The Netherlands feels more like home every time I visit. This was my 3rd visit to the country now, and I honestly hope it will manage to happen every couple years as long as I live. My first time involved going at the tail end of a big European trip in 2017. My second time was with my buddy, LB in 2022. This one was going to be the first time with a partner, and was also going to be 50% solo traveling at the end!
Emma and I booked it out only a month before departing, with a lot of intentional non-planning. We planned to visit my cousin for a few days, and that we’d see the Van Gogh museum. Other than that, it was pretty spur-of-the-moment.
Travel Log
- 3 nights in Amsterdam
- 2 nights in The Hague
- 3 more nights in Amsterdam, then depart solo from Netherlands
- 3 nights in Luxembourg City
- 3 nights in Antwerp
- 3 more nights in Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Round One
For the first few nights in Amsterdam, we both still had a little bit of work to do. The life of being freelance designers, I suppose. We stayed in pods at CityHub, which had a perfect lobby to get caught up in the beginning and end of the days out.
Moco Museum is always a spot to hit, and we got to see another exhibit by Andrés Reisinger. You may remember me going on about the Arcadia video from my last visit here; and again, the work was amazing!
The Hague
We stayed at Will & Tate for a convenient hostel—close to the train, closer to my cousin’s apartment in The Hague. On top of the food and wine tour that we did for a couple nights, we also got to check out the Mauritshuis. You might not recognize the name, but you would definitely recognize their most popular exhibit: Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Johannes Vermeer.
Amsterdam, Round Two
Back in Amsterdam, we hit a few more places Emma wanted to see before she had to head back to the States. We stayed in the Vondelpark area, and checked out the Van Gogh Museum among a couple others, and hunted down every non-dairy donut she could find.
After riding with her to the airport, I had the last night to catch up on sleep before taking the train south.
Luxembourg City
I had a vision in my head of what Luxembourg City would look like, and it was everything like I pictured. A mix of Dutch, French, and German influences, tucked away in the mountains like a secret city.
I stayed in an apartment in the city, worked on some portfolio updates during the morning and cruising through the city in the evening. Since it was late November, there was a ton going on for their Christmas markets, so it made the solo excursion feel a little less lonely!
Antwerp[en]
Belgium was also a new country for me, so I was happy to add another one to my belt. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and what I got in Antwerp was a city filled with vibrant arts and nightlife. Also, a lot of meat and beer.
I stayed at Yust, and spent the days wandering the city (even got a free tour from a Dutch man that was also traveling solo), and nights hanging out in the lobby, working and talking.
Another discovery I hadn’t expected was the sheer size and beauty of their train station. Train stations have slowly become a favorite of mine when it comes to architectural and interior design.
Rotterdam
Once back in The Netherlands (again), I swung down to hang out with my cousin in the city he works. After he left for a night yoga class, I wandered more Christmas-y markets until taking the train back to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, Round Three
At this point I was hitting the point of exhausted legs and cafe hopping, but still found one last unforgettable experience. I stayed a few nights on a repurposed train car, the Train Lodge. While the rooms were incredibly tight and not super accommodating, hanging out watching TV movies at the end of the night with strangers in an old train car was a solid way to wrap up this bundle of countries.
