Weekend the the Lowlands
Our last weekend we had planned to go to the mountains to hike Mt. Calanda with some friends. We had everything all ready to go when we decided to call off the trip because of the weather.
It took a couple of hours to sort it out, but we decided to rent a car and four hours later, we were in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Luxembourg was a surprise for me. Without the planning I usually do, it was a bit of a new experience to discover it all as we went. The downtown area was just as clean as Zürich an efficient transportation system and a shopping street that rivals the Banhofstrasse. The city is split by a huge ravine covered in an amazing tree canopy and laced with walking paths. The remnants of old fortress walls blended well into the new city. We also saw the advertisements that the whole town has gone live with wifi. Awesome! We liked it so much we decided to stay the night. We picked a quaint little place on a main square called Casanova. Then off again in the morning.
Our next direction was for Brugges, Belgium by way of Rick Steves' recommendation. We have to thank our friends Kevin and Ian who left their travel books with us once they were done touring this area. Without the books, we would have been lost.
Before making it to Brugges, however, we had to stop at the little town of Westvleteren which is known as a beer mecca. A little monastery there serves up BeerAdvocate.com's #1 rated beer in the world. They only sell it at the monastery itself, the cafe across the street, or if you can find it on the black market. It's so good, it's been known to get $15 a bottle.
After driving around the countryside for a couple of hours looking for the place, we eventually pulled into the town of Poperinge and asked the Tourist Information center there. They did provide a map, but informed us that it's closed on Fridays, a little bit of a let down.
Brugges, our next overnight, was a town that oozed charm. I felt like it was a mix between Prague and Amsterdam. There were plenty of tourists, as I expected on a weekend during peak season. I would definitely go back to Brugges, but perhaps off season and maybe even a weekday. There were a couple of great art museums, some nice old churches (including one that claims to have a vile of Jesus' dried blood), plenty of restaurants, and scenery galore. We finished off our Saturday here with a beer tour, then we decided to give Westvleteren another shot.
This time, we were luckier. While we weren't able to buy a case of the famous beer because we didn't have a reservation (the supply is limited and demand very high) but we were able to go into the cafe and try out the goods there. The terrace of the cafe was quite pleasant. It was a sunny and warm summer day in the countryside of Belgium, what more could you ask for...
We drove onward to Rotterdam, Netherlands next. While this was a city we were both curious about, I don't think either of us feel a return trip is necessary. It was quite impersonal, wide sidewalks, bike lanes, car lanes, divided by tram tracks, then more of the same on the other side set the buildings very far apart from each other. You can see where it would be quite accessible, but left nothing for charm. There were some attempts at creating architecturally interesting structures, but it kind of got lost in this giant port city. We left Sunday morning and drove east until we reached a fantastic National Park near Arnhem. The park houses a museum with a collection of 55 Van Gogh paintings, the largest collection outside of Amsterdam. There is also a bank of free bicycles available to take advantage of the network of trails that spread throughout the wooded land. We loved this! I want to go back to camp :)
Then in the car and back to Zürich. An adventurous (and expensive!) weekend...and you thought gas prices were bad in the States!
In Luxembourg - A look over some gardens atop a fortress wall
One of the many pedestrian only shopping streets in Luxembourg (after shops closed)
A main square in Brugges
Who wouldn't want a beer here? This is the oldest pub in Brugges dating back to 1515
A look toward the church in Brugges that owns the "Madonna and Child" sculpture created by Michelangelo
The lot of free bikes, ready to go exploring in the Netherlands!
It took a couple of hours to sort it out, but we decided to rent a car and four hours later, we were in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Luxembourg was a surprise for me. Without the planning I usually do, it was a bit of a new experience to discover it all as we went. The downtown area was just as clean as Zürich an efficient transportation system and a shopping street that rivals the Banhofstrasse. The city is split by a huge ravine covered in an amazing tree canopy and laced with walking paths. The remnants of old fortress walls blended well into the new city. We also saw the advertisements that the whole town has gone live with wifi. Awesome! We liked it so much we decided to stay the night. We picked a quaint little place on a main square called Casanova. Then off again in the morning.
Our next direction was for Brugges, Belgium by way of Rick Steves' recommendation. We have to thank our friends Kevin and Ian who left their travel books with us once they were done touring this area. Without the books, we would have been lost.
Before making it to Brugges, however, we had to stop at the little town of Westvleteren which is known as a beer mecca. A little monastery there serves up BeerAdvocate.com's #1 rated beer in the world. They only sell it at the monastery itself, the cafe across the street, or if you can find it on the black market. It's so good, it's been known to get $15 a bottle.
After driving around the countryside for a couple of hours looking for the place, we eventually pulled into the town of Poperinge and asked the Tourist Information center there. They did provide a map, but informed us that it's closed on Fridays, a little bit of a let down.
Brugges, our next overnight, was a town that oozed charm. I felt like it was a mix between Prague and Amsterdam. There were plenty of tourists, as I expected on a weekend during peak season. I would definitely go back to Brugges, but perhaps off season and maybe even a weekday. There were a couple of great art museums, some nice old churches (including one that claims to have a vile of Jesus' dried blood), plenty of restaurants, and scenery galore. We finished off our Saturday here with a beer tour, then we decided to give Westvleteren another shot.
This time, we were luckier. While we weren't able to buy a case of the famous beer because we didn't have a reservation (the supply is limited and demand very high) but we were able to go into the cafe and try out the goods there. The terrace of the cafe was quite pleasant. It was a sunny and warm summer day in the countryside of Belgium, what more could you ask for...
We drove onward to Rotterdam, Netherlands next. While this was a city we were both curious about, I don't think either of us feel a return trip is necessary. It was quite impersonal, wide sidewalks, bike lanes, car lanes, divided by tram tracks, then more of the same on the other side set the buildings very far apart from each other. You can see where it would be quite accessible, but left nothing for charm. There were some attempts at creating architecturally interesting structures, but it kind of got lost in this giant port city. We left Sunday morning and drove east until we reached a fantastic National Park near Arnhem. The park houses a museum with a collection of 55 Van Gogh paintings, the largest collection outside of Amsterdam. There is also a bank of free bicycles available to take advantage of the network of trails that spread throughout the wooded land. We loved this! I want to go back to camp :)
Then in the car and back to Zürich. An adventurous (and expensive!) weekend...and you thought gas prices were bad in the States!
In Luxembourg - A look over some gardens atop a fortress wall
One of the many pedestrian only shopping streets in Luxembourg (after shops closed)
A main square in Brugges
Who wouldn't want a beer here? This is the oldest pub in Brugges dating back to 1515
A look toward the church in Brugges that owns the "Madonna and Child" sculpture created by Michelangelo
The lot of free bikes, ready to go exploring in the Netherlands!
posted by Jill Nachtman at 9:43 AM
2 Comments:
The free bikes are fascinating! Do you have to sign them out, or do you just take them? I wonder how they don't all get stolen. -Ethelred a.k.a. Amy at NAMG
No signing them in or out, just walk up, grab, and go! How great is that? I think they don't get stolen because the bikes aren't your typical U.S. bike but a bit more rickety. Also, the park is gigantic so people were keeping to the trails. Great to hear from you Amy!
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