Welcome to The Cherry On Top.
As the wind is picking up and more clouds are moving in, I sure am grateful for the warmth and protection of my home while I write this. My last trip to The Netherlands was a chilly one with a lot of wind. I'll be sharing some of the details so that you might get an idea on what these towns and cities in The Netherlands are like. The towns are Zandvoort, Haarlem and Amsterdam. Perhaps you'd like to visit one day or maybe you're just curious.
There are plenty of destinations on this planet that I have absolutely no interest in going to and others where I'd really, really love to see. Places like Australia and Japan are at the top of my list, but I'm fairly sure I'll never get there. I love watching shows in these places and seeing images from friend's visits and pictures from the internet. Today, I'll be giving some tips and my opinions about these places through scrapbook pages and the free kit.
I already shared two blogs on visiting Monschau, Germany. You can scroll back and check those out and grab both free designs. Here's the first and this is the second.
Above is my friend I traveled with standing on Zandvoort Beach. As a former Floridian, I am not at all crazy about the beaches in The Netherlands or Belgium. That's just me.The Netherlands does have a lot more nature on their shores, but when you look over the ocean you get a very industrial vibe which completely clashes with the natural zen I try to get. The sea is full of enormous cargo ships and windmills and the sky is usually filled with, heavy steel gray clouds. It's even cold in the summer (to me) and the winds are often whipping sand in your face. I digress.
As you can see in the photo above, we had a rare glance of sunshine and blue skies. It didn't last long. By the time we walked a couple of meters, the rain started pouring. Good thing there was a place or two right on the beach where you can get something to eat and or drink. There are a lot of places, but most are not open all year. Despite a sizeable town with many permanent residents.
The buildings along the seaside are ghastly in architecture and just on the outside of the town Zandvoort, it gets worse. It reminds me of something you might see in 1960's Russia. It is a total downer. I suppose the plus side is that those on welfare can live on the beach? Can we not agree that most of today's architecture has little to beholden, unimaginative and often offensive in its simplicity?
We stayed 3 nights in a place that was only one street over from the beach and a good walk from the town's center which was full of shops and a bunch of cozy cafes and restaurants. Whoo hoo! Zandvoort was really a super cute town for a day's visit.Our tiny apartment was ok. I think it fair to say that Zandvoort is a tourist kind of town.
There were a lot of chain shops and a few unique ones sprinkled here and there. There was a big grocery store and a kram met vis enz. Mmmm... (a food truck with fish delights)
Gosh darn! We just missed the town's weekly market. I think it may have been a Wednesday? I am losing interest in the weekly markets here in Belgium. The prices are not competitive by any means and most of the sellers are not offering unique items. If you've not been to one, I'd still go to check it out, though. It's nothing like what we've got in The States.
Like many, many Air BnB's our place was decked out with Ikea furniture and broken appliances. The toilet right on top of the dining room. Ugh! Ya had to go up a tiny, steep staircase (very typical in The Netherlands) to get to the living/sleeping area which we didn't really dig because ya pretty much have to go to bed and wake up at the same time and if ya have to pee in the middle of the night, a little dangerous, but it was quiet, clean, warm and overall, nice.
I've spent a lot of time in The Netherlands and even lived there a few months and I can honestly say, I am not a fan of the food. Especially food in restaurants. I am a kind of budget client, though. I'm happy to get out of a restaurant for under 30 Euros, drinks included. The prices were fine everywhere we went, but the fare itself is mostly unappealing to me. I feel the same about England. I often go for ethnic restaurants because England's and The Netherlands cuisine just ain't mah thang.
There are some "specialty" menu items you can get that are ok like bitterballen (which my friend loved) and kibbeling (fried fish). The Netherlands is pretty darn good for fish. I love a herring (maatjes) sandwich, which is popular at markets and in big cities and towns. Find them in Zandvoort by the grocery store on the main square. Pancakes are very popular and usually palatable. In The Netherlands, pancakes are not always sweet. In the above scrapbook page, there is a picture of a pannenkoek with brie, pine nuts and a salad slapped in the middle. The Dutch pannenkoeken is like a French crepe. My friend liked it, but I was cringing. Hehehe... I had fish and chips that were ok.
Take note, if you are visiting Europe from the U.S. there are no free refills, no ice (unless you ask), no free tap water (France has somewhat of an exception.) and you have to pay a small fortune for a glass bottle of water. Soda costs more than beer and wine (usually) and condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise costs extra. Typically, around 1 Euro to 1.50 for a minuscule amount.
How about that first picture on the above page, though? Now, that was one heck of a presentation and the restaurant was super cozy. All of that food was for us, two, old ladies! We didn't even eat half of it. There was a few German things in this restaurant. I had an absolutely delicious German beer and there was schnitzel on that board that wasn't too shabby. Overall, we enjoyed the heck out of everything. The place was also by the main square.
The above page has photos from an awesome cheese shop in Zandvoort. There were so many choices of cheese and much, much more. I wish we had a shop like this in my neighborhood. There were awesome gift ideas as well.
If you didn't know already, Belgium and The Netherlands are by far, the best for speaking English. It really is impressive. I like to recommend The Netherlands and Belgium to those people wanting to travel to Europe, but are a little nervous about the language thing. The beer in The Netherlands is hit or miss, but there are some stars. Besides Heineken, I'd dare try any other beer, there. Hehehe...
Here we are on the train. We spent a lot of time on trains. It was our main form of transportation for the Nederlandse trip. Ya don't have to think about where you are going to park and the crazy prices to park. Getting lost is more difficult by train and traffic is finally not an issue. Some of the trains were nice and some were disgusting as hell. The toilets stank. There was graffiti and they were not all that clean. Especially those with Amsterdam connections. Go figure! We did take the bus from Zandvoort to Haarlem and that was fantastic. It was warm, clean and the driver was a hoot. He as many other Europeans just love to talk and joke about Trump. Get ready for that, too. It can turn in to a heated debate! Hehehe...
If you're like me and centered when it comes to politics, get ready for some seriously ... progressive (?) culture in The Netherlands. It's all part of the experience, right?
I want to share how we did this trip because we had such a great time and you may want to try it out for yourself. Perhaps not in The Netherlands, but anywhere else in the world.
We left our place in Belgium with the train and headed to Zandvoort. It took us around 4 hours. We walked from the station to our tiny apartment. It was quite a walk, but doable for us. Even with luggage and at an advanced age. Hehehe... I did research to make sure this was possible. We could walk everywhere, easily and we felt safe, too. This is a smaller town and it is extremely compact. 100,000's of people living right on top of each other. The very center of town is much more charming. However, small.
The next day, we woke up early and headed to the station and went in to Amsterdam. It took around 50 minutes.
Remember! You cannot get on a bus or train without your debit card. We were literally trapped at a station!! It was kind'a scary. We had to plead our story to a metal speaker where a most kind man (it took awhile to get an actual person) freed us with a push of a button. Oh, the Orwellian vibes. Nearly every transaction had to be done with a debit card. The train and bus was debit card only. For this old lady, it was way too Orwellian for me. One cafe didn't give me a menu. I had to pull it up on my phone, which I don't have and so we left immediately. I'm not sure how far one can get in The Netherlands without a cell phone and or debit card. This is a terrible path for any country to go down, but we won't discuss that here.
After a very long day in Amsterdam we shlepped our way wearily back to our apartment. The next travel blog will be the Amsterdam trip.
Our last full day in The Netherlands was spent in Harlem which I cannot say enough awesome things about. I'll cover these trips in more detail on the next two travel blogs. I'll be going to The Netherlands again, this weekend, but this time, way up north. Exciting!
Your Free Design
This was a great way for us to travel. There was a lot of sight seeing as well as a good amount of relaxation. When we returned from The Netherlands, we rested two days before touring Monschau, Germany. It's really difficult to enjoy an international trip when it's non stop, go-go-go. Museum after museum. Train ride after train ride. and really get to know it. Relax in a cafe after touring the town or a museum and swim in the culture.
Find yourself a great place to stay, book it for a few nights, really get to know it then branch out daily to different towns and cities. It's a much more relaxed way to travel. You won't feel like you're living out of your suitcase and you can soak up the atmosphere.
I'll be giving away this free scrapbooking kit when I wrap up this entire trip. Stay tuned!
The windmill design is one of three other freebies besides the kit. So, come on back and grab next week's and the week's to come.
If no one's told you, you are a star! I absolutely love that you've come to The Cherry for a visit and I hope you do it again.
Feel free to leave us a comment about your dream vacation, your favorite destination spot or a fun travel anecdote.
Happy travels!
There're better places than Zandvoort to visit in the Netherlands. Try Volendam, Den Bosch, Maastricht or given the fact you go up north, Leeuwarden.
ReplyDeleteThank you! We are headed to Amsterdam later this year... collecting these in anticipation!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have had a lot of fun. Hubby and I like to travel and spend 2-3 nights each destination if we've never visited. Places we love, we go back to (Seattle, Washington USA and Sedona, Arizona USA are both on that list). I have many places on my bucket list too. The best way I find to soak in the local atmosphere is walking around and eating at different places and often we will ask hotel staff where they would go for dinner. When we cruised the Main-Danube (Budapest to Amsterdam) we involved ourselves in food/drink tours which is a great way to experience new destinations.
ReplyDelete