Hi All,
I always get grumpy when we leave somewhere nice and Amsterdam fit in that category. This wasn't helped when our train turned up and it was completely full. Well at least 2nd class was completely full and 1st class was really empty. Vanessa spoke with a station staff member at the time and found out that we were allowed to board in 1st class and travel in the doorway areas. So we had our plan for the next train that came along so we were at least sitting on seats in the doorway area.
Brussels wasn't that far away from Amsterdam and we were there in no time. Weather still good and it felt warmer than the Netherlands for some reason. It felt more like stepping into Turkey than the expected Belgium which was a bit disappointing.
Brussels is a bit worn out. The older buildings show that it was once a grand city but there are so many ugly buildings that they blot out the nice.
Next day. We headed back across the border to Netherlands to Maastricht. Perhaps the most beautiful city in the Netherlands. We were not disappointed and again had good weather. It was picture perfect. Canals, waterwheels, old buildings, antique stores, cycle paths, autumn colours in the trees...Lovely. Even found a bear sitting on a seat in a park.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht
Next day. Headed off to Bruges. Super touristy but really nice
anyway. The canals and old town feel were nice and it was fun to
explore. It even had a couple of windmills which were a nice backdrop
for lunch.
We found a nice homemade chocolate shop and purchased a small box for later. I was curious to know what supposedly made Belgium chocolate so good. The difference from my sampling from normal chocolates is the fillings. The chocolates were not solid but only comprised a small coating.
Next day. Glad to leave. Found Belgium a bit disappointing. Decided to head to Luxembuerg.
Bye,
David and Vanessa
