This may sound like Lifetime-esque travel film but was actually the length of my whirlwind trip to two new cities (and countries): Brussels, Belgium and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The main focus was on Amsterdam, I really only chose Brussels as a side trip to break up the long bus ride.
My friends Imani, Cali, and Victoria were my travel companions on this adventure.
The journey began November 1st, bright and early at 6:30am. I took the first metro from my neighborhood at 5am to get to the bus on time. I am definitely not a bus person but I was pleasantly surprised at how spacious and nice it was (go iDBus!)
We could even track our progress on the screen!
My friend Cali enjoying the ride
This basically sums up Belgium by bus.
We arrived in Brussels around 11:30am and headed off to find our hotel.
Trying to navigate the Brussels metro system
We stayed at the appropriately named Hotel Manhattan (all four of us live in NYC when not spending semester(s) in Paris). Our reservation for four granted us two rooms for only 25 euros per person (not bad!)
The accommodations weren’t quite Manhattan status (although much larger than a room in the city) but they worked for the night!
Armed with a paper map from the hotel, we set off to explore the city.
Spotted: A Chi-Chi’s, a restaurant where my parents worked in college, now extinct in the United States!
Some great music being played in the square!
Break for lunch at a touristy place where we discovered the joy of paying 3 euros per water bottle (no tap water here :0)
We then circled back to Drug Opera, mostly because we were intrigued by the name
Enjoying delicious Belgian waffles and beer!
The stores were aglow with Christmas spirit
Very old buildings!
Very old indeed!
The Peeing boy statue that everyone in Brussels is obsessed with for some reason
Fulfilling my one goal in Brussels….eating brussels in Brussels! Yes, they were frozen, but mission accomplished nonetheless.
After a day of exploring, we headed back to our hotel.
Just relaxin’ at the hotel…or somethin’
We took a two hour nap, then were up at 2:30am to catch our bus to Amsterdam.
It was a little early to be awake…
We set out to find our bus which was a little…miserable. It was raining, we got very lost with our pathetic paper map, and found the people we encountered to be of little help. We even stopped at a nice hotel and the person in the lobby only said “This is not a public place” and refused to help us. Luckily, we found our bus just in time and we passed out on the two hour bus ride to Amsterdam!
Caffeined up and planning our route at the bus station!
First glance at the funky Amsterdam skylines
Stop for breakfast to use wifi and get our bearings as places began to open!
Trying on the hats typical to Amsterdam souvenir shops
Hotel Neutraal: if you desire an average stay? ;P
Hot food vending machines! No vegetarian options, but still cool
Hanging out by one of the many canals in Amsterdam
Lots of water access!
Cute little guy we encountered in our travels
More beautiful water views
My friend Victoria in front of…some famous building
In line at The Anne Frank House
Bikes and streetlights
Definitely a bike friendly city!
Funky thrift store with profits going to AIDS research
It was strange seeing a language we don’t speak a word of everywhere…
After a very long day…we spotted our hotel in the distance!
Day 2:
Exhausted after our first day, we got ample sleep this time to prepare for another packed day.
Similar set up to the last place, 2 rooms for 2, at only 20 euros a person!
Gearing up for Day 2 in Amsterdam!
Checking out the local options after exiting the train
Cali, in the inviting light of Amsterdam
Imani and I in one of the city’s many wooden shoes
Starting to get a hang of the language…sort of
After a long walk in the rain…hiding in the classic I Amsterdam sign!
We were craving pancakes…this is about as close as it gets in Europe!
Taking the train to the bus back to Paris
Overall Impressions:
It was a whirlwind weekend but I got what I wanted, which was a snapshot of each city.
Brussels: Beautiful, old world town sort of feel. There was plenty to marvel at, but not necessarily a lot to do. I think devoting a day to the city was the right amount of time. A lovely experience but not necessarily somewhere I would return.
Amsterdam: What most impressed me about this misty city of bike lanes and water access besides the beauty of these amenities was their liberal perspective on controversial topics like marijuana usage and prostitution. I knew going in that this was the case but seeing the openness to both issues was an eye-opening experience. The acceptance and subsequent success of both forms of commerce really made me question whether America and even France’s position on each is optimal. Business aside, the outright condoning of each somehow made both activities seem safer. Regardless of political opinions on either matter, it was certainly a trip that made me think, and I wish I had longer to meet Amsterdam residents and discover their thoughts on these hot button issues.
Overall, I’d mark my first trip outside France a success and look forward to more adventures.
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