Belgium is fantastic

Belgium | Sep 11 - Sep 16, 2023

I arranged a side trip to Belgium from Amsterdam through KimKim. We went to Amsterdam to attend my son’s wedding. There were three separate ceremonies and a number of additional activities. After all the festivities, our goal was to enjoy some carefree traveling without any pressure and with all the plans made in advance. The travel plans through KimKim started in Amsterdam where we were picked up by an excellent driver with a nice van. The previous night, the driver and I texted and confirmed the pickup location and time. Our first stop was Brussels. The driver was friendly and very accommodating. We stopped along the way for coffee and a snack. We were safely delivered to our hotel, Hotel Dixseptieme, about midday. Our hotel and room were excellent. The daily breakfast was also top notch. In Brussels, we met up with my cousin who gave us a tour of the countryside and the city over the next two days. Nothing like having a local take care of our every need. Our next stop was Ghent on our way to Bruge. A driver was supposed to pick us up 9:30 but no one showed. I had texted the number the night before but did not get a response. I didn’t know I was texting a landline. When the driver didn’t show, I called the taxi company and they were unaware of the booking. I immediately called the emergency line and Meike went to work. Unfortunately a driver didn’t arrive until after 11:00 reducing our time in Ghent and making that day somewhat of a disappointment and hectic. The driver showed up in a little taxi and he was not familiar with Brussels. We were going around in circles trying to get out of town. Just about every road was under construction and we were rerouted at every turn. The driver was trying hard but the trip and miserable. Once we arrived in Ghent, we were met by a most pleasant guide,Christien Batsle, who walked us through the town and gave us history lessons and tales to embellish the beautiful surroundings. Our tour was cut short to make time for our scheduled boat tour. The tour included a chocolatier and a nice box of delicious chocolates. There was no time for lunch. We proceeded to the boat tour and got a different perspective of the charming little town. From there we scrambled back to the taxi where our driver took us on to Bruge in the same small taxi. The same driver and car was scheduled to drive us the final day to Antwerp and Amsterdam on the final day of our excursion. The driver was not happy with the plan and asked if we could find another driver from Antwerp to Amsterdam. I got back in touch with Meike requesting that she sort out the situation. When we arrived in Bruge we were exhausted and glad to have a nice room to relax in and a beautiful little historical hotel, Boutiquehotel ‘t Fraeyhuis, with beautiful grounds and restaurant. I asked the owner and front desk lady to help me find a driver for the final day drive. She and her brother called a couple companies, got prices and gave me the info that I passed along to Meike. Fortunately, the change was made and we had an excellent driver and car for the final day of our excursion. We spent two nights in Bruge. While the hotel was nice and everyone was very accommodating, it was problematic. There was no lift and we were up two and a half flights of narrow stairs which is fine for young able bodied people. My husband is 80 and has two replaced knees. He managed to get up and down, but there was no way for him to manage our luggage. For check in, there was a nice young man that happily helped us out. For our check out there were no men on duty. Two young ladies had to carry our bag down the stairs. We were so thankful for all of their help! The hotel and the staff were excellent and very professional. In Bruge we were met at the hotel for an extensive walking tour of the town. Our tour guide, Roland Schils, was very knowledgeable and happy to show us all over Bruge. Of all of the places we visited, I think Bruge was our favorite. We walked almost 12,000 steps on that tour. The following day we were picked up at the hotel and driven to Antwerp where we visited the Red Star Line Museum. My great grandparents immigrated to the US on one of their ships @ 1900. The museum is very interesting. The driver waited while we toured and then drove us back to our hotel in Amsterdam. Belgium is a delightful country to visit. I’m so glad that we were able to take this trip. With the exception of the transportation issues from Brussels to Bruge, we had an excellent trip. Meike got the problem resolved to our satisfaction. And I have to put a good word in for the poor taxi driver who had to drive from Ghent to pick us up in Brussels and then drive us back to Ghent, wait for us and then drive us on to Bruge. He was a very nice man who tried to do his best under the circumstances. Unfortunately his little hot, older, small taxi car was not his doing. Our knees were up against the front seats. This is maybe ok for a short taxi drive, but not for a long distance drive. His objection to the second drive to Amsterdam was a blessing.
I’m thankful that I asked for the phone numbers of the drivers and tour guides ahead of the trip and added them to my contacts. As Americans we make assumptions that hotels have elevators and cars have air conditioning. If we take another trip to Europe, we’ll be better prepared.