Travel Diary

Somewhere in the Netherlands

I'm on the Thalys high speed train, making my way to Brussels, Belgium for the next leg of my trip. Thalys is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. I boarded the train at the Amsterdam Centraal station. I'm in the first class cabin, with a window seat as I enjoy high speed ride; on portions of this route the trains speeds to 300 km per hour, which is an interesting experience, as the countryside just flies by. It was just a very relaxing experience and a great way to start the trip. I had a window seat and was given complimentary drinks and a light meal. I chose a quiche with cheese and spinach.

I had never been to the Netherlands before, so I was interested in seeing the countryside; I love to visit smaller towns and farmlands when travelling. The country was very green and very flat. Along the train route there was a bit of industrial areas and some farmlands. Along the way, the train passed through, with brief stops in Rotterdam and Antwerp before arriving an Brussels.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Well, this is after all Amsterdam!! As soon as I walked out of my hotel this evening I was overpowered by the smell of marijuana in the air.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

I arrived in Amsterdam this morning. It's a late September day, with just a hint of fall in the air. I arrived at Schiphol Airport on a United Airlines flight from Houston. Landing in Amsterdam, I immediately taken back by how green everything was in the surrounding countryside as we descended. Getting through customs was fairly quick, even though I had to walk to the furthest baggage claim. After exiting, I purchased a 1st class train ticket to the Amsterdam Centraal station, 7.20 € (euros). There were 3 elevators down to the airport station tracks, and after bit of trial and error I found the correct one. It was then a 15 minute wait and a non-stop ride to the station. A 10 minute walk and I was at my hotel.

After a short rest at the hotel, it was time for a walk along the canals, without a camera, to explore and get my bearings. I'm only here for one night, so I don't plan on doing a lot of photography here, but I do have a couple of hours in the early morning tomorrow before my train to Belgium.

With this short update, it's off to a nearby Starbucks, for coffee and to see what kind of pastry they have here.

Cave Creek, Arizona

I recently purchased train tickets for travel within the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany from RailEurope. This is the first time I've used this service. The prices were reasonable, and the tickets were shipped the same day I purchased them (2 day UPS). I was a bit hesitant about the site, as there is no phone number provided to contact them in the event of issues. I've seen good writeup about them from various sources, which eased my concerns.

The purchase was straightforward. However, I did have to go back to them with questions after I received my tickets. My ticket to Belgium was only to Brussels (my final destination was supposed to be Bruges) and second ticket was from Bruges to Bonn, Germany. I questioned if I was supposed to purchase another ticket, but was told the ticket included all connections on the Belgium rail system. This wasn't noted anywhere and I found this confusing.

Cave Creek, Arizona

Finished booking my fall trip today. Phoenix to Amsterdam, then to Bruges, Belgium before going to Germany and Prague.

For the Bruges portion of my trip, I'm booked into the Hotel Ter Brughe, with a canal view room. The details of the hotel, which they sent me after the reservation, indicates the building dates to 1553, has no elevators (due to the historical nature of the building), showers (only tubs), or air conditioning (hopefully, at that time of year of my visit, that won't be a problem). I prefer small, boutique style hotels, over the big chain hotels, so the description of the hotel that they sent me sounds intriguing.

One of the reasons I chose this hotel, besides its historical nature, was its location on a canal. I hope to be able to photograph along the canals during the "blue" hours of the day.