dnams chezleon moules mussels doubletreebyhilton galeriesroyalessainthubert grandplace lesschtroumpfs mannekenpis neuhaus seafoodplatter themuseumofthecityofbrussels thesmurf worldheritagesite bruges brusselcentral globalblue schipholairport belgaqueen belgian centrebelgedelabandedessin comics comicsartmuseum lejournaldetintin lepainquotidien tintin brugge gruuthusemuseum holyromanempire galeriesroyalessainthubert
[Day 9 - FRI 24 May 2019, +31/NL +32/BL] Their performance is awesome
a sunny day in Bruxelles
1) the breakfast in #LePainQuotidien (€33) in #GaleriesRoyalesSaintHubert is healthy & awesome
2) we then walked to #GrandPlace (#WorldHeritageSite), and visited #theMuseumOfTheCityOfBrussels /#MuséeDeLaVilleDeBruxelles which featured artifacts, paintings and tapestries from Brussels' history . There were 2 dioramas of Brussels in its early days and as it began to flourish in the 1500s. One room presents the nearly 750 costumes of the #MannekenPis statue.
3) we thereafter shopped in Mary (a chocolate shop next to the museum). While I walked, I found a hotel called “Dominican”, haha. ⛪️
4) after a rest in hotel, we walked to #BelgaQueen for lunch. The high end brasserie-restaurant, unique both by its decor and its menu, which showcases the best of Belgian products with a twist. The set lunch (€25/p) is great. #美味しい
5) we after lunch visited #MuséeDeLaBD/#ComicsArtMuseum(#CentreBelgeDeLaBandeDessinée), which was dedicated to #Belgian #comics. I particularly felt interested in #theSmurf (#LesSchtroumpfs) and #Tintin(#LeJournalDeTintin) .
6) it’s exhausting so we headed back to hotel and enjoyed sauna and a nice drink.
7) we had an encore in #ChezLeon , and we had #mussels/#moules and tomato #SeafoodPlatter tonight - 美味しい
8) we’ve bought 1 more smurf in #Neuhaus after dinner
9) I thank Jesus ⛪️ for his blessing since it’s sunny throughout our journey in Brussels #DNams
[Day 2 - FRI 17 May 2019, +31/NL +32/BL] It’s cool and humid today
1) breakfast in Hilton is awesome : many choices and of high quality
2) walking to #AnmeFrankHuis: the city is amazingly beautiful, but there’s no ticket until 22, oops. We then had some photos around and the nearby #WesterKerk.
3) we walked to #Bloemenmarkt along the canals: full of flowers and cheese so Dutch indeed . I bought cheese slicer, grater (€8.95) & knife (€4.95) from #HenriWillig
4) being tired, we took metro from Rokin back to Centraal; after unloading, we took tram to WeteringCircuit for my “Rock the City” package (€68/p): Heineken + canal tour + #AdamLookout
5) #HeinekenExperience : this is a great tourist spot with extremely warm and passionate staff. We learned to serve beer and how beer is produced, wow
6) #CanalTour: Ams is a canal city, and it’s great to admire the city along the canal with beer onboard, haha
7) #AdamLookout: it provides a look over Ams on about 20 floors, but as I’m from a city full of skyscrapers, and Ams is without large landmarks, I just felt ok ♂️
8) after “Rock the City”, we took the free shuttle ferry across the river to Ams Centraal - had chocolate waffle on the at back to hotel and it’s guilty
#DNams
[Day 11 - SUN 26 May 2019, +31/NL +32/BL] a day trip to #Bruges/#Brugge
1) we took an early train to Brugge (0817/0933, €15/p return).
2) we walked from train station toward the old town. Brugge is an ancient town still in medieval style, so it’s like time travel back to the Middle Ages.
3) We visited #OudSintJanshospitaal, a medieval hospital founded in the 12th century. ⛪️ -> our next stop was #Gruuthusemuseum , a house of a rich family in the late Middle Ages, when the area was within #HolyRomanEmpire.Linked to Gruuthusemuseum, #OnzeLieveVrouwekerk (NotreDame) was majestic ⛪️. I’m impressed how people in middle ages were moved by sacred arts - tall ceilings and splendid interior and sacred icons.
4) we had lunch in #PizzaHut . Yes, it’s available elsewhere, but in Brugge, we could have “pizza buffet” for €9/p. Soft drinks were also free flow, omg! 5) we after lunch visited #SintSalvatorskathedraal (Saint Saviour's Cathedral) ⛪️, which was
Bruges’ oldest parish church (12th–15th century)(wow, magnificent gothic)..
6) we then headed to #Markt ("Market Square") which was surrounded by gothic buildings. it’s very windy (and my backpack would move if I put it on the ground), so we did t go up to the #Belfort.
7) the climax of today was a visit to the #BasiliqueDuSaintSang ⛪️(Basilica of Holy Blood) which houses a venerated relic of the Holy Blood collected from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders. Built between 1134 and 1157 as the chapel of the Count of Flanders , it was promoted to a minor basilica in 1923.
8) our finale was a 30-min boat trip (€10/p) along canals in Brugge, and then we shopped in Leonidas, before heading to the train station.
9) we took the train (1731/1843), and had dinner in #ChezLeon again: #mussels/#moules. #DNams
[Day 9 - FRI 24 May 2019, +31/NL +32/BL] a sunny day in Bruxelles
1) the breakfast in #LePainQuotidien (€33) in #GaleriesRoyalesSaintHubert is healthy & awesome
2) we then walked to #GrandPlace (#WorldHeritageSite), and visited #theMuseumOfTheCityOfBrussels /#MuséeDeLaVilleDeBruxelles which featured artifacts, paintings and tapestries from Brussels' history . There were 2 dioramas of Brussels in its early days and as it began to flourish in the 1500s. One room presents the nearly 750 costumes of the #MannekenPis statue.
3) we thereafter shopped in Mary (a chocolate shop next to the museum). While I walked, I found a hotel called “Dominican”, haha. ⛪️
4) after a rest in hotel, we walked to #BelgaQueen for lunch. The high end brasserie-restaurant, unique both by its decor and its menu, which showcases the best of Belgian products with a twist. The set lunch (€25/p) is great. #美味しい
5) we after lunch visited #MuséeDeLaBD/#ComicsArtMuseum(#CentreBelgeDeLaBandeDessinée), which was dedicated to #Belgian #comics. I particularly felt interested in #theSmurf (#LesSchtroumpfs) and #Tintin(#LeJournalDeTintin) .
6) it’s exhausting so we headed back to hotel and enjoyed sauna and a nice drink.
7) we had an encore in #ChezLeon , and we had #mussels/#moules and tomato #SeafoodPlatter tonight - 美味しい
8) we’ve bought 1 more smurf in #Neuhaus after dinner
9) I thank Jesus ⛪️ for his blessing since it’s sunny throughout our journey in Brussels #DNams
[Day 12 - MON 27 May 2019, +31/NL +32/BL] a busy travel day
1) we booked an early train from #BrusselCentral to #SchipholAirport (07:49/10:22, €25/p) . We had waited for our train since 0725, but there was no train at 07:49 ♂️. No announcement was made at that time in the platform and we’re so scared. ♂️ We asked around but in vain. Ultimately, there was verbal French announcement, and a Dutch girl told us that the train had been delayed and we all waited for the update on the platform. What an experience.... and the train finally arrived at 08:26 and reached airport at 11:04. ♂️ The boarding time was 12:20... ♂️
2) it’s late and we got less than an hour for tax refund.... We ran to custom validation (smooth), and rushed through security and passport clearance (crowded), followed by queuing for #GlobalBlue counter.
3) the flight back to HKG (CX270) was comfortable . I didn’t eat anything until the 1st onboard, and I like the drunken chicken . #DNams
[Day 4 - SUN 19 May 2019, +31/NL +32/BL] we head south today
1) breakfast in #DoubleTreeByHilton is awesome
2) we’ve taken the train to #DenHaag/#theHague (€12.2/p) which took 53 mins. The city is quiet comparatively
3) in DenHaag, #Binnenhof(Dutch Parliament ) looks so Middle Age, but water in the fountain kept on spilling cos of strong wind. ♂️ 4) a walk around #Hofvijver: #Mauritshuis with “Girl with a pearl earring” by #Vermeer is OK , and scenery around Hofvijver was magnificent. #GaleriPrinsWillemV was not attractive ♂️, and #NoordeindePalace was disappointing cos it’s not comparative to palaces in other kingdoms in Europe...
5) we’ve tried “Dutch fries” for the first time in Den Haag (#RoyalzFries), and it’s awesome with fried pulled chicken thereon
6) after lunch, we took a train to #RotterdamCentraal (€5.1/p; 31 mins), and the train was terribly old and dirty - #Rotterdam is the large port of Europe. we walked to #MaritiemMuseum/#MaritimeMuseum: originally I wanna explore the history of Dutch Age of Discovery, but it turned out to be about oil drilling towers, boarding on ships on water and anti-drug campaign ♂️ but the experience was positive for me
7) we then walked to #Markthal/MarketHall, a significant new structure in the city. We’ve had #mussels and #FishAndChips (€29.3) therein .
8) Rotterdam was destroyed during WWII, so the City was rebuilt thereafter, with bold & modern architecture. I observed there were significant Chinese population here, and they all spoke Cantonese
9) it’s a long journey from #RotterdamBlaak (next to Markthal) back to Amsterdam, with changing-train at #LeidenCentraal (€16.2/p; 1:19hr).
10) when I returned to Ams, I found there was an entrance opened in #AmsterdamCentraal with royal emblem there on. Oh, the Dutch King Willem-Alexander had moved to Ams from Den Haag today. #DNams
[Day 11 - SUN 26 May 2019, +31/NL +32/BL] a day trip to #Bruges/#Brugge
1) we took an early train to Brugge (0817/0933, €15/p return).
2) we walked from train station toward the old town. Brugge is an ancient town still in medieval style, so it’s like time travel back to the Middle Ages.
3) We visited #OudSintJanshospitaal, a medieval hospital founded in the 12th century. ⛪️ -> our next stop was #Gruuthusemuseum , a house of a rich family in the late Middle Ages, when the area was within #HolyRomanEmpire.Linked to Gruuthusemuseum, #OnzeLieveVrouwekerk (NotreDame) was majestic ⛪️. I’m impressed how people in middle ages were moved by sacred arts - tall ceilings and splendid interior and sacred icons.
4) we had lunch in #PizzaHut . Yes, it’s available elsewhere, but in Brugge, we could have “pizza buffet” for €9/p. Soft drinks were also free flow, omg! 5) we after lunch visited #SintSalvatorskathedraal (Saint Saviour's Cathedral) ⛪️, which was
Bruges’ oldest parish church (12th–15th century)(wow, magnificent gothic)..
6) we then headed to #Markt ("Market Square") which was surrounded by gothic buildings. it’s very windy (and my backpack would move if I put it on the ground), so we did t go up to the #Belfort.
7) the climax of today was a visit to the #BasiliqueDuSaintSang ⛪️(Basilica of Holy Blood) which houses a venerated relic of the Holy Blood collected from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders. Built between 1134 and 1157 as the chapel of the Count of Flanders , it was promoted to a minor basilica in 1923.
8) our finale was a 30-min boat trip (€10/p) along canals in Brugge, and then we shopped in Leonidas, before heading to the train station.
9) we took the train (1731/1843), and had dinner in #ChezLeon again: #mussels/#moules. #DNams