sister is moving to the Netherlands

GlamGalRN

Hello! I don't post on here too much but need your help.  My sister is being relocated to the Netherlands for her job for one year starting in three weeks.  My husband and I were planning on visiting her in Sept/Oct for two weeks.  We are trying to get a general idea of things to do/where to go and I'm already starting to feel overwhelmed!  Other than Amsterdam, where else would you recommend we go?  I do not want to spend the while trip traveling, but think it makes sense to visit 3-4 different places while in Europe.  Any help would be appreciated!  Thanks! 

jjbmstinco

Ultrect is a beautiful city.  Amersfoot is also nice.  You could do both cities for 1 day each.  They are a 20-40 minute ride by the train from Amsterdam. I lived there for a year and loved both cities.  I took the train to France and then caught the train between England and London.  That would be a lot of traveling, but you see a lot.  Germany isn't too far away.  I did take a bus to Paris as well. I also took a cheap flight to Ireland.

 I think it depends on what your budget it and what you like to do. Maybe some of those suggestions would be more helpful to narrow the suggestions.

GilliC

Where do you want to go?

I spent a week in The Netherlands doing a bike & barge trip, which was a lot of fun. Belgium is pretty awesome if you like beer, chocolate, or cute medieval towns. Luxembourg's wine region does some fantastic wines, and has an annual wine festival around then.

Or you could go farther, but then it really depends more on where you're interested in going and what you like to do/see.

R.Wilsonny

You can take the train to Belgium, which is a very beautiful country - small country too so you can see a lot. Cities to visit: Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels, Oostende (on the coast). I listed Ghent first because it is my absolute favorite city in Belgium.

I've spent a lot of time in Belgium and even almost moved there, so any questions, feel free to PM me.

You can also take a train to Paris as well....beautiful city and loads to do there (obv). But def go to Belgium....if you are the type that likes to go clubbing, my friend owns one of the biggest, most well known clubs in EU and it's located in Brussels (Fuse Club). Also, in October, there is a big festival in Ghent called I Love Techno....seriously massive party that people from all over the world travel to go to. Amsterdam also has loads of good events - I think mid-late October is Amsterdam Dance Event, which is a big conference that many people from all over the world travel to. (H and I might be going next year if we are able to swing it)

GlamGalRN

Thanks for responding! 

The reason I posted this is because visiting the Netherlands is something I am not really interested in doing.  It is definitely not my "dream vacation." However, with my youngest sister moving there I would like to visit her and figured while I'm there I might as well check other places out as well.  I will check out all your suggestions tonight since I'm stuck inside due to the snow we're getting here in Philly. Thanks again!     

R.Wilsonny

GlamGalRN said:

Thanks for responding! 

The reason I posted this is because visiting the Netherlands is something I am not really interested in doing.  It is definitely not my "dream vacation." However, with my youngest sister moving there I would like to visit her and figured while I'm there I might as well check other places out as well.  I will check out all your suggestions tonight since I'm stuck inside due to the snow we're getting here in Philly. Thanks again!     

Well yea, it's not some tropical paradise, but Holland really is a beautiful country. There are plenty of things to do in Amsterdam too outside of the coffee shops. Amsterdam does have that 'stigma' unfortunately with the red light district and coffee shops, but they have museums, and other things to do too. The Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank House are both there, then I believe the Heineken factory is there too and you can do tours. The Dutch are relatively friendly too, although Belgians are slightly more friendly, IMO.

hutchsl

If you are consider other cities in the Netherlands I would recommend Den Haag (couple of days), Delft (1 day), Gouda (1/2 day), Haarlem (1/2 day). I have been over to Noorwijk for business three times and ventured out to these other locations. Went to AMS for several days after our work concluded. Even went a week after I got married. We call it our mini-moon. I would not recommend Rotterdam - it is modern.

GilliC

GlamGalRN said:

Thanks for responding! 

The reason I posted this is because visiting the Netherlands is something I am not really interested in doing.  It is definitely not my "dream vacation." However, with my youngest sister moving there I would like to visit her and figured while I'm there I might as well check other places out as well.  I will check out all your suggestions tonight since I'm stuck inside due to the snow we're getting here in Philly. Thanks again!     

@GlamGalRN What kinds of qualities characterize your "dream vacation" or just a vacation that sounds like your cup of tea?

For example, are you into museums and culture? Strolling around a beautiful place? Relaxing with a book or a cocktail? Clubs and parties? Gambling? Exploring nature? Some kind of sports?

There's a lot of diversity in Europe, so it's usually possible to find whatever you're looking for.