Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

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I Amsterdam

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you may have seen me mention that I don’t typically love big cities quite as much as their counterpart smaller towns. For some reason I have always wanted to see Amsterdam though, and over a period of four days, Amsterdam served as our home base in The Netherlands. In that short time, the Dutch capital worked her charms on me easily claiming a spot on my favorite cities list. Amsterdam fascinated me with its complex onion-like layers. The network of neighborhoods offer something for everyone: rich diversity, history, beautiful architecture, a cultural food scene, and of course there’s entertainment of literally all sorts. I found myself mesmerized by the motion of people, bicycles, trams, boats, buses, and cars, constantly weaving their way around the city’s canal structure.

Chris and I hustled to see as much of Amsterdam as possible while also including day trips to the tulip fields and to a quaint countryside neighborhood (posts to follow) in our four-day visit. I feel like we were able to get a good sense of the city, but I’d love to go back because I know we only scratched the surface. We stayed in a centrally located Airbnb apartment in the Oud-West neighborhood, and we ended up walking 5-10 miles every single day simply because we covered so much ground.

Our short stay started by spending the day with King’s Day revelers (post coming up!) and doing some photography around the city.

The transportation situation in Amsterdam captivated me. In such a walkable city, they also have the option of the tram system and of course bicycles. We used the tram a few times (really efficient and easy once you figure it out), but unfortunately the chilly weather dissuaded me from hoping onto a bike this visit. Not to mention, cycling in Amsterdam looked like an experts-only mode of transport! We saw plenty of near-misses for pedestrians and cyclists alike. Tip for anyone visiting Amsterdam: look both ways multiple times when you cross the street! You’ll feel like you’re starring in a game of Frogger while making your way across the bike lanes, the tram tracks, and the road.

We lucked out by scoring advance purchase tickets for the Anne Frank House on King’s Day evening, so we wrapped up our festivities with a moving experience at the museum. No photography is allowed, but I truly enjoyed soaking up the tour sans camera in hand. When we were planning our trip I almost gave the Anne Frank House a miss (I’ve read her diary and thought the museum might be too upsetting), but as one of the top must-see attractions in Amsterdam I’m glad we made time for it. I did do parts of the tour through teary eyes.

Speaking of must-see items, I also went to Amsterdam with a must-eat list, and I managed to check off four out of five local treats: bitterballen, Gouda cheese, stroopwafels, and poffertjes. I missed out on trying pickled herring because we just didn’t come across it (although we didn’t look that hard). Something tells me it’s okay that I missed out on it. Everything else was quite good!

Considering my bucket list goal of photographing the tulips in Holland during tulip season, I loved poking around in the floating flower market. It was a good preview of what I’d see later in the week!

And of course, we had to pop by the Red Light District to see what the fuss is about. We meandered up and down the main canal and some of the side alleyways, perusing sights and transactions that are fairly foreign to us back home. The RLD made for some good people-watching and photos, and we also ate one of the most amazing pizzas I’ve ever had at nearby La Zoccola del Pacioccone. Their homemade limoncello shots were fun, too.

We checked off almost all of our must-see-and-do list for Amsterdam, with the exception of the Van Gogh Museum. Ugh, I’m kind of gutted about it, but I totally goofed – I thought I bought advance tickets online for Friday night, our last night of the trip, but when we got there I couldn’t find the tickets on my phone. It turns out I actually didn’t buy tickets (oops!), and the ticket line was crazy long. We were nearing complete exhaustion at this point, however, so it was probably fine that we skipped the museum. It’ll be on our list for next time!

And I’m certainly hoping for a next time. I really did enjoy our time in this city, and I’d love to dig deeper someday.

Up next: King’s Day fun and festivities!

May 9, 2016
Bruges According to the Weather

When I pictured our springtime visit to Bruges, Belgium, I imagined bright blue skies with puffy white clouds, a crisp breeze, and not a drop of rain. I know that was wishful thinking for Europe in the spring, but I was hopeful for perfect weather! I planned my entire suitcase around temperatures in the upper 50s/low 60s: long-sleeve tops with a cute mid-weight field jacket. As our late April trip drew nearer, the more accurate forecast promised very chilly days in the 40s with a considerable amount of rain. We did get my blue-skies-with-puffy-clouds weather in small doses, but mostly we needed winter weather clothes, a waterproof outer layer, and umbrellas. We are no strangers to working around the weather though. Here’s what we did with our three days in Bruges based on rain or shine.

First of all, if you have about thirty minutes of clear weather while in Bruges, I highly recommend the canal tour. Most reviews seem to agree that it’s a little on the cheesy side, but that it’s a good kind of cheese. We loved it! It was a great way for us to get to know the city and to see some areas only accessible by boat.

And of course, there’s historical Markt Square in the heart of the city where we gazed up at the Belfry tower and the Provincial Court building, a former government meeting hall now used for ceremonial activities. Horse-drawn carriages awaited passengers in the Markt for those who preferred another vantage point while touring the city. We didn’t take a carriage ride and I’m still trying to learn more about the animal ethics on that, but as a side-note, I was happy to hear from a local that the Bruges horses are treated well with mandatory breaks by law and they aren’t permitted to work multiple days in a row.

My other favorite fair weather activity in any area is to wander around with my camera and discover interesting details. I admit I’m not consistently good about toughing out the rain or cold when it comes to photography, especially if I’m not prepared outfit-wise. There were a few times in Bruges where I wished we had packed base layers and ski coats! Thankfully we had plenty of clear and warm-ish moments throughout our visit for photo ops.

But we also had several moments where the skies opened up on us. The combination of rain and blustery wind with temperatures in the 40s had us ducking into the nearest establishment offering the slightest bit of cover and warmth. And what better way to warm up than with Belgian beer?

Popping into random bars/pubs was hit-or-miss for us since several businesses were closed on Sundays and/or Mondays (do your research in advance if a particular restaurant/shop/pub is important to you), but we did score with a few places. First, we hit up The Bottle Shop where Chris purchased several local Belgian brews. If you love beer, you have to check it out – the selection is pretty fantastic. A local recommended a few bottles to us and Chris enjoyed sampling them throughout the week.

Next, we toured the Brouwerij de Halve Maan, and we recommend this tour regardless of the weather. It’s the only remaining working brewery in Bruges, and if you select the XL tour at 2pm (19 euros per person), it includes a premium private tasting with three beer selections. We especially enjoyed the Brugse Zot.

The weather happened to clear up just in time for the rooftop view portion of our tour!

Speaking of views, another rainy day activity idea is a self-guided tour of the Belfry. Chris and I spent a rainy morning climbing the 366 steps of the tower for spectacular views of the city. This is also a great way to work off those beers, chocolates, frites, and waffles. I can only recommend doing the climb before the beers though – the steps are steep and winding! You’ll want to have good footing here.

The skies even started to clear on our way back down the steps. Mother Nature simply couldn’t make up her mind, except that she wanted it to be cold in April. So very cold.

Because we spent so much time eating and drinking, we only ended up having time for one museum while in Bruges. If you find yourself in the same situation, I recommend a visit to the Kantcentrum where you can watch a live demonstration of the art of lace-making. The museum is located a little out of the way, but it’s worth the walk even in the rain. I loved watching the skilled ladies demonstrate this rich tradition with such speed and dexterity. It’s truly mesmerizing.

Lastly, there’s always chocolate, which totally counts as the perfect rainy day activity in my opinion. In addition to sampling several chocolatiers, we treated ourselves to fresh, warm waffles covered in real melted chocolate from Oyya (our favorite). After one bite we didn’t care one bit that it was cold and rainy.

May 6, 2016
A Bit of Belgium: Bruges

One afternoon sometime last year, Chris was reading a magazine article about touring Belgium’s best beers via bicycle and we got the idea to visit the country, albeit not on two wheels since we wanted to split a week between Belgium and neighboring Netherlands. And since the country is lovingly known for its chocolate in addition to beer, it sounded like the perfect playground for this chocoholic and her beer-loving husband.

Originally we planned to see Brussels, Bruges, and maybe Ghent, but eventually decided to limit our focus to a smaller scope for a few reasons. Most importantly, we opted for a relaxed pace and atmosphere since we would only be staying a couple of days. I absolutely love small cities and often prefer them to big capitals, so the prospect of spending a few nights simply in Bruges ended up appealing to me. And my research indicated that we could easily check off our Belgium bucket list items right in Bruges: waffles, chocolates, beer, and frites. This might be the first time ever that my travel to-do list was made up entirely of food and drink, and I’m totally okay with that.

We stayed in the cute Hotel Prinsenhof just steps from the main square, and while we did have quite a bit of rain and chilly temps for our three days in Bruges, we made the best of it by wandering the cobblestone streets along the quaint canals under clear skies and ducking inside during scattered showers.

Often called the “Little Venice of the North,” Bruges charms its visitors with canals that flow alongside adorable centuries-old houses and buildings. I couldn’t get enough of the architecture and European details in this city.

So you know how I mentioned that this trip was pretty much built entirely around food? Yes, we made good on that. After checking into our hotel, we made a beeline for a waffle stand to officially commence our week of unabashed eating and drinking. I read that the locals like to eat the waffles plain so I tried that first, but I admit I preferred the version covered in melted chocolate. Confession: I ate one waffle per day. Thank goodness we were only in Belgium for three days.

We made a point of trying several local Belgian brews (more on this in the next post), and I even stepped outside my comfort zone one evening by ordering moules frites, otherwise known as mussels and fries. I watched videos before we left on how to eat mussels the proper/local way, by using an empty shell as a tool to extract the meat from other shells. And guess who actually likes mussels?! I surprised myself.

And of course I was literally like a kid in a candy shop in all of the chocolatiers around Bruges. My two favorites ended up being Pralinette and Dumon. If you have the opportunity to try both shops, do yourself a favor and get the macadamia nut praline at Pralinette, and the caramel truffles at Dumon. You can thank me through a mouthful of chocolate later.

Even our hotel won me over with sweets – a real Belgian chocolate on my pillow every night.

Up next: my recommendations for wonky weather in Bruges! Rainy day activities vs. clear weather fun.

May 4, 2016
Happiness

It’s true: you really can’t buy happiness. But buying plane tickets sure does make me happy, and over the past week I’ve been loading up on flight-based joy! If all goes as planned, this year has quite a few major trips in store for Chris and me, mostly to cover some European countries which we have yet to visit. I’m also pulling the trigger (clicking the mouse?) on a couple of destinations for next year, so stay tuned. Up next: I continue my obsession with countries that end in -land when we visit the Netherlands along with Belgium!

March 18, 2016
Moving Pictures: Scotland

Again, I have to admit I’ve been away from writing and posting once more because I was working on the final video from our Ireland/Scotland trip, and it’s done! This is my second attempt at using Premiere Pro CC and I have a lot to learn, but I’m getting there. I think I know how to use oh, five percent of the features. So if you have any video editing tips or tricks, I’m all ears!

February 23, 2016