Dutch Days
DutchDays-- I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful our trip to Holland was. It was one of the most fantastic holiday's ever. When I prepared to pack up my family, I contimplated whether to bring shorts or jeans, long sleeves or short, and whether or not we should even bring jackets. It has been wonderfully spring weather in Germany---Anyway, I decided to have everyone bring Jeans and a few short sleeve shirts, one long sleeved shirt and a light windbreaker...
ok...not so much spring weather in Holland. Needless-to-say, we ended up wearing double shirts, plus the windbreakers the entire time.
Day 1: The forcast for this day: Partly Sunny, and a few clouds. We had driven about 6 hours, and got there in the early afternoon. We were two or three blocks from the VanGogh museum. It wasn't a FABULOUS hotel, but it had clean sheets, and the staff were so friendly. (In fact all over the Netherlands, the people were so friendly. They were so eager to help us, speak to us in english, help us find our way, tell us their favorite restaurants, beaches, off-the-beaten-path spots. It was really refreshing after our years with gruff german speakers, and our vacations to Italy, Poland, and France, where people are rough and gruff as well.) Directly diagonally from our hotel, we discovered a Domino's Pizza. Not that we didn't enjoy eating food from the places we visited, but financially it saved us. The kids were in hog heaven, and I could rest at ease that everyone would find SOMETHING they loved for sure. We found a huge palace just over a few streets, and a wonderful park where we ate pizza, fed the pigeons, and basically the kids could run and act like maniacs and who'd care?! The only downfall to that day was discovering several canibus bushes behind our bench at the park. It was my first realization about how "open" Holland is about drugs....among other things.
Day 2: The forcast for this day was cloudy and a bit of rain.We spent our day at the 6 flags over Holland, known as Waliby World. The kids had a blast, despite how cold it was. We ended our time there with one revolution on the largest ferris wheel I've ever been on. When we got to the top the wind was so strong and cold that I was worried about how long this ride would be. When they let us off after only going around once, I thanked Heavenly Father for His influence on the ride operator! Definaly not 6 flags like in the states, but a fun day nevertheless. This night we discovered we had a little mouse who came in at night. We learned quickly to put our food up high.
Day3: This day's forcast was rain rain rain. We decided to do our museams this day, so we could spend more days inside. We went first to the Anne Frank house about 15 minutes away from our hotel. We had read the Diary of Anne Frank as a family, and watched a movie about it, so it was fun for the kids to see the annex where Anne and her family and another family and a gentleman lived for 25 months. It was larger than we thought it would be, but interesting to read about their stay there. Afterwards, we drove to Haarlem, approx. 15-20 minutes to go to the Corrie TenBoom house. (For those of you who haven't heard of this place, check out the book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie TenBoom, or rent the movie. DEFINATLY worth it.) This tour was a real highlight for us, because the tour guides there were very personable, and kid friendly. They allowed the kids to climb in and out of the "hiding place" as often as they wanted to, and even let them push the buzzer and race up the hundreds of stairs to see if they could beat the time the tenbooms allowed to get into the hiding place up near the attic. The time to beat was 70 seconds, and the children did it in 20. Oh, to have that sort of energy! The children really enjoyed "re-living" history. Afterwards, we browsed through the "neukirk" there---large cathedral in the middle of the square. We bought a few souveniers and browsed the local shops. Since the weather had held out for us, (It hadn't rained yet, but was very very windy and cold) we then drove over to the coast, and dipped our feet in the North Sea. Oh my gosh, was it cold. The 4 older kids and A took of their shoes and ran through the surf. E and I were a bit more chicken---I only took off one shoe, stuck my big toe in. That was enough for me. E set her sites on collecting seashells. By the time she had collected a good amount, I put them in the empty bag we had used for sandwhiches. When I turned around, she had taken off her shoes and socks and bravely ran into the surf with her squealing brothers and sisters. She stayed in longer than I thought she would... having a blast. After about 20-30 minutes, everyone was frozen through, soakin' wet....so we decided to get McD's and watch the sunset over the beach. We drove over a few blocks, picked up the food, and drove back and the sun had dipped down below some clouds, so the sunset was a bust. Still, everyone had a blast, and they were all exhausted, wet and covered in sand. The car had instantly turned into a sandbox. Oh well. It was worth it....it wasn't ours and I vacuumed it out when we got home.
Day 4: This weather was predicted to be rain and sleet the entire day. We decided to visit the Peace Palace this day, in Den Haag (the hague). Ok..bad day to visit the peace palace... because they were having their peace talks for the year. Leave it to us to visit when we couldn't go in! Anyway, it is a beautiful palace, and I have heard that the tour is wonderful as well. Too bad. Anyway, we ended up going to a park that has thousands of miniture buildings from all over the Netherlands. The name escapes me at this moment, so I will have to come back and edit with the name. Anyway, we walked through this park for a few hours, looking at all the neat displays. Not worth the money (we paid 75 euro to get in--nearly 100 bucks) but intersting and it was nice out--no rain. Afterwards, we ate lunch in the car and drove to Delft...where all that beautiful blue and white china comes from. We went to the oldest delft china factory there, saw a display how they make the stuff, showed the molds, etc...and then browsed around their showroom and bought a few small pieces (all we could afford). This night, E started to complain of a sore throat and had a slight temperature. I ended up staying up with her most of the night, as her fever got worse, and she was restless.
Day 5: The weather was to be some chance of rain and clouds. Our last full day there. We went to the many famous markets and shopped and found quirkey things that we'd never find here or in the US. E was even worse, so I found myself carrying her throughout all the markets. I finally told A that we needed to do something where we just sat. We went to a fun center and the kids played while I held E and watched. Poor thing.
Day 6: Trip home. This day was SUNNY SUNNY SUNNY. Of course. We travelled by way of our old house near Giessen Germany. We took L to the hospital where she was born, and took pictures of her in front of the signs there. She loved it. We decided to stop at a WalMart (yes you read right) and get some Tylenol for E's fever. Low and behold, a friend of mine from the first 2 years we lived in Texas was walking into the WalMart. So weird. We caught up while looking for tylenol. Germans don't carry meds anyplace but their Aptekes, so we struck out. It was great to catch up with my friend and her husband. They invited us to stay overnight, but I felt it was better for us to get home with the sick girl. Anwyay, we made it home late that night...around 10:30pm. We emptied the van, showered and jumped into our nice warm and comfy beds. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to Heavenly Father for protecting us through all the hectic traffic, and kept the weather nice everytime we were outside. As soon as we'd go in, the heavens would open and it would downpour. But as soon as we reached our next destination, it would clear up. I learned so much on this trip and am eternally grateful to be an American. We truly do not comprehend what people went through during the wars here, and the suffering and "making do" has touched me beyond anything I can express. I pray that my children will remember the things they have learned on this trip and appreciate their freedoms.
ok...not so much spring weather in Holland. Needless-to-say, we ended up wearing double shirts, plus the windbreakers the entire time.
Day 1: The forcast for this day: Partly Sunny, and a few clouds. We had driven about 6 hours, and got there in the early afternoon. We were two or three blocks from the VanGogh museum. It wasn't a FABULOUS hotel, but it had clean sheets, and the staff were so friendly. (In fact all over the Netherlands, the people were so friendly. They were so eager to help us, speak to us in english, help us find our way, tell us their favorite restaurants, beaches, off-the-beaten-path spots. It was really refreshing after our years with gruff german speakers, and our vacations to Italy, Poland, and France, where people are rough and gruff as well.) Directly diagonally from our hotel, we discovered a Domino's Pizza. Not that we didn't enjoy eating food from the places we visited, but financially it saved us. The kids were in hog heaven, and I could rest at ease that everyone would find SOMETHING they loved for sure. We found a huge palace just over a few streets, and a wonderful park where we ate pizza, fed the pigeons, and basically the kids could run and act like maniacs and who'd care?! The only downfall to that day was discovering several canibus bushes behind our bench at the park. It was my first realization about how "open" Holland is about drugs....among other things.
Day 2: The forcast for this day was cloudy and a bit of rain.We spent our day at the 6 flags over Holland, known as Waliby World. The kids had a blast, despite how cold it was. We ended our time there with one revolution on the largest ferris wheel I've ever been on. When we got to the top the wind was so strong and cold that I was worried about how long this ride would be. When they let us off after only going around once, I thanked Heavenly Father for His influence on the ride operator! Definaly not 6 flags like in the states, but a fun day nevertheless. This night we discovered we had a little mouse who came in at night. We learned quickly to put our food up high.
Day3: This day's forcast was rain rain rain. We decided to do our museams this day, so we could spend more days inside. We went first to the Anne Frank house about 15 minutes away from our hotel. We had read the Diary of Anne Frank as a family, and watched a movie about it, so it was fun for the kids to see the annex where Anne and her family and another family and a gentleman lived for 25 months. It was larger than we thought it would be, but interesting to read about their stay there. Afterwards, we drove to Haarlem, approx. 15-20 minutes to go to the Corrie TenBoom house. (For those of you who haven't heard of this place, check out the book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie TenBoom, or rent the movie. DEFINATLY worth it.) This tour was a real highlight for us, because the tour guides there were very personable, and kid friendly. They allowed the kids to climb in and out of the "hiding place" as often as they wanted to, and even let them push the buzzer and race up the hundreds of stairs to see if they could beat the time the tenbooms allowed to get into the hiding place up near the attic. The time to beat was 70 seconds, and the children did it in 20. Oh, to have that sort of energy! The children really enjoyed "re-living" history. Afterwards, we browsed through the "neukirk" there---large cathedral in the middle of the square. We bought a few souveniers and browsed the local shops. Since the weather had held out for us, (It hadn't rained yet, but was very very windy and cold) we then drove over to the coast, and dipped our feet in the North Sea. Oh my gosh, was it cold. The 4 older kids and A took of their shoes and ran through the surf. E and I were a bit more chicken---I only took off one shoe, stuck my big toe in. That was enough for me. E set her sites on collecting seashells. By the time she had collected a good amount, I put them in the empty bag we had used for sandwhiches. When I turned around, she had taken off her shoes and socks and bravely ran into the surf with her squealing brothers and sisters. She stayed in longer than I thought she would... having a blast. After about 20-30 minutes, everyone was frozen through, soakin' wet....so we decided to get McD's and watch the sunset over the beach. We drove over a few blocks, picked up the food, and drove back and the sun had dipped down below some clouds, so the sunset was a bust. Still, everyone had a blast, and they were all exhausted, wet and covered in sand. The car had instantly turned into a sandbox. Oh well. It was worth it....it wasn't ours and I vacuumed it out when we got home.
Day 4: This weather was predicted to be rain and sleet the entire day. We decided to visit the Peace Palace this day, in Den Haag (the hague). Ok..bad day to visit the peace palace... because they were having their peace talks for the year. Leave it to us to visit when we couldn't go in! Anyway, it is a beautiful palace, and I have heard that the tour is wonderful as well. Too bad. Anyway, we ended up going to a park that has thousands of miniture buildings from all over the Netherlands. The name escapes me at this moment, so I will have to come back and edit with the name. Anyway, we walked through this park for a few hours, looking at all the neat displays. Not worth the money (we paid 75 euro to get in--nearly 100 bucks) but intersting and it was nice out--no rain. Afterwards, we ate lunch in the car and drove to Delft...where all that beautiful blue and white china comes from. We went to the oldest delft china factory there, saw a display how they make the stuff, showed the molds, etc...and then browsed around their showroom and bought a few small pieces (all we could afford). This night, E started to complain of a sore throat and had a slight temperature. I ended up staying up with her most of the night, as her fever got worse, and she was restless.
Day 5: The weather was to be some chance of rain and clouds. Our last full day there. We went to the many famous markets and shopped and found quirkey things that we'd never find here or in the US. E was even worse, so I found myself carrying her throughout all the markets. I finally told A that we needed to do something where we just sat. We went to a fun center and the kids played while I held E and watched. Poor thing.
Day 6: Trip home. This day was SUNNY SUNNY SUNNY. Of course. We travelled by way of our old house near Giessen Germany. We took L to the hospital where she was born, and took pictures of her in front of the signs there. She loved it. We decided to stop at a WalMart (yes you read right) and get some Tylenol for E's fever. Low and behold, a friend of mine from the first 2 years we lived in Texas was walking into the WalMart. So weird. We caught up while looking for tylenol. Germans don't carry meds anyplace but their Aptekes, so we struck out. It was great to catch up with my friend and her husband. They invited us to stay overnight, but I felt it was better for us to get home with the sick girl. Anwyay, we made it home late that night...around 10:30pm. We emptied the van, showered and jumped into our nice warm and comfy beds. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to Heavenly Father for protecting us through all the hectic traffic, and kept the weather nice everytime we were outside. As soon as we'd go in, the heavens would open and it would downpour. But as soon as we reached our next destination, it would clear up. I learned so much on this trip and am eternally grateful to be an American. We truly do not comprehend what people went through during the wars here, and the suffering and "making do" has touched me beyond anything I can express. I pray that my children will remember the things they have learned on this trip and appreciate their freedoms.
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