Kasteel Rhijnauwen

When we arrived in Bruges, it was at the end of a very long journey. We were tired and really looking forward to reaching our hotel. But we still had to get there from the train station. It was “only” a kilometre along a flat route so we thought no big deal, we’ll walk. We didn’t realize, however, that the tiny wheels on our suitcases don’t work well on rough cobblestones. Well, Bruges is all cobblestones!

So, last night we scouted out a better route from the hotel to the train station. It was a bit longer, but allowed us to avoid the really rough cobblestone sections where we had to carry our suitcases. We got to the station nice and early and found a little coffee bar where we had our morning coffee followed by bread and buns for breakfast.

The train trip to Bunnik went quite smoothly and included the amazing, high speed Thalys train on the section from Antwerp to Rotterdam. Once in Utrecht we found a small grocer in the train station where we picked up a yoghurt granola fruit bowl, smoothie and a pack of cheese for lunch.

It was a twenty minute bus ride and then a ten minute walk from the train station to the StayOK hotel where will be staying for the next four nights. After a few minutes to rest and relax, we went for a short walk in the woods near the hotel and then into the little town of Bunnik to buy dinner items at the AH grocer. We found an excellent packaged falafel salad big enough for the two of us. I made the mistake of buying a Karne Melk to go with it. Took one sip and into the garbage it went! I thought it was a low fat milk, but it tasted like a sour milk.

We will be doing more shopping for meals because the cost of eating out is ridiculous! Basically, what we pay for a meal in dollars at home, we pay in Euros here. Which means that it is costing us 50% more. So, for example, at our hotel, they have fish and chips in the restaurant for 17 euros. That translates to over $25! We’ll not forgo meals in restaurants entirely, but we’re quite happy to make them ourselves as well when the opportunity presents itself.Read more