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Amsterdam

April 2024
A short but fine adventure by Tige & Jocelyn Read more
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  • Amsterdam
    1
    Day 1

    Amsterdam!

    April 3 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Joce and I skipped out of work early and picked the kids and luggage up at home before making the 90 min drive to Stansted airport. After parking and walking to the terminal, bag drop and security were a breeze and we had 2 hours to kill. Dinner at BK (Joce’s favourite) before making our way to the gate for our delayed flight. (Flashbacks to our last time here when we had to sprint through the airport on our first summer trip flight to Venice - much better this time around). An easy 40 min flight and then an Uber to our flat. The stairs to the 3rd floor were quite intimidating! The flat extends to a 4th floor with a beautiful sitting room and kitchen (and window rope swing!) and then to a rooftop deck. Looking forward to checking that out in the daylight. After midnight here so kids off to bed while we prepare for tomorrow - tulips await!Read more

  • Amsterdam
    1
    Day 2

    Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans

    April 4 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Today was a super fun day outside of Amsterdam. Tige had the great idea to rent a car for the day and got up early to tram over to get it while I went to the market and handled breakfast. Our place is so cute and the kitchen is one of the best stocked that we have ever stayed in. He picked us up and we headed to Keukenhof (the amazing tulip/flower farm about 45 min away). It is the 75th anniversary this year and each year the gardens start in October and plant 7 million bulbs over 3 months. They get 8 weeks of flowers. They did not disappoint! Absolutely gorgeous. Pavilions filled with roses and orchids and more varieties of tulips than I ever thought possible. Kids love it too. Also had a cool playground, the most delicious mini Dutch pancakes with powdered sugar and Nutella, a maze (girls rule, boys drool) and beautiful lambs and baby goats to pet. We had a great food truck lunch of croquettes, pasta and fries (w/mayo of course) before heading out.

    Our next stop was Zaanse Schans museum of Dutch history, a Verkade chocolate factory exhibit complete with biscuits and games and a long walk through the 11 windmills along the path. We made it just in time to see the cheese house and tried many samples (but not the ones Hudson coughed on) and settled on a truffled cows milk cheese and a spicy chili cows milk cheese to take home (family agreement:).

    We drove to the next village and had a delicious Indian meal in a family run spot (other than looking over and seeing H crying because his chicken curry was too hot😬). We solved it with butter chicken and all was well. Headed home to the apartment and then Tige took the car back and we are in for the night. Looking forward to heading into the city tomorrow.    Read more

  • Amsterdam
    Day 3

    Walking tour, canal ride and Van Gogh

    April 5 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Today was a full day. Still not fully recovered from our late night arrival on day 1, we ate in and took the tram to central Amsterdam for our walking tour. It was wet and windy and cool today but we had a good guide. We got to see the crooked/sinking houses, Anne Frank’s house, a 500 year old wooden house painted black and the beautiful canals and even a boat fishing bikes out of them. We also learned that the ‘XXX’ that is everywhere in Amsterdam is actually three crosses. We ended at a coffee shop which the boys fortunately didn’t seem to understand. We then made our way to lunch - Joce found a delicious Dutch place called the Pantry with an amazing pea soup and pork chop and delicious sausage and mash. After lunch, our boat tour was slightly delayed because of the weather but it ended up being the highlight of the day. Not only did we have SUN! but also a great guide and snacks and drinks were included. While Joce and I enjoyed Heineken and wine, the kids all got two sodas and so much Gouda that they almost ran out. We even got to see the bridge and houseboat from Ted Lasso. It was a good afternoon. After the canal tour, we had reservations at the Van Gogh museum. There was a treasure hunt for the kids which they always enjoy. The museum was large and it was a nice break from the wind. We spent two hours before making our way back home in the evening. We dropped the kids off before picking up pizza from across the street and eating in while watching Mission Impossible. Showers and bed - we are all tired. Looking forward to some beautiful weather forecasted for tomorrow.Read more

  • Amsterdam
    Day 4

    Last Day in Amsterdam 😪

    April 6 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    No sleeping in Amsterdam! Up early to hit the Rijksmuseum. The audio tours were down so we were a bit on our own today. We saw the highlights almost had a Deja vu of losing a kid (Hudson) like we did in Cinderella’s castle this past summer (Elliot). He somehow worked out how to find a restroom 2 floors down. We spent about 2 hours there (enjoying the museum, not looking for H) and went off in search of a fabulous Indonesian lunch (Indonesia = Netherlands like India=England). We found a great spot and Tige, H and I had a rice table that included 12 delicious meat/fish/veg dishes. Other kiddos had a bright, brothy chicken soup.
    So yummy! Happy they let me go for it. Next we went through the bloomenmarket and saw so many flowers, and souvenirs. We crossed off the magnets and wooden shoe items and headed to try the delicious homemade Stroopwafels. Two thin waffles with caramel between, dipped in chocolate and Oreo, caramel cubes, blueberries. They made them fresh in front of you which was pretty cool. We tried them all and all were delicious. Next we shopped around the 9 streets and headed eventually to Vondelpark. Imagine the first 75 degree day in any cold midwestern city. Everyone outside on blankets and playing and enjoying the day. Found a sweet playground, did a crossword and had some Heinekens and relaxed. We went back to a yummy Mediterranean place we saw yesterday for dinner and walked back and packed up. Headed back tomorrow very early, need to be in the Uber at 5am.    Read more

  • Amsterdam
    Day 5

    Home

    April 7 in England ⋅ 🌬 54 °F

    5am (4am UK time) Uber was waiting for us when we got down stairs. No bikes to dodge this morning and airport was empty. Flight was smooth and then a 1hr drive home to find our own taste of Holland that Joce and Hudson planted last fall. Looking forward to a nap but Amsterdam lived up to the hype!Read more

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