After the extended amount of time that I spent with my youngest son, Ronan, exploring the Czech Republic, I had shorter visits to a series of countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) before arriving at the final country of my summer Eurotrip (France). I scheduled two nights in each of the series of countries. However, because of the cancellation of Ronan’s flight, this cut into my time in the Netherlands; the length of my stays in Belgium and Luxembourg were not affected.
Amsterdam, Netherland
In the context of the law of the Netherlands, the term gedogen (toleration, although gedogen does not literally mean toleration; one can describe it best as toleration in law) refers to not enforcing certain laws. The Dutch government tolerates some offences.
“Gedogen,” Wikipedia
The most arduous transit of my Eurotrip had to be the train ride from Prague to Amsterdam. I was not able to find an inexpensive flight from the Czech Republic to the Netherlands, so my only option was a 17-hour overnight train ride that crossed Germany. I left Prague at 3pm and arrived in Amsterdam at 9am the next day. There were four connection stops, and the stop in Frankfurt, Germany was for three hours from 12-3am. I was resigned to the long transit time because I was happy to be proceeding with my trip, but I made sure to reserve seats in the first-class cabins just to make the train rides a little more comfortable.
Before the first connection stop, my train was late. As the train crossed the border between the Czech Republic and Germany, border patrol agents boarded the train to check everyone’s identification. We were 15-minute late to the connection stop, and I only had a 4-minute window between connections, so I had missed my first connection. I was perturbed, but I am always mindful that travel is an opportunity to problem solve, and if there is an unexpected detour during your trip, then this a prospect for a new adventure. Consequently, what I did was catch the next train heading to my second connection stop. It would arrive in 30 minutes, and I would see if it moved me further along to my destination, Amsterdam. When the train I arrived, I boarded, and took a seat in the first-class cabin. I explained to the ticket checker what I had done and had no problems. At the next stop, there was a train leaving in 5 minutes that was heading directly to Frankfurt, so I hopped on that train, took a seat in first class, and explained to the operator what I had done. Again, no problems. Ultimately, I arrived earlier in Frankfurt, so that meant I had more time to piddle away in penultimate train station.
My three hours in Frankfurt station were uneventful. There must have been a Coldplay concert somewhere nearby that night because many people in the station were wearing Coldplay t-shirts. The other thing I did to pass some of the time was discern the homeless people in the station from the hippie backpackers. (Note: the homeless did more peering into the station’s garbage receptacles.) Eventually, my three hours in the Frankfurt purgatory lapsed, and I was able to proceed to angelic Amsterdam.
I slept intermittently on the six-hour train ride to Amsterdam, so when I arrived in the city, I headed directly to my Airbnb for more sleep. When I awoke after a couple hours, I took a stroll around my neighborhood, enjoying the charming canals and the streets filled with pedestrians on foot and on bikes. Though I found the city amiable, I was so drained from my train ride that I just wanted to zone out. I found a restaurant, ordered some food, and drank a beer. Then I went back to my Airbnb for some more sleep.
I did not have a lot of energy to enjoy the sites of Amsterdam; plus, it was late in the day. However, the weather in the city was much cooler than my past couple weeks in the Czech Republic, so I was able to wear a pair of jeans that I packed for the trip. Additionally, because the sun did not set until 9-10pm, I was able to walk around and take pictures late into the evening, despite taking two naps that day.
As I was walking about the city, I overheard a group of lads chatting. One of them loudly proclaimed, “We’re definitely going to the redlight district tonight!” I thought to myself, Nope. Not me! Let me just take a walk around this block near my Airbnb before I retire for the night. Oh, it’s the redlight district.
The redlight district was nothing too exciting. Prostitutes from across Europe and South America in skimpy outfits and friendly smiles behind the windows of their rented rooms. It was prostitution made commercial, just like all the weed and edibles that were sold in the coffee shops and convenience stores about the city. Everywhere I walked that day, I would get a waft reminding me of my college days at University of Wisconsin Madison. I wasn’t in Amsterdam to relive college or charter some female attention, so none of these activities were of much interest beyond casual observation to me.
What was of more interest to me was the way the city was trussing the canals and curbing the wanton behaviors of the tourist by delineating alcohol free zones with the central city. I knew that Amsterdam was sinking and was fascinated by how crooked some of the buildings were. I don’t think that many of them would be up to code in the US. Additionally, there were signs around the city reminding tourists that locals live here, so be mindful of your noise; drink over there, not over here; and don’t urinate in our canals. Also, be nice to the sex workers. All of these measures seemed reasonable, and I believe they were initiated during the pandemic as the country got a reprieve from the non-stop bacchanal that probably snowballed since the city legalized prostitution and weed.
That was my experience in Amsterdam. Nothing too exciting. Would I go back? Yes, there are a lot of cultural sites in the city and throughout the country that I would like to explore further.
Belgium, Brussels
Stuur uw kat (Send your cat – Meaning: don’t show up)
Maak dat de kat wijs (Make that the cat wise – Meaning: You can’t fool me, but you can try and fool the cat)
Er was geen kat (There wasn’t even a cat – Meaning: Nobody showed up)
“13 Expressions In Flemish That Make No Sense In English,” Culture Trip
Compared to my transit from Prague to Amsterdam, my train ride from Amsterdam to Brussels was much less taxing. Just a simple two-hour train ride. However, I had to walk 40 minutes from the train station to my Airbnb and because there was a warning announcement on the train to be mindful of pickpockets, I was suspicious of most people on the street while making my trek throughout the city. With my two backpacks (the bigger one on my back and the smaller one on my front), I probably looked like a porter laden with a myriad if goods. But, despite my heighted alertness, people weren’t too interested in me, and I made it safely to my Airbnb un-accosted.
Because I had two nights in Brussels, I had more time to explore the city. I mostly wanted to eat mussels and drink Belgian beer, but I also wanted to explore three things: the National Museum of Modern Art, the Comic Strip Museum, and Atomium.
Without my two backpacks, I was less of a mark for thieves and much more agile. And, my Airbnb was near a trendier part of the city, so exploration was easier and yielded more sites of interest. I spent three hours in the museum appreciating fine art; I spent about an hour enjoying comic art and perusing the gift shop; and then I took an Uber to the Atomium to enjoy the monument to the building block of the universe: the atom.
I had a pleasant time in Brussels, but I feel no great need to revisit the city. If I had the chance to visit Belgium again, I would probably visit Bruges.
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
The EU has used Luxembourgian in the past, but the latest updated version (as of May 2019) of their list of countries, territories, and currencies identifies the people of Luxembourg as Luxembourgers.
“Which is correct – Luxembourger or Luxembourgian?,” RTL Today
The last country I visited before heading to France was Luxembourg. It was a short train ride from Brussels to Luxembourg City, but my Airbnb host in Luxembourg City said that I couldn’t check in until 6pm, so I had to putter about when I arrived in the city. Additionally, it was a 50-minute walk to the Airbnb from the train station. Fine. It was a little rainy, but at least the weather was cool. I ate a very delicious meal of fish upon arriving in Luxembourg, and then parked myself in a coffee shop and uploaded a blog post. An hour before my check in time, I made my way to the Airbnb.
Luxembourg is built on a hill, so the trendy shopping and dining area is on top of a hill, but my Airbnb was at the bottom of the hill. That meant that I had to walk up the hill and then down it to get to my Airbnb. At this point in my trip, I was probably carrying about 15-20 kgs of baggage with me. So, by the end my Airbnb marches, I was sweaty and tired. I was not in a very good mood when arriving at my Airbnb. However, when I arrived at my Airbnb, I was in a worse mood.
The Airbnb looked like it was in a public housing building, and when I entered the apartment where I was staying, the host’s son was smoking in the living room. She showed me the room where I would be sleeping, but I could still smell the cigarette smoke from the other room. After showing me all the amenities of the place, which took less than a minute, I spotted a washer machine in the bathroom. Do you mind if I do a load of laundry? “Sorry, no.” The host responded. This was easily the shittiest place I had stayed in all of Airbnb experiences.
I was in a bad mood, so I locked myself in my Airbnb and rested for a bit. I could tell every time the host and her son lit up a cigarette because the smell of smoke would get a little stronger while they puffed on a new cigarette. Because of the pleasant smell, I didn’t want to stay in the Airbnb, but I wasn’t hungry after my big lunch. Yet, I made myself leave the favela and trek up the hill to the trendy area of the city to give myself a reprieve. After arriving at the top of the hill, I searched around area before settling at a hip restaurant, eating a poke bowl, and drinking a couple craft beers to put me in a better state. I returned to my Airbnb later that evening. Thankfully, the neighborhood was quiet so there weren’t any disturbances while I slept.
While researching nearby laundromats and notable things about Luxembourg, I learned that it has the highest GDP per capita of the world (Qatar was ranked number three). Additionally, steel, banking, and technology are the top three sectors of the economy. There are about 600,000 citizens of the country with more than half the population comprised of foreigners. If you are a well-to-do citizen of Luxembourg, you probably work in banking and can shop and dine on top of the hill. If you are a foreigner trying to make a life in the expensive but safe city, you live at the bottom of the hill, work until 6pm, and then maybe rent a cheap room to a visiting tourist. The thing I tell myself when I encounter an unpleasant situation while traveling is that it is all education. I have stories about the amazing places that I visited and stories about the goofy experiences while trying to get to those amazing places.
My second day in Luxembourg City, I trudged up the hill to a laundromat, did my laundry, and then went to the Luxembourg National Museum of History and Art. Luxembourg is a small country, so I guess one building was sufficient for both its history with some art added as well. In the museum, there was a very well-preserved Roman mosaic. In addition, I enjoyed an exhibit of photographs from Iran (which I would very much like to visit someday) and collection of political paintings about the conflict in Ukraine.
Even though each I country I visit doesn’t have the same capacity for Instagram-able adventures, making people jealous with all my travel experiences and posts isn’t the point. I travel to see what is out there in the world, to see things firsthand (albeit mind-blowing or mundane), to learn about the lives about the people who live around the world, and to reflect upon my life and the privileges that I have received throughout my lifetime. In the end, my visit to Luxembourg City was fine; I got to learn and experience some new things. I had been traveling throughout Europe for six weeks, so my travel stamina and patience was starting to wane. But, sometimes you must put in a little bit of work to make an experience enjoyable—or at least tolerable. (I ended up leaving my Airbnb host a 4-star review and sending her a private message saying that she shouldn’t smoke in the apartment when hosting guests.)
Would I visit Luxembourg City again? Probably not—unless I plan on opening a Luxembourg bank account. I will, though, happily read about it in the future.
opusculum 