I would really appreciate some help on this...we will be flying into Frankfurt on the 9th of May and flying out on the 18th. The only thing we have to do for sure is pick up a puppy in Appelscha, Netherlands. We'd like to pick the puppy up on the tail end of the trip.
Could we get some suggested itineraries? My husband is a huge history buff, I just love to see the scenery and immerse myself in local culture. Don't know if it's possible or would even be worth it but we are picking up a Belgian Tervuren puppy and it would be fun to visit Tervueren, Belgium too.... Thanks in advance! Tammy
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
1966 posts
Near Tervuren you can visit the battlefields of Waterloo and in Brussels the free Royal Army Museum is certainly for history buffs worth a visit.
The Africa Museum in Tervuren is due to renovation closed till 2017!
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7260 posts
Any chance to change the flights to open-jaw and fly home from BRU or AMS?
Posted by
San Francisco
14499 posts
" a huge history buff"....If you do manage to get to Waterloo, go by car. Be prepared to spend a whole day at the site. To see the max in the Waterloo battlefield area, a car is needed. See the museums in town, some are better than others. Besides, the car will give mobility to go the other villages connected with the campaign, such as Ligny, Placenoit and Wavre.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks everyone, while I would love to do open jawed I seem to be restricted by needing to fly non-stop because of the puppy. I have only found Lufthansa to have that option and to/from Frankfurt (we are in Seattle). Not sure if it's just KLM or the Netherlands too that won't let me fly the puppy until she is 10 weeks old and then she will be too big to fly in the cabin. We do plan to rent a car. That would be very exciting for my husband to visit Waterloo! So figuring a full day on either end is travel, we will have 8 days of exploring. Can you recommend a loop to do that begins in Frankfurt, goes to Belgium and then maybe the Hague and Amsterdam? Or maybe some smaller less popular destinations? Thanks again!
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
1966 posts
Just a few ideas, you have ofcourse to make a selection for a decent itinerary.
Starting from Frankfurt am Main:
Rhine Valley to Koblenz
Mosel Valley from Koblenz to Trier (Roman history, birth place of Karl Marx, museum) with visit to Burg Elz
Aachen for Dom / Charlemagne
Places of the Battle of The Bulge in Luxembourg and Eastern Belgium / Bastogne and Ettelbrück
Brussels / Waterloo
Mechelen / Ghent / Bruges
Ypres?
Mills of Kinderdijk
The Hague – why?
Amsterdam
Appelscha is in the north of The Netherlands, is this place included in your 8 days?
If you like history, please be more specific about what interests you, make a list what to expect or want to see even it’s possible or not and see later what’s achievable. Do some homework to find out what you will like to do.
A car is good for remote places like Fred suggests with Waterloo and gives more flexibility. However travelling from city to city is better by train.
Posted by
San Francisco
14499 posts
Hi,
Re: starting in Frankfurt and ending up in Amsterdam: The morning ICE train Frankfurt-Amsterdam direct stops also at Arnhem, the first stop once you cross the German-Dutch border, if he wants to see the museum on Operation Market Garden.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Looks like you have some ideas here to get started with. Gute Reise!