Brugge, Belgium

We woke up late the next day, we were ready by 9AM and took the 9:55AM train to Antwerp. The train arrive 10 minutes late and because of that, we missed our IC train to Brussels. To make the story short, we reach Brugge at 2:20PM. That leaves us 4.5 hours to explore the place. As usual,we have lose itinerary with us. Works well for me as I am very controlling when I travel. I MUST see every spot. The more I know, the more controlling I become. So for me and my company to be able to enjoy the whole trip, I must have less knowledge of the place. Papa Jack was supposed to accompany us on that day but he was too busy at work. He said he wants to rebel against his boss but it wasn't the most sensible thing to do. We didn't have a hard time finding the city centre. Jack told us to ask when in doubt and follow where the tourist go. Very good advice I say. We took the first boat that we saw. Jack told us that it's a must - he said it's the highlight of the trip. It didn't disappointed. I like looking at the buildings and feel the calmness of the water. Plus it showed us where we need to go.

If you are planning to go to Brugge, this website might help you - http://www.brugge.be/internet/en/index.htm

Horse drawn carriage.  I only saw lady drivers.

Belfort in the centre and

the different sides of the Markt square

Godshuis

Kinderdijk

We didn't do much on our 6th day. We left Jack's at 10AM. Kinderdijk is an hour away from his place by boat. He lives in Rotterdam.  I didn't enjoy the boat ride much cause I was tired. I slept most of the trip actually - under the sun. The boat was packed with retirees. Jack was clever enough to buy tickets in advance. We only spend an hour in Kinderdijk as Jack needs to go to work. It was very very hot on that day!

Kinderdijk is famous for windmills.  Some windmills are actual residence.  People can picnic, swim(me thinks) and cycle in the area.  It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

If you are planning to go to Kinderdijk, please go to this website - http://www.kinderdijk.com/.

Boat ride to Kinderdijk.

It is so pretty in the summer.

Antwerp/Brussels, Belgium

We left Rotterdam at 9:55AM with no plans of stopping by at Antwerp but when the train stops at Antwerpen Centraal, we couldn't help but leave the train. We intend to stay for an hour and take the 12:03 train to Brussels Midi but that all change when we saw the place. Aside from the fantastic high street that I was talking about, Antwerp is full of surprises. We saw a square lined with cafes and restaurants before the Grote Markt and each turn you see an old church. I really like it. I wish we had more time on our hands. Plus the weather is perfect during that day. The place isn't congested as well.

ANTWERP:

 Cafes in Grote Markt.

 City Hall on the background and Statue of Brabo.

Guildhouses on the square.

Fantastic fascade isn't it?

Interested?  Download your map of Antwerp here - http://www.visitbelgium.com/maps/Antwerpenmap.htm

BRUSSELS:

We only have 4ish hours to spare when we got to Brussels. My sister's only wish is to see the Atomium as it's a famous landmark of Brussels. So that's our first destination. From Brussels Midi, we took the Number 6 train to Heysel. We spent 20 minutes taking photos of the place, the travel time is longer than the time spent taking photos. It was 3PM when we got to Gare Central. We had a 30 minute lunch there and spend the remaining time at Grote Markt. I wanted to take my sister at Jubel Parc but didn't get enough time. It was only 2 stops away from Gare Central where the Grote Markt is located.

St Michael and Gudula Cathedral.

Atomium.

My sister doesn't know who Tintin is. :P Van Gogh statues on the background.

Mannekin Pis - means little man urinating in Dutch.

This street is lined with restaurants.

Galleries of St Hubert lined with expensive shops.

Chocolate Museum. Love it!


If you love museums, Brussels is the city for you.  I've never been in any place with museum on every corner!  


To help you with your Belgium trip, please visit this website - http://www.visitbelgium.com/?page=brussels

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Mum had an early train back to the UK so we woke up early the next day so Papa Jack can show her around Rotterdam. Jack lives 5 stops from Rotterdam Centraal. Rotterdam is kinda like the Canary Wharf of London. It is the Commercial and Port District of Netherlands.

1.  Het Haven Museum 

2.  Rubik Houses.  People actually lived in these houses and is more expensive than the usual flat.  I wonder how it is living in there.  Fantastic architecture!

3.  Rotterdam Bridge.

This statue is officially called the "butt plug".  I know cause I saw it on the paper the next day.  :P

If you wanna go to Rotterdam, please go to this website - http://en.rotterdam.info/visitors/

Den Haag, Scheveningen, Delft

 In Netherlands and Belgium, you can exit a train station without the actual exit barrier unlike here in the UK. So you can hop in and hop off the trains until you reach your final destination. This results to unplanned stops on me and my sister's part. We already paid for the tickets, might as well use it while we still have time to explore. :P

Disclaimer:  I don't know if this is legal.  We hopped in and hopped off without thinking.

DEN HAAG/ The HAGUE

 Javier Marin Sculpture.

Peace Palace

If you want to visit Den Haag, please go to this website - http://en.denhaag.nl/en.htm

 SCHEVENINGEN

Scheveningen is one of the most famous beaches and tourist destination in Netherlands.  There are so much to do in there from bungee jumping, water sports, swimming, dining alfresco, relaxing, shopping.  They have nudist beach at the end of the beach too.  :P  I've never seen anything like it on my European trip.  The shore is super long and the sand is very fine.

 AMAZING seashore!  It is this wide!

Dining alfresco.  At night time, this doubles as clubs and bars.

DELFT

I had an impression that most Unis are in Delft.  I haven't seen so much young  dutch people until I got here.  The canals are so pretty.  It feels like a small Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

 There are two ways to see Amsterdam, one is by cycling

 Although they have bike ways, you can bike everywhere. Biking is difficult though. You have to be aware of the pedestrians, trams and the deadly motorbikes. Oh btw, in Holland, they use foot brakes instead of the usual hand brakes. I learn to use foot brakes. I almost had few biking collisions throughout the 3 hour bike tour.

This is the bicycle parking.  It's massive I tell you.  This was only taken from the outside.

and the other one by boat

 We can't choose so we ended up doing both.  You'll see a different place when you travel by boat.  This is quite popular and finding a tour isn't difficult.  Boat tours are available from across the Amsterdam Train station.

Yup, they actually sell this on the street.  Only in Amsterdam!

That's my sister eating Haring(Herring in English). It is one of Holland's famous food. You have to eat it raw with oninons. It is surprisingly sweet. My sister who isn't as adventurous as me finished her and some of mine. 

I love the roofs!!!

Did you notice the hooks? In Netherlands, they have a very narrow and stiff stairs so they use pulley to bring the furnitures up. That explains the big windows as well.

In Amsterdam, you'll see loads of tilted houses. On the boat ride, we were told that they had 8,000 houses to preserve. It is expensive to maintain old houses but the government shoulders the maintenance. I love the Amsterdam fascades, I love the fact that they are of the same colour and height.

The city got so much surprises, from fantastic fascade to hot blue eyed blonde girls in their bikes to sex shops and coffee shops. I didn't go to the coffeeshops btw. Who would dare to go if you are with your mum? I don't wanna be homeless.  On that day, I also learn how much influence Indonesians got from Dutch. Words like Tante, Om and Tas are dutch. I also saw few Indonesian Restaurants.