-
Budapest, Hungary
The cities of Buda and Pest were merged into the Hungarian capital of Budapest in 1873, but today they still feel like two separate worlds. Historic Buda is hilly, with pastel-colored houses, an eighteenth-century palace and sweeping views of the Danube river. Cosmopolitan Pest is flat, with grand mansions, bustling squares and the impressive parliament building. Belváros and Erzsébetváros After…
-
Valencia, Spain
Cuidad Vieja Halfway along the east coast of Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea, sits the city of Valencia. It is the third largest city in Spain and has about as many inhabitants as Amsterdam. Because for Dutchies Valencia is only a two-hour flight away and you can already enjoy the benefits of the Mediterranean climate at the beginning of March,…
-
Ghent, Belgium
Two years ago at the end of the year I went to the Belgian city of Bruges for a weekend, last year Antwerp was the destination and this year I am in Ghent for a weekend. It’s cold, but beautiful sunny weather, perfect to spend a weekend at our southern neighbors. Ghent is located in the province of East Flanders,…
-
Warsaw & Krakow, Poland
Poland may not be the first country that comes to mind as a travel destination. But a week in the capital Warsaw and the second largest city in the county, Krakow, confirmed what I already thought: Poland is well worth a visit. Both Warsaw and Krakow are surprisingly beautiful cities! The fact that Poland might not be high on your…
-
Antwerp, Belgium
A week after the spontaneous idea arose to go to Antwerp for a weekend, we depart from Leiden at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning to visit our neighbors to the south. Going away for a weekend in September, you have to be a bit lucky with the weather, and we are: it’s beautiful late summer weather, in the Netherlands…
-
Bruges, Belgium
It is Friday afternoon, just after 1 p.m., when we set out for Bruges, the old Hanseatic city in the region of Flanders, Belgium. Despite the fact that it is Friday afternoon, we are not bothered by traffic jams and we arrive at our destination at about four p.m.. We drop our luggage at the hostel where we will spend…
-
Prague, Czechia
“Kde se pivo vaří. Tam se dobře daří.” (Where beer is brewed, life is good. – Czech proverb) Nové Město After a very early start, I land at 8:15 a.m. at Václav Havel International Airport, the airport of the Czech capital Prague (or Praha in Czech). That is just over an hour after we took off from Amsterdam Airport. Although…
-
London, UK
West End After a short flight of barely fifty minutes, we land at Gatwick Airport, about 45 kilometers south of London. It’s another half hour with the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station and fifteen minutes by tube to our hotel in the Bayswater district, north of the Kensington Gardens. After leaving our luggage there, it’s time to see the city.…
-
Stockholm, Sweden
After a flight of one and a half hours I arrive on schedule at Arlanda International Airport. I am only carrying hand luggage, so I can walk out directly. Online I have bought a ticket for the Arlanda Express, the train that takes me to Stockholm Central Station in twenty minutes. The capital of Sweden, the land of Ikea and…
-
Berlin, Germany
If you depart from Amsterdam Airport just before 7 a.m. you have to get out of bed at 3 a.m.. A bit early if you ask me. I’m not fully awake yet when we are on the train to the airport. Two hours later our plane leaves for Berlin. We arrive at Tegel Airport, on the north side of the…
