I planned a trip for myself, that’s right – a trip just for myself to Europe in Oct 2016. Not the best time to visit Europe, given it tends to get pretty cold by then. But I could manage some leave at that point and it was my birthday that month, so I decided to gift myself a vacation 😉

After a lot of thinking through, to and fro, discussing with friends and family – I zeroed in on 3 countries and 4 cities – Netherlands (Amsterdam), Belgium (Brussels & Bruges) and Luxembourg for my trip! Btw, while ‘discussing with friends’ as mentioned above, I realized I had got myself company from two friends, for different legs of my trip. And boy, was it fun or what!

I was in Amsterdam for about 2.5 days and a friend of mine from London joined me. I just loved the city – it’s so beautiful, with all its canals. I enjoyed trying Holland’s best fries (from Mannekin Pis), stroop waffles, and space cakes (yeah ;-)), as much as cycling along the canals, talking a walk in Vondel Park and sipping some white wine on a sunny bright afternoon there!

I explored the city on foot. A must do – the walking tour – Sandemans is great, it starts from the National Monument at the famous Dam Square, through the main sights of the city – Royal Palace, the Old Church, the Stock Exchange and the Red Light District Area (on the same road – reminds one of the movie: Wolf of the Wall Street!), much more and finally ending at the Anne Frank House. One has to sign-up for the tour online in advance, as there are limited slots. The duration is about 3 hours; it’s free and one can leave a ‘tip’ per one’s wish at the end of the tour. I think the guides are mostly college students (if I am not mistaken) and let me tell you, they have quite a good sense of humour, making it lovely to enjoy the city’s history along with some entertainment; and the experience does make you leave a hearty tip!

And ofcourse if you’re in AMS, how can you not visit the museums. Having visited Louvre and Orsay in Paris a few months back, I decided to just cover one museum at AMS – Rijksmuseum. The others to-do’s in the Museum District are Stedelijk Museum and the Von Gogh Museum. And ofcourse right outside Rijksmuseum is the signature ‘I amsterdam’ signboard, where you cannot not take a picture!

Other fun things do to in AMS are the canal cruise (very calming indeed!), visiting the flower market on the Singel canal (very colourful indeed! – not only did it have tulips and other flowers and bulbs, but also great souvenirs to take back home – fridge magnets, decorative tulips, plates with windmills painted, etc.)

And goes without saying, Amsterdam’s night life is alive and kicking – check out the oldest condom shop in the world, try the space cookies, check out the RLD, enjoy a drink by the canal!

My trip was super and I felt it was just enough time to spend in AMS. The only thing I couldn’t do was a trip to the tulip gardens. Am keeping that for a subsequent trip with my mom!

Time to move to my next destination – I took a train from Amsterdam to Brussels. Here is where my second travel buddy joined me, again from London!

Well, a lot of people told me to skip this city as it doesn’t have much to offer, but for some reason I insisted on visiting it and that’s not a decision I regret.

The Grand Place or Grote Market is the central square of Brussels; it is the PRETTIEST ever (not like I’ve seen squares in all European cities but this one was just simply stunning – both the day view and the night view)!

As we were walking around exploring the city, the caricatured walls on streets was a lovely sight, and ofcourse the key landmark in the city – Manneken Pis – a small bronze sculpture, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain. While we got some real fun pictures there, don’t ask me its history!

We found an Ethopian restaurant called Kokob, which we just absolutely loved – a must-do I would say! And one night, we ate at everyone’s favourite HRC, where the drinks were superb (as always, as in any part of the world!)

From Brussels, we made a day trip to Bruges; it was easily accessible, via train. And this city is surely the chocolate capital of the world. Once again, Bruges has a beautiful square, where we had a relaxed lunch, tasted some Kir (a white wine based cocktail), and got a glimpse of some historical landmarks – Provincial Court, Belfry, and others.

We walked down the cobbled streets of Bruges, swamped by chocolate stores on both sides and ofcourse once again canal views – just plain gorgeous! A must mention here is a store called Jelly Jazz…we went in to just take a quick look…ended up spending an hour and coming out with several shopping bags in our hands…one of the cutest shops I’ve seen with a bunch of fun things for home décor – just plain loved it!

We then visited the Chocolate Museum (slightly over-rated in my mind); didn’t go to the Friet Museum (but can you believe it, a Fries Museum – really!?!). No surprises, we came back from Bruges with bags and bags of chocolates – for ourselves, friends and family. Some travellers like to stay one night at Bruges, but I think a day trip suffices!

Time to move to our last destination country – Luxembourg – one of the wealthiest nations in the world, host to a lot of fancy stores (branded and boutique), cafes, bakeries, pubs, and restaurants (including a few Michelin Star restaurants too!).

We had booked an AirBnB accommodation here and it was just gorgeous. The apartment was spacious and very well done up. The location was superb – it had a direct view of the Golden Lady, the War Memorial. And at a two minute walk was the Notre Dame, which was breath-taking, both from the outside and the inside.

Other sight-seeing spots included the Saint Michael Church and the Grand Palace (entry not allowed, boohoo). A must-do is the famous ‘Chocolate House’ right outside the Grand Palace.

The Place d’Armes square is the most popular area in the city, with hotels, restaurants, shops, and several historical landmarks – Luxembourg City Hall, Place Guillaume II, etc. Also, as one walks to explore the city, you come across many cute parks and statues. In terms of eating out, being a vegetarian, I really enjoyed two restaurants – Beet and Konrad Café & Bar!

There are also several small cosy coffee shops, where you can grab a coffee, sit for hours, chit chat or read. Our best evening was at Sofitel’s rooftop bar – the drinks menu was colourful, the drinks innovative and the city views from the 8^th floor, magnificent! We went post dinner for an hour, but ended up staying there for over 3 hours, sipping cocktails and talking!

The last must-do in the city is the Bock – its cliffs and casemates make it a popular tourist destination. A walk in and around the whole area takes about an hour and the views from different places of the ruined castle are simply picturesque. And alas, with that, it’s time to say bye-bye to Luxembourg and my trip comes to an end!

LUX is a pretty small city, very walkable, and 1 /1.5 days there suffice. But don’t miss it, trust me, you’ll enjoy the relaxed chilled-out atmosphere and certainly the scenic breath-taking views.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my experience. Do not hesitate to ping me when you plan a trip to any of these cities and have a question or need some help!