Neighbouring country trips from Amsterdam

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I did a lot of driving to neighbouring countries from Amsterdam. Most were longer trips, but some were just day trips across the border, mostly to Belgium and Germany. Here is a description of those days out.


Antwerp, Belgium (Sep 2022)

We did a day trip once from Amsterdam to the city of Antwerp, as it just a 2 hour drive one way. And though nothing extraordinary, it was definitely a good day out of Amsterdam. The drive to Antwerp was mostly through highways. We encountered fog on the way which was surprising, given the rest of the day was so sunny. And the roads deteriorated as soon as we got to Belgium, with lot more potholes, though they had a higher speed limit 😂.

Antwerp city centre

Once in Antwerp, we mostly did what we do on any trip to Belgium. Walk and eat. We walked around the city centre. The streets were all cobbled and looked charming, the houses were all built in the Flemish style, similar to Dutch houses but a bit different. We passed by a few diamond district streets, checked out the cathedral and the city hall. Then we stopped to have waffles at Waffle House. We bought some chocolates from Pierre Marcolini and I finished most of mine while my friends were still purchasing theirs 😂.

Old library

We walked through a few church squares and sat at one for a bit where someone was playing music in the sun. I think this was the highlight of the day for me, what European towns represent for me. We walked into a very old library where book restorations were going on, and observed what they were doing. We then walked towards the river Scheldt and saw the ruins of an old fort, the Steen castle, which was impressed. We then stopped at Quinten Matsijs, a 450 year old cafe.

Rubens' House

Our last stop of the day was Rubens' House which has been converted into a museum now. He is one of my favourite painters. But somehow the paintings in his home were less impressive than I expected. Maybe because all his paintings are decorating churches and museums around Europe 😀. Interestingly, the one painting I liked and photographed at his home was a Bruegel. Ha!

It was a very sunny day that day plus the Antwerp marathon was going on. So there were more crowds than usual. Overall, we didn't find a lot to do there, so after walking around a bit, eating some more fries and waffles, we were ready to come back.

The city does have an impressive history though. It was an important port in the middle ages before its importance fell. Also the visit made us realise that even though close, Belgians are very different from the Dutch. Their language, Flemish, is similar to Dutch but not the same. There aren't as many bikes as in the Netherlands. The Belgians are shorter, friendlier, more relaxed, and dress and eat better. It was definitely quite surprising to see so much of a difference within a two hour drive.


Bruges, Belgium (Dec 2022, Sep 2023, August 2024)

Bruges is a city which had been on my list of places to travel, for a long time. And I finally managed to visit it from Amsterdam, not once but thrice 😂. The first time in peak winter, the second time in fall and the third time in peak summer. Every time, I found the city to be so dazzlingly beautiful, just like a painting. Also every time, after a day, I did not know what else to do there 😂. All we could do is walk the same streets, admire the same buildings, and eat the same waffles, fries and chocolates. And that’s it! Still it always felt like a nice day out.

On our first trip to Bruges, in winter 2022, we passed by the beautiful islands of Zeeland which are large islands on the west coast of the Netherlands. They are quite green, full of forests, and refreshing to drive through. After we left the Netherlands, in Belgium, as usual the road quality dropped. But the beauty around increased.

There were a lot of fall colours everywhere, yellows and oranges. We took some detours and drove through rural roads in Belgium, loving the vibe. There were many villages on that route, with green fields in between. The village houses were picturesque, with pastel walls and orange roofs. We first stopped at a random cafe on the way, and then had a meal at a restaurant called Biestro d’Pleintje in the village of Maldegem. It was fun to stop at such a small place somewhere. The rest of the drive was lined with yellow and orange trees. And hills! Something we don’t realise how much we miss in the Netherlands!

Bruges winter sunset

When we reached Bruges, it was already night, even at 4pm. But the city looked magnificent at night. At sunset, all the differently coloured houses cast colourful reflections in the many canals in the city. And at night, the lights casting shadows on the trees and the water created many beautiful images. As it was winter time, we first walked around the Bruges Christmas market. Then had dinner at Oud Handbogenhof which was quite a big letdown. After that, we went to La Trappiste for drinks which was in an underground cave. The rest of the evening, we just walked around town looking at its wonderful sights. 

Bruges winter sunset

I really liked the city, it was so charming. Apparently Bruges had been a very rich city in the past, with a deep and old history, and a city of importance in the middle ages. And then it had been suddenly abandoned when the port silted up. So it is almost fully preserved as its slow urbanisation and modernisation never happened. And that is the reason it looks so surreal even now, like a perfectly preserved medieval town. Walking its streets is so much fun, with the old orange brick houses, narrow streets and many churches, separated by picturesque canals everywhere.

Oostende waterfront

On that trip, we had booked rooms at the last minute (while driving to Bruges!). So we had got the last available room in town, in the seaside town of Oostende. After the evening out, we had to drive to the sea, about 30 mins away, to our Hotel Leopold. The town felt quite different, quite modern. In the morning, we walked out to the seafront for a bit, just to get a look. But it was so cold and windy, we didn't last long.

Bruges canals

We then drove back to Bruges and walked around in town. It felt like a dream - all the canals and canal houses. I just wanted to walk around in this dream, just like that. I have done that on every trip to Bruges, but still feel I haven't seen all its hidden spots. It's just so damn beautiful! As the sun set, the day became very windy and chilly quickly, so we soon left for Amsterdam.

Bruges canals

On my next trip to Bruges in summer, the city felt quite different. There was more greenery around, and a lot more people and energy. The streets looked so cute, cobbled roads with blossoming flowers everywhere. Every building around was old, all orange and colourful. There were so many parks, all green. And churches and old buildings and squares full of people sitting outside and chatting away. On this trip too, we just walked and walked, by the canals, the central square, the markets and so on. We ate at the Waffle House, the same waffle chain from Antwerp. And then explored all the shops for chocolates. And laces, they were lovely. But the weather was so hot, we had to take breaks during the day to rest.

Concert in the square

As it was summer, there was a concert going on in the main square (and the next day too), which was lovely to sit at. Then we went for a short walk around, checking out the local fish market, churches, city hall, bridges over the canals and so on.

Bruges at night

There was this spot we saw which was just heavenly, both at night and in the day (I painted it later and I think it’s one of my best paintings). It felt heavenly to be in Bruges in summer, walking around. As I said, I just wanted to walk and walk there. The next morning though, some of the places did not look as great 😂. After a few hours, we did not know what to do, and so left soon.

Bruges canals

I visited Bruges a third time in summer 2024 and did the same - walk around all its streets, enjoying the stunning-ness of the place. It was as picture perfect as ever, a place which hasn’t changed for centuries. Here are some photographs from all my trips to the city.

Bruges winter sunset

Bruges at night

Bruges canals

Bruges canals

Bruges canals

Bruges canals

Bruges canals

Bruges canals

Bruges canals

Overall every time I visit Belgium, I feel I am visiting a poorer cousin of the Netherlands. They earn less in terms of per capita and have less infrastructure, but the country feels happier, friendlier, warmer, and better fed and dressed than the Netherlands.






Ghent, Belgium (August 2024)

Ghent city hall

Ghent is a town quite near Bruges (just 40 mins away) and very similar to it though a bit smaller. It has the same Flemish architecture and many canals adding to its graceful beauty. I have visited Ghent twice before, but as it’s so close to Amsterdam, I visited it again in August 2024 for a few hours. It was a lot of fun to walk its streets, eat waffles and french fries and just admire its beauty. I have always found Ghent not to have a lot to do for a long stay, but for a few hours stop, it never fails to deliver as a great day out.

Ghent is a gorgeous city, sharing a few pics below.

Ghent canals

Ghent castle

Ghent city centre

Ghent

Ghent

Christmas markets at Essen, Germany (Nov 2022)

Burg Vondern castle

In winter 2022, we drove one day to Essen, a nearby town in Germany, famous for its Christmas markets. There were some fall colours on the way which were pretty. On the way, we stopped at two places. Once was the castle of Burg Dinslaken, and the second was Burg Vondern. They were both quite small actually but cute in a way, though neither was something to write home about. The villages around were also quite boring but had nice decorations and Christmas festivity all around.

Essen Christmas market

Essen was a huge modern city which did not feel like the typical christmas market place initially. And there were four separate markets. We went to the main one and walked around all evening. There were loads of small shops everywhere, and huge lighted animals decorating the market. We tried langos for the first time at the market. To be honest though, I wasn’t impressed. Generally by Christmas markets and specifically with the Essen one either.

For me, the highlight on the trip of course was the autobahn - it was my first time driving there. I touched 200 kmph+ then 😃. Also the difference in roads from the Netherlands was quite stark. Netherlands generally has 3+ lane highways, less traffic and is all lit up along the highways. Also Netherlands has habitation all along the roads. Germany on the other hand had just 2 lanes and worse quality roads. But still you can drive faster there 😁. That was interesting.


All these city visits were quite a change from Amsterdam, and always fun. Writing these blogs, I am just asking myself why I didn't do more of them 😃.


Other Amsterdam blogs

Exploring Rhine Valley and Ardennes

Walk along Moselle

During the summer of 2024, we made a last-minute plan to visit the Rhine Valley in Germany and the Ardennes region in Belgium. We didn't have much of a plan to start with but ended up having a nice time, exploring places on the go. We first drove to Alken, stopping on the way along the Rhine, in Bonn. We stayed there for 2 days exploring the area around. Then we drove to Nexhelet in Belgium and spent 2 days there, exploring the towns of Crupet and Namur. And while coming back to Amsterdam, we stopped in Brussels. It was a short trip but typical of a driving Euro trip where you can experience interesting things on the way, making it a memorable trip, always.


Day 1 - Drive to Alken, with stop at Bonn

The drive through Germany was very different than the Netherlands. It was greener and (of course) had more mountains. I also touched 225 kmph while driving on the autobahn, my record speed till date! It's an exhilarating experience but also dangerous I must say. It takes so long to slow down your car after reaching those speeds, that if you don’t have a lot of space to do that, its extremely dangerous.

Tesla stop in Bonn

On the way, we stopped at a Tesla supercharger in Bonn, next to the Rhine. And what a spot that was. We ate lunch at the Rohmuhle restaurant overlooking the river while waiting for the car to charge. And there was a nice riverside promenade all along the Rhine where people were walking and cycling. It was such a nice location, we spent a lot longer there than planned.

Thereafter, the drive in Rhine valley all the way to Alken was fabulous – in the valley, with green mountains on both sides, the river alongside, castles on the hilltops, tons of vineyards on the mountainside and small picturesque villages every few minutes. The whole drive felt right out of a painting, an absolutely delightful experience.

Castle view from airbnb

Once we reached our airbnb, we realised it was right on the Moselle river with a view of the river in front and the Alken castle behind. It was a very comfortable apartment and quite a relief given we had booked it just a couple of days before.

Alken

In the evening, we got out to explore our village and walk outside a bit. Alken was so cosy; so old and well lighted and full of people. The main village had a row of restaurants and hotels, the lighted castle behind, the boats in the river and the twinkling of the villages across the river, it was just so dreamy along the walk.

Flowers up the mountainside

We climbed a mountain which was lined with blue flowers, to get a better view of the sunset and the river. And then we kept walking to the next village, Oberfell. It was just so picturesque, so idyllic everywhere.



Day 2: Exploring around Alken

Morning run to Lof

We spent the whole day lazily around the neighbourhood only. I first went for a run along the river. It was foggy when I left but cleared up and got hot and sunny soon. It actually felt difficult to run fast. I ran through some vineyards, crossed the bridge and reached the neighbouring village of Lof. It was quite charming. And then on the way back I just walked into one of the vineyards up the hill. It was quite an interesting walk. I saw so many people either cycling along the river or in the water swimming and kayaking. There were also many river cruises on the river, stopping at places on the way. During the day, it felt like a place for an active holiday.

Walking in Alken

In the afternoon, we walked into town and went to the nearest winery, Hammes Anton. They had a nice open air restaurant and a very friendly staff. We had lunch sitting in the sun, while chatting with their owners. They mostly grew white wine, Riesling being the most common in the area. Their family had owned the vineyards for the last 300 years. But as enviable as their life looked to us, it turned out their children had chosen a different life, they chose to work and live in the city. So the old owners were looking to sell their vineyard once they retired as their children were unwilling to look after it 😔. It felt a bit sad to hear about that. Anyways, after an amazing lunch there, we explored the town a bit but then went back to our airbnb to sleep as it had got too hot.

Evening walk

In the evening we again went out for a long walk along the river. We passed Oberfell, and past yachts parked along the river. Then there was a long wild green patch. There were wildflowers all along. We saw a gorgeous sunset and the night sky was stunning too. After sunset, we decided to turn back. A huge cruise ship which had been parked all day outside our Airbnb had also left by then. It had been such a nice day and I totally fell in love with this area- the Rhine valley. With mountains, hiking, biking, a river, river cruises, small villages, vineyards and wine tasting. It has everything.


Day 3: Drive to Nexhelet in Belgium, visit to Verviers, Huy

Riverside walk

I wanted to spend more time in the Rhine Valley but we were not able to extend our accommodation. So, we left for Ardennes in Belgium while looking for places to stay on the way there. We first drove along the Moselle to the village of Brodenbach to check out a viewpoint. Then we just walked in the village along the river, it was so serene. Wildflowers in the sun, still but flowing water, boats idling away and some tourists walking along enjoying the sun. I feel warm just thinking of that scene

Yellow fields

We kept driving along the river for some more time - it was just stunning. Beautiful small villages on the way, green fields along the hillsides. As we left the Rhine valley, we stopped twice at sarson khets near the village of Landkern (actually we later realised they were rapeseed fields). And of course we stopped there, for DDLJ sake 😁 .

As we kept driving, slowly the landscape changed to Belgian - softer rounder hills with lot of greenery and small colourful towns with orange roofed buildings. The trees all had different shades of green, from the bright green to dark. And there was a lot of maroon too. We drove through valleys. And bridges crossing them. And villages all around. And we kept driving…

We first stopped at a small village looking for lunch but turned out no restaurants were open at 2:30pm in the countryside 😁. So we stopped at the Verviers Tesla supercharger. We ate there, bought chocolates and shopped at the local supermarket. Verviers looked like a gorgeous city too when we later drove through. We reached our Nexhelet hotel in the afternoon. It turned out to be a fancy golf resort, surrounded by rolling green hills and some villages far off. But somehow, we weren't impressed by the hotel.

So we drove to a nearby village, Huy for dinner. It was a biggish town, with a river and lovely bridges. There was an old church we walked past. As it was already dark, we didn’t explore much and stopped for dinner at the Brasserie. As it was a tiring day, we came back and crashed soon. And it turned out that night, as a rare event, the northern lights had been visible in Belgium! I am sure we could have seen it where we were, given the sky was so clear, with no night pollution but alas we were sleeping and missed it 😔.


Day 4: Exploring around Nexhelet, visits to Crupet and Namur

We searched for a few places to explore nearby and made a plan for the day, but in the end ended up having an outstanding experience with an unplanned stop. And that's just what Euro trips are about.

First, I went for a run in the morning around the hotel and its surroundings. There were loads of farms and small villages around. It was green and grand all around. This place is so idyllic. As I kept running up and down the hills, I landed at some residential school which shoo-ed me away when I reached there.

The hotel turned out to be quite a fancy hotel. When I came back from my run, there were some 10 Lamborghinis parked outside. And some car washers had driven there to wash all of them. I once thought of asking them to wash my humble Tesla but could not muster enough courage to ask 😁. There were so many groups of people playing golf. And everyone and everything felt so proper and boring! It’s interesting how we feel sometimes that we want a particular kind of life but when we come closer, it doesn’t feel as appealing, this was one of those moments. 

Airfield

Anyways after this idyllic morning, we left looking for some restaurants. There were beautiful villages on the hills but around somehow no restaurants nearby. After turning up at a few closed or non existent restaurants, we randomly landed up at a flying school where people were coming to spend the day to take out their planes and practice flying them. Some were flying their microlites and some were hand gliding. And they had a small cafe there, La Piste Maillen, offering limited but tasty food options for visitors all through the day. We had such a lovely afternoon just sitting outside and enjoying the planes going for their spins, while also finding food to eat after 2:30pm 😁.

Crupet castle

We next drove to the village of Crupet, in Wallonia. It was a small village with a cute little castle surrounded by water, some old hotels and beautiful houses everywhere. We walked around a bit along the stream up the hill and the city centre. I also went into the grotto for a bit. It was to be honest quite average, but a good change from the typical very touristy places we usually visit.

Our next visit was to the town of Namur where there were some festivals going on. We walked a bit around the old town and citadel, which is on a small island surrounded by rivers on both sides. It was a good stop, but nothing major to write about. Back at the hotel, we spent some time outside at night, waiting for northern lights to appear, but they did not humour us tonight.


Day 5 - Back to Amsterdam, with stop in Brussels

On the drive back, we stopped at Brussels as my friend hadn't been there before. She saw the Banksy museum, apparently it was quite good. Then we just walked around the old city centre. It was actually quite lively. We spent some time there and then after this short stop, we drove back to Amsterdam, with the drive back being as boring as always.

Brussels

Overall, I enjoyed my time in the Rhine valley, and would love to visit again. Its a definite recommend.

Long weekend in the Ardennes region

Our chalet in Ardennes

In the summer of 2023, I finally got a chance to spend a long sunny weekend in the Ardennes region, an area of deep forests and rolling hills, spread out across three countries - France, Belgium and Luxembourg. It was a lovely driving trip over 4 days. On the way there, we stopped in the mountain resort of Valkenburg and in the student town of Maastricht while driving back. In Ardennes, we spent one day walking around and visiting (apparently) the smallest city in the world, Durbury. And the second day, we visited Luxembourg City.

I loved my time there, relaxing while being surrounded by nature. And the chalet we were staying at was another highlight of this trip. It was such an idyllic weekend, and so close to Amsterdam, that I could see myself going there again for sure (though that never happened 😁).


Driving to Ardennes, through Valkenburg 

It is a 4 hour drive from Amsterdam to Durbury, though it took us a lot longer due to rains on the way. The first part of the drive was through dried out vegetation as it had been a hot summer. The second part got greener though. And for the first time I saw hills in the Netherlands (yes they exist!) in the province of Limburg. So we decided to have a lunch stop in the hilly town of Valkenburg. And what a stunning stop it was.

As usual it was a rainy day, and I timed our stop so that we could spend the non-rainy hours exploring the town. We had lunch next to the city walls, with a view of the hills around. At the restaurant, we ran into a waiter who knew a lot about India, its culture and history, and chatted with us through our lunch about it. It was such a welcome surprise, I would never have expected to find someone who knows about India in such a small restaurant in a small town like Valkenburg.

Valkenburg city walls

After lunch, we walked around the old town. It was such a gorgeous little place, with a castle, a moat and city gates all around. And there were colourful flowers everywhere. The old town was full of grand buildings, all made of yellow stone. All around there were huge city gates. After that, we walked up the hill to the castle ruins and loved the views of the town from the top – they were stunning.

We spent some time in the high street, it was lined with charming shops, restaurants and hotels. The wares being sold there was quite nice actually. Apparently, Valkenburg is quite a popular resort in the Netherlands and that showed in the good quality of stuff being sold there. We walked into a shop selling the famous cuckoo clocks from Blackforest and ended up buying one! Another surprise for us, as we wouldn’t have expected it.

City gates of Valkenburg

The people here felt different too, they were less tall than the Northern Dutch and appeared less fit too. They spoke in a softer tone and were warmer. I now understand why the North and South Dutch say that they have different cultures. I felt the same about the people here too.

We were supposed to have a very short stop at Valkenburg but ended up spending 3 hours exploring the town, it was just so inviting. We didn’t want to leave but had to, and its good we left when we did, because by the time we left, it started raining again! After that, we also got stuck in a thunderstorm on our way to Belgium. There was a heavy downpour and the highway was flooded with water. For some time, we could barely see the road or the cars ahead of us. It was a bit scary, but thankfully all the cars started driving slowly and we all made it out safely. It was still quite an interesting experience to drive on a highway with such heavy rains when you can’t see anything.


Our accommodations

View outside our chalet

We reached Durbury still in daylight and got a chance to look around our accommodation for a bit. We had booked a chalet at Sunclass Durbury – a vacation bungalow park in Ardennes. It was a green wooded area with secluded wooden chalets spread out across the park, surrounded by trees and greenery. It felt like we were very close to nature, living a simple life nestled in the the woods. But with all modern amenities. The vacation park was managed by a company and had many facilities including an indoor pool. We loved our stay there, waking up to the chirping of birds. And eating our meals in the outdoors, under the trees. Even though it was summer and very hot during the day, the mornings and evenings got a bit chilly. But we still ate outside every time, to just enjoy the nature all around.


Day out in Durbury

Walk to Durbury

Our first day, we walked about 4kms from our bungalow park to the town of Durbury. It was a sunny day and so was fun to be in nature and the countryside. We walked through an adventure valley and then along a small river all the way to Durbury. There was such a vibrant green colour all around, every turn was just picture perfect.

Durbury

The city was small and quaint. Most of the houses were built of a grey coloured stone and had an eerie look to it. Once at the city, we walked through the main street, past a castle to a waterfall. And spent some time there. There were a few food festivals going on and loads of people enjoying the summer everywhere. It was just so idyllic, we just spent some time walking around and exploring the place. The heat got to us though, and we rested the rest of the day in our chalet.

Durbury along the river

Our bungalow park did not have an electric charging point. So in the evening we drove around a bit looking for one and found one next to a random restaurant along the road. While waiting for the car to be charged, we walked to the neighbouring village of Petite Han, and took a walk in the village. Even that was such a surprise. There were these huge palacious houses in that village, most of which looked empty. Still it was impressive to see a random village somewhere like this offer such luxurious living.


Day out in Luxembourg

Radhadesh

Some of our friends lived in Luxembourg and we thought of visiting them during the day, covering another country too 😀. On our way to Luxembourg, we first stopped at Radhadesh, the European headquarters of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna mission. It was located right next to our bungalow park. We had seen the boards earlier and somehow couldn’t believe it, so went for a visit anyways. Radhadesh is a huge castle type chalet located atop a small hill, with green grounds all around, and some houses in the neighbouring area for people to stay.

Radhadesh

We had breakfast there which was simple tasty Indian food. And free. The volunteers were cooking and serving us food. It was quite a nice experience. After that we went into the castle which was decorated like a Hindu temple. They had photos of Indian gods and their teachings on the walls. There were a few other places to see nearby, so we explored it for a bit. It was quite a surprise to run into such a place in the middle of nowhere in Belgium.

Terrace of Europe

After that, we were on our way to Luxembourg. It was a 2 hour drive through forests, hills and charming villages everywhere. And then we were in Luxembourg. It is a very small but extremely rich country. You can sense it as soon as you enter it, the roads and infrastructure all around is much better. Also all public transport in the country is free – buses, trains, everything. All public transport is also electric.

Luxembourg City

The capital city of Luxembourg, called Luxembourg City is spread out all along a valley with steep cliffs on both sides. The old city with its grand buildings are all along this valley, the rest is spread out on the top. After lunch at our friend’s, we took the local bus into town which apparently is also the scenic route bus. The entry into the city is impressive, you go down a valley and see the whole city spread out in front of you. The first view is quite spectacular and rich. All the buildings are grand and well maintained. And you can see a few castles all around.

Shopping street

We got off at the main bridge, and walked towards the city centre. We explored some of the shopping streets and the main market square. It was clear from the stuff being sold in the flea market, that this was a rich country. As was visible from the other shops too, they had a lot of good expensive stuff.

 

Adolphe bridge

We crossed the Adolphe Bridge to the other side of the valley and took another bus, no 13, and then tram no 1, from one end of town to the other. The city was pretty actually, simple and pretty. There were grand houses all the way. And the bus at the end goes into charging after every trip. It almost felt like we were in a toy city. We stopped at a park for a bit too, to rest from the sun.

We walked past a few of the places listed on the to-dos for Luxembourg City - Terrace of Europe, Grand Ducal palace, Place de Armes, Golden Lady (Monument of remembrance) and Notre Dame cathedral (which was closed) - but to be honest nothing was striking. And thus the trip to this country was over.


Driving back, through Maastricht

Maastricht along the river

While driving back, the weather was better and we saw gorgeous Belgium without a thunderstorm ruining our view. We stopped in the student town of Maastricht for a break but were unimpressed with the town. We visited the market square and did some local shopping. Then walked along the river and saw loads of churches everywhere. There wasn’t a lot more else to do there actually.

So we didn’t stop there long. And kept driving back to Amsterdam. On the way, we stopped at a random place on the way for lunch, at a lake called Strand in s-Hertogenbosch. It was full of people enjoying the sun, swimming and just enjoying the good weather. And this is what I will miss about the Netherlands the most – the Dutch know how to enjoy good weather, by being active and in nature. After the stop, we drove on towards Amsterdam. The rest of the drive was the same old, flat Netherlands.

Living in nature

Overall, I loved our trip to the Ardennes, the simplicity of nature it offers. Definitely a place I would recommend for weekend trips from the Netherlands.