Notes from Netherlands and Belgium | Humdrum 37
In my last newsletter I mentioned I was traveling to The Netherlands and Belgium. And it was wonderful! Of course it was. How could it not have been when there were canals and history and castles and good wine everywhere? If you haven't been to that part of the world, go! Go now. You will probably find cheap airfare through Scott's Cheap Flights.
I got a few responses from that newsletter, reminding me that everyone in Amsterdam speaks English (thank you!). And it was beautiful English too, with a hint of an accent that somehow made the language really nice to just listen to. The English-speaking seemed to be the case in all the cities in The Netherlands I visited, which made things a hell of a lot easier. Not the case for the Walloon region of Belgium though, where I had the chance to bust out my rusty college French.
Here's a bit more about the trip, inspired by my documenting habits, no doubt a side effect of my day job. (Or were these habits what led me to my day job as a researcher??)
Here goes:
Beginning: Amsterdam, Netherlands (NL) sunny 70+ degrees
End: Gent, Belgium (BE) mid-50s, cloudy with a little rain
Length of the trip: 11 nights
Travel companions/partner: 1
Countries visited: 3
Netherlands
Germany
Belgium
Total number of cities visited: 10
Number of cities slept in: 5
. . . Airbnbs: 3
's-Hertogenbosch, NL
Bouillon, Belgium BE
Gent, BE
. . . Hotels: 2
Amsterdam, NL
Maastricht, NL
Number of castles/castle ruins visited: 5
Muiderslot, NL
Loevestein, NL
Valkenburg, NL
Chateau de Bouillon, BE
Gravensteen, BE
. . . churches visited: So many I lost count
. . . churches that projected a huge black and white photograph of Jesus's six-pack before the alter: 1
Magdalenakirk in Bruges
. . . times I was turned-on in a church: 1
. . . museums visited: 6
. . . canal tours: 2
Amsterdam
Gent
. . . days shoes got soaked in the rain: 2
Number of train trips, not including transfers: 12
. . . times rushed to a train for fear of missing it: 3
. . . times I went to Starbucks in a train station: 2
. . . times I went to a Starbucks that was not in a train station: 0
Number of grocery store purchases: 0
. . . times I ate pizza for dinner: 2
. . . times I ate mussels for dinner: 2
Bouillon
Gent
. . . times I ordered a beer: 0
. . . times I ordered a glass/bottle of wine that was not rose: 5
Total number of movies watched on an airplane: 5
Hidden Figures
Baywatch
Table 19
The Big Sick
Gifted
. . . books/magazines brought on the trip: 4
. . . books/magazines read on the trip: 1/4 of one book
Number of pages filled in my journal: 121
. . . Polaroid pictures taken: 120
Favorite meal: the mussels in Gent ties with the veggie risotto in Aachen, Germany
Favorite city: Maastricht
Favorite castle: Chateau de Bouillon
Favorite museum: Van Gogh in Amsterdam
Highlights posted on Instagram.
About This Newsletter
Humdrum is written by Christina Brandon, a writer and user experience researcher based in Chicago, who is debating if she should travel to Portugal or Croatia next. She's writing a memoir about teaching English in China. You can connect with her by replying to this email or jumping on Twitter or Instagram.
-----> Loved this message? Forward to a friend or tell them to subscribe! <-----
-----> Wanna say "hi," ask a question, or offer feedback? Hit reply! <-----