Last year my daughter Andrea and I visited Bruges as part of our trip to see the tulips in The Netherlands. We had a fun and interesting time in this old city. This year as my wife and I were deciding where to visit in Europe, I felt like it would be good to take Silvette to Bruges as it had been such an interesting place to see. Originally I had thought we would go Friday, but the rain was…
Continue Reading “Returning to Bruges, Belgium on a Cold Day”
I wish I could say that we awoke to our second day in Belgium to sunshine and warm spring weather, but I can’t. It was another cold, windy day with occasional rain showers and near constant drizzle. Nevertheless, we had planned to spend the day in Antwerp so we set off to do just that. Our first challenge was buying train tickets. With some help we were able to do that, but then we needed to know where to find…
Continue Reading “Exploring Antwerp Despite the Drizzle and Wind”
My son and his fiance decided they wanted a wedding ceremony in Paris rather than a big wedding at home. Destination weddings seem to be quite popular, and this was their choice of destinations. My wife Silvette and I decided since we were going to Paris for the wedding, we would make this a longer trip and fulfill some of the travel goals we have had. We planned a three week European trip starting in Brussels, Belgium. My daughter Andrea…
Continue Reading “Wandering Through Brussels in Wet and Windy Weather”
I have been traveling for two weeks now. I thought I would have time to work on a blog post, but that has not been the case. Instead I am offering a sneak preview of my travels in this Wordless Wednesday post. I expect to be able to have a new post for you next Wednesday. I took the photo in Antwerp, Belgium. If you don’t see a photo, you will need to open the post completely. Phones, in particular,…
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Photo taken in Killarney, Ireland, July 2015
Photo taken in Sintra, Portugal, August 2010
As the world started to fall apart in February 2020, I was all but certain it would not impact our trip to Belgium and The Netherlands. April was a couple of months away, and there was plenty of time for things to settle down. As we all know now, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Two years later we decided to try again. This time, however, there was a little more apprehension. Would we have to quarantine upon arrival? Where…
Continue Reading “Andrea’s Thoughts: Better Late than Never to The Netherlands”
Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands and has a rich history as an industrial and economic leader. This shows in some of the unique ways the city has reinvented itself over the years. While there is much to see in this city, we toured the city in an afternoon knowing we were missing a lot. To get to the center of Amsterdam from our hotel, we would normally ride the train and be there in ten minutes. This…
Continue Reading “Discovering Amsterdam from Land and Canals”
One of the iconic symbols of The Netherlands is the windmill. Windmills have dotted the Dutch landscape for a long time. While visitors see them as a picturesque part of the landscape, The Dutch understand them to be a vital part of their history and development. They were used mainly to pump water out of low lying lands as the country sought to reclaim land for agriculture. This use allowed the country to become a major economic powerhouse a few…
Continue Reading “The Netherlands: Windmills, Cheese, and Clogs”
When we returned from our trip to the Keukenhof Gardens, The bus dropped us off at the Amsterdam train station. From there we decided to explore a little bit of Amsterdam since tomorrow we would visit the Dutch village of Zaanse Schans. Amsterdam was bustling with people. We weren’t sure if this was typical or just because it was vacation week for so many people. There seemed to be large groups of young people around. We saw some old buildings,…
Continue Reading “Zaanse Schans: Experiencing the Unique Dutch Culture”
