My First European Christmas

For those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram or Twitter, may not know that I’ve been spending my Christmas vacation in Europe. While the main reason for the trip was to spend Christmas with Ben’s family, I also have a goal to visit 30 countries before I’m 30. So, when we decided to make the trek to England to celebrate Boxing day with my new English family, we also decided to tack on another two countries for my first European Christmas.

Here’s the breakdown

Vacation days used: 6

Total days away: 12

Countries visited: England, Belgium, Netherlands

Cities visited: Billericay, Ghent, Bruges, Ypes, Brussels, Amsterdam

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1-3: Billericay, England

On Boxing Day we arrived first thing in the morning into Gatwick airport. The flight we took was a Red Eye with Air Transat. Now typically I am a huge fan of Air Transat as I’ve normally ever been on their newer fleets but for whatever reason on Christmas night we we boarded the plane it was an old one, with no Tv’s, smaller seats, and a somewhat more unpleasant flight crew. I also got stuck in front of a horrible mother-daughter pair who I quite literally almost got in a fist fight with (I’m not proud of the few choice words that were sent back and forth between us). Needless to say we arrived beyond exhausted and a bit grumpy. All that changed when we saw Mr. & Mrs. H at the airport though. We spent the rest of the days with family and friends making the most of our time there.

Day 4: Brussels, Belgium

We woke up early on Day 4 to start the drive into Brussels. It was actually a lot longer of a process than I would have expected. Upon reaching the English Channel we drove right onto the train that then took us under water (bit of a weird experience). From there it was about a 2.5 hour drive into Brussels. Brussels was much different than I thought it was going to be, it was beautiful, spacious, and not that busy. I did however feel a bit unsafe there given that the day we were there they foiled a New Years Eve terrorist attack.

Day 5-6: Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This seemed like a much better idea at the time than it was. Unless you’re a twenty-something year old male looking to get messed up for New Years Eve, I would recommend skipping the city to ring in the new year. Everything else about the city I loved. We did everything I wanted to do as well in two days despite the lines and amount of people that had come into the city for the holiday. I couldn’t believe how unique and well maintained all of the buildings were lined up in rows all along the canals. Amsterdam was very easily done in two days.

Day 7 Ghent, Belgium

The drive from Amsterdam to Ghent is a fairly quick one, just over an hour along the highways. Because Ghent is such a small city you can easily do it in a couple of hours like we did. The Christmas markets were still up and beautiful to walk around, especially at night. The historical centre of the city is walkable in two hours if you really take your time. There is so much history in this little town and definitely worth a stop in.

Day 8: Ypres, Belgium

Ypres may seem like a bit of a strange destination along this trip but if you’re anything like me and a lover of history – especially World War one, than I would recommend a stop here. There are cemetery’s on almost every corner from fallen soldiers in the war and quite a few museums. I would definitely recomment Tyne Cot, Menin Gate and Vancouver Corner. The city of Ypres is very quaint as well. I couldn’t help but feel a bit haunted walking the streets at night. 

Day 9: Bruges, Belgium

Our last stop on my first European Christmas was this quaint city, and definitely my favourite along the trip. The buildings and streets seem as if they’ve been frozen in time. Even the simplest alleyway seems magical. Of course we had to check out the main square and the 2be bridge for the iconic snapshots. The weather was really horrible our whole stay, I would certainly like to come back to experience the city in nicer weather!

Day 10: Billericay, England

Our last official day on the trip was spent saying our goodbyes to family and a few friends before travelling back home. It was also spent relaxing, which was much needed after our whirlwind tour for my first European Christmas. Billericay is a small town, about 30 minutes from London. It’s a typical English town with a high street and some great pubs.

Day 11: Home

All in all it was an amazing and successful trip. I was completely spoiled with not one but two Christmas’, 5 new cities and 2 new countries under my belt. This will be a tough Christmas to live up to!