[Europe] From Amsterdam to Brussels with Mega Bus

It was the second day of my Europe Trip, and we're going to Brussels. To go to Brussels, i chose to take a "Mega Bus" ride from Amsterdam. The bus fare is quite cheaper than a train ride, £14 pp (it costs €40 pp to take Thalys train). And it also doesn't take a long time to go to Brussels (about 3 hours). Otherwise, i want to have an experience to go to another city by taking a bus. It must be nice with a beautiful view that i would see.

We started this trip from Amsterdam Centraal Station. We took tram 26 at CS tram Oostzijde towards IJBurg, and get down at the 4th stop (Zuiderzeeweg). Right behind this stopped, you'll see a large parking area, called "Zeeburg P&R coach park". This is the place where we gonna take Mega Bus.

inside the tram

When we arrived, the place was so quite. Even i couldn't see any people there. I feel worried if we're at the wrong place. Because we were there with large luggages, and it's gonna be hard for us to find another transportation.

Luckily, we met the security, and he told me that the place was at the end of the parking area. We walked to that place, and he was right. We saw a Mega Bus there. But there's no people there. Maybe it's too early ( i came 90 minutes before departure schedule :P)

30 minutes before the departure, peoples started to come. The staff checked our printed ticket (we've made reservation before) and the bus was ready to go. The departure schedule is at 11.30 am. Make sure you won't come late. Because they will not wait for you.

The bus is clean and comfortable. They also have a restroom inside the bus. So don't worry about the long trip ^^ During this trip, we saw the beautiful view of Netherlands. I'm so glad that we took this bus. So we could enjoy the view in Netherlands. Even though we're not exploring another city at Netherlands.

First time i made reservation at Mega Bus, they told me that the bus would stop at "Bruxelles Central" station. That's why we chose this bus. Because it's not far from the "Grand Place", so we could take a walk from the station to Grand Place. But, about 1 month before departure, i received an email from "Mega Bus". They told me that the stop has been changed. Start from July 16th, 2015, Mega Bus will stop at Rue du Progres, next to Gare du Nord.

It was confusing me at the first time. Because i didn't know anything about Gare du Nord area, and i was afraid running out of time in Brussels. However, when we were there, it didn't confused me as i was thinking before. I just need to take a train at the Gare du Nord towards Bruxelles Midi, and get down at the first stop (Bruxelles Central).

at Gare du Nord, Brussels 

Well, welcome to Brussels!! Don't forget to try the "real" Belgian waffles (and chocolate too!!). It's so delicious ^^

P.S. :

Don't forget to make a reservation at megabus.com few days before, and print your ticket. You can't buy the ticket on the spot.

Fish & Chips - Volendam

When you're in Volendam, there are 2 kinds of food you should try : herring and fish & chips. You can find many food stalls selling fish & chips and herring at Volendam. However, while i was there, it was raining and the weather was really cold. I need a place that is warm enough to shelter and have a lunch. That's why i went to Fish & Chips Volendam. Otherwise, this restaurant also quite famous in Volendam.

The place is quite small, but they have 2 floors. It wasn't crowded while i was there. So i could get a place easily.

They have various kinds of food. Not just fish & chips, they also have seafood platter and herring as well.

The fish and chips (and seafood platter), served with salad. If you like, you also can add paella rice on the plate. Just for your information , the portion was really big. I think 1 plate can be shared for 2 persons.

Fish & Chips

Overall, the foods was not really good, but it's also not bad. The paella rice was so different with the "real" paella, it's quite tasteless. But, the fish and chips was delicious and tasty. It's crispy and so fresh. They just fried it when you place an order.

How about the herring??
Sorry, but i wasn't brave enough to eat the herring. Because it's a raw fish , and some people said that the taste was fishy. However, if you like to eat raw fish, you should try this traditional food of Volendam.




Fish & Chips Volendam
Haven 22, 1131 ER Volendam, Netherlands

[Europe] Homemade Cheese at Cheese Factory Volendam

Everybody knows, the Dutch produce various kinds of cheese, such as Gouda, Edam, etc. Even you can see the making process of the cheese at its town. Of course that's a heaven for cheese lover (like me^^).

While i was walking at Volendam, i found a famous cheese store called "Cheese Factory Volendam". 

At this store, i saw different types of cheese. I had no idea about the differences between one cheese and another. Luckily, there's a kind lady who worked there. She explained to me about all the cheese they had.

First time i felt interested with the Gouda cheese. Until she introduced their -best seller- homemade cheese. She told me that their homemade cheese is not made in a factory. They only make it at this store. You also can see how they made the cheese at the museum, which located at the same place with the store.

They only have 1 size for the homemade cheese. It's quite big for me. Because my family doesn't really like to eat cheese. I asked her about the expired date for the homemade cheese. And her answer was surprising me. She said that the cheese could be stored for along time, up to 2 years. It doesn't need to be put at the refrigerator. Just put it at the room temperature. The longer it is stored, the texture of the cheese will be even harder. However, the taste will be more delicious.

They only have 1 store, and it's at Volendam. So, when you go to Volendam, don't forget to take the time to go to the cheese factory Volendam. You will not regret it.




Cheese Factory Volendam
Haven 25 1131EP, Volendam, The Netherlands
Open daily:
• From March 16th - October 31st 09:30 - 18:30
• November 1st - March 15th 10:30 - 17:00
Website : http://www.cheesefactoryvolendam.com/

[Europe] Volendam - a pretty little town

Have you ever seen a picture of the peoples wearing Holland's traditional costume? What do you think about that? Do you want to take a picture like that? Well, if you do, you must go to Volendam.

Volendam known as a place to take a "Photograph in Costume". In this case, the costume is a Holland's traditonal costume. Everyone who goes to Netherlands, they must go to Volendam to take pictures with their family as a keepsake. That's the only reason for me to go to Volendam.

From Amsterdam, i took bus 316 (towards Volendam - Edam) at Amsterdam, Centraal Station IJzijde. You can use "Amsterdam and Region Day Card" to take this bus. It only took 40 minutes to go to Volendam. FYI, the bus stop isn't in front of the station. But it's located inside the station, at the 2nd floor. Just follow the sign with a "bus" picture. You'll find the bus station, and the bus departure schedule board.

Tap your card here

Along the way, I saw a sight I will not get in the big cities. Vast rice fields, a group of cows, they look very beautiful and "green". I also see the windmill, which became a symbol of the Netherlands.

We took a stop at "Julianaweg / Centrum". That's the nearest stop with the place that i want to go, Foto de Boer. From the stop, we walked past the houses of local people in Volendam. Their houses are very small. But everything looks neat and aligned between the home with each other. They also planted colorful flowers in front of the house. I really like the atmosphere here, very quiet, and cool weather made us feel comfortable to walk.

Foto de Boer is a famous photography studio to take pictures with the costumes in Volendam. Its located at the Haven. We paid €39,5 for 7 peoples, and we got 2 photos with a large size. So many Indonesian peoples go to this place, even they make the instructions in Bahasa.

They said that the pictures will be completed within 30 minutes. We used the time to walk around. Along the way Haven, we see many people selling fish and chips and a herring in front of the pier. But, they don't have any chair for us to sit. At that time the weather is becoming increasingly cold because of the rain, coupled with high winds that made us cold. We kept walking and looking for the restaurant. And we found the famous "Fish & Chips" restaurant in Volendam. That's a perfect place for lunch!!

After had a lunch, we were strolling along the Haven street. At this place, you can find a lot of souvenir stores, and food stalls. You also can go to Amsterdam Cheese Company at this street. I also found a good place to eat poffertjes. It's  "IJs & Wafelhuis" They're selling waffle, poffertjes, and pancake as well. My favorite is the poffertjes. It's so yumm... I also bought some strawberries at this place. The strawberries are huge, and really sweet. It's not sour at all.

If you go to Volendam at summer, you can go to Marken by a ship from the pier. However i didn't have a lot of time so i just enjoyed my time in Volendam.

Before returning to Amsterdam, we took pictures along the way. The weather was very cold. But we really enjoyed the view and the quiet atmosphere there. I did not expect, a small town would make a very memorable memories for me. Someday, I will come back here, and try to stay at home as local people.

Foto de Boer
Haven 82, 1131 ET Volendam, Netherlands
http://www.fotoinvolendamkostuum.nl/