Vacation is sometimes less about relaxation than exploration; if you get bored, and have the time, take a train or bus somewhere you haven’t been before.

In America, unless you are on the east coast, this isn’t a practical thing to do, the distances are so large, and the transit so slow, that you will likely starve or die of old age before reaching a reasonable destination.

Europe however, is something entirely different. If you are near a train line, which you likely are, especially if you are in holland, you can simply hop on a train and go somewhere new and exciting. For example, I am staying in my vacant house near Hilversum, although I am not so close that I can walk to a train station, I can ride a bike to the nearest station which is in Hollandsche Rading, this station connects in one direction with Utrecht centraal, and with Hilversum on the other, from both stations you can transfer to trains on the national and international rail networks.  From Amsterdam (thirty minutes from Hilversum) , you can transfer to the Thalys or Fyra, or to the international intercity to antwerp and Brussels.

If you prefer Germany, you can take an ICE to köln (cologne) or a sleeper to Berlin, or hamburg, Warsaw, Moscow etc. Or maybe gay Paris? The thalys will take you there too.

London? Get to Brussels and take the eurostar. 

But back to the day: I chose Breda, a Dutch city in the south of the country, an originally walled and well defended city, this beautiful city’s main church houses the tomb of William of orange; this city’s center is bustling with activity everyday of the week, and has tons of cafés and boutique shops, and even a mall.

I say chose, but literally didn’t even have that much thought to it, I went to Utrecht, looked at the departure board, and picked a platform, the destination, Rotterdam. And upon arrival, luck would have it that the Fyra between Rotterdam and Breda was supplement free that day in celebration of the connection of Breda to the high speed line (HSL Zuid). So Breda it was.

When you get to Breda, the city center is too far to walk for most Americans, but if you’re a little fit, you can walk from the station to the center no problem. I’m just being brutally honest. There’s also a bus that will take you to the center if you wuss out.