Portmanteau Suitcase

We started off our day with a quick hotel breakfast followed by a tour of the Gravensteen. The castle was really impressive and worth seeing, especially before the peak heat! The audio tour is helpful for a general overview, but it is led by a comedian who is not, in my opinion, the funniest. So, it was worth shortening some of the tracks.

Before leaving, we had a snack and a drink at our favorite chocolate shop, Tailored Flavours. We still had a few chocolates from yesterday so we didn’t buy more, but we did enjoy a tea and hot chocolate, accompanied by their delicious almond cookies. It was very tasty and gave us the needed endorphins for the slightly unpleasant task of dragging rolleraboard bags along the cobblestone streets made of “Belgian Blocks,” a term used in the auto industry for a specific suspension test done over similar blocks to ensure a smooth ride in rough conditions! Our poor little suitcases barely stood a chance!

Then it was off to Maastricht! Yes, there was a late change in plans. I had planned on going to Durbuy, which inspires a lot of ambivalence on the internet. Some people love it, others think it is the tourist trap of all tourist traps. Since we had just spent time in Ghent which felt very touristy, I decided that maybe it wasn’t the best place for us. Two other key factors are 1. It is remote and we are taking public transport on a Sunday, which is even more infrequent and 2. The hotel we reserved does not have AC and it is going to be 90F today. That would result in a rough night of sleep, for sure!

So, I used Marriott points to book a hotel in Maastricht. It’s a fancy one, located in a former monastery. It was absolutely beautiful and totally worth it! They also are firmly in camp pro-AC!

On the way to Maastricht, SMS caused a minor train drama! The bathroom had been locked for the first hour. When the conductor came by, SMS asked if the bathroom was available on the train and the conductor said that one should be. When SMS and I told him it had been occupée for a long time, the conductor burst into action. Knocking on the door, Êtes-vous malade, and then sternly warning that he would be opening the door in one minute. This caused a fuss, with most people laughing when a drunk train fare dodger emerged. Then, I couldn’t believe it. SMS used the bathroom. I would have 100% used a different car- who knows what would be in there?! But SMS said it was just normal.

Our journey took us through Liège, where I was hoping to stop for a waffle. But between Sunday transportation schedules and wanting to dump our suitcases/check into our nice hotel, we decided just to pass through.

We arrive in Maastricht, which is another super cute Dutch university town. There’s a central river and no canals, but we really liked it from the start.

We took the bus to the hotel, finishing the last bit of distance rattling our suitcases over Belgian blocks. We went out to get something to eat. We had meant to go to a downtown cafe, but quickly found Friedt Maastricht, the best fries in Maastricht. They were delicious. I was in a sulk though, because SMS wanted to go back to the hotel for our deferred welcome drink and decompress in the AC while I wanted to press on. As SMS said, “How can anyone be sad eating a French fry?”

We headed back to the hotel and SMS was right, the welcome bubbles were delicious and the AC was enjoyable. Afterwards, we headed out to the shopping streets. There was a small craft fair going on in a central square, that included a DJ with a “Linger” remix that was interesting. Not a song that I ever thought to set to a beat drop.

We went to a cafe that the hotel reception had recommended, de Gouverneur. There were several beers on tap as well as many, many bottles. SMS and I got beers on tap, a Pilsner and Blonde respectively.

I had my sights set on going to Boekhandel Dominican, a bookstore in an old church from the 1200s. It was amazing! A church of books! I’m so happy we went. I was determined to buy a book from there. It was hard to pick. Ultimately, I chose Remains of the Day since it’s been on my TBR list for awhile and I wanted something that would age well. I wasn’t sure if The Guest by Emma Cline would be similarly rarified and worthy of being purchased in Book Church.

I had another place I wanted to go- the statue of the Beeld Bronzen Haan. I had found the online reviews for a rooster statue that were so funny. I wanted to see for myself and maybe add to it. I highly recommend the experience, if it isn’t too far out of your way.

Nearby, there was a large bird cage with finches and yellow birds that almost looked like C bird.

Speaking of C bird, we got a proof of life picture from our friend who stopped by to feed her yesterday. It warmed our hearts.

As we walked along the old city walls, we turned in towards the university and back to our hotel. We came across a Spanish tapas place that we decided to eat at, after a small amount of overthinking on my part. We had several tapas and I had a glass of sangria. Our bill was 42 Euros. OMG. Why do we live in Silicon Valley where the prices are so much more, not even inclusive of tax and tip? SMS points out that eating out prices have really gone up since the pandemic, which is true.

We walked back to our hotel and turned in for the night in the lovely, lovely AC. My gosh, we are so soft. Just like our delightful, comfy bed!

Our day in Ghent was a little on the mellow side as the heat continues to slow our pace. It’s been quite nice to see a sight or two each day, although I still have hard charging days left in me!

After breakfast at the hotel, it was time to head to St. Bavo’s for the famed Alter of the Lamb. I love a good triptych and this one is amazing.

The front half of the cathedral is free to enter. The ceilings are amazingly high. This was the first cathedral we’ve been in this trip and they really are remarkable structures.

The first part of the Lamb experience is to take an AR tour through the crypt. It was nice and cool in the crypt and it was nice to learn about the church and the art. I wouldn’t want to go that in depth in every cathedral but for this one, it was perfect.

The restoration of the alterpiece has really revived the work in terms of color brightness and detail. There is a more in-depth exhibit at a local museum which we did not attend, but I’m sure it’s exceptional. The panels above are some of my favorites. One, contained St. Livinus, holding his tongue that was torn out while he was preaching :[. Two, the angels in one of the smaller panels are very into their singing…or maybe someone is singing off-key? In all seriousness, the main panel was my favorite with the groupings of people, the central lamb, and the trees and plants in the background. I strongly recommend seeing this in Ghent!

It was interesting to me how modern I found the stained glass in this church and others. There are square blocks that seem somewhat abstract, and others that have figures that seem almost comic-like. Above, there’s a guy who looks like a comic figure and a groovy skeleton to his right.

These paintings in the knave were so cool. From a distance, they look like 3D marble reliefs, but they are actually monochromatic paintings. So talented!

The Rococo-style pulpit is very famous.

We had a nice coffee and treat break. We also bought some chocolates and nut mix for later.

Then we did laundry at a cafe/launderette. Yes, it was that time on the trip. Especially since it’s been quite warm- shirts are a one and done!

We had dinner at Alberte, which I’ll write about separately. This was another surprise menu that, for our tastes, didn’t work out quite as well as others on this trip but I would recommend the restaurant!

Our walk home was partly along the river Lexie, which is quite beautiful. All in all, it was a nice day in Ghent.

No couple selfies today, we were too busy! I woke up a bit before SMS and headed out for a coffee.

I took pictures of the restaurant from the night before, as well as the coffee cafe I went to- both recommended!

We decided to rent bicycles and take a small tour of Rotterdam. It seemed manageable and I wanted to cycle in the Netherlands at least once.

We did a loop through Kop van Zuid, Katendrecht, the periphery of Charlois, through the Maastunnel (amazing), Delfhaven, Het Park, and across the Erasmusbrug back to the hotel. We stopped along the way for cheese sandwich fixings at the grocery store Jumbo, which did the trick.

The loop was great. It was earlier in the day, so not too hot plus we generated a breeze by biking. I enjoyed a lot about the ride, but the coolest thing may have been the Maastunnel for bikers and pedestrians. There is a whole separate tunnel that you take an escalator down for either one or two levels depending if you have a bike or not. Then, we cycled down a beautifully lit, very clean tunnel underneath the water. Amazing! That is dedication to multi-mode transport. The car tunnel was very narrow and really wouldn’t accommodate anything but cars. I wonder how often tourists make the mistake and try to do it. I imagine not many, but who knows?

We cycled through Delfhaven which, honestly, we gave short shrift too. We needed to get back for check out so it was a quick cycle through. But we did see the pilgrim church! It was quaint and picturesque- definitely worth another visit.

We cycled through Het Park and across Erasmusburg bridge (I’m guessing this is redundant b/c I think burg is bridge. But whatever, it helps with clarity in English 🙂

I took a quick shower and then we checked out. I bought a pair of Birkenstocks, which I’m very happy about because in this heat, sandals are much more comfortable! There is also a bit of a costs savings to buying them in Europe.

Then we rode the Thalys for one super speedy stop to Antwerp. We had a small layover because I had read about the Plantin-Moretus museum and really wanted to go. Another place that deserves its own post!

But in short, it’s a wealthy printer family’s business and home from the 1500s-1800s. It reminded me a lot of the Gardiner museum in Boston. A wealthy person’s mansion that is cool by itself, but also contains collections worthy of a museum. In this case, it was a huge collection of printer presses, font shelves, books, furnishings, and many portraits of family and friends by Reubens.

After an audioguide tour, we headed back to the train station for our destination of the day- Ghent. By the way, how do you think Ghent is pronounced? If you think there is a hard G anywhere, you are wrong. Like me. Instead, it’s pronounced with a hissing h sound that leads into -ent, like Heeee-ent.

We checked into our hotel, which has AC (yay), but is back to a smaller size (eh). Then it was off to de Strokeji for dinner, where we ate outside on a square that felt a little less touristy than the huge squares around the three towers of the central cathedrals.

We also tried the Dame Blanche for dessert. Yum!

We walked along the river and through the streets, which are very beautiful. It feels a little like Disneyland, but it’s also very real. It does feel very touristy, which of course is fine since we’re tourists too. But there were several posts/guides that said this place felt “real” as opposed to Bruges, which feels very touristy. I went to Bruges many years ago and loved it, but if it feels more touristy than this, that would be a lot!

Ok, ok, technically day 5 started in Leiden (which we love!), but the star was our brief stay in Rotterdam!

We started with another delicious breakfast. I got the salmon eggs Benedict, since I spied some else’s delicious choice the day prior. SMS stayed with his tried and true oatmeal. We also helped ourselves to the buffet.

Then, it was time to leave Leiden. We plan to come back- we really loved it!

We took the IC train to Rotterdam, followed by a tram to our hotel, Hotel New York. It’s a historic hotel and was a super cool place to stay! It’s a converted ship terminal and we could tell by how tall the ceilings were.

Then we headed out! We took the water taxi, which was so.much.fun. It’s basically a motor boat and in the middle of the harbor, the captain really let it rip. It was especially fun on his super banked turns.

I had a few things on my mind to see in Amsterdam: the cube houses and the Markthal, an incredible food hall within a building that is multi-use. There are even apartment buildings. If I was a digital nomad, I would never leave.

First, we grabbed lunch in the Markthal. We went to Andalus fish, which had some incredible looking Andalusian seafood as well as some herring options. I wasn’t super hungry so I went with the herring. But I saw a few fried fish platters that looked just like the meralutha I had as a child. Sometimes, I wish I would just force it down. But the time change and the heat have really affected my appetite this trip.

I took some pictures of the Markthal. Many of the stalls contain 1-4 vendors and then there is seating on top. Some stalls have owners that are very protective of their space and don’t want you to go up just for pictures. How do I know this? Hmmmmmm….

Then! We went had stroopwafels, which were made on the spot! There were little disks of dough that the woman pressed out in the wafel maker. Then she laid the wafel out, cut in half which was very impressive, and then laid a big scoop of stroop in between to make the best wafel sandwich. They were delicious! It was such a treat to have a warm, freshly made stroopwafel!

Next, it was off to the cube houses designed by Piet Blom. They were super cool to look at and so disorienting, that we had to go inside to figure out the layout. One of the homes is open for a 3E price tag, which we thought was totally worth it.

Even once we were inside on normal horizontal floors, it was still slightly dizzying to look down the windows at an angular view. It is a really neat concept and I’m definitely glad we went inside, in addition to taking a lot of pictures outside!

Then, we took a water taxi back to the hotel. Wheeeeeeee! Then we rested for a bit. Our vacation has been a little mellow on the outdoor activities because honestly, it has been really hot. And even though we’re weather-delicate Californians, I think a lot of locals and visitors have found this September to be a little warm.

For dinner, I made a reservation at the Sailor and his Girl (De Matroos en het Meisje). It was another amazing dining experience that deserves its own post. So until later…

After dinner, we walked along the harbor on both sides of the bridge to our hotel. It was a gorgeous night and so many people were out. It was a delightful day and I’m a huge fan of Rotterdam now!

We woke up to our alarm at 9:15. Both of us were pretty groggy. SMS had been in “peak dream,” which involved planting native plants with his Dad.

I had added breakfast to our hotel stay. In addition to a delicious buffet, there was an à la carte menu which meant that I had my first Dutch pancake. Yum! It can either be described as a thinner American pancake or a slightly thicker crepe made with pancake batter. I think the latter is more accurate. Anyway, it was delicious and I’m glad I got to have one!

Then, we set out to explore Leiden, which is such a cute town! We want to rent an apartment here for a few months. When? Well, probably a retirement dream but still, it goes to show how much we love it!

First, we climbed up the ramparts of the Leiden castle, de Burcht. As “climbs” go, this was pretty minimal. It was billed as having a great view of the city, which was true-ish. It would definitely be true in the Winter when the leaves have fallen from the trees. But it was still cool to check out.

Next, we went to the street market that is on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It spans about five blocks and is super cool. It would be a great place to put together an A+ picnic. Our appetites have been a little off plus we just ate breakfast, so we just looked with our eyes. But it was a really nice market. And it is amazing how much cheaper food is here. In particular, the cheese prices are excellent.

After the market, we headed over to the Hortus bontanicus. It is linked to Leiden University. Although the heat was already building, we spent almost an hour wandering through the gardens although we were very strategic about seeking shade.

We went into a renovated greenhouse that used to be heated with a coal furnace underneath the giant lily pond. The heating system worked so well that the lilies have been blooming for years. It was quite warm inside. It was worth it! There were also several large butterflies flitting around.

We decided to revive our decidedly not butterfly selves by going to the cafe. There, I had my first food fail of the trip. Bitterballen are on many menus as an appetizer/snack. They’re fried and considered by many to be a tasty treat. Well…not me. It was a texture issue. I was expecting a meatball/thicker croquette filling and instead, it was really slimy. This made me think of the pink slime from McDonald’s hamburger scandal days. We figured out that it is supposed to be fried stew, which does make sense but it was over for me. Guess I’m not a bitterballen babe.

We went back to our hotel for a rest. It has been hot on this trip which is overall a good thing (blue skies) but can be slightly draining in the early afternoon. So hanging out in the AC and resting a bit has been key.

But then, it was time for science! We went to the Rijksmuseum Boorhaave, named after a 17th century physician/botanist/scientist who was The Man in his day.

There was a temporary exhibit on the Dutch microscopist van Leeuwenhoek, who used teeny, tiny single lens microscopes to examine water droplets and other cool micro-worlds. There was a portrait of him looking at something small while his wife watched beside him. His wife, who by the way, worked a full time job so he could look at things all day and tell people how to draw them. Sheesh.

The permanent museum went through about 4 centuries of science, with a particular, although not exclusive, focus on medicine. There was also a significant focus on Dutch scientific leaders. It was really well done. I was very happy that there was a small focus on electricity, which meant we saw a four jar Leiden jar battery. Hooray! I was worried it was only in Haarlem, where there are 25 jars placed together! For our battery, there was a small dial with numerical measurements as well as descriptors that said (translated) “Can move needle” or “Small animal kill.”

There was also an area of future discovery, which had a lot of cool things including a robot dog!

On the way out, there was a children’s area. I took advantage of the opportunity to create a new headshot.

We headed back towards our hotel, hoping to eat a nearby restaurant with a terrace on the canal. No luck. Fully booked! So, we ate a Persian restaurant that was quite delicious. We ordered baba ganoush, hummus, and half a chicken that came with the most delicious dill and bean rice.

Then we walked along the canals since the evening was absolutely beautiful. The temperature was perfect and so many people had set up outside tables to hang out during the sunset and afterwards. It was absolutely delightful.

Today’s highlight was a 1215 reservation at De Kas, a restaurant that I had come across during my trip research. For some reason, I have it in my head that I heard someone say, “Obama ate here.” I’m sure he did, but why I would have talked to someone about that being the reason to eat somewhere…I think I may have dreamt it.

Anyway! We had breakfast and checked out right before 11. I had gone looking for an atm without my phone, which turned into a bit of a time suck. ATMs have terrible exchange rates in the area around the train station so I looked a little too long for a legitimate one. I didn’t find it, so I took out the bare minimum needed for a housekeeping tip. But then I got turned around and a little lost. But I figured it out!

Then we walked across town to try and get a delicious cookie from Van Stapele Koekmakerji, which has always been popular but now has insane lines thanks to Tik Tok. We were a little too short on time to join the line, so we headed two blocks over to the Begijnhof. That was way more tranquil!

Then we took the metro and tram across town to De Kas. The lunch was amazing. It was such a special meal. There were so many different dishes and the pacing was so mellow. I can definitely get used to leisurely, multi-course lunches. I took a lot of pictures, so I’m going to write a separate post on the meal.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel, picked up our luggage, and headed to Leiden. We are staying at an amazing hotel that is extra-amazing because it has air conditioning and it is in the mid-80s during the day.

We headed out for a walk along the green ring, a walking path that circles the old city. Even bikes aren’t allowed on it! We walked about a 1/4 of it and then decided to head to the other side of the town for dinner. I was feeling a little lazy, so we took the bus.

We walked along the canals and picked a beautiful dinner spot on the shady side. We watched a lot of boats go by, which seemed like a really fun and popular thing to do.

Then, we walked some more. This city is so beautiful. There were a lot of people who set up tables outside their home to enjoy the perfect evening. So nice!