Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg (Part 1)

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 1)

Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 1)

Finally, this is happening, and I am sharing my memories (and lots of photos!) from our trip that Andrew and I enjoyed a few months ago. In fact, the idea to work on these travel blogs was dreadful. Why? Unlike our trip to Croatia, which was quite compact in terms of geography and places we visited, this one was totally different.

Nearly three weeks, more than 20 cities, towns, and villages in the Netherlands, and more than ten in Belgium and Luxemburg, each! How can I possibly fit all our memories in three posts, right? I had a few options to consider, but I opted for an easiest approach – chronological. Of course, I will not talk about every single site we visited – just some of our favourite highlights.

On the day of arrival, we had a little stroll in Amsterdam; however, our first four nights we spent in Noordwijk. There is nothing special about this place (it’s cute, though), but it had a convenient location to travel around. And oh man – it was quite an intense program for us. During these three full days we visited the following places: Keukenhof, the Hague (den Haag), Leiden, Delft, Gouda, Haarlem, and Kinderdijk.

Keukenhof

Keukenhof is a huge 19-century park where you can enjoy tulips and other spring flowers. Since we started our trip at the beginning of May, the tulip season was already gradually ending, that was the reason we planned our trip to start with Keukenhof. If you are planning to visit the Netherlands, the best time for the Keukenhof would be end of March – April.

Another cool place we visited was Madurodam in the Hague. It is an interactive park with miniature models depicting Dutch buildings, landmarks, and daily life.

Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk is a village in the the Netherlands’ South Holland province, known for its iconic 18th-century windmills. It has also been UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. So picturesque and peaceful!

Gouda, Leiden, and Haarlem

Our favourite cities during that part of our stay was Gouda, Leiden, and Haarlem.

Gouda is a charming place known for its namesake cheese and seasonal cheese market. Here we tried some of the most delicious cheeses during our trip. These was Gouda with addition of truffles, basil pesto, and red pesto (the best!), as well as smoked cheese.

Leiden was surprisingly crowded, probably because of its location – just about 20 minute drive from the Keukenhof.

And Haarlem? This is hands-down one of the best cities for both Andrew and I! It has almost everything that Amsterdam has to offer – channels and beautiful houses (as I called many of them, “Gingerbread Houses”). Minus the crowds of tourists! So, if you are visiting Amsterdam, be sure to check it out. It is only a 20-minute train ride from Amsterdam.

On the day 5 we left Noordwijk and headed north to Hoorn, where we were to spend another 4 nights. If we would have gone directly to Hoorn, the road would have taken less than one our. But there were a plenty of beautiful places to visit. Zaanse Schans, De Rijp, Monnickendam, Broek in Waterland, Watergang all are such a beautiful places.

Zaanse Schans

While Zaanse Schans is a highly touristic place (and we were trying to focus more on off the beaten path), it is a must. It is an open-air museum featuring historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses which were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th-century village.

North: Charming Villages and Cities

The villages like De Rijp, Broek in Waterland, and Watergang are super small, where you could only spend 20-30 minutes, yet, if you are looking for something peaceful, nearly tranquil, and not overwhelming, these spots are for you! Monnickendam and Hoorn are quite big cities which I would encourage to visit. Hoorn was the prettiest one in the North, in our book.

Marken and Edam

The next day we celebrated my birthday, spending the day mostly in Marken, a pretty village located on a peninsula. it is perfect for biking, highking, or simply browsing few old streets and houses. On the way back to our place, we took a stroll in another lovely city Edam – yes, the place where another famous Dutch cheese with the same name was born.

Giethoorn – Venice of the Netherlands

On the day 7 we took quite a long car drive to visit Giethoorn. Giethoorn is a mostly car-free village in the northeast. It’s known for its boat-filled waterways, footpaths, bicycle trails, and centuries-old thatched-roof houses. Having more than 170 bridges, this village is one of several places known as the Venice of the North, as well as the Venice of the Netherlands.

While renting a boat is not too cheap, this is a must experience. However, be aware that if you are returning your boat even 10 minutes late (which is absolutely possible, considering the “local traffic”, you will be required to pay more… and the boat company may forget to mention this in advance :)

On the way back to Hoor where we staying the last night, we stopped in another old and cute city Hindeloopen. While its population is less than 1.000 people, it has indeed the status of city!

All right folks, these first seven days were quite busy, so I am going to wrap it up for today. The next morning we would be heading to Belgium and Luxemburg, so it makes sense to stop here. However, our journey in the Netherlands is not over as after Luxemburg we would return here to spend another few days before our flight home.

I hope you enjoyed this virtual trip to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 1). Stay tuned not to miss parts 2 and 3.

Cheers!