Bonjour de la Suisse: Off the beaten path in the Low Countries

The day after we returned from our whirlwind trip through Scandinavia and Russia, my mom flew in for a visit. We had a packed agenda; Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Paris, and Venice. But first we were planning on spending a couple days in Geneva. I was looking forward to spending time with my mom and all the places we were going, but I was also happy to spend time at home before hitting the road again.

G had the day off so we all decided to head over to the UN. G had never been on the tour so I figure this was the perfect chance. After, my mom and I headed over to the Red Cross Museum, which is just across the street. G decided to meet us back at home, his museum fatigue was showing. :) The next day we ventured out to the Montreux Jazz Festival, but because of the rain, it turned out that there really wasn't much to listen to or see.

Soon we were off to Amsterdam. We arrived at the hotel and discovered that we had two stories of VERY steep stairs to climb, just to get to the reception desk! The people at the hotel were so nice, offering us a free drink and even breakfast before we headed out for the day. But my favorite breakfast place was just around the corner, and they have free internet to boot! We stepped in there for a bagel, coffee, and a little planning. We were only going to be in town for two days so we wanted to make the most of our short visit.

Our first day's plan was packed with the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, a canal cruise, and of course dinner. Since I'd been to the museums before, I did a little shopping and cafe sitting while my mom enjoyed the sights. I met up with her and we cruised the canals. The craziest thing about the day was that despite it being mid-July, it was freezing! I actually wore a scarf to keep the cold away! It didn't deter our sightseeing any though, and the rain was staying away, so I was happy. Before dinner we stumbled across an exhibit of wildlife photography and I was tempted to buy a big book of the exhibit. But since it weighed about 10 pounds, I passed so I didn't have to haul it around for the rest of the week. We found a restaurant that turned out to be one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at! The Cafe Restaurant de Reiger is a wonderful local eetcafé in the Jordan district complete with wonderful ambiance and delicious food. Next time I'm in town I will definitely eat here again.

The next day my mom decided to visit the Anne Frank house and take a bus/boat tour of the city. I caught the train to Haarlem, a cute little town about 15 minutes from Amsterdam that is packed with sights. I started in the Market Square (Grote Markt). I was hungry and wanted some fast, local cuisine, so I opted for the little fried dough balls called Oliebollen (it was either that or raw herring from the fish stand). After visiting the Grote Kerk (the church), I headed over to the Tylers Museum. This is the oldest museum in Holland and it is almost like going back in time, almost like a museum of a museum. It is filled with all kinds of curiosities and is an amazing place for science buffs. From fossils and minerals to all sorts of inventions. The very first telephone is displayed here, and like almost everything else, it still has its original label. I couldn’t get enough of this place.

It was time to head back, but I figured I had just enough time for a quick tour of the De Adriaan Windmill, Haarlem’s old-time windmill. What I didn't realize is that you can only see the windmill with a tour guide and I ended up with my own private tour by a very nice old guy. I didn't want to rush him, but I had little time to get back. The tour was really great, but as soon as it was over I made a mad dash to the train station.

I was only a little late, and thankfully my mom waited for me! We had a reservation for a tour of the Red Light District. I was a bit nervous about going on this tour with my mom, but the guide was really good and it wasn't too risqué! After dinner we headed back to the hotel to find the room filled with flowers - a beautiful bouquet and a single rose in a vase. We figures it was from Mr. F, my step-dad who sent them for their wedding anniversary, but the tag said it was from the Nadia Hotel! The mystery was solved the next morning when we were checking out (at 5:30am), we got a call from the hotel manager thanking us for our stay and wishing my mom a happy anniversary. Now that is great service!

We were up so early because we had a very busy day. We were on our way to Luxembourg, but on the way we decided to spend a few hours in the unofficial capital of Europe, Brussels. We concentrated our sightseeing to the area around the Grand Place, Brussels' main square. We followed a walking tour from our book which took about two hours, seeing the Town Hall, chocolate shops, lace shops, the Church of St. Nicolas, Galeries Royales St. Hubert (Europe's oldest shopping mall), and of course the statue of the little boy peeing, Manneken-Pis. But we didn't have all day; we had to get to Luxembourg by the afternoon, because we were only staying there one night.

Luxembourg City is compact and had much more to see than I thought. We started with a little hop-on hop-off bus tour that was a great way to get orientated. We then toured the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the fortifications (the maze of cavers dug out to protect the city) before walking through town and finding a place to eat. We were warned that the whole town closes up around 6pm and they weren't kidding. We were on a search for a couple postcards and a cup of coffee, which we finally found at a tabac stand on the edge of town! We stumbled across a lively square lined with restaurants and a band playing in the center. We grabbed an outside table and enjoyed the music and nice weather.

We were set to meet up with G in Paris for the "la Fête Nationale" (or Bastille Day) on July 14th. That morning we decided to buy a couple cheap blankets to sit on before the fireworks and we were lucky to find a little shop that sold them. So, blankets in hand we zipped off to Paris for the festivities.