MurkTravels

Europe 2017

Decided to explore around western Europe. The trip lined up with a friend also traveling away from that same region. So I got to house sit for a few weeks in The Hague, Netherlands. I took the time to visit some other close cities too.

The Hague is an absolutely incredible city. There are plenty of personal and public transit options (big trains, light rail, bus, bike, walk) to get around easy. The city is home to several buildings and museums related to world peace. Somewhat related, it's home to the world court that handles disputes between international countries. You can walk through parks, go out to the beach community, or explore the main metro area that has a range of old castles, new age buildings, and all the hippest coffee shops. I grabbed some local delicious food, both at a farmers market as well as with fast food and the cities finest restaurants.

For some day trips, I checked out Antwerp and Brussels in neighboring Belgium. Antwerp has an incredible train station with gold everywhere. The local shops are known for their jewelry and chocolates. Brussels has Grand Place, Delirium, mini-Europe, the Atomium, and lots of cool architecture.

Another trip was farther north into the Netherlands to check out Leiden. It's a smaller city with a castle and city square where locals hang out. But the big attraction in the spring is the surrounding farms and the Keukenhof gardens to see the tulips blooming. Also checked out the main metro cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

These two little countries are an amazing region of Europe, and one of my favorites.
Continue to the next article for the Belgium pictures.

map

pictures

All travel and events albums on Facebook : Murk Travels albums
Belgium Album
Netherlands album

Netherland sites

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Vacation

Although I had been on a cruise ship before, the previous one was a quick 2 day jaunt to the Bahamas in chilly and rainy weather. So I consider this my first "real" cruise experience: involving tanning in the sun on the pool deck, lazy days on the ocean, multiple port visits, being a tourist, and many many buffets. This was in February 2016.

We started the vacation in Miami the day before. We had lived there before, so didn't need to see the sites. We relaxed on the beach, walked up Lincoln Road in Miami Beach and enjoyed the top floor mega-suite at the IHG InterContinental in downtown Miami on the harbor. Check out the video of our penthouse.

After a few days of enjoying the ocean, and all that the Norwegian escape had to offer, we were at the main destinations. I'm skipping over the experience of the cruise ship a bit, but it had a huge outdoor theater, water slides, a ropes course, casinos, shops, and lots of entertainment and restaurants. Our main port stops included:

• Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, USVI
• Road Town, Tortola, BVI
• Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, BVI
• Nassua, New Providence, Bahamas

Highly recommend:

• relaxing at picturesque Magens Bay on St Thomas
• swimming and walking around the Baths National Park on Virgin Gorda
• the local street markets on all of the islands
• relaxing on a cruise !

Trip Map

Pictures

View from suite at IHG hotel in downtown Miami the day before the cruise:

Taking a ferry between 2 of the BVI ports:

Walking and swimming at the Baths:

the St Thomas cruise port:

Panoramic of the cruise ship:

Videos

A relaxing look at the boat wake when we were out at sea.

Walking through the Baths National Park (take 1)

Walking through the Baths National Park (take 2)

Leaving the island of Tortola.

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

oh the places I've been

Below is a list of the places I've been (35 countries and counting). For each is links to the planning and information that I've curated and used. It includes maps, recommendations, articles, and more

Country (and region) List:

• Australia
• Bahamas
• BELGIUM - Brussels
• Belize
• Cambodia - Siem Reap
• Canada
• China - Hong Kong
• Colombia - Bogota - Cartagena - Medellin
• Costa Rica
• Czech Republic - Prague
• Denmark
• Egypt
• France
• Germany - Heidelberg - Mannheim - Munich - Neuschwanstein castle - Stuttgart
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• JAPAN - Kyoto , Nagoya , Osaka , Tokyo
• Luxembourg - Luxembourg City
• the Maldives
• Mexico
• the Netherlands - The Hague - Leiden
• North Macedonia
• NORWAY - Lofoten , Oslo
• Panama
• Peru - Cusco, Huacachina, Ica, Machu Picchu, Mancora, Sacred Valley, Tingo Maria
• Qatar
• Sweden
• Turkey
• United Arab Emirates
• UNITED KINGDOM - British Virgin Islands - London
• UNITED STATES - Colorado - Florida - Iowa - Minnesota - New Mexico - US Virgin Islands
• Vatican City
• Vietnam

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

My travel map

• TBD

Resources for planning a trip

• Czech wiki travel
• Czech Tourism
• Prague

--> see the full list of countries and regions that I've been to and have information about = TRAVEL REFERENCES

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

My travel map

• TBD

Resources for planning a trip

• Costa Rica wiki travel
• Costa Rica Tourism

--> see the full list of countries and regions that I've been to and have information about = TRAVEL REFERENCES

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

My travel map

• Colombia

Resources for planning a trip

• Colombia wiki travel
• Colombia Tourism
• Bogota
• Cartagena
• Medellin

--> see the full list of countries and regions that I've been to and have information about = TRAVEL REFERENCES

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

My travel map

• China - TBD
• Hong Kong map
• Taiwan map

Resources for planning a trip

• China wiki travel
• China Tourism
• Hong Kong Tourism
• Taiwan Tourism

--> see the full list of countries and regions that I've been to and have information about = TRAVEL REFERENCES

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen