- Wednesday, 21 March: Susan gave me a ride to Dulles for a 6:30 PM (direct) flight to Amsterdam. The flight was reasonably pleasant (plenty of legroom and movies), but I didn’t get much sleep. I traveled with just a carry-on suitcase (a first for me).
- Thursday, 22 March: I arrived in Amsterdam [map] around 7 AM, and called Karen to let her know that I was on my way to her house. I took a short (one-stop) train ride from the airport to the Zuid (South) station in Amsterdam, and then grabbed a tram to Karen’s neighborhood (just south of the Rijksmuseum). I enjoyed a memorable welcome, asked Gracie and Clara to model the sweaters Susan knitted for them (see photos), then rested for a while. After a brief nap, Karen and I walked to a nearby restaurant to meet Alex for lunch. After lunch, Karen showed me around town for a few hours (including the Begijnhoff), after which we met the girls at school and headed back home. Karen and I spent the evening at a venue in town, where we saw three cellists perform three of the Bach suites. Back home, Karen made pizza for dinner, and afterwards, Alex and I watched Maryland win in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
- Friday, 23 March: After breakfast, Karen and I visited the Anne Frank House, then headed back to Karen’s house for a quick lunch. In the afternoon, we visited the Rijksmuseum. Karen joined me for the “All the Rembrandts” exhibition, then went to meet the girls at school. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the museum, had a quick beer at a restaurant near the museum, then walked back to Karen’s house for dinner. We ordered bitterballen and fries from a nearby restaurant, and enjoyed them while we watched Virginia play in the NCAA tournament.
- Saturday, 24 March: We bicycled to Vondelpark in the morning, then rode to De Carrousel, a nearby restaurant that specialized in pancakes. After lunch, Alex and I rode to the Amstel River, then did a quick loop through town. We ordered carryout Vietnamese food for dinner, then watched Maryland barely lose to LSU in the NCAA second-round game.
- Sunday, 25 March: I left Karen’s house early, and took the metro to Central Station, to catch a train to Brussels [map]. I arrived in Brussels around 10 AM. I couldn’t figure out the public transportation system at the train station, so I grabbed a cab to the Marivaux Hotel. The cabbie was an interesting guy from Rwanda, who had immigrated to Belgium in the 90s and had a daughter in law school there. It was too early to check in to the hotel, so I left my luggage and spent the afternoon exploring the city. I found Brussels a difficult city to navigate (especially with the crappy hotel map), but eventually found my way to Grand Place and then to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, where I spent the next few hours. After the museum visit, I strolled around “upper town”, and then back to the hotel. I rested briefly at the hotel, and then walked a nearby neighborhood with lots of restaurants. I found a friendly place, enjoyed mussels, pasta with seafood, and several good Belgian beers, and then hiked back to the hotel.
- Monday, 26 March: After a night of fitful sleep (too much beer?), I slept in until about 10 AM, then walked to the nearby metro station to get a 24-hour ticket for my trip on Tuesday to Midi Station (and then to Bruges). I did a quick test ride, then had lunch at a sandwich shop near the metro station. After lunch, I walked in to town to do the Rick Steves “Grand Place Walk” (a walk through the downtown area, ending at Manneken Pis). It was a very cold and windy day. I had a caramel Belgian waffle in Grand Place. After the Grand Place walk, I hiked back to the hotel, rested for a while, then walked to a nearby Japanese restaurant for sushi. I met an interesting Iranian guy at the sushi bar, and we chatted while he waited for his carryout order.
- Tuesday, 27 March: For the second day at the Marivaux Hotel, there was no hot water in the shower, due to a funky temperature control, apparently (I had complained the evening before). I took a very brief shower, then headed to the train station for the trip to Bruges [map]. I had a little difficulty figuring out the situation with “local” trains, but was able to find the right train. I arrived in Bruges around 10 AM, took a bus to Markt, then walked to my lovely, canal-side hotel, the Hotel ter Brughe. The staff at the hotel let me move into my room. I dumped my luggage and walked back to Markt, where I started the Rick Steves “Bruges Walk”. After climbing the bell tower, I relaxed in the square for a while with some Belgian fries, then continued the walk. I walked back to my hotel in the late afternoon, rested for a while, then found a nearby restaurant (Bistro de Schilder) for dinner (onion soup, mussels and fries, and several beers).
- Wednesday, 28 March: I got up early to take a local train to Ghent [map]. I got into town about 9 AM (an hour or so before the tourist sites opened their doors) and took a walk along the river, then headed to Korenmarkt Square to the do the Rick Steves “Ghent City Walk”, which included the “Ghent Altarpiece” in St. Bavo’s Cathedral. After the walk, I walked south along the Leie River to Balls & Glory for lunch (homemade meatballs), and then to the Fine Arts Museum near the train station. I walked back to the train station in the late afternoon, and headed back to Bruge. On the way back to my hotel, I stopped by a pizza place (Trattoria Trium) for dinner. Got back to the hotel around 8 PM.
- Thursday, 29 March: I caught an early train from Bruge to Antwerp, and had time there to stop by a coffee shop before catching the train back to Amsterdam. I met Karen in Amsterdam for lunch, then walked downtown to do the Rick Steves “City Walk” and “Red Light District Walk”. I got back to Karen’s house around 5:30. Alex was in London on a business trip. We ordered Indian food, and I hit the hay after dinner.
- Friday, 30 March: I headed out to the Van Gogh Museum around 8:30 for a 9:00 reservation. After a few hours in the museum, I took the metro to the South Station, and a train from there to Haarlem [map], arriving there around 11:30. I walked to Grote Markt for lunch on the square (great Neopolitan-style pizza). I checked out the sites near the square, then visited the two locations of the Frans Hals Museum (“Hal” and “Hof”). I had coffee at the “Hof” building (old masters), and walked back to the train station for the return trip to Amsterdam. I got back to Karen’s in time for dinner, and then spent the evening hanging out with Karen, Alex and the girls.
- Saturday, 31 March: After breakfast, we took a bike ride to a local park that had a zip-line that the girls enjoyed, then stopped by a gourmet hot dog restaurant for lunch. After lunch, I took the metro to Dam Square, and then walked to the meeting place for a boat ride I had reserved (Those Dam Boat Guys). The boat ride was very entertaining (great guide), and one of the 8 people on board was a Bosnian woman who did vaccine work at the FDA (in the building next to my old workplace). After the ride, I went shopping for earrings for Susan, then grabbed the metro back to Karen’s house. Karen had already headed to the Concertgebouw for the dress rehearsal for her evening concert, so Alex and I took the girls for a picnic on the grounds near the Rijksmuseum. After dinner, I walked to the Concertgebouw for the concert (Saint-Saens organ symphony, Poulenc’s Gloria, and a choral piece by Martin). After the wonderful performance, Karen and I walked back home together.
- Sunday, 1 April: Sunday was a little chilly, but sunny, so we did a nice bike ride up the Amstel, stopping on the way back at a riverside restaurant for lunch. I did some packing for the trip home on Monday, after lunch. Alex’s brother, Ben, came in the afternoon for a one-day visit, and we ordered carry-out Rijsttafel for dinner. Beer, baseball, and college basketball after dinner.
- Monday, 2 April: I bid farewell to Karen, Alex, Ben, and the girls around 8:30 AM, and took the metro to the South Station, where I caught a train to the airport, arriving there a few hours before my flight. It was a long (8 1/2 hour) flight, but pleasant flight home, and Susan was at the airport to give me a ride back to College Park.
Kerry Snow's Travel Blog (and other stuff)
