Take, for example, the Benelux, the heart of Schengen, from which united Europe essentially originated exactly 45 years ago. Yes, in each of the three constituent countries you can easily spend a month, and even then you won't see or touch everything! However, whether the "Beneluxians" themselves want to be "touched" is another question. Perhaps that is why they have spent their lives as instigators of all sorts of unions, to better protect themselves from uninvited guests? And they only recently started letting tourists in. After all, just a few years ago, in the same Holland, such a concept as mass tourism did not exist, and no entry visas were issued to these idlers. Perhaps that is why most people only have ideas about these countries related to the feats of local football teams. And non-fans are deprived of even that knowledge.
I asked my acquaintance, who recently returned from a business (mostly) trip to this European reserve: do the Dutch, Belgians, and Luxembourgers themselves feel some kind of commonality, especially now when almost all of Europe has become one "Benelux" called the Schengen Union? It turned out they remember, feel, and sometimes even are proud. And to my question "What can you even do there in summer - look at ancient monuments instead of lounging on the beach?" the acquaintance answered briefly: "Everything."
"Everything you are looking for can be easily found in Holland, if you try."
So, there are beaches in the Netherlands too, and excellent ones. And this beach area is full of super hotels. And northern people swim, as expected, in the North Sea. Although the name is a bit cold, the water warms up to +19 in summer, which, in my opinion, is much better than "milk" at +25-30. In general, those who do not tolerate our heat well will be able to love the beautiful summer again here. The average air temperature at this time is +17-20, and the sun does not just not scorch, but generally tries not to be annoying - on average per year, according to local weather forecasters, there are only 35 clear days. You will have to carry an umbrella, of course, but it is even stylish, you can try different models. But, of course, only some inhabitant of the European outback would go to Holland exclusively for the sea - he has seen everything else anyway. For our person, old Europe is also a spectacle. Of everything - houses, people, various shows, nightlife.
The Dutch have a saying: "It is best to live in The Hague, work in Rotterdam, and relax in Amsterdam." So, the main city for tourists is Amsterdam. There is no industry, offices, or anything like that here, and Amsterdam's hotels are primarily oriented towards tourists. Hence the daily routine is corresponding: Amsterdam usually wakes up at 2-3 in the afternoon and falls asleep at 4-5 at night. Therefore, walking around night Amsterdam is not only fun but also safe. But my acquaintance was advised not to go out at seven in the morning, because it is at this blissful hour that the notorious public looks for a place to get high, sober up, etc. After all, Amsterdam, as any of our people know, is the capital of all vices.
The Netherlands is the only country in the world where the consumption of soft drugs is permitted. However, for importing and exporting the stuff, you can get up to 12 years. It is curious that with such permissiveness - gays, lesbians, strip bars, prostitution - the country ranks last in Europe in crime, especially serious crime - robberies, muggings, murders. Whether one is a natural consequence of the other is a mystery. I am only sure that such a stunt would be fatal for us.
By the way, about bars. My acquaintance, in the company of friends, repeatedly conducted an experiment, dropping into drinking establishments of, so to speak, non-traditional orientation. There were no problems like "men should not go to the toilet one at a time". A completely normal, calm atmosphere. Regulars treated such visits almost friendly. And not at all in the sense that could be thought with our corrupted imagination, but in the sense that they said to our guys: "You are from Ukraine. It is useful for you to see. Maybe you will also start treating different people normally." That is, they are "in the know" about our mentality.
Such narrow specialization exists not only for bars, but also for pools, clubs, shops, parks. Our tourists often even take photos as souvenirs with representatives of sexual minorities, of course, having previously asked permission. Refusals almost never happen. Is there some element of play in all this? Who the hell knows! In any case, the famous Love Parade, which takes place in Amsterdam in late July - early August, is an unforgettable show, and it is quite possible that fully traditional orientations participate in it, posing as gays and lesbians. They sail in boats along the famous canals, both picturesquely dressed and maximally undressed.
What else? Cheese and tulips - banal. Tired of cities - go ahead to rural Holland! You can talk about it endlessly. Dams, terps (hills that have been piled up since ancient times to protect against floods), towns on the site of former seas (Lelystad). Amusing care for nature. For example, a power line almost touching the ground - so that geese don't bump into it during migration (interesting - and what about people?). Or a highway fenced with reflective posts like a fence - to keep mammals cautious. Or whole clusters of almost feral livestock - so these cows trim the grass for the wintering of migrating geese-swans, which, you see, do not respect overgrown grass. And people! And their houses! It is quite instructive to look. Such trips won't take much time - distances are short, train punctuality is not inferior to German, and you can also rent a car.
"Delight of the heart, feast for lips and eyes..."
In summer, Belgium's climate is no different from the Netherlands. But prices here are on average somewhat lower, including in hotels. Perhaps because there are fewer visitors - after all, of the entire Benelux trio, it is Holland that is more favored by tourists. I don't know if this is connected with the permissiveness there on the sexual and other fronts, but, for example, in Belgium, possession, use, and trafficking of drugs are punished very severely. So life in this country is calmer even in summer. And the carnivals here are less pompous, perhaps, although no less curious: bear carnivals in the Ardennes, frog races in Schoenberg, a procession of witches in Beselare, the Festival of the Canals in Bruges...
It is with Bruges that it makes sense to begin exploring the country, if only for the simple reason that it is, so to speak, a historical reserve of the Benelux. Now it is called "sleepy Bruges," but when neither Berlin nor Amsterdam existed yet, the city was called the northern Venice and rivaled Paris itself. Why did it become sleepy? From my own personal experience, I can only say that when there are too many "show-offs" and bubble-blowing around, you involuntarily want to close your eyes and immerse yourself in inner peace. Maybe Bruges is the same? And all around are the cool ones - Parises, Viennas, Brusseis... But in Bruges you get the impression that you have fallen into the 14th-15th century.
Traffic only happens in the morning, and even then it's food delivery. During the day there are exclusively bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, and boats. In the historic part, which, by the way, is located as if on an island (surrounded by canals - hence "Venice"), traffic is generally maximally restricted. And when a car suddenly drives by, respectable Belgians look on literally with horror - where from? In general, a fairy-tale place! History has frozen! In purely tourist terms, Bruges is the most expensive of all Belgian cities. For example, apartments are very expensive. At the same time, the level of service is so extreme that even if you are placed in some no-star youth hostel (and there are many), you will be in complete confidence that you are living almost in a luxury suite. Listing the sights is a tedious task, but remember the city hall with a clock tower with 47 bells, and the Notre-Dame Cathedral (not to be confused with Quasimodo's in Paris!) 135 m high.
Two more tourist centers of Belgium that will be recommended to you everywhere for visiting are Brussels and Antwerp. They are worth it. True, in the capital, stuffed with various European officialdom like NATO, restaurants are very expensive, but there are plenty of boulevards and parks. Brussels also has its own prestigious designation - "little Paris." You understand that Paris, even a small one, is always interesting. It's funny that there is also a Notre-Dame Cathedral here. Antwerp, a relative of Amsterdam, is also a large port. There is not a single bridge in it, but there is... right - the Notre-Dame Cathedral - the largest church in Belgium, built of white stone. Well, and of course, the Rubens House-Museum (don't even think about not going in - a blood offense, you hear!).
Traveling around Belgium is even easier than around the Netherlands, because it is smaller: from Antwerp to Brussels is half an hour's drive, and to Bruges - one and a half. You can go by car or by rail. You can even pop over from Belgium to England via the tunnel under the English Channel, but that's another story. What my acquaintance remembered most, however, was Belgian beer. German beer is class, he said, but Belgian beer is even better!
"Once a proud castle stood in a certain land. From sea to sea it extended its power."
Well, from sea to sea is, of course, a bit loudly said. But in the second half of the 10th century, the fortress on the site of present-day Luxembourg was one of the strongest fortifications in Europe, and later the French called the duchy "the gateway to Paris and Lorraine." Getting to know Luxembourg is, as you might guess, even easier than getting to know Belgium, since it is 12 times smaller. Moreover, it is indeed a country, not a single city, as some might think. There are plenty of cities and towns here. The largest are Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Differdange, and Pétange. The capital is a spectacle in itself. It is located as if below, while all roads and bridges (similar to Roman ones - arched) go above it. The panorama is, excuse me, stunning! See it - and die! The city seems to grow out of the mountain. If the Netherlands reclaimed land from the sea, then Luxembourg did so from the rocks. It is also called the "Gibraltar of the North," probably both for the external similarity of the landscape and for its equally complex political fate.
Architecture - the palace of the Dukes of Nassau from the 14th-16th centuries, the Chamber of Deputies, and the same traditional Notre-Dame Cathedral for French-speaking regions with Renaissance-style sculptures. One of the architects who worked on the eye-pleasing "appearance" of the Old Town was Vauban, the architect of Louis XIV himself. Over the deep valley of the River Pétrusse are thrown more than 67 bridges and viaducts - more than in any other European capital. And over an 84-meter abyss hangs a metal bridge - one of the longest in Europe.
English won't help in communication. Officially, German and French have equal status in the country, but the majority of citizens, understandably, speak a mixture - Letzeburgesch. In junior school grades, they study German; in senior grades, French; and when they come home, they perfect Letzeburgesch. There have so far been no battles over the most official language.
What else? Luxembourgers value their time very much. If in Germany, for example, everyone works until the last visitor, then in Luxembourg - strictly until 18:00. Whether there are visitors or not, everything closes. There is almost no nightlife.