Welcome to the Netherlands! The map below shows our home for two weeks and the cities we've visited.

The Netherlands Photo Album

Finding a home away from home...

Up until this point the longest we had stayed in one place was 6 nights in Beijing, so Fernando and I were both keen to settle down in one place for a while. Originally we had big plans to make our way up slowly from Portugal to Copenhagen, bussing or training it from one place to another until we reached the top, but after weeks of drinking, partying and hanging out with friends and family, we both knew we were craving a break to slow down and unwind.

The idea of being able to actually unpack our bags and buy FULL SIZE items (with no 100ml limits on the horizon) was bliss for us. We could finally settle down and really get to know a place and feel like locals.

So with all that said, we landed on Utrecht in The Netherlands, with a whole two weeks to live like the Dutch.

So, why Utrecht?

Locals enjoying the sun in Utrecht

We always knew we'd go to the Netherlands, it was on both our hit-lists due to the beautiful scenery, huge cycling culture and ahem laid back lifestyle. Neither of us had ever been to the country and its people and culture were relatively unknown to us both, however photos and experiences from friends told us we were going to enjoy it there. We also liked the idea of being in a small country like the Netherlands so we could set up camp in one city and easily do day trips to others.

Alex's friend Charlie was a huge help here as she did a uni exchange in Rotterdam, so she could give us all the insider tips and when we mentioned we were thinking of doing two weeks in the Netherlands, Utrecht was her first and most enthusiastic answer. A quick Google image search was enough to convince us, but what sealed the deal was that Airbnb prices were a lot lower than Amsterdam and it was a much smaller city too, meaning we could be away from the crowds and could easily get around town on foot (or bike!).

In the end we found a beautiful one bedroom apartment, a little outside our budget (but we justified this by all the money we'd save by cooking our meals), very near the centre of town, with a fully equipped kitchen and even an oven! It even had a washing machine and dryer, so for two whole weeks we really got to feel like we were living in a home.

Relaxing in our Utrecht home!

Life as a local in Utrecht

Enjoying a beer out in the sun at the local bar, Roost

We very much fell in love with Utrecht from the first day we arrived, it was everything we hoped it would be and more: small and quaint, yet bustling and full of life, canals everywhere lined with gorgeous, insta-worthy buildings and everyone looking so happy as they cycled around in the sun. It was like a dream. But to be honest, it probably was a bit of a dream: The Netherlands were experiencing their hottest summer in over 30 years, we were literally seeing the city at its best. Every day was hot, sunny and without a cloud in the sky, with that careless summer vacation vibe in the air. We're not complaining though!

So we well and truly settled in: found our local supermarket, the train station, our favourite ice-cream place... and Fernando even bought a bike! I know, it's crazy... But to be fair, it was cheaper than renting a bike for the whole period. He found one on the local online marketplace for EUR 50 and went for it. It wasn't exactly flashy or anything, but it proved worthwhile, allowing him to for quite a few rides during that time.

Fernando's Dutch bike, Van der Bieke

The Airbnb also had a bike available, so the two of us could explore Utrecht like locals: on wheels. And we were greatly surprised: the city (and the whole country, really) is extremely well equipped for bicycles, with bike lanes everywhere, cyclist having priority on traffic, free bike parks... It's amazing! We decided to film our way from home to the Utrecht Centraal station, where the world's largest bicycle parking (with more than 12,500 parking places!) is being constructed. Check it out:

This time living in the same place also let us experience things that we didn't realise we missed, such as getting a proper public transport card (instead of one-way tickets only) and being familiar with the supermarket cashier, who started recognising us after a few visits.

Another great experience we had there was being able to host our friends. Being on the road for so long, we rely a lot on the hospitality and generosity of friends and family, so being able to repay the favour is extremely fulfilling. Our friends Denise and Daniel who live in France (and hosted us there) happened to have a long weekend so they came down and stayed with us in our little home. As they came at the end of our two weeks, we were able to show them around like locals, taking them to our favourite spots and cooking them meals at home, this was a real thrill for us!

Showing our neighbourhood to Daniel & Denise

Exploring Utrecht and its surroundings

Exploring the neighbourhood on bike

14 days sounded like a lot at the start, but of course it slipped by way too quickly: with 3 day trips to Amsterdam, 1 day in Rotterdam and a weekend with our friends Denise and Daniel visiting, our time in Utrecht was pretty limited.

Just 14km out of the city centre, and an easy cycle away, is De Haar castle, the largest in the Netherlands. It is a picture perfect medieval castle, dating back to the 13th century. We are always in awe when we can visit a beautiful tourist site (especially right now, summer in Europe) and not be swamped by fellow tourists. We only visited the grounds of the castle (due to $$$) but we enjoyed such beautiful peace and serenity, it was true bliss.

Soaking in the magnificence of De Haar Castle

De Haar Castle

We also enjoyed cycling around the outskirts of Utrecht. Just 10km out from the city centre, the scenery becomes vastly different: the apartments and townhouses are replaced with farmland, beautiful large houses and so much greenery.

Outside of the city centre

Outside of the city centre

Travelling around the Netherlands

Having established a base in Utrecht, we also went off to explore some of the surrounding cities in the Netherlands and did a few days trips to Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Alkmaar.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Of course we had to visit Amsterdam and see this city for ourselves. We were incredibly lucky to have 3 different groups of friends visiting the city while we were there, so we could do 3 day trips to explore the city and catch up with them.

Amsterdam with Kiliane, Ben and their friends

Amsterdam with Gabriel

At the Ajax Arena with Bruno and Nena

Our impression of the city was that it's obviously incredibly beautiful. The streets, the canals, all the museums, cafés and bars create such a nice atmosphere. However, it is incredibly touristy. We went there midweek and it was still packed with people (apparently Amsterdam doesn't have a low season). The other thing that we didn't quite like was how the cannabis culture and the Red Light District seem to become the main attractions of the city, almost overtaking the other aspects of the quaint Dutch and Amsterdam culture.

Having said that, we did go out on a canal tour that was amazing, with a guide who explained to us that Amsterdam has 90km of canals that were built mainly to transport the goods that would come from the sea to this part of Europe. The canals were truly the water highways of that time. It was the best way to see the city and and understand how the canals work and how they fit into the lifestyle of the Dutch people.

Aereal shot of the Amsterdam canals. Source: Kennisactie Water

Rotterdam

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Also about 30min away on the train, Rotterdam has a completely different vibe to Utrecht and Amsterdam. The city was completely bombed by the Germans during World War II due to its strategic position and for being a port city. Sad as it is, it meant that the city had the opportunity to rebuild itself from scratch.

Rotterdam after the WW2 bombing. Source: History Online

So when you walk around the city, you can pretty much be sure that all the buildings are post-1940's. The government also did an amazing job at allowing architects to modernise the city with buildings of different shapes, colours and sizes. Some examples below:

Markthal, the city market

The Cube Houses and 'The Pencil'

Rotterdam and Amsterdam have a big, historical rivalry. And having visited both, we see that they couldn't be any more different. While Amsterdam is very well maintained with historical buildings, Rotterdam is the super-modern cousin, with shiny buildings and all-new roads. This rivalry even extends to football, with Ajax (Amsterdam) and Feyenoord (Rotterdam) making the biggest derby of the country. This makes it very interesting to visit both cities, as it offers two different insights into the Dutch culture.

Alkmaar

Cheese Festival, Alkmaar, Netherlands

Our last day trip was to this small city North of Amsterdam, called Alkmaar. What got our attention was that this city hosts a Cheese Festival every Friday during 6 months of the year. Enough to make us go all the way up there!

To be fair, we were a bit disappointed. Yes, the Cheese Festival was on, but it was more of a tourist show, with people dressed in the traditional way and carrying massive cheese wheels around, and not many stalls or street food selling cheesy products, as we were expecting.

The highlight was that one guy who was loading his truck with cheese wheels let us hold one for photos and told us we'd be better off going to the supermarket, where we could buy the exact same cheese for a fraction of the price! So that's what we did: we bought some food at the local supermarket and had a picnic by the water! Thanks, cheese truck driver!

Cheese wheels in Alkmaar, Netherlands

Picnic with the supermarket cheese, Alkmaar

Wrapping up

These two weeks in the Netherlands brought us some very important insights. Firstly, we loved Utrecht and the Dutch culture. The laid back lifestyle, the cycling culture and relaxed atmosphere has made us both seriously consider moving here one day. The language is very foreign and it would be a huge barrier, but we both left Utrecht feeling like we could come back here and try to get a job and live for a year or so (and to be honest pretty much everyone spoke english, so it wasn't a huge issue).

Secondly, we found that two weeks proved to be just the right amount of time in one city. By the end of it, we were both feeling a bit restless, not knowing what to do with ourselves and ready to pack up and go again. It's funny to feel that way, given that we were just craving some downtime.

Finally, this time allowed us to reconnect with ourselves. We both had time to read, do a bit of writing/journalling, exercise, watch a lot of Netflix and do nothing. We also found out that we are slowly discovering our "travel style" - we're learning what we like or not and being okay to do that, even if it's not exactly what other people recommend or what's on TripAdvisor.

We're now 5 months into our trip, and the halfway mark is fast approaching. We don't like to think like that and count down the time, but we do need to realise how fast things move, how much we're going through and make an effort to stay present, every day.

We're now off to Belgium for a few days before finally getting to the UK, our last stop in Europe! Hope you're still with us :)

Going to miss the laid back Dutch lifestyle...

PS: We're still trying to learn how to pronounce properly the name of the city... Here's a tutorial, if you want to have a go:

Cover photo: Utrecht, Netherlands. Taken on 5 Aug 2018.