The Netherlands! Fantastic coffee, great pastries, biking… I think what we really missed was just city life.
Amsterdam was wonderful. The kids were so excited to go biking in Vondelpark – Tycho was ecstatic to get on a bike again, Nova was disappointed she couldn’t bike but thought the box bike was super neat. “Box bike!!!” We even did a day trip on the bikes to Ouderkerk aan de Amstel – we got caught in the rain and while it was an adventure when we were actually biking, we were all a little grouchy while we waited it out with lunch. Amsterdam was all decked out for Pride a couple weeks later, which was nice to see. And we got to take the kids to Blauw for a rijstafel, which is still a food highlight of our lives 12+ years later!
Then – Efteling!! The kids’ first real amusement park, very sweet. It started pouring right after we got inside the park so we got ice cream! Highlights: Nova tried to sit on every mushroom in the fairy tale forest; we rode Droomvlucht like 8 times because it was so relaxing and pretty and had a virtual queue; we saw the CARO show, which was more dance than circus but definitely circus elements and also FIRE; and the kids’ first roller coaster!! Nova came home with a cuddly Yoo-hoo How-do, Mr. Sandman’s owl, and she’s still so confused about why Mr. Sandman gave her Yoo-hoo!
One last stop in Rotterdam for a single night as a break between Efteling and going to the airport – we stayed in the Cube Houses (now a hostel) and in the pedestrian courtyard was the most amazing little coffee shop. It was SO good, I couldn’t bring myself to regret my 4pm coffee.
Then it was back on a plane for another 11 hours and we were home!
Tycho’s Pics: Amsterdam | Efteling
Amazing
Seems like you had a good experience