canals

Wednesday 6 May to Monday 11 May 2015

travellingross rating = 7/10

Following our short stopover in Antwerp, we returned the rental car to Amsterdam airport and then taxi’d the 25 mins or so to our vacation rental apartment. The location was out of the main part of town, but a 2 min walk to a tram stop that was easy enough to navigate wherever you wanted to go. The accommodation was welcoming and modern. Mum would have her birthday on 7 May and then it was Mothers Day on 10 May.

I have never had an interest in visiting Amsterdam. Amsterdam to me is about pot, prostitution, canals and bicycles (who do not obey any traffic rules). Not exactly the key drivers for choosing my travel destinations. This city is busy with tourists and the layout of the streets around the canals made me annoyed for reasons I still don’t know – maybe because you are constantly on the lookout for something that might run you over. It was nice to spend 6 nights in one location and relax a little and of course spend a couple of my Mother’s special days together. Here are the highlights and some observations:

Rembrandt House: I like his paintings and works. The house was sold by his bank to re-pay the mortgage and he died in debt. Interesting how this tends to happen to artists.
Keukonhof Gardens: for Mum’s birthday we spent the day at the largest tulip flower festival. Picturesque place with many colours and settings to explore. An hour or so to get there by bus, but with my great navigational skills (as opposed to Mum’s) I got us there and back with time to freshen up and go out for a delicious meal overlooking the canals in a fancy hotel.
Anne Frank House: We took turns lining up for 2.5 hours to get into a museum where all the furniture is removed and you are ushered around looking at wallpaper and floorboards. The interesting part was seeing her diary and papers. Anne comes across as a typical teenage girl spoiled brat and maybe that is what makes her story connect with so many young people – that she was normal. The Dutch Resistance Museum resonated with me more.
Heineken Experience: I had very low expectations of the brewery tour but Mum and I were both surprised at how good and creative it was. More than just a brewery tour, but an explanation on marketing, branding and how their history has evolved over the years. The tour finishes with a few beers and let’s just say that Mum was merry.
Zaanse Schans Windmill Park: For Mothers Day we trained here to explore some of the few remaining windmills in the Netherlands. Educational and scenic. Not many eateries though and could be more orientated to making a full tourist experience. This was our last full day in Amsterdam and for the trip and we concluded with a tasty dinner at the Lebanese Restaurant down the road from our apartment. One observation is that most restaurants seat you without a menu and you sit waiting 5 mins until they bring you the menu.

How they dispose of their rubbish for collection

Me on the R

Van Gogh

Red Light District

Begijnhof is a quiet hidden Inner Courtyard Garden

Ridiculous

Inside a windmill

Mum didn’t like the gaps in the wood boardwalk. Neither did I.

Friday 1 May to Tuesday 5 May 2015

travellingross rating = 7/10

Leaving the Western Front WW1 battlefields, we headed north to the outer suburbs of Ghent as a platform to explore some highlights of Belgium – beer, chocolate, architecture, paintings, the blood of Christ. We stayed in a nice house on a big block with an automatic lawn mower. A cross between a bed & breakfast and a motel with daily housekeeping, strange automatic lights, pathetic heating, a Spanish family living in another closed off section of the house, and a front door that we were told had “a mind of its own, so do not go outside without your key”. Odd like only the Western Europeans can do. But a comfortable and welcoming base where we did a series of day trips. Highlights:

Bruges

The traffic to get even near the main historic centre was ri-dic-u-lous. I was convinced that a concert was on or the Pope was visiting or something epic. But no, this is just a typical Saturday in Bruges. Mad busy.
A canal city with many corners and hidden sections. There are two large squares with historic buildings surrounding them. I have seen the movie “In Bruges” so was re-living that.
Basilica of the Holy Blood. Yes, they claim to have a vile filled with dried blood that was washed from the body of Jesus Christ when he was taken down from the cross. This relic is displayed a couple times per day and I thought it would be held up to be admired in front of the crowd. But you file passed it and place your hands over it in prayer while the crowd watches you do this. We were about 10^th in line. I wasn’t ready for that! Can’t say this was a spiritual/religious experience as I was too occupied studying it for legitimacy while also trying to act in prayer as a couple hundred eyes watched me.

Ghent

Unfortunately a wet cloudy day, but a scenic canal town. Nicer than Bruges, but very similar.
Hot chocolate that comes in a tea pot. With a chocolate on the side. Sickening is an underestimate, but gave me a sugar high for a good couple of hours. When travelling with Allyson, you need this energy haha.
Adoration of the MysticLamb is in the cathedral. Never heard of it, but apparently a globally recognised masterpiece consisting of 12 hinged panels painted in the 1430’s. It is under restoration, but from the glimpse we saw, I can appreciate the incredible detail and value.

Brussels

On the way to Brussels we stopped at Waterloo to see where Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington in his final battle on 18 June 1815. A huge mound of grass covered dirt with a lion on top is the landmark they chose to honour this with. Interesting. Under a huge reconstruction/reno for the 200^th anniversary. I like visiting places like this to learn history as I would never pick up a book or Google it to learn more about this battle.
Brussels was my fav of the Belgian cities we visited. Maybe cause there was not a canal in sight. I liked the town square facades, the lack of tourist crowds, the chocolate shops, the delirium beer.

Antwerp

A short stop for lunch on the way to Amsterdam. A flag filled town square, and a cathedral with Rubens painting. I don’t like Rubens I have realised. He painted people with too many muscles, which takes away any ability for me to be convinced by his realism. Keep trying mate, you’ll get it right one day.