Travel Notes: a Loose Year-End List
A random 2025 list of trains, bikes, food, travel gems and stories.
The end of the year. Literally. A time for looking back, reflection and random lists. And an opportunity to promote your own writing once more. Yeah!
In my Wrapped you’ll find a 540 km bucket-list bicycle ride, one or two epic train journeys (there were more, of course1), the unexpectedly easiest visa ever, hidden gems of the Low Countries, and must-try great food.
Totally on the beaten track
A nostalgia trip took me to Prague on the night train2. A lot had changed since my first visit in 1986, when Prague was the capital of Czechoslovakia and part of the Eastern Bloc. As a child, I was enchanted by the famous bridge and the astronomical clock. I didn’t realise I was in the Paris of the East. Nor did I realise that people would later develop an urge to label countless other cities as the Paris of the East.
I only knew I was in the eastern part of Europe, behind the Iron Curtain; that visas were difficult for my parents to obtain; and that camping grounds were quite different from those we were used to in France or West Germany. Looking back, you could describe them as festival campsites, with barely public sanitary facilities. I had never seen so many old ladies’ boobs hovering above washing basins while I brushed my teeth with a Donald Duck toothbrush.
Back to Prague3 in 2025. Before and during my visit, I finished my piece on overtourism, and it was the right place to do so. I published it on the train between Prague and Berlin (with beautiful views of Saxon Switzerland National Park) and was genuinely pleased with the interaction around the piece. And I still am!
Beyond the Crowds - Rethinking Travel
Overtourism has been on my mind as a subject to write about for months. It was on my list during my first months on Substack, was considered for my 2024 in review post, or in January this year as a part of some lame New Year's resolutions. But as I don't have a solution to it, I kept postponing it. Until now. Because, like climate change, it's something we need to keep addressing..
Top-5 travel experiences
» 1: Getting up early is not my favourite thing in the world. But it can be so worthwhile. I love cycling at dawn on hot summer days, when the world is silent except for the birds — and the white vans driving towards the city.
Every trip, I tell myself to get up at the break of day, just to see the sun rise or to experience the silence of a place. Most of the time, it’s hard to get up that early (mind you: we are talking about times between 5:00 and 6:00 here), but on some days it’s not a big deal. And then, yes, it can be very rewarding.
» 2: Attending a sports competition in another country can be very interesting. And super entertaining. Even if you’re not that into watching sports. The supporters (not hooligans!) are compelling as well.
Cycling is one of my favourite sports and an easy one to attend4. After the Olympic euphoria of 2024, I returned to Paris this year for the finish of the Tour de France; and the atmosphere on Montmartre was incredible. Although it was quite hard to see the race5 (fans next to me were watching on their phones, so we could all cheer for Wout - who won the stage), it was great fun to see the riders behind the lead group clearly enjoying themselves.
» 3: Eat like a local in a local joint. It sounds cliché, but after seeing tourists behaving like tourists in Amsterdam, I know there are still people getting trapped in tacky-looking places serving not-so-good dishes.
After a long journey from Tâdim in Portugal to Burgos in Spain (involving a train and a bus), I had a great evening at the bar of Casa Pancho. I was carefully assembling my tapas (too much, of course) and a caña with beer around me, much to the amusement of two older ladies. They asked me if I liked the food. ¡Sí!
Burgos is a beautiful city, famous for its cathedral. Behind it you encounter pilgrims on their way to Santiago. Weirdly enough, the train station is not centrally located, and getting a taxi in the morning can be a challenge.
📍 Bar Pancho (In the same street, El Pez de San Lorenzo is also recommended by locals.)
» 4: The Saudi tourist visa is extremely easy to apply for. It took me more time to adjust the photo to the correct size and background colour than it did for my application to be approved. A few minutes after pressing OK, it was all settled. I couldn’t stop staring at the screen. Record-breaking!
» 5: Eat in places that take food seriously when you can. I see a lot of travellers staying in fancy hotels. I’d rather spend my money on food — and not necessarily in star-rated restaurants.
My restaurant top picks of 2025:
Fred, Rotterdam (Netherlands). Okay, it has two Michelin stars; the food is amazing, and I especially want to highlight the excessive cheese cart. I even posed with it. Yes, I did.
Café de l’Usine, Paris (France). Tucked away in a passage in the 11th arrondissement, serving tasting menus at a reasonable price. And vegetarian-friendly.
Once in a lifetime (or not)
I did a bikepacking trip from Amsterdam to Paris this year. Over 540 kilometres in 3.5 days. It didn’t sound that long, especially to a time-optimistic person. And as an enthusiastic hobby cyclist with experience of long days in the saddle, it seemed doable.
My first multi-day cycling trip was an occasion to try the phenomenon of bikepacking. At the same time, it was also a trip to prove myself to myself. That’s something you do in midlife.
It turned out to be quite an experiment. Particularly on the second day, when I faced rain, a severe headwind and an infinite River Schelde that I started to hate. After an encounter with the scariest dog in Wallonia, it turned out to be a good day of riding after all. With stops in Ghent and Oudenaarde, classic cobbles, and a decent hearty meal in northern France.
After three full days of cycling, my final half day consisted of a relatively short ride (about 66 km) from Fleurines to Paris, through the beautiful Forêt d’Halatte, passing Chantilly (known for its château), crossing grain fields via serious gravel paths, and cycling past the Abbaye de Royaumont. I didn’t visit the castle or monastery in my sweaty lycra outfit, but the view was good enough to enjoy the ride.
You can read the whole story (in Dutch!) on my other Substack:
Do I want to do it again? Maybe yes. Not from Amsterdam to Paris, not with over 100 km a day, probably not for more than a week, and not with camping spots. But there are some interesting routes. I’ve read about a trip of a few days in eastern Germany, and the Green Divide in the Netherlands is also still on my list.
🤫 What they are not telling you about...
With Direct Dutch, my aim is to share the real Netherlands. The story behind it. Whatever. As a Dutch person, I should know better (we always do), and as an import Amsterdammer I’m fully aware that there is much more to the Netherlands than Amsterdam - and more to Amsterdam than the canals. Like I mentioned in the introduction post:
There are quite a few assumptions, expectations, and clichés about the Netherlands. Some of the clichés are so true. Yes, we are direct, we cycle a lot, we have great biscuits, and we keep the pavement in front of our houses clean. But there are many misconceptions that can be quite funny, but also a bit ignorant.
An overview of my Direct Dutch posts:
💩 Why Everybody hates Amsterdam
🧡 Orange is not just a Colour (we take it rather seriously)
🏙️ Timeless Rotterdam: the Classics
🚲 The Dutch and Their Bicycles
🌷 Gezellig! Or: How to Behave Dutch
🚂 Trains & Delays: The 12 Provinces of the Netherlands
Under the radar
Instead of a Read, Watch, Listen & For Your Agenda list, I’d like to express some gratitude. Because it’s the end of the year anyway.
On Substack, I’d like to thank Tom Fish for the fun Tour de France coverage this year; Beck Sharron for the stories so far (and I’m curious to see what’s coming next!); JL Orr of The Travel Paradox for her unique voice; and Ashleigh at Travel Bugg and I only take pics for their never-ending enthusiasm. I’d also like to highlight World Stories, Told My Way, Souvenirs, Nothing to Declare and The Unplugged Traveler, as I always enjoy their stories.
As I don’t quite understand Substack Notes (it’s a weird world where uncredited photos and AI content go viral, while self-made and, hopefully, thoughtful words sink into the swamp), I still enjoy Notes. For example, the ones by Hamish always make me laugh. And I like the weekly photo prompts from Aminus3 Photography.
And of course, there are friends and family following me here as well. Thanks for supporting me! And I want to thank one friend in particular for the donation. (It would be hilarious if this raises so much curiosity - or guilt - among my other friends that more donations come my way .)
Have a great 2026!
❤️
Below is a video of the famous opening scene of Love Actually, with an Amsterdam twist. Presented by Eberhardjes. “This film is our New Year’s gift to Amsterdam, to the Netherlands, and in fact to the world,” say the creators. “A message of love and connection, especially at a time when we need it more than ever.”
More on train travelling.
You can book this train on European Sleeper.
Prague isn’t that crowded in early February. Clearly off-season.
Check the UCI calendar.
For Stage 21 highlights, I can recommend this video (so you can watch Wout win as well):
Thank you, Marloes! Jealous of you seeing the final stage, too.
Thanks so much for this lovely shout out Marloes!