Winter Break in Europe
Confession: I hate winter. So much. The cold. The wet. The dark. All of it. And as a California girl, living in a new state where winter lasts for six months is brutal. The only way I’ve found to escape? Spend the winters somewhere AWESOME.
Contrary to popular opinion, I forego the warm, sunny, beachy locations in favor of places with a similar wintery climate. Why? Because it makes winter magical for me! The snow-covered architecture, holiday festivities, and sense of adventure make the cold feel like a scene from a Hallmark movie in December. I also don’t get jealous of the locals living in paradise when I have to fly back to negative temperatures.
So we’ve made it a tradition to spend our winter break holidays in Europe, at least for now. This two-week trip through Bruges, Amsterdam, Bremen, and Copenhagen offers a plethora of both interesting historical facts and fairy tale magic.
Getting There
We flew into Copenhagen for this trip, because that was the cheapest flight we could find from D.C. It was also cheaper to fly round trip than open jaw (when you arrive in one city and leave from another), so we started and ended our trip in Copenhagen. The day after our flight arrived, we chose to take a long series of trains to Bruges, Belgium and then slowly work our way back over the next two weeks.
Stop One: Brugge, Belgium
Brugge (or Bruges, whichever you like), was easily our favorite stop on this trip. I had been once before, 8 years prior, and can’t say enough about the wonder of this town. Honestly, I’m having a hard time convincing my husband to vacation anywhere else now.
Things to do in Brugge on Winter Break
You MUST visit the Christmas Markets. Must Must Must. Just be careful. My husband wandered off and ended up at a booth selling delicious French meats and cheeses. He had (without realizing it) spent over 150 Euros on fancy cheese before I found him and pointed out the price tags. Thankfully the man vacuum-sealed it for us so we were able to bring it home as edible gifts for all our friends and family. There is one in Markt Square and also at Simon Stevinplein, another small town square.
Eat ALL the chocolate. Hot chocolate. Chocolate bars. Chocolate on crepes. Chocolate on waffles.
And, while you’re at it, eat ALL the waffles. Sweet waffles. Savory waffles. Waffles you eat sitting down. Waffles you order through a walk-up takeaway window.
Climb the Belfry and check out the views from this 83-meter-high UNESCO world heritage site.
Take a canal boat tour. The best way to see Bruges is by boat. These weren’t super crowded because it was cold, which made it so much better. Just dress warm and be ready to hear some sweet Belgian stories!
Walk around and look at things. Really. See Markt Square (but maybe don’t eat at the restaurants there…we found the prices to be a bit higher than most other places). Stand in Burg Square and admire the Basilica and City Hall. Walk along the canals and down to the Lake of Love.
And, speaking of love, go kiss your lover on the Kissing Bridge (Bonifacius Bridge), or the Lover’s Bridge in Minnewater Park. There are apparently multiple kissing locations around this town because, well, why not be in love here?
What to Eat and Drink
Waffles. And chocolate. And crepes. Oh my.
Really, you can walk down the street and find about a hundred different places to eat something yummy. These were our favorites:
Have tea time at The Old Chocolate House. Just get there early. And get a giant hot chocolate instead of tea.
We ate at Bierbrasserie Cambrinus twice because we enjoyed it so much. And it had all the yummy Belgian beers my sweet husband could want.
Creperie de Bretoen. I had a DIVINE crepe with caramel and pears here. Plus, of course, hot chocolate.
Buy chocolate bars to share with all your friends (or not) at Dumon Chocolatiers. Unless, of course, you’ve already spent all your gift money on fancy French Christmas cheese.
Cafe Rose Red. Yummy tapas and trappist beer in a rose-themed dining room.
Christmas markets. These are great places to get all the yummy foods, not just cheese. And they’ll put Baileys or Amaretto in your hot chocolate too.
Where to stay in Brugge
We stayed in a really neat 500-year-old house, super close to Markt Square. The house was built way back in Medieval times and had a (kind of creepy kind of cool) puppet theater downstairs.
If you’re not into that, which I totally get, another great option is the Aragon Hotel. Really, you’ll just want a place that’s close to Markt and Burg Squares.
Stop Two: Amsterdam, Netherlands
To get from Brugge to Amsterdam, we made use of our EURail pass and took the train! It was an easy walk from our house (made easier because we were able to carry our backpacks instead of having to roll suitcases along the adorably European cobblestone streets). It was a roughly 3-hour trip from Bruges Central Station to Amsterdam.
Wintery Things to Do in Amsterdam
Lucky us, we got to Amsterdam the week their government enacted a COVID lockdown (we were there in December 2021). But, as terrible as that sounds, there were actually a lot of perks too.
See the Light Festival: Each year, Amsterdam hosts a Festival of Lights, that is waaaay more than just a trail of Christmas lights. People put together art installations all around the city and they are STUNNING. We had originally planned to take a canal cruise through the lights, but it was canceled because of the lockdown. So we followed a self-guided walking tour for miles and miles in the cold to look at all the pieces instead, which was probably a good idea after all the waffles and chocolate we had eaten in Bruges.
Visit the Anne Frank Museum. This was another one of the plans that got canceled because of the shutdown, but we still walked over to see the outside of the house. If we’re fortunate enough to go back to Amsterdam, we’ll definitely be visiting this museum.
Same thing for the Van Gogh Museum.
Walk along the canals and up to Prinseneiland. Even though most things were closed while we were there, the magic of the city was still alive. And, even better, we weren’t surrounded by crowds of tourists. One of the best parts was just walking along the canals and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery and trying to not get run over by a bicycle.
What to Eat and Drink in Amsterdam
Honestly, Amsterdam was pretty shut down while we were there, so we mostly ate at the cafe in our hostel and food that we bought at the grocery store. But. If we were to go back, I would make sure we ate at:
Albert Cuyp - an outdoor market started in 1905
The Pancake Bakery - I NEED to try Dutch pancakes
Winkel 43 for apple pie
ANYWHERE I could find olibollen - They’re these kind of donut-hole covered in powdered sugar pieces of heaven that my dad’s wife makes every year on New Year’s, but our search this time was in vain. Wah.
Where to stay
We stayed in the Generator Hostel Amsterdam. It was pretty quiet while we were there, and they had a cafe that served up yummy food and drinks. We got a private room because we’re old now and that’s what we like, and it was awesome. It was on the corner of the building, so two of the walls were just floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Oosterpark and the city skyline.
If hostels aren’t your thing, and you’d like to be near the city center, check out the Park Plaza Victoria Hotel. It’s a short walk to the train station and attractions like the Anne Frank House.
Stop Three: Bremen, Germany
Bremen is just another easy train ride away from Amsterdam, and it’s so easy to fall in love with this town! It’s small, so you don’t need a ton of time here, but we’d recommend a couple of days at least. The Town Hall and Roland statue are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Buskers play music in the alleyways and a glockenspiel puts on a show at the top of the hour in the afternoons. And of course, we can’t forget the incredible German food and beer!
Things to do in Bremen:
Visit Hachez for some German chocolate. The second largest German chocolate manufacturer, it was founded in the 1800s in Bremen and is one of the oldest chocolate factories in Northern Germany.
Read the story of The Bremen Town Musicians, then go see the statue. Oh, and you have to rub the donkey’s nose for luck!
Explore Market Square. You can visit St Peter’s Cathedral, a church that has been there for more than 1,200 years. The Town Hall and the Roland Statue outside are from the 1400’s and have been dedicated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can also see the contrasting, controversial State Parliament building, thought to be too modern when it was designed in 1966.
Visit the Schnoor, Bremen’s oldest district, dating back to medieval times. The streets are too small for cars, so pedestrians rule this part of town.
Take a stroll to the Am Wall Windmill in Wallanlegan Park.
What to eat and drink in Bremen
In the basement of the Town Hall, the Ratskeller was an amazing restaurant that I wanted to live inside forever.
Right outside the Hotel Classico was a restaurant dating back to the 1400’s called Spitzen Gebel. It was closed while we were there, which really bummed me out.
Or, if you like really large glasses of German beer and traditional German meals, check out Schüttinger Gasthausbrauerei, Bremen’s oldest pub and brewery.
Where to stay
We stayed in and recommend the Boutique Hotel Classico in the town square. It was perfect! The rooms were very nice and the bathrooms came with a towel warmer (my favorite thing about both times I’ve visited Germany)! Plus, our windows opened right into Market Square, so we could enjoy the beautiful view from our room. There was also a gelato shop and cafe downstairs, with a really delicious breakfast.
Stop Four: Copenhagen, Denmark
The bookends of our trip, it was lovely to come back to Copenhagen as a place that felt a little familiar for our last few days. It was the most expensive stop on our trip, so be prepared for that, but it was also a happy place filled with friendly, welcoming people.
Things to do in Copenhagen:
Take a boat tour along the canals. We loved getting a view of the city from the water.
Walk through the King’s Garden at Rosenborg Castle.
Get tattoos at Tattoo Ole. This is the oldest still operating tattoo shop in the world. Ole, one of the owners from the early part of the 1900s, was the King of Denmark’s tattoo artist at that time. Little Ole, the woman who owns the shop now, is the first female tattoo artist from the Faroe Islands.
Visit the Little Mermaid statue (or skip the crowd and see it from the boat on your canal tour) and the iconic Nyhavn Street if you’re feeling touristy.
Visit Freetown Christiania, an autonomous town established by hippies on a former military barracks in the 1970s. It is full of graffiti murals, cobblestone streets, and artsy cafes. It’s a peaceful place, but be sure to research before you go - there are rules and norms you want to respect as a tourist!
See Amalienborg Palace and the Old Stock Exchange, one of the oldest buildings in Copenhagen, with a mysterious legend behind it.
What to eat and drink:
The Globe Irish Pub: We celebrated New Year’s here, and though they closed early to avoid the New Year’s crazy (which we found to be the case at a lot of places nearby), we spent most of the night there eating, drinking, and playing a dice game with the bartender.
Atelier September is a cute cafe that served up yummy coffee drinks and pastries. We ordered takeaway because it was super busy, so get there early if you want a seat inside.
We had some warm frothy drinks and snacks at Mo’Joe Kitchen and Bar and sat outside on a very rainy day. What would have usually depressed me at home actually felt magical and very European, sitting on a wicker chair listening to people speak in languages I didn’t know.
The restaurants in the Nyhavn district were more expensive, (we stopped and ate at McJoy’s Choice when we got there and it was delicious, and cost us just about a whole day’s budget) but there were plenty of food stands left over from the Christmas markets that were ending when we arrived. Plus, lots and lots of places to get glogg, a hot mulled wine that will warm you right up!
Where to stay:
Urban Camper Hostel. This hostel made it feel like we were glamping, with makeshift canvas tents and plants everywhere. We got a private room that had windows all around, which I love more than just about anything.
If you want to be closer to the Nyhavn district and more shopping near Kongens Nytorv Square, the Generator Copenhagen is a luxury-style hostel that was also very comfortable. We, once again, got a private room with lots of windows and a private bathroom. Perfect for those of us who feel too old for dorm rooms but also like we want to still be cool hostel travelers.
What we read, because every adventure needs a good book
We had so much train time on this trip, so I read through a couple of books.
The Little Paris Bookshop. 4 stars. I really liked the characters in this one and it got me in the European spirit.
The Lending Library. I gave it 3 stars, but it was an easy vacation read for sure.
Confessions of a Curious Bookseller. Gosh, I had a theme that month, didn’t I? I gave this one 3 stars, but looking back I feel like it deserved two and I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. The main character was NOT likeable. At all.
Classroom Impact
The most difficult aspect of this trip for us was not speaking the native languages. While most places are super gracious and accept our English speaking, I always think about how much better it would be if we could converse with the locals more fluently. So in my classroom, I take as many opportunities as I can to introduce my students to words and phrases in other languages. I’ve been lucky to teach mostly bilingual students, so we celebrate and encourage that. When we read stories about other cultures or countries, we look up ways to say simple phrases like “hello” or “how are you?” to acknowledge that English is just one of many ways to communicate. I weave in sign language and AAC boards and students know that those are equally valid ways to talk to their peers as well. My hope is to inspire a desire to know more than one language, and encourage them to pursue learning about culture beyond the time they are in my classroom.
Do you incorporate different languages or diverse methods of communication in your classroom? Or, on a non-teaching note, which aspect of this winter itinerary through northwestern Europe excites you the most?
