Euro Express: Take Two

Things Were Realized, Conclusions Were Made

I just came back from my second Europe trip and BOY. I honestly didn’t know what to expect but not only did I come back with good memories, but also a new life game plan. Lmfaooooofidjflksdjflsdjf let’s just say, THINGS WERE REALIZED and CONCLUSIONS WERE MADE but I’ll get into our new venture – GIRLS ON THE GO™ in an upcoming post… COMING SOON so be on the lookout 😉

Okay I digressed but back to the trip.

Dawn and I went to Amsterdam (yes, again), Brussels and Prague. Honestly, we went back to Amsterdam because that was the cheapest ticket to Europe but Amsterdam will always have a special place in our hearts. We even made a pact to go back every year for a reality check – making sure we’re still good and continually striving for our best lives.

To be brutally honestly: There’s a special place in my heart for Amsterdam. Maybe it’s the biking, the street style, the people or Vondelpark but I always recommend people visit Amsterdam at least once. Brussels… I’m glad I got to visit once but I’m not sure I’d return. The waffles were AMAZING. Truly, honestly but Dawn and I are GIRLS… ON THE GO™ and we love having things to do and places to see. There were mostly just… buildings in Brussels. Although beautiful, there just isn’t much else. You could probably visit all the main attractions on a day trip. I’d return to Belgium again but visit another city next time. PRAGUE, however, is to die for. It’s a city filled with old charm and glimpses of modernism. It looks like a setting for a live-action Disney movie. Below are a few tips and things to consider when traveling.

Tips + Things

Backpacks are the best carry-on bags if you’re on the go. I tried to be cute and bring a messenger bag but that was a mistake looool. It just made my shoulder hurt after a while, kept falling and I was worried my stuff would fall out because it didn’t have a zipper.
If you’re going somewhere cold, bring leggings to layer under your pants!! It kept me soooo warm.
The thrift stores there were *expensive* – when they say thrift, they really mean vintage. The items were starting at €20. I don’t know if they have something similar to GoodWill over there but whew… they need it. They had good items but when I said I wanted to thrift in each city… I meant THRIFT.
The cobble streets in Prague (and in a lot of European countries we’ve been to) are NO JOKE. Ma’am… please don’t bring heels out here. You will be wobbling and no one has time for twisted ankles when they’re traveling. Bring a nice, comfy, PLATFORM shoe.
The service in restaurants are really slow. People seem to spend a long time at restaurants and everyone is talking to each other nonstop. I run out of things to say to Dawn after a while and just eat my food in silence lmfaooo so maybe its a culture thing, idk idk. Also, some places can’t/don’t split check either so paying can be a hassle.
There are trams in Prague. Most of the streets do not have crosswalk lights to tell you when to cross. Please, please, please look both ways before crossing because these trams seem to come out of no where and they’re going fast. I’m not from the city so… my yeehaw ass almost got hit once.
If you’re going in the fall/winter: bring a beanie, gloves and a good scarf. Your ears, hands and neck will thank you for this. Maybe my fragile body is accustomed to the South’s warm winters but the winds are atrocious. If you’re bringing gloves, make sure they’re touch screen compatible because it’s inconvenient to keep taking your gloves off to look at your phone navigation, etc.

Next Stop...

Amsterdam

Travel Guide

Van Gogh & Rijksmuseum Museum
- I enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum more than Rijksmuseum but that’s because I’m not a huge “fine arts” person. Rijksmuseum was beautiful but I think the crowded, hot atmosphere made the experience a bit less enjoyable for me. However, the Rembrandt exhibit was opening when we went so maybe that’s why it was so crowded. There’s certainly more to see at the Rijksmuseum than Van Gogh but if you can go to both, I’d go to both.
Artis
- The biking here is less intense than it is in the center so if you want to go for a stroll, this is the neighborhood to do it in. They have a beautiful park with flamingos, storks and other animals. We didn’t pay to get into the actual Artis Zoo but you can still see the flamingos/storks for free. When you walk in, there’s a wooden wall with cutouts that you can view the flamingos through… keep walking. We were taking so many pictures through the tiny opening on the wooden wall. Then, we walked 10 feet and saw a huge sitting area with a better view of the flamingos lmfaoooo. How ~embarrassing~
Vondelpark and Oosterpark
- Both parks are absolutely wonderful. Vondelpark is HUGE. It took us about 25 minutes to walk through. I really recommend visiting one, if not both. Oosterpark seems to be a bit calmer and less touristy but both parks are beautiful. People are walking their dogs off leash (AND EVERYONE’S DOG IS BEHAVING!!??? No one’s dog is running off like mine would lol) I saw this girl riding her bike through Vondelpark and she gave off VOGUE-COVER ENERGY!!! All I know is: her dog was beautiful, her style was impeccable (she had on glasses, a dark trench with a forest-green scarf for a pop of color) and her “one hand on the bike handle, other hand holding her dog leash” bike riding was ~effortlessly chic~
Noordermarkt
- This market sells a lot of vintage items and in retrospect, the prices were pretty good. There were clothes, home goods and other miscellaneous items. It’s basically a flea market. Prices can range depending on the vendor and the item so have a look around because you can haggle prices here.
Bloemenmarkt
- We visited this market the very first time we went to Amsterdam (not this trip) but it’s a beautiful flower market. It is more of a touristy market but worth a visit. They sell things like tulips and also tulip seeds that you can bring home to try and plant yourself!
Anne + Max
- Try out this restaurant if you have the chance. Of all the places we ate at, this place really stood out because the staff, prices and food were wonderful. We got our food and it exceeded our expectations and there was so much food for the price (about ~€25-30 for the 2 person platter) They do breakfast, lunch and dinner platters.
- Side note: I took all the chocolate chips they gave us in a glass bottle on the platter. I didn’t think at the time but in retrospect… I don’t think it was meant to be taken. THEY SHOULD’VE PUT IT IN A BOWL if they didn’t want people to take it to-go. I just felt bad for not finishing it so I took all of it to-go. Don’t hate me!! I’m sorry if I accidentally ruined it for everyone else.

Brussels

Travel Guide

Belgium Waffles, Fries, Beer and Chocolates
- THE HYPE ABOUT BELGIUM WAFFLES ARE REAL. They have syrup baked into the warm waffles. You can get toppings on them as well but a plain waffle was all I needed. There are numerous places to get them. We did have a place saved that allegedly had the best ones but we ended up going to a “touristy” food stall and they were still damn good.
- Belgium is where french fries originated from! Of course they were good – it’s fried potatoes. Two great things combined into one: fried food and potatoes.
- I don’t drink beer but Belgium is famous for its beer as well so give it a try while you’re there.
- I don’t have sweet tooth but the chocolates were pretty good and make great gifts to bring back. TBH we didn’t do the official chocolate tours or anything. I’m not a chocolate connoisseur so I can’t tell you if Belgium chocolates are any different from Hershey’s. Sue me.
Grand Place
- I understand why it’s called the Grand Place. The gold details on the buildings are beyond beautiful. It’s surrounded by chocolate shops and restaurants.
Mont des Arts
- One of my favorite spots. It had a mini garden/park, art murals and graffiti walls. There were people graffiti-ing as we were walking by! Not sure if it’s a free-for-all graffiti wall or if they were actual artists.
Think Twice
- This is a chain thrift store that I really enjoyed! I found the most beautiful, multi-colored, handmade sweater there. Bring a tote because they do charge for bags here.
Het Zinneke
- The famous statue of the dog peeing on a fire hydrant. It’s just a dog peeing on a fire hydrant – I get a free, live-action show of that with my dog so this art piece was underwhelming to me. It’s one of those “go see it to say you saw it” type of landmarks.
Place Royale
- Again, I want to be honest and say I was underwhelmed by this. It just looked like a courthouse and more of a passing “Oh that’s cool” place than a “OoOoO let me take some pictures for the ‘gram”, ya know?
Royal Gallery of Saint Hubert
- Nice (translation: expensive) shopping gallery. We came across a cool clothing shop supporting African tribes by selling their prints on the clothing. Beautiful designs but not in my budget ($150+) lol. A lot of the stores inside looked ~extravagant~

Prague

Travel Guide

Charles Bridge
- There are musicians performing, people selling jewelry and paintings while tourists are taking a million pictures. This bridge was featured in one of the Mission Impossible movies as well! So walk through and fantasize about being a top-secret, ass-kicking spy like Tom Cruise.
- The jewelry and accessories that are sold on the bridge are so beautiful and some are even handmade. I regret not buying any because I “wanted to see all my options” and thought I’d find more shops selling the same things further down. I didn’t 🙁
Old Town Square
- Absolutely beautiful. The Astronomical Clock is here and everything has an old-city, Hogwarts feel.
- There are food stalls roasting ham at the Old Town Square near the Astronomical Clock. Don’t eat there. It’s not as good as it looks but more importantly, it’s more expensive than you think and they’re shady. On the menu, it said it was 100 grams for 99 Czech Koruna (about ~$5 USD) but when I bought the ham and mashed potatoes, it came out to be 1000 Czech Koruna (about !!!!! ~$43 !!!) I went ahead and paid because it was just a hot dog stand. I didn’t think it was going to be $43 for ham and mashed potatoes. It wasn’t until I sat down and converted the money that I realized how much it was. I thought the guy made a mistake but when I went back, the cashier got an attitude with the guy in front of me (who had the same issue), saying they only served one size and that was how much it was. They clearly know that tourists (especially Americans with our imperial system) don’t know how to properly convert the grams/money. They purposely made their menu unclear so that you buy it without realizing how much it’ll be. If they want to sell it by the gram, that’s fine but they don’t even let you choose how many grams nor tell you how many grams you’re getting. It was just the shady way they went about it that annoyed me.
Lennon Wall
- Beautiful art mural but tons of tourists so it’s hard to enjoy the mural without people constantly taking pictures in front of it (me included lol) Go early in the morning if you want a quieter experience 🙂
Prague Castle + St. Vitus Cathedral
- Maybe I got confused but the St. Vitus Cathedral is a huge, Hogwarts-looking building while the castle in the rose-colored building? What I’m trying to say is: if my understanding is correct, then the cathedral looks waaaay better than the castle. I thought I was taking pictures in front of the castle the entire time until I went in and saw that it was the cathedral.
- You do have to pay to go inside the buildings but the cathedral lets you step inside and view the front without paying (you do have to pay to get a more in-depth view.)
Prague 1, Malá Strana and Jelení příkop
- These were the main neighborhoods we walked through while getting to Prague Castle, Lennon Wall, etc. The best way to view the city is by walking it! We saw so many beautiful little moments that we wouldn’t have seen if we stuck to the tourist areas.
Amritsar Mail
- I believe this is a little Indian restaurant we stopped by after thrifting. The decor was exquisite, the waiter was nice and the food was amazing.
Thrifting
- Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything good at the two thrift stores we visited in Prague 🙁 I wanted to thrift something from each city but ended up just getting souvenirs from the souvenir shops. I didn’t want to force myself to thrift something if nothing was truly catching my eye.