Following our month long stay in Madeira Island, we headed to one of our favorite destinations in Europe…..the Netherlands. On our previous trips to the Netherlands, in addition to the obligatory extended stays in AMSTERDAM, we settled down for week long stays in ROTTERDAM, UTRECHT & HAARLEM (with day visits to Delft & Den Haag).
Our goal on this visit was to experience a new Dutch city that we had not previously visited on our prior trips. This time around we gave the town of LEIDEN a shot as we heard good things from fellow travelers. We allocated two weeks to Leiden in order to get a true feel of local life in this small university town.
Initially, we were going to skip Amsterdam as we had already been there a half dozen times. However, the draw of the numerous attractions in Amsterdam was just too strong to pass over. Barbie and I both absolutely love Amsterdam but over the years, we noticed the city had gotten a bit overcrowded with tourists. However, since this was the end of October (shoulder season) we figured we could avoid the peak tourist season and pulled the trigger on a week long stay in an Airbnb directly on the scenic Brouwersgracht Canal. It was so much more enjoyable visiting during October as it truly felt as though we living amongst mostly locals instead of all the happily stoned tourists that flock here during the peak summer season.
The only downside visiting this time of year was not being able to relax in all the city parks, which we love to do. Therefore, we spent our time walking miles everyday wandering aimlessly along the famed city canals and dropping into all our favorite coffeeshops and local eateries to enjoy all the Dutch stoner treats.
Very similar to other popular cities in Europe, overtourism and overcrowding had become a real issue. It started to impact the ability of residents to enjoy everyday life as the streets took on the appearance of a theme park for adults. Amsterdam reached a breaking point as it struggled with the ever-growing number of tourists that visit every year. Recently, the local government rightfully elected to be proactive about the growing problem and put some measures in place to stem the unstoppable tide of tourists that flood its streets every year. Barbie and I discovered our own solution to avoid the crowds during previous summer visits by staying in alternative Dutch cities which felt like ‘mini-Amsterdams’. They all were equally, if not more enjoyable than the big kahuna……Amsterdam.
All of the Dutch cities are simple to navigate between utilizing their super efficient train service. After our week in Amsterdam, we took a 30 minute train to the city of Leiden. This laid back city was one of our favorite cities in the Netherlands. It’s really beautiful in the spring, summer and early fall but I could see the writing in the wall that the winter would be best avoided.
Our three weeks in the Netherlands went by so quickly. We munched out, effectively killed some brain cells but did get some serious exercise in by walking miles and miles every single day exploring these quaint Dutch cities……some of the best walking cities in all of our worldwide travels.
Damn….our three weeks in the Netherlands just flew on by. As always the case, we are sad to leave but excited about our next adventure. We are leaving the autumn chilly air of the Netherlands and heading back to warm tropical beach weather and plan to spend the winter in Thailand.
Big Doug & Barbie Drop Out of Society 