Amsterdam - Royal Palace - Touring Tuesday

I am a big fan of Royals.  While Will & Katherine are my favorites, I am more than happy to visit any royal palace. 

A visit to the palace in Amsterdam almost didn't happen.  We could not seem to find opening hours for the palace, and each time we walked by it was closed.  On our last walk through the square to the train station, Matt saw that the palace was open for business, and we couldn't pass up a tour.

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is beautiful for several reasons.  First of all, it's a palace full of gorgeous furniture, art, and architecture.  Secondly, they allowed photography!  One could say it was a palace of chandeliers.  

Oldest Kiddo waved to her subjects from the balcony 

Finally, the free audio tour was available with a children's audio option.  It also came with a page of stickers and game card.  As the kids listened to Prince Louie tell them about the palace, they had to answer questions by placing the correct sticker on their game card.  Youngest Kiddo was engaged with the audio tour from start to finish.  Oldest Kiddo loved helping him when he could not quite figure out the answer.  At the end of the tour, they turned in their card at the gift shop.  The employee added a ribbon to their card to turn it into a medal.  Youngest Kiddo wore it with pride until we got back to our hotel.

Our whole family loved the tour.  The palace is a short walk straight out the front of Amsterdam Centraal Station.  Adult admission was €10 ($13.75) and children under 18 were free.

Amsterdam - Tulips with Friends - Touring Tuesday

My favorite day in Amsterdam was our last day, although I don't have a lot of photos to show for it.  A family that's been friends with Matt's family forever is living in The Netherlands for a few years, and we took the train out to meet them.  It's been years since we've seen them, but there was no shortage of things to talk about.

They picked us up from the train station and took us on a detour to the beach on the North Sea.  I was quite surprised at this beautiful spot.  The boardwalk along the sea is full of restaurants, shops, and small snack shops.  I can see how it's a big draw on beautiful summer days.  Our kids happily climbed on some sculptures while the adults talked (hence no photos).

As we drove toward their house we finalized the day's plan.  

Tulips!

The Keukenhof is a flower theme park in Holland.  The packed tour bus parking lot told us that straight away.  Once inside we could see why the Keukenhof is a destination.  It is absolutely stunning.

Youngest Kiddo honed in on the wooden circle platforms in the lake.  When he saw you could walk across them then there was no convincing him otherwise.  It was the most stressful three minutes of our vacation.  We held hands and made it dry on the other side.

If we visited without Youngest Kiddo, we would have stayed longer.  However, once he started running laps around the flower beds we knew it was time to go.  We stayed with our friends (and their lovable dog!) through dinner and then we were back on the train to our hotel.

Matt watched the dog while we grabbed take away

On our flight back to London, I thought about why our last day was my favorite.  It's because we spent it with friends!  Shared experiences with friends makes the event more vivid and memorable.

Amsterdam - - Touring Tuesday

On our third day in Amsterdam, I broke one of my own rules.  I took a calculated risk and did not prebook tickets for the Van Gogh Museum.  We had already booked tickets to the Anne Frank House the day before, which dictated the day's touring.  I did not want our holiday to be dictated by prebooked events since we traveled with Youngest Kiddo.  We could not predict how each day would go before started our holiday.  I'd be angry if we missed our scheduled time if someone had a melt down.  Well it bit me in the arse.  The long queue outside told me that Youngest Kiddo would not survive the wait and walk in the museum.  Rats.

That left more time for us to explore the Rijks Museum.  This museum is recently reopened after a major renovation, and she’s a beauty.  I did not prebook tickets for this museum either, but it worked out that the line for tickets was short. 

The Rijks Museum is a celebration of Dutch art, and they do it in a big way.  The galleries are well presented with paintings and sculpture.  The big draw to the museum is the Rembrandt Gallery.  Let’s call it the equivalent of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.  I overheard a docent describe the way Rembrandt painted was like a fashion show.  He made sure to give the subjects fancy hats and dress. 

Outside of the Rijks Museum is the touristy iamsterdam logo.  It was oozing with young adults.  One tour group even brought their own speaker on wheels to blast good feelings while they took their selfies.  

After a day of touring, we had to end it with some delicious Dutch pancakes.  Well, Youngest Kiddo had to have a waffle.    

Amsterdam - Anne Frank House - Touring Tuesday

We had a very special tour prebooked (helpful touring tip!), The Anne Frank House.  Oldest Kiddo read a biography of Anne Frank last year so we knew she’d like it.  Her knowledge of Anne’s story ended about the time of their capture.  She knew they were taken to the concentration camp, but I know she didn’t have an understanding of what happened after their capture. 

Before we left for Amsterdam we had a heartfelt discussion about what she might see at the house.  I wanted her to be prepared if she saw photos or read anything about the Concentration Camps.  She understood what we told her, but she didn’t understand why people were treated that way.  That’s one question we could not answer.

The Anne Frank House is on an unassuming street along the canals.  The only indication was the line of people around the corner (please, please book your ticket in advance).  There are no words to describe what it felt like walking through the bookcase into The Annex.  We walked through all rooms.  There was no furniture, just artifacts on the wall.  We could see the growth lines on the wall showing the height of the children.  One particular spot that made my heart hurt was walking through Peter van Pel's bedroom.  It had a small staircase up to the attic that Anne would race to each morning to get the only fresh air she was allowed.  From her perch in the attic, she could see a small bit of the near by clock tower. 

When we returned to the street, my thoughts returned to the time with the Frank’s were in the annex.  The city did not stop when the Franks were in hiding.  People continued to go to work on the very sidewalk in front of the house.  Boats continued down the canal in front of the house.  

  

The tour did not show graphic scenes from the Concentration Camps.  One room had small televisions with some video playing, but Youngest Kiddo was my partner at this time and I did not get a good look.   However, I think if anything was shown it was quick.  The whole family took the tour, even Youngest Kiddo.  It was not the best place for a four-year-old boy that would rather be outside, but he made it through.

It’s a must go whilst in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam - Canal Walking - Touring Tuesday

Our day started off walking the canals in the sunshine.  The kids were in a great mood so we didn’t waste a minute after Nutella & pancakes.  The bright sunshine highlighted the charming crookedness of the buildings along the canal. 

Most of the buildings have a pulley at the top to assist the residents when moving in or out.  I’m sure hanging pictures or placing your best crystal out for decoration is a challenge.  Enjoy the photo tour!

A4 Update - April 2014

April was full of firsts for our little family.

At the Keukenhof in Holland

• Oldest Kiddo celebrated her birthday in London!  She received a camera & clothes.
• Youngest Kiddo celebrated his birthday in London! He got received Playmobil toys & Legos.
• Holly traveled solo back to the USA for a friend's wedding.  It was a whirlwind few days to spend as much time with family and friends as possible.
• Holly's walking was way down this month at 65 miles.  She blames it on five days in the USA.
• The family traveled to Amsterdam for a few days during the Easter half-term break.
• Holly brought her mom back to London for a month-long visit!

Amsterdam - The Bibliotheek - Touring Tuesday

On our walk back to Amsterdam Centraal from the NEMO Science Centre we came upon the Amsterdam Bibliotheek (library).  At first we were unsure if this was a library because the building was huge.  Upon walking inside it was assured this six-story building was, in fact, a library.

The first floor was the children’s department.  This is the point when we wished we could read Dutch.  What a treat for children to sit for stories in this library.  Along with more books that any child could read during their youth, it had a treehouse and an adorable dollhouse based on a series of books.

The rest of the library was equally as impressive.  The shelves were inviting with lit LED strips.

The top floor’s café patio was almost as impressive as the children’s section; it provided additional gorgeous views of Amsterdam.

The Bibliotheek is worth a stop when you're in Amsterdam.