In just a couple months, we’ll be embarking on our greatest travel adventure together: six weeks in Europe! The first two weeks will be heavy on the travel, and the last month will be spent in the Hague; we’re home swapping with a cool Dutch couple who are crazy about country music and have always wanted to come to Nashville.
Everyone keeps asking us what the plan is, so here’s the basic idea:
The first two weeks will be more vacation-y, including 8 nights in Barcelona, 3 nights in Paris, and 2 nights in Bruges.
After arriving in Holland (or is it The Netherlands? We must learn the difference before we go!), we’ll stay with some friends of my dad’s for a couple nights and get a chance to meet our home swap partners before they depart for the US.
Then it’s four weeks living and working full-time from the Hague. Justin will be working double duty as that’s the beginning of football season and he has a lot to write for FootballGuys.com; and I’ll be managing my newly expanded production team from seven hours ahead! We’ll be testing the full limits of our remote work and lifestyle. I can’t wait to embrace the freedom and confront the challenges head on.
We want to plan a long weekend that will let us quickly explore London and/or Dublin, and another shorter weekend trip up to the northern part of the Netherlands to visit friends in Groeningen (and maybe dash over to Bad Schwartau for a night).
Justin’s never been to Europe and it’s been four years since I last went (and eleven since I lived there! #feelingold), so it will be a nice mix of new places for the both of us. I’ve never been to Spain or Bruges, and have only spent a day in the Hague, during a past trip to Amsterdam. It’s been over a decade since I’ve been to Dublin or London, and one can never visit Paris too many times :-p
It’s a lot to see and do in six weeks but I think the home exchange will allow us to settle in, not feel rushed, and get a more local experience. Now, we just have to finish getting ready over the next few weeks. I’m already starting to feel like a kid on Christmas Eve — can’t sleep, too excited! — and before I know it, we’ll be waving au revoir! Or I suppose, vaarwel min vrienden, vaarwel!
Have YOU been to Holland? What should we see? Where should we go? Send us any recommendations for enjoying the Netherlands (specifically in den Haag).