Holland and home

The title is a little deceiving because I’m also going to include Bruge in this post. We only spent one night there and it was quite a spontaneous decision but it’s a beautiful place and worth a look if you have an extra day.

Juls recommended it because he went there earlier and fell in love with the city. Apparently there’s a movie called ‘In Bruges’ which has successfully attracted people there, but I personally haven’t seen it.  

Bruges is quiet and peaceful with canals running through the city center. You know that line in Adele’s song ‘Hello’ where she says ‘did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?’  That’s how I felt about Bruges. It’s tiny, secluded and beautiful but nothing really happens there. We took a horse and cart ride around the city and splurged on Belgium chocolate. It was nice to stroll around at night and climb up the tower, but a day is really all you need in Bruges. I still think it is worth the visit  because the buildings are quite stunning and it's a lovely atmosphere with the canals and the cobble stone roads. It's just a nice place to be for a night or two. 

Also, Belgium chocolate is to die for. It’s so much cheaper than any handmade chocolate at home, and so freaking good. Trust me, if anything just go there for the chocolate, it won’t disappoint.

From there, we spent two nights at Julian’s grandmother’s house (she’s now going to be referred to as oma because that's what Dutch people call their grandmas and it feels strange to say anything else). His oma lives in this little town called Zevenbergen, which is about 1.5hrs out of Amsterdam. It’s a quiet, quaint little place that has a river running through it and trees everywhere. I don't think I've seen so much green on my entire trip (probably because we stayed in so many major cities). Juls told me that he’s tried getting lost on purpose before, but somehow he always finds his way home, that’s how small it is.

We had dinner and then went out to buy some krocket. They’re in a shape of thick fish fingers, crumbed and deep fried, but the filling is creamy meat. It’s a bit sickening if you eat a lot of it, but so good. 

We took the bikes out the next day and did the traditional Dutch ride around. I tried raw herring, which is apparently a Dutch thing, and couldn't finish it. Juls thought I’d be fine because I’ve eaten sashimi in Japan, but this is something else entirely. In Japan they slice and present sashimi to you, it’s almost an art. In Holland, we literally got a raw herring on this little plastic container with its head cut off and de-scaled. You pick it up by the tail and eat it. I just couldn’t get past the slimy feeling, or the texture as you bite into it, still makes me shudder thinking about it. But hey, if you’re ever in Holland, I challenge you to eat a raw herring. Maybe you’ll do better than I did.

Okay, there’s also this super cool breakfast food in Holland called Hagelslag. It’s literally chocolate sprinkles on buttered bread. That’s it. Sounds ridiculous but it's as amazing as your 6year old self can imagine, like diabetes for breakfast. Again, a super Dutch thing but I loved it. You can just get it in the supermarket and bring it home to show everyone how crazy it is. I tried to get the bread-to-sprinkles ratio right, and I quote Juls ‘if you can see the bread, you’re doing it wrong’. You literally cover every surface and eat it. Amazing.

Also a small shout out to Julian’s cousins who are the cutest human beings I’ve ever met in my entire life.

After two nights we went to Amsterdam, which is the last destination on my trip. It’s been a magical experience, and many thanks to anyone who has bothered to keep up with my adventures.

Amsterdam is quite like all the photos you have seen with the canals running through the city and boats tied to the sides. The houses sit side by side with cute designs and colours. What I found most charming about Amsterdam was that it felt like a bustling city that had stayed true to its roots. It was busy in the way Melbourne was, with trams running through the center and a great shopping district, but the buildings and the architecture was so diverse and European that you just knew you were anywhere but home.

On the flip side, I didn’t quite realize that Amsterdam is incredibly famous for its Red Light District and for legalizing weed. If that’s your cup of tea, go right on ahead, no one bats a lash in Holland. I on the other hand, am about as straight as you can get. It was an interesting experience to see something different, but not something I wish to partake in anytime soon.

I tried profitures in Amsterdam, a personal favourite of mine. They are tiny, fluffy pancake-like things that are traditionally eaten with icing sugar and butter. The first time, we bought it from a cart on the side of the road with a friendly man complaining about his broken radio. Possibly one of my favourite foods in Holland, I could eat it everyday. 

We visited the Anne Frank museum which is a must do if you’re in Amsterdam. I do suggest reading at least part of the book before you get there because it gives you a better connection with the people who lived there. It’s just eerie to think that good, honest people lived and hid there for a number of years. You can walk through the place they slept, ate, talked and listened to the radio. They weren’t a good story by a creative author, they were real people who had lives and went to school. That’s what really hits home, every time. We get to walk past on the street and see a nice plaque that says ‘Anne Frank’s House’, but that’s something she could never do in her childhood. It’s an incredible experience that, again, reminds you of the atrocities of The Holocaust.

Another pretty cool experience was the Amsterdam Dungeon. Here's the thing, we bought the tickets as a sale price because we wanted to do the canal rides around Amsterdam. So we thought we may as well do something else while we're at it, and the shop keeper said that it was a 'dungeon about Amsterdam and its history', so we thought it was a great idea. Let me say, that it was still amazing, but not what I was expecting. You go from room to room and there's a person dressed up in old clothing, and there are jump scares and things that move, designed to frighten you. Trust me, it's quite terrifying at some points, but for someone who hates horror movies and crumbles at jump scares, I ended up loving it. So I think it's worth the money and a good activity to do while you're around. 

The canal ride was very interesting, but I was pretty sleepy that day so if you ask Juls, he will say I looked like the most bored human being on the planet. There is an audiobook inside the boat which tells you about the history of certain areas of Amsterdam. It's quite informational and also points out some good places you might like to visit later on. 

On the day I flew out, we went to the Van Gogh museum. I don't know much about his life or his work, but I guess we had to visit one of the famous museums before we left. It houses the most comprehensive collection of his artworks in the world. The two most famous ones which I am aware of are Starry Night and the Sunflowers. Starry Night is in New York, but the Sunflowers were meant to be at the museum we went to. However, we got there and there was a notice that explained it was not on display due to restoration measures being taken to ensure its longevity. That was highly disappointing, considering it’s basically the only painting I know of, but that’s okay. Do check it out if you’re in Amsterdam, or at least the Rembrandt museum. 

That’s pretty much it. Amsterdam was done and dusted, and it gets a 10/10 for food and shopping. I flew home at 9:20pm and arrive home on the 5^th of February. Juls has continued his adventures to Spain and Poland but I'll see him real soon. I don’t know how I survived five weeks in Europe, and as good as it feels to be back home, it kills me to think a week ago I was walking around the cold streets of Holland. No words can ever describe how amazing and brilliant this trip was, but I’ve tried. A million thanks to my best friend, my travel partner and just the guy I could talk to on random snowy nights in strange European cities, you made it all the more incredible. 

Guess we'll go back to fashion and brunching now. Until next time, 

Amy.         

Belgium:

Holland