Physically and mentally exhausted from the last four months, I was a bit on a zombie while with my family. Here is a quick recap from the week I spend with them post voyage.
On my first day in Amsterdam, we started it off by touring the Amsterdam canals via a private boat charter on the Queen Elizabeth. Our captain picked up lunch mid-way through our journey and we enjoyed mimosas in the sun. We saw many of the highlights of the city such as the famous Skinny Bridge, Anne Frank house, the multi-level bike parking stations. After, we joined a guide for a food tour on the Pjip neighborhood and market, tasting a selection of fresh fruit and cheeses, Surinamese street food, stroopwaffles, fries, and fresh raw oysters (mom only).
On day 2, we visited several tulips fields in the countryside, biked to the beach in Holland, and explored the windmills. Later that night, we saw our tour guide, Tom, at dinner as he was hosting a Senator from the Netherlands for another tour group. He introduced us and had a round of champagne delivered to our table.
On day 3, we had a driver and guide to Bruges, Belgium. We visited attractions such as the "Lake of Love" (Minnewater) and 13th-century Begijnhof, learned about the beers of Belgium, and explored the narrow lanes of the Stoofstraat, the Gruuthuse Palace, Burg Square and Basilica of the Holy Blood. We enjoyed Belgium waffles and bought plenty of chocolate!
On day 4, we visited the city of Delft and its Royal Blue Delftware pottery factory to watch the famous pottery being hand-painted. We also toured the canals in Delft, and visited the Hague and its Mauritshuis museum, featuring many Rembrandt paintings. Finally, we stopped at the race track in Zandvoort. It couldn't have worked out better as we were able to watch the end of an F1 race (in Italy) with the locals at the track as the Dutch driver, Max Verstappen, won the race!
On our last day in Amsterdam, after re-packing for my family to take my suitcases home and another Covid test needed to fly to Morocco, we all met at the Brouwerij’tij beer garden in Vondelpark. While it rained, we sat outside under heaters playing cards, eating bitter ballen, and drinking beer, wine and mimosas. Later, we visited a wine bar for tastings and snacks. It was a great five days in the Netherlands and Belgium. Two more countries to add to my list – 31 total now!
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