Welcome to another installment of “how to” aka, probably terrible life advice from Rigel. In was some poor planning on my part, I got home from Prague on Monday morning, and left for Brussels on Friday night. It was rough, and my body hates me, my feet are swollen but I loved my experiences. You’re only young once right? Here’s how you can spend 8 hours in two different cities or another really really persuasive argument.
In Amsterdam:
Kacey and I took a Flixbus from Brussels to Amsterdam. We ran like hell to the bus because they’re always off to the side of the station and sometimes it’s just a draw of luck, or if you’re like me, you’re too optimistic about how much time you actually have to do things. We got on the bus and luckily there wasn’t a lot of people on it and I got two seats to myself so I slept for almost the whole bus ride.
Our only tickets and trains for the day was the one from the station the bus dropped us off in to the central station. We spent the next 8 hours on foot or sitting. I still really haven’t fully recovered from long study tour + Prague and my feet are actually going to fall off, but #noregrets.
We actually legitimately had no plans for the day except for the two things we had booked for the day, so here’s our city guide as told by two people who combined: a) didn’t know that Amsterdam was famous for having weed and b) didn’t wear thick soled shoes and suffered. Names have been removed for confidentiality.
The train dropped us off at Central Station and we just let our feet carry us and ultimately we ended up doing:
- The Red Light District
- The Botanical Gardens
- The Auschwitz Memorial
- All of the canals. Every single one.
Just kidding, I’m sure we didn’t see all of them but we saw some really beautiful ones. Here’s my photo drop:
From here we made our way to our two appointments for the day.
The Van Gogh Museum:
Now, this was probably the most I’ve ever spent on a museum ticket, but it was so worth it. (~$20) I’ve always really loved Van Gogh, although I’ve never studied art history or any kind of art technique besides using basic mediums. I guess that’s why I love Van Gogh so much, his art is accessible and his story is a humble (and sad) one, on top of that I find it very aesthetically pleasing. The museum is also laid out in a manner that makes it engaging and also a learning experience. It’s chronological but strategically broken up into periods of his life. I didn’t take photos of the things in the museum, but you can find them on Kacey’s blog if you’re interested.
Some of Van Gogh’s letters
The Anne Frank House:
This was one both of us wanted to make sure to get to, and I heavily recommend you do too if you’re visiting Amsterdam. My history background focused mostly on everything from WWI to the end of the Cold War, so this was something of particular interest to me. Anne Frank’s Diary was one of the first non-fiction books I read, before I even knew what the Holocaust or WWI was. I think it was within the first year that I learned how to read in English. As we waited to get into the museum, it had poured down rain, and the gloomy chilly sky was a fitting precursor. An audio guide through the house is part of your admission ($9!!!) and it’s an immersive and emotional one. To walk through the rooms that this family stayed in and try to imagine the terror that they were gripped with is harrowing. Although it was grey when we left, leaving the house after the sun had set really put the emotions we were feeling in frame.
Outside of the Anne Frank house
I only took a photo of the outside of the house, it felt really personal and emotional to be inside, so I just really found myself not reaching for my phone as I often do.
In Brussels:
Eat your way through Brussels. That’s the answer. Although, don’t do it on a Sunday. Kacey had a lot of difficulty finding vegan places that were open, as the city isn’t the most animal friendly on Sundays. A lot of places were closed and we think that definitely impacted our impression, especially since we came from bustling Amsterdam.
Either way, we still had a good time. Again, only transportation was pretty much from the Airbnb to the city center and the train station where our buses would pick us up/drop us off. If I was to say Amsterdam was walkable, Brussels was even more so. Most of the touristy stuff was within a 5 minute walking radius of the Grand Place, which was a really nice break for our feet. Although we wanted to get to the Atomium, I was aggressively pushed aside by middle aged men at Delirium cafe trying to get a beer, and it took way longer than expected. I had a yummy red beer and a Trappist beer which I didn’t like as much, but I think it was my fault for trying another hoppy beer.
Kacey and I essentially wandered the radius around the Grand Place and ate everything we could get our hands on. I had a Liege waffle with dark chocolate and bananas for breakfast. There are two kinds of Belgian waffles, the square doughy kind and the Liege – crispier with bits of sugar inside that caramelize while cooking. It was heavenly.
Waffles for breakfast is never a bad idea
We then continued our circuit and had our body weights in chocolate by going into every single chocolate store we found and picking up samples. I picked up some truffles to take home, and we briefly saw the Tintin boutique.
Then I got to the star of the show: BELGIAN FRITES. Apparently if you call them french fries the Belgians get really offended, as they do theirs special. I had classic fries with curry ketchup which is a special delicacy I fell in love with in Berlin two summers ago, that I could easily make at home but don’t. Belgian fries are double (or triple) fried, and I really love my fries crispy so this was a total hit for me.
Belgian Fries
We finished off our trip with our stop at Delirium, which has over 3000 beers and they hold the Guinness world record for most beers available. It was a cool atmosphere and we sat at a barrel table. From here we made our way to our shuttle to the airport, and it really was a wonderful, whirlwind of a trip.
In bed:
Alternatively to all this, you could get your full 8 hours rest in bed, which I think I’ve failed to do since going on study tour. Sleep is important y’all.
Wish you were here,
Rigel
Postcards: from Cacti to Copenhagen 