Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark

Haven't been to Netherlands or Denmark since 1976 as a teenager, so I won't comment on them today, except that I recall Tivoli in Copenhagen as much more garden-like and less thrill-ride-like than American amusement at the time. US parks have developed into Theme Parks with evermore extreme rides, so I don't know if Tivoli is now an adreneline park or not.

On a more recent (2008) trip to Belgium, in addition to Rick's recommended cities of Brussels and Bruges (Brugge), we bicycled thru some of Flanders and western Belgium, and particularly enjoyed Ypres (Ieper), Diksmuide, and Courtray (Kortrijk). I've listed the French names of the towns, with the Flemish/Dutch names in parentheses. Belgium is officially a dual-language country, but the western side speaks primarily Flemish/Dutch (and almost everybody speaks fluent English as well), while the eastern and southern sides speak more French (with a fair amount of English, too). There seems to be a bit of a political aspect within Belgium as to whether you're from the "wealthy" Flemish side or the "poorer French" side, as indicated by your principal language. The owner of the apartment we rented in Bruges didn't appreciate us trying to speak to her in French, and we quickly changed our approach when we learned that. Brussels straddles the line between the two sides.

Anyway, Ieper has a great World War I museum (Flanders Fields Museum, which may not be your cup of tea), and the countryside is beautiful with canals and flat-to-rolling green terrain. The town was levelled in World War I but was rebuilt in the original style. The Grote Markt (main square), and the Menin Gate, a tribute to allied soldiers killer in the War, features nightly ceremony called the Last Post - impressive and moving. Nearby bike and canal paths would make for great walking. Diksmuide is a small town, but has a fabulous charcuterie. Kortrijk was historically in the center of the Flax/Linen trade and was an enjoyable stay.

We used the Lonely Planet guide for much of the areas not covered in Rick's book. Belgium is very bike friendly, so if you're inclined, rent a bike (fiets) and do some riding on your visit. Holland and Denmark look like outstanding bicycling places, too. We didn't visit the Ardennes in eastern Belgium, but that area would provide more hiking opportunities, in steeper terrain than in the west.

For Netherlands, Utrecht and Kinderdijk. I missed out on De Hoge Veluwe (national park) last year because of the persistent rain, but heard it's great for walking and biking - there is a museum there that people rave about (Kroller Muller Museum & Sculpture Park), but I know you mentioned you aren't into museums or art and prefer scenic walks - but it is there if you wanted to pop in for an hour.

In Belgium, Brussels, Bruges and Ghent have more interesting architecture. Antwerp had an excellent cathedral and right around that area you would find the older architecture most vacationers are seeking - the rest of the city is more modern - if you are into designer fashions and shopping, it's great for that, too. Some excellent restaurants in Antwerp - but most are located in the more modern part of the city in the neighborhoods where the locals reside.

Great train system in both countries and many towns and cities are linked via short regional rail trips, so it might make it easier if you don't want the hassle of moving hotels every few nights and prefer to just base out of one or two places so you can catch a train or rent a car if you want to get further out in the countryside.

Thanks very much for the helpful comments. Will definitely start looking into the areas suggested above. Although I mentioned we don't enjoy museums and art as much, but we would enjoy something like the sculpture park mentioned and open air style museums and will definitely enjoy some bike rides in some of the areas.

We'll start in Copenhagen (4 or 5 nights). It appears it makes the most sense to train from Copenhagen to Amsterdam and we could break it up with 2 nights in Hamburg. However once we hit Amsterdam I'm not sure if train makes sense or better to rent a car to go through some of the outlying areas in NL and Belgium. It appears drop off charges aren't so bad between the two. I know we'll fly into Copenhagen, but again struggling whether to fly out of Amsterdam (doing a circle tour around) or out of Brussels. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to experience quaint Dutch towns head up to Friesland in the northern part of the Netherlands. The towns are smaller, the streets very picturesque, and the farmland is beautiful. I suggest the towns of Sneek, Groningen, Hindeloopen, and Leeuwarden to name a few. The whole area looks like an old Dutch painting!

Kathy – For this itinerary a car is needed. You can make a tour around the “IJsselmeer”, the big lake north-east of Amsterdam.
Visit first a few places north like Marken, Edam, Monnickendam or tiny Broek in Waterland and head further via the Afsluitdijk to Friesland like Anita suggests. A very picturesque area, add Sloten to the list, despite not liking art so much the Jopie Huisman Museum in Workum can be of interest. Friesland is one of the most, if not the most beautiful province of The Netherlands and I think worth to stay at least a few nights, consider it seriously.

From there go south to places like Kampen, Zwolle, Zutphen or Deventer, you can drive through Staphorst where people still wear traditional clothing and visit the canals of Giethoorn.
Near Apeldoorn is Palace Het Loo, and not so far away the Kröller-Müller Museum near Otterlo with it’s Van Gogh collection. The open air museum near Arnhem is nice to visit.

In Belgium visit Bruges and the Grand Place in Brussels as icing on the cake before flying home.
Prepare well for getting the best out of it as there is a lot to see!

Hi Kathy, My husband and I have a similar itinerary planned for a trip in June so I appreciated your question and the responses it has prompted. We will begin our trip with a 2 day stop in Iceland and then travel to Copenhagen, Germany, Belgium, and Amsterdam. We have booked our lodging through Airbnb. We have plans to incorporate bike riding in our plans for Copenhagen, The Rhine, and Amsterdam. We plan just two nights for Belgium and are choosing to spend that in Bruges based on the recommendation of Rick and others. I will try to remember to repost to your question following our trip (returning 6/30), if it would still be of use to you.

Donna

Wil - Thanks for a great list of places to start reviewing. I'm heading out to pick up a map to start plotting and begin pulling together a route. I wish I could get the car in Hamburg as there are a couple of places I'd like to visit on the way to NL but the drop off charges are just too steep and I can't figure out how to get around it.

Donna - I really wanted to visit Iceland so I'm envious. We are using our FF points and my airline or affiliates just can't make it work. That will be saved for another year where we pay for flights. I look forward to hearing back how your trip goes.

We are flying Icelandic Air from Seattle. Icelandic allows stop-overs for up to 7 days with no extra fee, so it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Hi Kathy - I think it must be possible to go with public transport / train from your latest place in Germany to Groningen (city) or other convenient places and rent a car there for starting your itinerary in The Netherlands. So first stop will be Friesland if Groningen is the car pick up place. Use the car for that part of the itinerary where it is most practical and drop it off in Amsterdam for instance.
A train / public transport in and between cities is most practical, so you can go with the train further if you like to Bruges and Brussels.
Feel free to ask questions.

I forgot to mention the full name of the hotel we stayed at in Copenhagen. It was the Radisson BLU Royal Hotel. There are two hotels there with similar names. This is the one across from Tivoli.

Belgium is particularly underrated as a destination for travelers to Europe. In Belgium, Bruges can't be missed. You could make that a home base to do some day trips within the region. If you stay in Bruge, I suggest the short bike ride to the small village of Damme along a tree-lined canal for lunch. Bruge is touristy, but sometimes a place is so special it's worth enduring that. I have been to Brussels a couple of times and, other than the Grand Place at night, haven't found it to be particularly appealing. I am sure if you live or spend enough time there, you could find much of interest though. Personally, I would rather visit Ghent or Antwerp. If you like Chocolate and/or Beer, you will be in heaven. Splurge on the local "frites" as well, and don't pass up the hand-help buttery waffles sold by street vendors.

Amsterdam rightly tops the list of destinations in The Netherlands. The Jordaan is particularly quaint but the whole city is appealing so definitely plan a couple of days there. The Anne Frank House is a must, as is the Van Gough museum. If you enjoy biking, ride over to Harlem for the day and possibly out to the beaches in nice weather. Harlem is a great little town for a day trip. I've found Rotterdam to be much less appealing and would suggest skipping it altogether. Other than that, the Netherlands is packed full of pretty canal lined cities, towns, and villages. The Hague is a classier, quieter, more refined version of Amsterdam if you enjoy that feel.

I lived in Denmark in the mid-90s and would suggest at least a day or two outside Copenhagen. Arhus (Denmark's "2nd City) is particularly attractive and has a bit more of a Danish feel than more international Copenhagen. From Copenhagen, make a point to visit the Louisiana Museum of Art north of the City along the coast. If you can spare a day or two, the trip out to Aero (a classic Rick Steve's destination) is also worth it. Bornholm is also supposed to be a great island visit. Please sample the local pastry which is the best in Europe and definitely worth the calories (you will walk or bike them off).

Enjoy your trip - these countries are truly some of my favorites in Europe so I have no doubt you will.

All the info provided has been so helpful. After researching towns in areas suggested I've come up with a listing of those we'd like to visit. We'll be coming from Hamburg by train or Bremen by train or bus (tbd). We'll pick up a car in NL and have 10 - 12 nights for this leg of our trip. The towns are: Groningen / Sneek / Staphorst / Apeldoorn / Utrecht / Amsterdam / The Hague / Delft / Antwerp / Ghent / Bruge / Brussels / Luxemburg City / Maastricht. Of course there's more, but this is what I've narrowed down at the moment and for the most part can follow a logical route. The challenge now is to plan the route as there are multiple ways to do this. We haven't purchased our flight yet so we could fly home from Amsterdam or Brussels. (We're starting in Copenhagen a week earlier). Thinking perhaps 2 nights Luxembourg, 4 in Belgium and 5-6 in NL of which 3 in Amsterdam? Suggestions of most practical route and suggested towns to stay over are appreciated.

1) Start from Groningen through Sneek to Amsterdam and then continue towards Brugges, down to Luxembourg, back up through Maastricht, then Apeldoorn area and return to Amsterdam to fly home.

2) Start from Groningen, head through Apeldoorn to Amsterdam through to Bruges, Luxemburg and fly out of Brussels.

3) Start from Groningen through Sneek to Amsterdam and then do day trip up to Staphorst and back.

4) Train to Amsterdam and then do a loop tour out as far as Groningen and back, then continue on.

Kathy – I think this going to be a whirlwind tour and to my opinion you are not getting the best out this trip, there is no room for flexibility that can make it more interesting, unless this is the way you want to travel. Or am I wrong?

Will - Our trips tend to be more hectic like this. We are also early risers so we are typically on the road on travel days by 8am. It's not for everyone for sure, but we enjoy it this way. We've had a scheduling change now which will actually make it a bit more doable. We've had to unexpectedly cut several days off of our trip so we will now be flying into Amsterdam from Copenhagen early morning. I've figured out the last half of the trip (car) could be 3 nights Bruges, 1 night Brussels, 2 nights Luxembourg, 1 night Maastricht then drive to Brussels airport for return flight.

This leaves 5 or 6 nights in NL (depending on 3 or 4 nights Copenhagen). I'm not sure how to schedule this part yet. I can day trip from Amsterdam to some of the places (maybe train a couple). We could do a loop tour driving up to Groningen and around through Apeldoorn. We've got a bit more flexibility with this now (as you suggested) I'm just not sure how to space out nights staying where. Or perhaps can do the loop drive but not go out as far as Groningen. Then over to The Hague. Drive to Belgium portion through Antwerp or train to there and pick up car.

Ok Kathy – You can do daytrips from Amsterdam to Utrecht, Delft, Haarlem or Leiden by train, it seems that the latter two are more in favorite then Delft. The loop around the IJsselmeer is still possible according to me, the car ride to Sneek takes some 1½ hour (125km), if there is no delay of some kind. Groningen is nice, but not a necessity, personally I would focus more on Friesland. After exploring Friesland (again consider Sloten) if still of interest for a day you can head to Zutphen or Deventer for staying, just some 20 km from Apeldoorn for exploring the area there. Staphorst is not directly exciting, but you can drive through it for spotting a few in their traditional clothing on the way south. After Apeldoorn you can drop-off the car in Dordrecht or Breda after a visit to the windmills of Kinderdijk (good idea?), for the train to Antwerp and Bruges.

Travelling between cities in The Netherlands and Belgium is quickest and most convenient by train, with two persons still the cheapest option as parking a car in The Netherlands in cities is very expensive. From Bruges you can do a daytrip to Ghent and even Antwerp. For the final stage to Luxembourg and Maastricht you can still considering a car again if you want include a bit of the country-side.
This is a bit how I see it, luckely you have enough time till September to finetune your itinerary.

Very helpful Will. I will continue now to fine tune. Last question for now is breaking up how many nights in locations in NL. Would you suggest 3 nights Amsterdam, 1 night somewhere near Apeldoorn as you suggested and a night somewhere near the Kinderdijk or over in The Hague area? Or add another night staying in Amsterdam. I can definitely do 5 nights in NL but hoping to do 6.

Downtown The Hague is also within easy reach of Amsterdam by train, according to me it’s best to do all the daytrips from Amsterdam. So after Apeldoorn you can go directly to Belgium and fit in a visit to Kinderdijk as it is a bit out of the way for public transport. After that drop-off the car as said before in Breda (Hertz or Europcar seems to have no location in Dordrecht, sorry) , which has a good train connection with Antwerp. If the drop-off fee in Belgium is reasonable you can consider ofcourse to go directly to Bruges and visit other things on the way to there who are not so accessible by public transport.
In short so far: 2 nights for the loop around the IJsselmeer, Sneek and Apeldoorn. Other nights 3 or 4 in Amsterdam.

Thanks so much for everything!

You're welcome, enjoy your coming trip.