Europe summer of 2023

Since this is the year for our 50th anniversary, we went on the Viking Grand River Cruise that started in Amsterdam and fifteen days later ends up in Budapest, Hungary.  But, before boarding the long boat, we went to Belgium, Luxembourg, and Amsterdam area first. We flew into Brussels, Belgium and it took us three hours to get our gate checked bag and get through passport control. Once through that, we took the train from the airport to Brussels Centraal train station. Upon arrival at the train station, we had a three minute walk to our apartment.  As you can see in the pictures, the apartment was very narrow and the staircase was very steep and narrow. The front room was about ten feet wide and we joined other guests here for breakfast.

Brussels is a very gritty city and to say they have a litter and graffiti problem is an understatement.  However, there are three things for which Belgium is famous; waffles, chocolate, and beer. I don't know about the beer, but the waffles were rather delightful and pretty easy to find, and chocolate, well, is always a treat.  That is a typical Belgium waffle Bonnie is holding.

There were no shortages of chocolate shops.

Market square, the central part of the city, is vast and the surrounding architecture is beautiful.

Take a look at the gold leaf painting on some of the buildings on Market square.

The inside of a cathedral that is pretty typical throughout Europe.

The detail of the architecture is quite interesting.

The inside of a shopping market.

From Brussels, we took a train down to Luxembourg. Luxembourg city is clean and beautiful and the gardens are very well kept. They have a light rail that everyone rides free of charge that is super easy to use. The lower level of the city is called the Grunge.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg 

Amsterdam is filled with canals, windmills, cafe's, and bicycles, along with interesting buildings and streets.  I did mention this is our 50th anniversary.

Our accommodations were similar to those in Brussels; narrow, steep stairway.

We saw a couple of these cars that make a Smart car look like a stretch limo.