It’s vacation time! Not quite yet, actually. We’ll be heading out in a few weeks. I’m so excited; I wish we were going right now!
Doesn’t this look just amazing? It’s Dam Square in Amsterdam. Photo by the much more talented mau_ry on flickr.
I’m working on getting some posts lined up while I’m gone, so keep checking back here every so often. I’ve also (finally) got an Instagram account set up. Follow me, I’ll be sure to post some interesting things there during our journey.
Finally, does anyone have suggestions or favorites in Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands? We’re planning on spending a couple of days in the big city, then staying in Haarlem and the Hague as we explore the countryside. We’ll be in Belgium as well, most likely checking out Brussels as well as Bruges or Ghent or both. Our trip will end in Paris.
It will be our first time, so we’ll do our best to see as much as possible in the two weeks that we’ve got. If you’ve got any must-see’s for any of those cities or the area around them, let me know!
World and Time Enough 
Ah you’re going to have a great time! Each city is absolutely amazing – definitely try and see the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam (pre-book tickets or visit in the evening to avoid the epic queues), Belfry Tower in Bruges, Grote Markt in Brussels at night when the whole square has a light show and Paris is a whole other list of things!! Enjoy – it’ll be amazing!!
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Thanks for the tip on Anne Frank, Becky! I’d heard that it would be intensely crowded and was figuring out how to deal with it. Love the other tips as well. So excited!
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Mine might not be terribly creative, as I’ve only done Amsterdam on a day trip, but the Van Gogh museum is an absolute delight (buy tickets online in advance though!) and also it is THE place to try 1) amazing Indonesian food and 2) the craziest pancakes EVER https://gohomeandaway.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/amsterdam-mad-dash/
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Love the food tips Anna, thank you! Will definitely move the Van Gogh Museum up on the list. Not that there’s even a list yet… we’ve been so bad about figuring out what we want to do at each city.
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I’ve got some advice for alternative sights in Amsterdam, see here:
https://smalleuropeancountry.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/amsterdam-alternatives/
For advice by locals on other spots (also from me, in Rotterdam!) check out http://www.spottedbylocals.com/
I must say that your plan sounds like quite a challenge for the two weeks you’ve got. Most people end up regretting not staying longer in the same place. The Netherlands is quite small, so Haarlem and Den Haag are perfect for day trips out of Amsterdam – unless you’ve got a good reason to stay there, I’d suggest staying in one city. And if you end in Paris, why not spend sufficient time there to explore a bit more than the obvious tourist stuff – you might end up seeing less but experiencing more. Belgium is nice, but it’s been there for quite a while, it will probably still be there for your next visit.
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Very cool, love the Amsterdam alternatives Michael! I’d already heard how terrible the lines are at Anne Frank.
As for Belgium still being there for our next visit, you can reasonably say that about all the cities. =) All our current journeys are “scouting missions” to various places all over the world. It’s tough because Europe has so much to offer, and if we lived in Europe we would have an easier time to explore at leisure, like on the weekends. However, since we are so far away, we have to make do with the time that we have. When circumstances change, we know where we’ll want to visit again!
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I know how you feel – I solved the issue by moving to Europe!
At any rate, it helps that the distances in Western Europe are relatively small, so you don’t have to move to a new city but just do with day trips. You can easily explore Belgium from the Netherlands, too. For example, from The Hague its only 1 hour to Antwerpen.
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