One of the things that I really wanted to do was to drive across international borders and the trip from Brussels to Amsterdam seemed like the perfect opportunity. We checked out and took an Uber to the Brussels South train station to collect our rental car. Fortunately we have been provided with a Volvo almost exactly the same as the one at home which made getting used to the vehicle a lot easier. However getting used to the roads were a lot harder as they drive on the “right” side of the road and some of the street signs (especially pedestrian crossings) seem a lot more random.

We decided to take in some of the sights on our drive and the first stop was at the Antwerp Train station. Antwerp-Centraal station, famously dubbed the “Railway Cathedral,” was opened in 1905 and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful train stations in the world – and is more akin to a church. It was originally built in 1836 as a simple wooden terminal. To showcase the city’s booming trade and wealth, King Leopold II commissioned the building of Antwerp-Centraal station.  Architect Louis Delacenserie designed the magnificent 1905 stone structure and it features an eclectic mix of Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque styles, culminating in a 75-meter-high dome and an expansive glass-and-steel train shed. The station was severely damaged in the 2nd World War and the Belgian government considered demolishing the grand station and replacing it with a “modern transit hub”. The local citizens of Antwerp (Sinjoren) fiercely protested the demolition and the community backlash was strong enough that in 1975, the government granted the station protected monument status. This legally blocked the demolition plans and forced authorities to begin a decades-long restoration program starting in 1986.

The drive out of Antwerp was challenging and involved driving on tram tracks and, in some cases, against oncoming traffic. Google Maps was helpful but I managed to make a wrong turn and ended up off the road and entirely on the tracks and heading into a station. A quick turn around against oncoming traffic put on the right “track”. The drive into Holland was a bit of an anticlimax, as apart from a simple blue sign on the road, and the fact that my phone provider changed, there was no discernable difference. There wasn’t even a roadside booth for potential immigration. We stopped by a tiny town called Gouda (famous for its cheese), but also the birthplace of the original “Siroopwafel” which is a thin biscuit with syrup in the middle. We did a tour of the factory and watched it being made and got a few to sample. The town of Gouda had narrow streets with canals through the middle and I had to park the car precariously close to the waterways – which was an achievement especially given the steering wheel was on the other side to what I’m used to.

The traffic in Amsterdam was horrendous and the final 2 kms to the hotel took over 20 minutes. At one point Bron even considered getting out of the car and walking to the hotel with the kids. The main reason for the congestion is that bike and transit lanes are wider than roads for cars – so what would be a 4 lane car road in most cities, is instead has one lane for car, one for trams and two lanes for bikes. Everyone, of all ages, rides a bike and there are 100’s of bikes parked on the street and outside shopping centres. We had a canal cruise booked for tonight so walked down after checking into our hotel. The cruise took us around all the main canals in Amsterdam, which surprisingly, has more canals than Venice. We got a good sense of the city as we made our way around and were back by 9. The days are getting longer and we took a tram back to the hotel in bright sunlight.