[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 14: Kröller-Müller Museum

For our last day in the Netherlands, we didn't have much planned. We visited another Van Gogh-centric museum, and wandered around Amsterdam for the rest of the day. What was great about this last day was how the Dutch continued to remind me of their friendliness.

Itinerary of the day: Day trip out of Amsterdam → Kröller-Müller Museum (in Hoge Veluwe National Park) → Amsterdam → The Nine Little Streets (De Negen Straatjes)  → Cafe Winkel → Depart the next day

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 13: Alkmaar & Delft

During the planning stage of the trip I knew I wanted to see the Alkmaar cheese market, but Delft was cut from the list due to time contraints. A last minute change in our itinerary brought Delft back in, and I ended up spending the day doing the historical fangirl dance.

Itinerary of the day: Day trip out of Amsterdam → Alkmaar Kaasmarkt → Delft → Oude Kerk → Prinsenhof → Nieuwe Kerk

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 12: Zaanse Schans

Today we went to two attractions that are polar opposites. One was Zaanse Schans, a touristy open-air museum featuring windmills, clogs, cheese and everything else a tourist can associate Netherlands with. The other was Vrolik Museum, a medical museum well hidden away from guidebooks, with an amazing teratology collection.

Warning: This report includes pictures and talks about congenital disorders

Itinerary of the day: Zaanse Schans (half day trip) → Museum Vrolik (in Amsterdam)

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 11: Keukenhof

The Keukenhof gardens is the one Netherlands' attraction that I would recommend to anyone visiting. I've visited many gardens in the world, including B.C.'s own Butchart Garden, but Keukenhof was something else.

Warning: Many flower photos! 

Itinerary of the day: Day trip out of Amsterdam → Keukenhof → bulb field outside of it

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 10: Amsterdam

This day was museum day in the land of museums, plus some fun sights in Amsterdam as bonus. With Anne Frank Museum ranking at #2 for most visited, Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum rank at #3 and #1 respectively. Both are absolutely worth their admission.

Itinerary of the day: Rijksmuseum → Rembrandtplein → Van Gogh Museum in Hermitage  → narrow houses of Amsterdam

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 9: Giethoorn

A small carfree village crisscrossed in waterways, Giethoorn's often called "Venice of the Netherlands", or "Green Venice". After being in Venice just half an year ago, I'm not sure what to think of this place. It was a very easy and relaxed day though, and we recovered from the workout yesterday enough to do some night photography in Amsterdam.

Itinerary of the day: Day trip out of Amsterdam → Enkhuizen → Giethoorn → Amsterdam night photoshoot

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 8: Zijpe

If people ask me what the highlight of this trip was, it's definitely the day when we biked 40k through the flower fields in Zijpe. We were unlucky with a late spring this year, but it was refreshing to go off the beaten path, and challenge my own physical abilities.

Itinerary of the day: Day trip out of Amsterdam → Callantsoog → Zijpe Bike Day

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 7: Amsterdam

On this day, I crossed off another one of the seven Age of Discoveries ports on my bucket list. I had high hopes for this city, and it didn't disappoint. Lovely streets and canals, friendly people, and new finds at every corner. A photographer heaven by day and even more so at night!

Itinerary of the day: Den Haag Centraal → Amsterdam Centraal → Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder →  Oude Kerk → Red-Light District → Dam Square → Bloemenmarkt → De Krijtberg → Anne Frank House

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 6: The Hague

"I wouldn't go there if not for business!" said the Amsterdam B&B owner, surprised that we stopped by The Hague. Judging from the itinerary we seemed to did a lot of cute and tame activities, but we really liked the city for delivering great food - the soused herring, the best apple pie ever, and one excellent Brasserie.

Itinerary of the day: Plein (William the Silent statue) → Binnenhof → Panorama Mesdeg →  Gemeentemuseum → Haringkraam Buitenhof → Dudok → Escher in het Paleis → Madurodam

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 5: Rotterdam

We went to Rotterdam without going to the UNESCO site of Kinderdijk? How is that possible? An unexpectedly entertaining museum ate up our whole afternoon! In fact the entire day at Rotterdam was full of humour, we couldn't stop smiling at this city!

Itinerary of the day: Brussels-Zuid station → Rotterdam Centraal → Kijk-Kubus →  Buttplug Santa → Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen → The Hague

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 4: Luxembourg

I'll be honest about what brought me to Luxembourg - Like San Marino, I probably wouldn't have gone if it is not a different country. The Last Grand Duchy, an EU capital, and Gibraltar of the North...Despite high praises I've heard from many, I wasn't particularly inspired by the city, and I've never traveled on a day and only taken 30 photos in total. 

Itinerary of the day: Brussels-Zuid station → Luxembourg station → Place de la Constitution → Place d'Armes → Chemin de la Corniche → return to Brussels

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 3: Brussels

Brussels is hard to love - chaotic, indistinctive, and even quite sketchy in some parts. What we enjoyed here were the specific quirky little things that may or may not appeal to everyone. The city has so much to offer that we didn't get to see everything we planned! 

Warning: This trip report contains NSFW photo.

Itinerary of the day: Bruges → Brussels-Zuid station → Grand Place → Dandoy → Manneken Pis → Brüsel gallery/bookshop → Noordzee → Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée (shop only) → Vesalius Monument → Petit Sablon square/garden

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 2: Bruges

"The entire historical centre is an open-air museum" this is how Bruges is described in my guidebook. The best way to enjoy it is to forget about attractions, wander, and soak in the atmosphere. Free of schedules, I did all-day chocolate shopping, post-card writing, tower-climbing, canal-cruising, while accompanied by a lovely French lady!

Itinerary of the day: Béguinage → Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk → The Old Chocolate House → Mary Chocolatier → 2b Beer Wall → Chocolatier Van Oost → Galler → Grote Markt → Belfry → canal cruise

[Benelux 2013 Trip Report] Day 1: Antwerp

What does it feel like to travel on three hours of sleep? In the last trip report I told myself to never do such stupid thing, and I did it again. This turned out to be a painful but wonderfully unforgettable first day. We also had the undisputed best food of the trip!

Itinerary of the day: Toronto → Amsterdam Schiphol → Antwerp → Grote Markt → Vlaeykensgang → Museum Plantin-Moretus → Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal → Sint-Anna Tunnel → Bruges