests and narrow, steep-sided valleys, lakes and rivers.
Personally, I also did love the pastel colours used for painting the buildings; I found this colour scheme relaxing and elegant.
And of course, so many castles – mostly ruins, but there are a few more or less preserved or reconstructed. The Beaufort, Vianden, Clervaux, Bourscheid are a few that you should not miss.
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg City is the most beautiful place, in our book. The best part of it is complex layout, creating multiple levels and connecting parcels of lands with bridges and viaducts. Grund located in the valley below the center is one of the oldest and most stunning parts of Luxembourg City. Also, the old city along with its fortification system has been a UNESCO Heritage cite since 1994.
Other Charming Places in Luxembourg
Besides, Luxembourg City, we visited about 10 smaller cities and towns, including Esch-sur-Sûre, Echternach, Beaufort, Larochette, Diekirch, Vianden, and Clervaux. They all are charming, with Echternach, Larochette, and Vianden (where we stayed our third night) being the best in our opinion.
Needless to stay, our stay in Luxembourg was probably one of the most tranquil parts of our vacation.
Back to the Netherlands
After 3 nights in Luxembourg, we headed back to the Netherlands. Through Belgium, shortly stopping in Spa, another charming place.
Here in the Netherlands we had one night in Maastricht, then in Utrecht, and last three nights near Amsterdam. These last days of the vacation were not as intense as the previous two weeks. At that point we were getting tired of, so we even skipped a few places that had been originally planned. Amersfoort, Spakenburg, Thorn, Naarden, and Muiden were the places we managed to see.
Our most favorite cities and towns turned out to be Utrecht, Spakenburg, and Thorn. While Thorn is located quite far from other popular tourist destinations, it is 100% worth visiting. This place is known as “The white city” for its white-washed brick houses in the centre of town. So different from what you can find in the Netherlands. And Spakenburg is a quaint, charming, and peaceful village – not much too see, but worth stopping by for a little stroll.
Amsterdam
Our last two days we spent in Amsterdam enjoying its canals, famous crooked houses, and hitting few museums. Well, I must admit that after all those small places we had visited, Amsterdam felt quite overwhelming with its crowds! But then, we still enjoyed a lovely boat cruise one of the evenings, which felt like a perfect conclusion for our vacation.
I hope you enjoyed this virtual trip to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 3). And till next travel blogs. I am not sure that we would go anywhere next year as we needed to invest a lot of money into our home renovations. But I am already thinking about what is going to be next! Montenegro? Norway? Iceland? Czechia? Italy? Poland? Will see :)
And yeah, I am excited to be back to recipe posting next time!
See you soon!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
I can totally relate to the overwhelming feeling of returning to a bustling city like Amsterdam after those serene towns. Excited to see what you cook up next in your recipe posts, and I can’t wait to hear about your future travel plansm Montenegro and Iceland sound particularly intriguing, never been there too!
Such stunning photos! And I just love to see so many with your smiling faces. You two see an impressive amount on your getaways!!
Wow, you guys really did see a lot of towns – and they’re all charming! And those castles. I love the old castles in Europe. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I love that area of the world!
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What a grand holiday! You should do a post of what you ate! The weather doesn’t look great, which is too bad. I am glad you had an amazing time.
More beautiful photos! I’d love to live in one of those castles.
Years ago, counties like Germany were selling them for next to nothing with the provision that you’d have to renovate it! We actually thought about it in our 20’s with a German friend.
Utrecht is one of my favourite cities. Did you drink the water from the fountain in Echternach? We spend a night each year in Amsterdam to end our holiday when we fly KLM. Looks like you had a great holiday.
So many castles in Europe…hopefully we get to visit them next year!
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What a marvelous holiday!!! I hope to get to Luxembourg one day—we’ve hit all the countries it borders. Guess we’ll have to head that way again one day! Thanks for sharing your adventures!!