Roman artefacts, whirling windmills, bicycles (a lot of them) and the alluring flowers which gaze at the bright sun, are all combined together to make Netherlands and Belgium wonderful and soothing places to visit. The dreadfully delicious waffles or even the lip-licking chocolate truffles are choices for the taste of an appetizing meal. In the Netherlands, you can see the true essence of nature whereas Belgium is one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities accompanied by delicious meals. There is so much to be explored in both of these countries.
Keukenhof (Netherlands)
Keukenhof is located in the Netherlands and is known as the Garden of Europe because of the wide range of flowers that sparkle during daylight and even at nighttime. Did you know that approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted annually in the park?! 7 million, that’s just gone bonkers! It is also one of the world’s largest flower fields. Keukenhof is also called Tulip gardens because of the primary flower, “tulip”. There are a total of 800 varieties of tulips and 32 hectares of flowers, which makes a visit to Keukenhof a unique and unforgettable experience.
Kinderdijk Windmills (Netherlands)
At first, when I saw the windmills, I expected them to be like modern windmills that we usually come across. When we arrived at Kinderdijk, the windmills that we observed had the following features: A large frustum shaped model, four huge vanes (as we would expect from windmills) and a house inside the windmill where the millers could live both happily and busily.
The windmills in Kinderdijk are not utilised for generating energy. They are used for pumping water either for land drainage or water extraction. All the water that the windmills pump gets transported to de lek (a small river next to the windmills). In Kinderdijk the windmills were built around 1740 – which was a long time ago – and this is the reason why Kinderdijk is a famous tourist attraction in the Netherlands.
Amsterdam Cruise Tour (Netherlands)
My family and I rushed towards the place where they pick you for the tour. Luckily we got there on time, although there was a slight problem. The boat we were supposed to go on was filled up so they couldn’t take any more passengers on the boat. They told us to wait for the next one.
After about 30 minutes our boat finally arrived. We hopped on and tried to relax our legs after a very exhausting day. In the tour, we saw the streets and core parts of the city including the Anne Frank House and the world’s highest swing. The tour lasts for about 90 minutes. Our family weren’t fully convinced about the tour because we had to wait for a long time which delayed us from going to the airport since we had our flight after the boat tour.
Atomium (Belgium)
The Atomium is a building in Brussels which is a structure that represents the element iron crystal. It was engineered by André Waterkeyn. We took a lift to the top where you can get a panoramic view of the city of Brussels, and also where you can learn some facts about how it was constructed. The two facts that I learnt was that it was as high as 102m and it was opened 1 year after it was constructed. At the top, there is also a cafe so you can have a cup of coffee while enjoying the panoramic view. When we came out I expected it to be much taller because it didn’t look like it was 102m high however, it didn’t meet my expectations.
Mini Europe (Belgium)
Mini Europe is like Mini-land in Lego land Windsor Park. It is a miniature park that has monuments recreated to a small version. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented in an area of 24000m2. All of them were well presented. They also give a guidebook to tell some facts about the monument. It was a fun second experience for me. In addition, the advantage of this area is that both Atomium and Mini-Europe are located next to each other. There are also other activities to do there including the biggest indoor water park in Belgium. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to do the other activities despite the delight that was offered.
Grand Place (Belgium)
Grand Place is the centre of Brussels. It is the city’s Town Hall where guide halls and large imposing buildings surround it. We went into a little cafe and bought a waffle due to Belgium’s waffle craze. I thought it would taste like a normal waffle but my taste buds tasted it better. The chocolate sauce, the scope of a vanilla ice cream and the leavened dough, butter, brown sugar, yeast, milk, and eggs all combined into a collection of a delicious meal was surely luscious. My taste buds are intrigued by it right now as well. In my opinion, the Grand Place paradoxes both ancient and modern ideologies due to the designs of the buildings.
Things you might want to know
You might want to keep some cash with you at all times in both Netherlands and Belgium because you don’t know the next time you would pick your wallets or pockets for cash. Things are also quite expensive (not as expensive as Switzerland) in both countries.
In case you are wondering, there is no difference between Netherlands and Holland. They are different names for the same place, but for the purpose of this blog, I am using the Netherlands.
As amazing and tranquil-ant Netherlands and Belgium are, both of them share a quality that makes the city really cramped. At first, when my family and I were in the car in the suburbs we thought that the Netherlands is so peaceful and I even had a thought of living there when I am older. The bicycles didn’t even distract or make Netherlands look congested out in the suburbs. We got closer to the city. Oh boy! How many bikes are there? 100? 200? I couldn’t even count them. Almost 3 quarters of the people who live in the Netherlands have a bicycle. There are also cycle lanes and traffic lights for cyclists. If you accidentally step onto the cycle lanes you will realize not to do it again. I nearly got ran over by a crowd of them.
In the Netherlands, people speak 3 different languages which are: Dutch, Papiamento and Frisian. You won’t come across any communication faults as both countries can speak English well. In Belgium, they also speak 3 different languages: Dutch, French and German. A small number of people speak German and the most spoken language is French.
Just like normal, every city is crowded and very dense, but specifically, Amsterdam is really busy mainly because of the bicycles and the trams. These jamming means of transport are in both countries. I remember when my dad took a wrong turn into a tram lane; we escaped from that one!
Crossing the border can be both exciting and not so exciting. In my opinion, I couldn’t wait to cross it; it was a completely different experience for me. We were getting closer. There! There is the sign! It said “Belgium.” Even when we were returning to the Netherlands there was a sign saying “Netherlands,” as we crossed the border. Both directions had signs instead of any toll gates or border control which was what I expected.
I surely had an amazing experience accompanied by the beautiful blossom flowers, the huge artefacts and a delicious meal! Both of these countries offer a comforting but busy experience. We had a fantastic trip to both Netherlands and Belgium and I hope you enjoy your travels too!
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