Holland: Amsterdam

This past weekend we went to The Netherlands (ie: Holland) Days 1 & 2 were spent in Amsterdam. We decided to ride the train there and back and we are officially hooked on train travel (is that anything like time travel?) ... it was so nice! Brad got to sleep, we could walk around, we didn't have to stop for food or bathroom breaks, plus, if you find a great deal (like we did for this trip) it ends up being cheaper than driving anyways! Sold. 

On the way there, our train was actually late getting into Hannover so, we missed our connecting train to Amsterdam. We got to hang out in the train station for a couple hours and it happened just in time for lunch.

While we were waiting, Brad ventured out into Hannover a little bit and Kason and I stayed back at the train station with the luggage. Kason played pretend hopscotch and then decided to entertain me with his mad jumping skills. 

Finally ... we were on our way to Amsterdam for reals! 

When we got to Amsterdam, we headed for our apartment ... check out these stairs. They were insane and so incredibly steep and narrow and skinny. I am surprised none of us fell on them! 

Our apartment was on the 3rd floor and I felt like I was living in New York with the apartment's right across from us. I could have people watched across the street all day (creeper alert) ... bummer we didn't see anything exciting happen. 

After we made a quick dinner we headed off to a park right by the house. "Vondelpark" was huge and had playgrounds and ponds and bikes, bikes, bikes! Despite the cold, Kason was in heaven. 

This swing was awesome! 

While we were there, the sun set. May seem like no big deal to most people but, in Germany, we don't see the sun very often. I can't remember the last time I actually saw a sun set that wasn't masked by clouds. 

Saturday morning we woke up and headed into town. First stop was the Anne Frank House. A little tip for future goers ... by your tickets online in advance so you can skip past this line: 

We probably saved a good hour of our day by having ticket in hand. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum so, I don't have anything to show for it. However, I will say that the Anne Frank House has probably been my #1 favorite place we have visited in all of Europe. From the moment I walked in, until the time we walked out, something stirred my Spirit as we relived everything young Anne and her family had to endure. She had so much optimism and such an excitement for life! I hope to never forget the feelings I had as I walked through the apartment and saw where her and her family stayed in hiding for years. I will readily admit that I was choking back tears a few times during the tour. If you're ever in Europe, make an effort to visit Amsterdam solely to visit the Anne Frank House. Seriously. You won't regret that effort! 

Much of the house is in it's original state, the sinks, the pictures on the wall, even the markings that Anne's mother put on the wall as the children grew each year. They have blackout curtains on the windows so you get a sense of how it was living in that apartment, no light, no sunshine, nothing. I would have gone crazy! 

The Anne Frank Huis is the one in the middle. Anne and her family lived in the top two levels of that home while Otto Frank's (Anne's father) spice/jam business was on the bottom half. Anne and her family (of 4) shared the two floors with 4 other people. An associate of Otto, his wife and their son and one other man who was a dentist. I didn't know this beforehand but, Otto Frank was the only surviver of all 8 people. After he was released from the concentration camp at the end of WWII, he wandered Europe for months, unaware that his family had all been killed during the war. He then came upon Anne's journals, read how badly she wanted to publish a book after the war about her experience and Otto made it happen. It took 2 years to find someone to publish it but, finally in 1947 it was published in Dutch. Eleanor Roosevelt later wrote the prologue to the book and it was published in America in 1952. Love all the history over here and love how much it has changed my outlook on life. 

The Anne Frank House again on the left, about 4 house fronts down from the church. 

After we finished at the Anne Frank house we headed towards Dam Plaza. Kason thought it was a cool word to say, so we had to explain to him the difference between the two type of "dam's" ... there was a carnival going on and we had to get out of there quick so we didn't have to hear "I want to ride that ride!" "Whoa! Look at that, Mom!" "I want cotton candy!" 

So, we headed towards the Oude Kirk (Old Church) and .... let's just say that church should be avoided. It's smack-dab in the middle of the red light district. WHY they would put a church in the middle of that area is besides me! We were walking and suddenly, we heard a knock on the window, so I looked over and there was a very scantily dressed lady vying for Brad's attention. Once she realized we had a kid with us, she looked a little awkward and we realized we needed to get out of there. We looped around the block telling Kason to look this way and that, when finally I just picked him up and told him to close his eyes. Needless to say we didn't end up visiting that church. And thankful to the Red Light district we were able to have another learning moment with Kason (Amsterdam is full of them!) as we explained to him what we were trying to prevent him from seeing and why it's not okay. Talk about a conversation you don't expect to have until your son is in his tweens! 

So, we headed up a different direction, opposite of Oude Kirk. These big wooden shoes are all over the city. 

Brad got me a pair of mini-clogs when he was in Amsterdam back in November. But, I was impressed with how many there were! And ... that people actually wear them!

And the cheese. Holland is definitely famous for it's cheese! And understandably so - it was delicious! This cute little shop reeked of stinky cheese though. 

We headed towards the Hermitage Amsterdam so that Brad could go see the Van Gogh Museum. There were so many pretty views all throughout the city, you can't help but take a million pictures! (Well, 521 to be exact. You're welcome for only posting a fraction of that...)

While Brad was in the Van Gogh exhibit, Kason and I hung out on the dock. Don't worry, the couple behind Kason is only smoking weed. Have I mentioned how open-minded Amsterdam is? 

Very much so. 

We sat on the docks and dangled our feet ... 

The view was so typical of Amsterdam. And I never got sick of it. Not once. 

People actually live in these boats! They are literal houseboats! Kason couldn't believe it. It was pretty interesting to see all the houseboats lining the canals and wondering what it would be like to live in one of these boats. Some were extremely nice and some were more on the ghetto side. But, all still pretty neat, nonetheless. A lot of them had little patio's with chairs for a picnic or plants lining the edge of their boat. Back in the day it used to be cheaper to own an area of the canal rather than a house but, now that all the canal space is filled up, it's hard to come by space for your boat. 

After Brad finished at the Van Gogh exhibit we headed towards the Museumplein for one main purpose: 

Apparently, everyone else in Amsterdam had the same idea. It was impossible to get a picture without other humans in it. 

I guess imagine there is an "a" in between the "r" and "d"? Then Brad's spelling "BRAD" ... ?? Not too sure on that one. 

The park in this area was beautiful. It was lined with gorgeous houses and a huge open grassy area. Plus, it had an awesome little park that Kason played at for a little bit. Amsterdam is SO family friendly. Kinda ironic, I think. 

Kason was really wanting to do a Canal boat tour so, we headed over to do that next. The loading point was right by the Hard Rock Cafe and while we decided not to eat there this trip, we still wanted to get a glass. While the boys were standing in line to board, I walked over and bought a glass. In the same plaza there was a huge chess game going on. The two guys on the edge of the board were playing each other. 

On the boat: 

We had heard about a "famous" pancake house in Amsterdam so, we had to try it out! It was by the Anne Frank house so we headed back that way. We saw this statue of Anne Frank, that I guess we missed earlier that morning. 

Kason's pancake had candy in it and he got a police car toy. Best "kids meal" EVER. 

I originally ordered a chorizo and cheese pancake but, ended up with a Mexican pancake followed by a salami and cheese pancake. I finally just gave in and kept the salami pancake. It was yummy!

There are bikes EVERYWHERE in Holland. Nearly everyone is riding a bike. They have their own bike lanes, bike racks are everywhere and you're always having to look out for cars and bikes. It was insane. 

After dinner, on our way to find the tram, we stumbled across an Apple store, so we went in quickly. About an hour later, we really did head home. Darn Apple. 

I honestly did not expect to love Amsterdam as much as I did. It's such a charming city. EVERYONE is so incredibly friendly and welcoming. The fact that they all speak English is a great perk, too. I would put Amsterdam at the top of my favorite big cities that we have visited. The weather was beautiful while we were there, too. In the 40s with sunshine? That's unheard of for Germany, so it was very welcome weather! Saturday was such a great day in Amsterdam!