Posts tagged christmas
Brussels, Belgium (Days Six and Seven): Royal Museums of Fine Arts
Brussels, Belgium (Days Six and Seven): Royal Museums of Fine Arts

If you caught the sense of foreboding at the end of my day five post, it will come as no surprise to you that I woke up on day six feeling as if a train had hit me. As a person who, before this, hadn’t been truly sick since undergrad, I was not doing well. My throat was sore beyond belief, I was full of snot, and I was clearly running a fever. I sent Ryan to the corner store to get some miraculous European cough drops (ones that actual make your throat feel better instead of just being sugary candy like American ones!) and Sprite, then hoped to sleep off whatever mystery illness had befallen me while Ryan took on our itinerary solo.

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TravelHannah Schultzbrussels, belgium, royal museums of fine arts of belgium, christmas, christmas market, mannekin pis, notre dame du sablon, pierre marcolini, oldmasters museum, Magritte museum, fall of icarus, Hieronymus bosch, belgian waffleComment
Travel With Me: Brussels, Belgium (Day Five of Our Christmas Trip)
Travel With Me: Brussels, Belgium (Day Five of Our Christmas Trip)

There were several Christmas markets centrally located in Brussels: La Bourse de Bruxelles Market, Place de Brouckère, and Marché aux Poissons Market. We visited these markets, ate some raclette, and despite me being fluent (or at least being fluent at one time) in French, I made Ryan order everything because ~ anxiety ~. This did hilariously result in Ryan convincing some stall-owners he did actually speak French (I would tell him what to say), but when they asked a follow-up question, he’d look so confused that they’d figure out he was American. We also spent awhile watching the chaos of ice-skating, enthralled by the two guys who were evidently in competition to show off their skills and kept almost making a lot of newbies wipe out (and actually did cause a few falls).

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TravelHannah Schultztravel with me, International travel, brussels, Belgium, christmas, christmas market, grand place, la bourse de bruxelles, place de brouckere, marche aux poissons, Friterie Tabora, place sainte catherine, la monnaie de muntComment
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Day Four): Hortus Botanicus, Oude Kerk, & a Day-Trip to Zaanse Schans
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Day Four): Hortus Botanicus, Oude Kerk, & a Day-Trip to Zaanse Schans

We heard about the Hortus Botanicus from our Festival of Lights tour guide, and it didn’t take much convincing for me to add this to the itinerary. The Hortus Botanicus is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, established in 1638 by the Amsterdam city council (the Oxford Botanic Garden is one of the few older ones; check out my last visit to it in 2017). Like many European botanic gardens, its collections were initially amassed through imperial pursuits—in this case, largely by the Dutch East India Company. Much of its initial collection served either a medicinal or commercial purpose.

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TravelHannah Schultzamsterdam, netherlands, hortus botanicus, oude kerk, zaanse schans, botanical garden, christmas, cheese, dutch wooden clogs, travel with me, International travelComment
St. Paul's European Christmas Market: A Festive Break from the Winter Blues
St. Paul's European Christmas Market: A Festive Break from the Winter Blues

The European Christmas Market is held on the roof of the Union Depot in St. Paul, and its festivities are based on open-air Christkindlmarkts that spring up in Germany, Austria, and other countries during the Advent season. According to the Market’s stated goals, they wish “to bring light to the dark of winter and add to the goodwill of the Christmas spirit.” When your winter lasts six months, it is a unique and heartwarming experience to be outside in the chilly air, enjoying food and handcrafted mittens and ornaments, rather than counting down the seconds until you can be inside again.

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TravelHannah Schultzst paul, minnesota, twin cities, european, christmas, market, union depot, german food, crepes, french, germany, german, schnitzel, pommes frites, currywurstComment