Travel & Hotspots
5X AN ORIGINAL WEEKEND
AWAY IN THE NETHERLANDS
(Just not to the big cities then)
Making a hotel bed unsafe in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague or Utrecht. Good old classics, but you've probably done it a hundred times already. And that's why it's time for something different.
Wageningen
So, just to get you out of your comfort zone. It probably doesn't come to mind first, huh, for a weekend away? But I did it. And no, Wageningen may not be that big, but you can have a very nice lunch and shop just fine. So I say: do something crazy, spend a day + night in Wageningen.
Oosterhout
The only thing I can remember about this? We stayed in a Tulip Inn hotel right next to a highway and a McDonald's (so, so romantic), but hey, if you just got a new lover and plan to barely leave that hotel room, keep it in mind, where are you going? Exactly! Okay, sorry, Oosterhout. I will really come to see you normally another time, because I think you are quite nice.
“I'm telling you: a person doesn't have to be bored in Helmond.”
Helmond
Okay okay, honestly: I've never been here either. But you have a market, a castle, a cinema, shops, and a wellness center. Everything you need during a city trip in your own country, right? Oh by the way, even people with a fairground organ fetish can perfectly find their way in the accompanying museum. I'm telling you: a person doesn't have to be bored in Helmond.
Amersfoort
Easily accessible for everyone right in the middle of the country and still a lot quieter than Utrecht. Known for DierenPark Amersfoort, but also for the shops, the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren, and the many canals. If you're there, make sure to eat at the Viszaeck. The fish restaurant is run by the successful duo Lie and Rianne, who won the show Mijn Tent is Top in 2009. And it's still top!
Zwolle
Okay, I am totally biased. And this is not such an undiscovered gem at all, because Zwolle is actually becoming quite hip, I think. My first date with Sander was even in this Hanseatic city of all places. Ooh, once spring is here again, I will go there again. Shopping in all the nice boutiques you won't find anywhere else AND enjoying warm Italian sandwiches at Vitos on the Grote Markt. I would know, you know. Let me know how it was?
