Spring in the Benelux
My husband and I went on a sightseeing tour of the Benelux countries. Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels and Luxembourg. In April 2017.
Tour operator DSBW-TOURS. The meeting party Adex. Our guide Anna met us. Then Helen drove everywhere in the Netherlands. Helen was the best and told, and answered questions and helped. Elena was in Belgium. Something inappropriate. Confusing left and right. Unassembled. I was late to Mechelen... I can’t show it on the map or explain how to get there. Ilona was in Luxembourg.
We've been on sightseeing tours before. It's a little different here. Usually a guide and a bus meet at the airport and you are with this guide and in this bus for the whole tour.
This is not the case. There were 10 planned excursions and we immediately took 3 additional excursions. It seems that the company is one, but the guides and buses are different. Moreover, planned ones end, and unscheduled ones begin in another place and after 30 minutes. Here's your lunch and toilet. And if you are still shopping....Inconvenient.
Amsterdam. There were 3 days. The first day arrived and do what you want. I was amazed by the huge number of people on the streets. There are a lot of blacks, blacks (Maracanese) and Muslims. And this is in all these three countries! These are now Europeans. Roadway, bike paths and pavement. Not only cyclists, but also motorcyclists ride bicycles. Lots of noise and rubbish. Many channels, many different ducks and seagulls.
The Netherlands for me is: cheese, windmills and wooden shoes. Morejuana doesn't count (I don't play around).
The first day was very warm and sunny. It was Sunday.
We were lucky, for all 7 days the rain did not catch us. They say it's rare.
Hotel in Amsterdam Tulip Inn in the center, 3 stars. Read the reviews and was wary. Everything is great. For the whole trip out of 3 stars, he is the best! The room is small, the windows overlook the courtyard (well). Quiet. There was almost everything except the fridge (but there is a window). There were three windows. There is a condo. On the first day they cooled, then turned on for heating)). There is a safe (! ), hairdryer, all kinds of shampoos, tea, coffee, kettle. Slippers!! ! Nowhere else, not even in 4 stars. Towels, tea and coffee changed every day. Very comfortably. Nearby there was a supermarket where they sell ready-made food as well. Loved the fruit salads. Bought and ate in the room. There are no Russian channels on TV. There is free WI-FI.
Breakfast is the usual continental. From hot - coffee (natural from a coffee machine) and scrambled eggs. Sliced cheese, sausage. Any muesli. Lots of fresh fruit. Apples, oranges, tangerines, bananas and kiwi. They took it with them. Snack on the bus.
We are pensioners. During the day you run so much that you don’t have the strength to go and look for a cafe with a Russian menu. By the way, they did not find a single restaurant with a Russian menu or pictures and prices. We do not speak languages, especially Dutch. I downloaded a translator to my phone, but....Hands are easier to explain....
The second day is full of excursions. Obzorka, diamond factory, canal rides. It got colder, all the windows and the roof were closed in the boat)))
After lunch (always at 14-30) we went to The Hague and the North Sea coast. I really liked the clean, calm The Hague. After noisy and crowded Amsterdam. Ate herring on the street))). Coast. Wind, cold. Gorgeous sandy beach, lots of sun loungers and cafes. Some work. Warmed up with a glass of wine. Loved it!!
In the evening to the supermarket and the hotel. Everything!! ! Without legs)))
Third day. We are going to Zaanse Schans and Volendam. These are folklore villages. In the first, cheeses, wooden shoes and windmills. Everywhere is clean, canals, ducks, chickens. Many tourists.
Volendam liked it very much. A small village on the coast of the sea. But not so windy because of the dam. Very clean, beautiful, cafes, shops, herring, coffee)) Sunny. I really liked the nursing home. I want to go there)))
We barely managed to make an unscheduled excursion. Everyone is running. To the tulip park. There is no time to go to the toilet. I am silent about lunch.
The park is just huge. We were told that we could take food there and have a picnic on the lawn. Very windy and cold. I did not want to sit on the lawn. Lots of greenhouses. It was 2 hours of free time and still did not have time to see everything. Lots of flowers and flowering trees. At this time, almost all the trees were dressed in foliage, fresh, juicy.
Many cafes. Entire fields of blooming tulips and daffodils. And, of course, canals, bridges, installations. Great!
The fourth day. We leave for Belgium in the morning. On the way we visited Ghent. Super! 1 I liked the town very much!!!
Belgium is: chocolate, beer and lace. There is no chocolate whatsoever. What is not poured with chocolate. Beer 100 or 200 varieties. I'm not a fan, but there is also ladies' beer. With cherries or raspberries. Scream (male) and Quack (female). I tried. I didn’t feel the degrees, well, foam, sweet..... I’m not special in this case)))
Then we went to Bruges, where we spent the night. Ghent is better, but are they all similar or is the eye already blurry? There are construction sites everywhere, everything is being repaired, houses, roads. Do not pass, do not take a normal photo.
Hotel in Bruges Floris Karos 3 stars. Instead of kondeya - fan. No coffee, no fridge, no safe. But there is a gym and an indoor pool. Swimming in the morning after breakfast. It works from 7 am to 9 pm. There were no people, a lot of towels, a dressing room, a shower, sun loungers. There are no Russian channels on TV. The room is quiet, the windows on the courtyard and the roofs of neighboring houses. It is very crowded, you can hardly get to the bed, the batteries interfere. There was a balcony! ! There is free WI-FI. Breakfast is typical continental. From hot - coffee (natural from a coffee machine) and scrambled eggs. Sliced cheese, sausage. Any muesli. Lots of fresh fruit. Apples, oranges, tangerines, bananas and kiwi. They took it with them. Snack on the bus.
Again, we couldn't find a cafe with a Russian menu. . . We went to a cafe where there were no visitors, went on the Internet, got potatoes with meat, and the girls from the picture made an individual dish for us!! ! And then all the mussels and mussels. I do not like them. That's the kind of problem we had with food. Belgium has 3 main languages: Dutch, French and German. Usually they also learn English and some Spanish or Italian. The guide said that without knowing 4 languages, you won’t be able to get a job.
We are sitting in this cafe, waiting for an “individual dish”, a man with a girl comes in. Made an order, sit. Then the man asks me in English: “What language do you speak? ”. In Russian!! ! He is in shock. He hears it for the first time! ! The husband quickly taught him the Russian "thank you" and "goodbye. " Parted as friends)))
The fifth day. In the morning we went to Brussels.
3 star hotel in Brussels in the center of Colonies. Hard to find a supermarket nearby. No coffee, no fridge, no safe. You can enter the elevator and the floor only by key. Windows to a quiet courtyard. Upon request, the reception provides a hairdryer, a kettle. Reception one for two hotels. There is free WI-FI. Breakfast is typical continental. From hot - coffee (natural from a coffee machine) and scrambled eggs. Sliced cheese, sausage. Any muesli. Lots of fresh fruit. Apples, oranges, tangerines, bananas and kiwi.
While we have seen enough of the pissing boy-girls, we are tired. But there is a cafe with a menu in Russian, many speak Russian. In the center you can take meat with a side dish for 8 euros!! ! True, not everyone liked it. Beer everywhere and any! The supermarket concluded: everything is much more expensive than in a supermarket in Amsterdam. It would seem…
Sixth day. We are going to Luxembourg.
Hotel in Luxembourg Novotel. There is free WI-FI. The hotel is 4 stars, but compared to all previous 3 stars, there is no fresh fruit for breakfast and coffee from the common tank (does not seem to be natural). But everything else is there! Safe, hair dryer, condo, refrigerator, tea-coffee, sofa and 3 Russian channels. For breakfast, there are already beans, spaghetti, all kinds of sauces, compotes. The hotel is not in the center. Considering that Luxembourg is all in the hills, we didn’t go back on foot - we went by bus (2 euros per person). Travel in all cities is hourly. Fare paid within the hour. Breakfast from 6 am to 11 am. We were covered in the hall along with the Chinese. No comment…
It was sunny and warm again in Luxembourg. Due to the threat of a terrorist attack, the catabombs were closed. There is a sightseeing tram and bus. We went to the hotel for dinner. There is a bar-restaurant, but it's expensive. In the evening we watched Russian news)))
Seventh day. We return to Amsterdam airport via Mechelen and Antwerp. While driving to Mechelen, it was raining. Arrived - finished. We were lucky it didn't rain all week. It was the Saturday before Easter. Everyone was preparing for the holiday, everything closed early. In Antwerp, the Church of St. Paul was opened, which is opened once a year before Easter. Very nice!
Well, here is the airport. Farewell Holland. By the way, cheese and chocolate at the airport seem to be even cheaper))))
Round-trip flight by Aeroflot. Everything is excellently organised. And back and forth registered on the site (for free). Fly for a short time. Three hours there, two and a half hours from there. They give you a menu, choose. They flew back at night. Menu for lunch. Free dry wine, red and white. Excellent, Aeroflot!!!
Good luck and new experiences to everyone.
