13 August 2018 – Eastern Europe Adventure – Greenwich – Bruges – Amsterdam

Laurie and I were surprised to discover that we are the only two South Africans on our Expat tour. There is a varied mix of other nationalities including Kiwi, Australian, American, Canadian and Asian. We have already made friends with several of our traveling companions,

It was a great thrill to find that we would cross the channel by train. I have crossed on a ferry and the Euro Star before but never in a bus on a train!

Driving onto the train

Our bus

Filip, our guide kept us informed and entertained with interesting information about our trip and the places we passed through. After crossing the channel to Calais, we drove through France and at lunchtime we stopped in Bruges for an hour and a half. We were all free to wander around on our own and explore. Lolz and I found a place to have a quick bite to eat and I had the best caffeine fix ever. Belgian coffee is to die for. Then we explored the beautiful town.

Belgium is of course famous for its chocolate and we had a taste before buying a couple of slabs from the stunning shops that sold the most beautifully packaged choccies.

The time flew and by 2:30 we were back on the bus for the 3 hour ride to Amsterdam. It was a quick check in at The Hampton by Hilton Hotel then back into the bus to the city. Once again we were free to explore on our own with a choice of taking the bus back at 9 pm or staying later and getting the train. We chose the latter so we could meet up with Laurie’s friend Daz. What fun we had. After a bit of sight-seeing we had drinks and snacks at a pavement restaurant and then did the compulsory walk through the red light district and passed some ‘coffee shops’ along the way. Some interesting smells came from those. We decided not to explore the joys of smoking weed and eating space cookies!

Interesting architecture

Mom and daughter selfie

Bikes everywhere

The most popular way to travel

We rather liked the name of the boat😀[[[[[[[[

We all walked to the station together and Daz helped us find the right train. It was a quick 20-minute ride home and then a short walk to our hotel. A great end to an interesting day of travel.