European Destinations | Part One

When someone tells you that you have two weeks to see the highlights of entire continent, you kind of freak out.  I mean, I don't even think two weeks is enough time to do the southeastern part of the US justice, let alone ALL OF EUROPE.  

Levi and I both agreed that we would rather spend our time really getting to know just a few places, rather than try and city-hop our way across Europe.  Our philosophy is that immersing ourselves in a culture and exploring the nooks of crannies of one city is better than just scratching the surface of four or five places.  After all, this is not going to be our only trip to Europe (that's what I have to keep reminding myself!).

Making the decision to only make a short list of places really added to the pressure.  What if I pick the wrong cities?!  Right off the bat, Levi requested that we pass on London and Paris this go around.  London (in his mind, not saying it's true) is too much like the US, and Paris is a little too girly for him.  Okay, that's fair.  We also eliminated Italy right off the bat, only because Italy has so much to offer, that we felt it deserved it's own trip (the same can be said for France and Spain, frankly!).  We'll tackle those countries another day :).

The next step was to go on Facebook and post a status asking what others recommended.  While there were a few cities that were mentioned often enough to pique our interest (more on that later), most of the suggestions were all over the map (literally).  Still stuck.

So, we decided to leave it up to fate.

Aka, we decided to check flight prices and said we would fly into whichever city was offering the best deal, and then go from there.  And that's how we got to our first stop....


Brussels, Belgium

Waffles, chocolate, and mussels galore.  Fate, you've got the right idea!

via

via

via

We'll spend two nights in Brussels eating, drinking Belgian beer (my favorite), and enjoying the little shops and cafes.  On our second day, we'll make a little day trip to a little Belgian town called....


Bruges, Belgium

Have you seen the movie In Bruges with Colin Farrell?  In the movie, Bruges is referred to multiple times as a "f*cking fairytale town".  If it's anything like the pictures, it most certainly is.

via

via

via

After our short stay in Belgium, we'll spend several days in the city that Levi is most excited about...


Amsterdam, Netherlands

From my research, Amsterdam seems to be one of the coolest cities around (and not just because of the Red Light District and "coffee" shops).  The city seems to be a mecca for artistic, open-minded, and creative souls.  I really enjoyed reading the Design*Sponge Guide to Amsterdam.  We'll go to the Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh museum, and just spend time riding bikes throughout the city (there are more bikes than cars in Amsterdam!).  Did I mention that we'll be in Dutchland during tulip season? Squeeeeee!

via

via

via

via

via

And that, my friends, is the first part of our trip.  We've still got two more countries to visit, so be sure to check back!  Any guess as to what those countries might be? :)


Have you been to Belgium or the Netherlands?  Any attractions we need to see? Places we need to eat?  Cute shops to get my closet a souvenir?