Road Trip - (Christof has informed me there is no German translation)

Who knew you could see so much of two whole countries in a long weekend! Sandra and I set off on Thursday, March 10th on a mission to visit Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, the coast of the Netherlands, and Amsterdam, all in 3 days and 3 nights.  And did we ever.

Brussels

Ghent

Bruges

Atlantic Coast

Amsterdam

Sandra came home from work on Thursday, we packed really quickly, and were on the road with a set of directions in German. Terrible idea. I’m going to go ahead and place the blame on the instructions, in order to avoid blaming my German skills, but I literally could not find one single thing from the directions on the actual roads! I would read and reread, and the road names would never match up. It could of been worse, probably. If they were in Italian or Arabic or something, that would have been harder, I’m guessing. I ungracefully found our way to a few miles before the German border, just around the time Sandra realized she had no form of identification what-so-ever. No passport. No European Union ID card. Not even a driver’s license that stated her married name. Whoops. After laughing and brainstorming how we could attempt at checking into the hotels the next 3 nights, we realized it could have been worse, probably. I was so thankful that Grandma Martha had told me to pack my passport, so we could use it to check-in everywhere. That woman knows what she’s doing. 

In Brussels we turned on the GPS and were surprised to find it worked outside of Deutschland. I respectfully and immediately resigned from my position as Director Reader. The GPS lead us straight into a dead end, but with the use of my fantastic English skills, we called the hotel and found we only had to drive through a parking garage to get there. Logically. (I’ve said it before, but it should be said again: I am incredibly lucky to have English as my first language. It also needs to be said, though, that sometimes I have to ask Sandra what people are saying to me in English, and she can always seamlessly translate English into English for me.) We checked into our hotel, which was in the most central location possible, and headed out to explore!

We knew we had only have one night and one morning in Brussels, so we stayed in the Central Market area, which was beyond convenient seeing that every important site was one minute from the door of our hotel. I saw old market squares, old churches, old beer halls, and Manneken Pis, the smallest, most underwhelming statue that held historical significance that I’ve ever sought to visit. We went to a really classy retro bar that night, and in the morning we bought too much chocolate from the factory that invented the very first filled praline! The comic TinTin is from Belgium, which I’d never heard of, but we went to the store for Sandra and ended up picking up a present for Mathis and a magnet for me along the way. We left Brussels before we got too attached, and headed for our pitstop in Ghent. 

Manneken Pis, approximately 30 cm tall.  

I broke my no dessert in Lent promise
to eat so many chocolates.

Grand Markt in Brussels

TinTin

Beer Hall!

Ghent was the town that invented waffles, which in itself is spectacular, but it is also a booming university town with a lot to see. We found a parking place outside of the city center, due to almost the entire inner town being a car free zone. The waffle place I’d read about was closed, but it could have been worse, probably, because we found beer and french fries with mayonnaise to eat at an outside cafe. Belgium invited french fries too, so close enough! During our snack break Sandra said, “It’s times like this when you can’t really complain. Right now, life seems pretty great.” and I have to say I could whole-heartedly empathize with her statement. We made a tourist loop, got back in the car, and drove to Bruges.

Sandra's second time in Ghent!

If I had to pick favorites, which I don’t but I can’t help it, Bruges would be at the top of my list. The very, very top. It was the coziest town I’ve been to in Europe, and I love the mix of canals, bridges, white-washed homes, shopping, and churches. It was a beauty. I especially liked our hotel (which was wonderfully located once again) and an abbey community centered around a field of daffodils and creeks. That night we had reservations at a small, local restaurant with Belgian food, which was quant and delicious. This is your city in Belgium, everyone. Go as soon as possible. In the morning I didn’t want to leave, but knowing that the European side of the Atlantic and Amsterdam are next on the agenda is pretty motivating. Our thoughtful hotel gave us a little travel bag to take with us containing candy and two bottles of still water, not sparkling! (take that, Christof Niemeier)

Beautiful hotel room with super high ceilings.

Bruges!

Sunny Canals in Bruges

Belgium Waffle! from Belgium!

Belgien food is delicious.

After driving a couple minutes in an under water tunnel, we made a lunch stop along the coast in the Netherlands. It was the first time I’d ever seen the Atlantic from this side, and the daydreams quickly took over concerning my friends and family waving on the other side of the ocean. After Flemish pancakes and a trek to the shoreline, we were on our way to Amsterdam, with the help of the GPS, thank goodness. 

Yup, we're underwater.

Flemmish Pancakes! and Sandra.

Me almost falling into the Atlantic.

It led us straight to our hotel's address, and then things got exciting. After battling the narrow, pedestrian filled streets of quirky, inner city Amsterdam, Sandra breathed a sigh of relief as we pulled onto our street. And quickly as humanly possible, she sucked it back in again. There were bikers, at least a hundred motorcycles, on either side of us, and before we knew what was happening or where we should try to drive, cars had blocked us in from the front and the back. We both sat in silence, waiting for the English or German words to come to us that would dictate the hilarity/helplessness of the situation, but there was no time. Suddenly, every biker started its engine, and slowly bikes we never even saw peeled from the street from every direction until we were alone and facing the perfect parking place revealed before us.

And that was my first 5 minutes in Amsterdam. The rest of the day was a whirlwind of following canals, stumbling across cute shops, taking in the sights of the flower markets, and finding two pairs of high heels within 10 minutes. That night we visited the Ann Frank Annex right before closing time, something that I would recommend to everyone if I ever write a travel book. The line to the museum was a couple blocks long earlier in the day, but that evening, besides a few other stragglers, we were alone to take in what I remember as the most interesting story covered in all of my English classes. There was something eerie and completely mesmerizing about walking around during the only time the previous tenants were allowed to move, to breath without holding back, and to return ever so slightly back into themselves. My last hours in Amsterdam consisted of a cumulation of first time experiences:  visiting a typical Amsterdam coffee shop; seeing working prostitutes in the Red Light District; being enclosed on all sides by singing  intoxicated Dutch in a mini karaoke bar; buying a hot dog off of the street (which I’ve never done in the States!); ordering room service; and the next morning, getting to see 100 Van Gogh’s in the same room during a visit to his museum.

Hey! That's my last name.

Canals, Canals Everywhere. 

Flower Market

Secret Bookcase in the Ann Frank Haus

Those little red barriers mark the Red Light District.

Our Breakfast Buddy

Van Gogh Museum

I can’t even begin to thank Sandra enough for all of the planning and driving she put into our trip, to thank Christof for agreeing to take on the mission of “Mathis Alone for Four Days”, and to thank Martha for being the greatest fill-in Au Pair in existence. Thankies. Thank you so much. Danke schön.

Greatest. Christmas Present. Ever.