On the eve of our first big international family trip, I actually felt packed and ready. I had all the documents, copies of them backed up on the cloud and my itinerary was perfect… at least from my perspective at that point. The next morning our first flight wasn’t until 10:30 am, we got to the airport 2 hours early. Skipping the early morning dash to the airport is about the only positive thing about a red eye flight in my opinion, but they are an unavoidable evil when traveling to Europe. Our sons had to go through regular security at the Denver airport, but only took 5 minutes longer than us in the TSA Pre-check line. We had a 3 hour layover at the Washington Dulles airport, so we had dinner at a sit down restaurant and boarded our flight an hour early. Those Nordic countries don’t mess around with late flights, they are always on time.
We landed 5 hours later in Reykjavik, Iceland, where the kids got their first passport stamp from Iceland! Reykjavik‘s airport is a well oiled machine and despite the volcano erupting near the runway, we take off on time again. By the time we were on our last flight to Amsterdam, everyone was ready for the flying to be over and Cassidy couldn’t settle on that last leg. It was a turbulent ride and landing and poor Cassidy’s motion sickness after the longest taxiing in history got the best of her. Thank god for airsick bags and a random wheel chair we pushed her through the airport when she was feeling her worst. I now travel with peppermints (Cassidy approved, not the ‘spicy’ kind) and Haribo gummy bears. It’s a European mom trick, something about the sweet and chewing of gummy bears helps both morning sickness and motion sickness. Keep that tip in your back pocket for traveling with kids!
Amsterdam Part One
We arrived for our first day in Amsterdam, and I caved at Ken’s suggestion to take a taxi. I know they are much more expensive than just taking the train right to Central Station, but with Cassidy sick, all the bags and exhausted children who didn’t sleep much…it was an easy splurge. The European traveler in me is stuck in a mindset of cheapest transportation, but now with a family and kids I think about efficiency as a total and sometimes it’s worth the more expensive ride, or not when considering the cost of 5 tickets. We were dropped off at our apartment and able to check ourselves in with a code on a pin pad to our section of the building and our apartment on the second floor. This is when our kids get the first taste of the Dutch difference…a super narrow flight of steps that we have to drag our bags up! They learned quickly that working together to move bags up and down that stairwell in stages was the way to go. I ran to the market and Etos (toiletry store) for our snacks, breakfast and showering items. I specifically picked this neighborhood because I know where shops and restaurants are located, but if you are in a new city, look these places up close to your hotel before you arrive and mark them in your google maps. It makes little chores like this easier, especially when you’re a tired traveler.
After I got back to the apartment with snacks and toiletries everyone took turns getting cleaned up and passed out for an afternoon nap. This is the worst thing you can do to further jetlag, it’s best to push on until after dinner and go to bed early to acclimate to your new time zone. However, Ken and I often take a short nap (2 hours) just to hold us over and ensure we get up and go out for dinner. It works rather well for us, since we don’t sleep on planes at all! Our kids didn’t sleep either and it felt like torture to force them to stay awake. We still got up for our canal cruise & dinner reservation before passing out in our hard Dutch beds for the evening. This is when our second European difference happened. I contacted our landlord about the air conditioning because the apartment doesn’t match the set temperature on the thermostat. I ensured that our place had air conditioning with my hot hubby during the summer months. Many places simply don’t have air conditioning and the ones that do are not as efficient as we are used to with central air in the States. I was told that the heating/cooling from the property review was referring to a fan located in our closet. They brought another fan the next day when I pointed out that the thermostats were purely decorative. Thankfully it was not too hot on this trip, if anything it was on the cold side and open windows at night was sufficient.
We all found ourselves up early the next morning, so we got out to the Maritime Museum early. It was a long walk, about 45 minutes, but everyone was really dragging and I should’ve ordered an uber. Instead, we forged on through complaints of side cramps and shoes rubbing blisters and it was only the first real walk of 2-weeks. After this schlup across northern Amsterdam, I re-allocated our uber budget and started ordering them anytime we left the Jordaan and Central Station neighborhoods and hopped the trams for easy transportation to southern neighborhoods and attractions. We really enjoyed the Maritime museum, with its replica ship, royal display, free audio tour and a great cafe in the atrium that felt bright even on a gloomy day. Since we stayed longer at the museum than anticipated we had lunch on the run (bakery sandwiches, crepes and ice cream of course) to ensure we were not late to our afternoon reservation.
The Anne Frank House is the hottest ticket in town and the one you must plan in advance. The tickets go on sale 6 weeks prior to the dates on Tuesday at 8:00 am Amsterdam time, so midnight in mountain time zone. I originally planned to go in the morning, however by the time I signed on, I only had afternoon choices available. The tickets almost never surrender or resell on ticket swap and are impossible to get by walking up, even during the off season. If you want to see this infamous museum, set a calendar reminder. I highly recommend you take adolescents and teens, my 9 year old was just about the youngest it would be appropriate, with some background on who Anne Frank was and the time period she lived. It gives them such a perspective on how difficult it was to hide, silently, in such a small space for almost two years. However, I made a big mistake and actually ordered our tickets a month ahead of time! Rookie mistake and I feared we would be refused, but they got us in at the end of our 15 minute time block. We just had some delicious ice cream on the way to the Anne Frank House, just a few blocks away. This area of the Jordaan is also great for shopping, restaurants, cafes and has fancy stroopwaffel shops too.
For dinner we took a car, on a rainy evening to West Amsterdam to visit the Foodhallen. It is located a bit off the tourist path, but a great spot to feed a crowd or meet friends for food, drinks or dessert. Each of our kids was able to pick out exactly what they were in the mood for at the covered stalls. This food court has smaller versions of many of the most popular restaurants and pastry shops in the city, all located in one spot. Cassidy was able to get her typical chicken finger and fry meal, Ethan had fish & chips, Aidan had a fancy BBQ burger and hubby tried the chicken wings. I grabbed a few tables to put together near the doors where it was the coolest, it got very warm the further in you went. All the kids brought their finds to the table and broke into the ketchup supply I brought for Cassidy. It was one of my best parent travel hacks! After the kids were settled I decided on a sushi plate and goat cheese bitterballen that were a bit disappointing. The desserts were not disappointing and I discovered the amazing bakery of Petit Gateau and was thrilled to find a store front in my favorite neighborhood. Their croissants were the best I had in Amsterdam and their little pastries & tarts with rich custards, sugared berries and delicious whipped cream were Ken & my favorite on the whole trip! I’ll be making a few stops on my next trip in November. The Foodhallen was a great spot to appeal to many tastes and try lots of options. They also had a DJ playing fun music and the string lights set an inviting atmosphere on an otherwise dreary night. The Foodhallen is great to come for lunch or dinner, but can be very crowded during the weekend and on popular holiday times.
We knew we wanted to take the kids to see one of the castles and really spent a lot of time researching and deciding if we were going to trek all the way to the biggest castle in the Netherlands, Castle De Haar or got to Muiderslot castle just 20 minutes outside of Amsterdam and easy to get to by uber. We decided on Muiderslot because of its proximity and how long the trip to De Haar would take. In the future, when we drive through Belgium and the Netherlands again, we will plan a stop in Utrecht and De Haar, since it really is easiest to access by car. We were not disappointed in Muiderslot Castle in the least! This structure is still standing from the 1200’s and has two tours to follow on the audio guide. Be prepared for stairs, there are a lot of narrow stairs on one of the itineraries, but it really was the best one to see the interior of the castle. It was furnished in the time period and my kids loved exploring the whole castle and looking out the windows. I enjoyed walking out on the grounds behind the castle and watching the boats going in and out of the waterway.
Heavy rains in Dam square forced us into a candy shop where the kids got to pick their favorite assortment of candy and have an ice cream. It was a great distraction while I tried to find a decent lunch spot in the touristy area. I even asked the shop owner and he said, “not this area, too touristy.” So we ran in the rain and eventually found ourselves in a cafe, where Ken and I have had coffee on the patio before, but now decided we’d try for lunch. It ended up being pretty good, so much so that the boys went back for the pasta bolognese. The rain caused our plans to get rearranged, but it ended up with a positive outcome on this occasion.
The boys asked if we could try a steakhouse they had looked at on the menu earlier, that we always thought was a tourist trap. But I’m happy to report they proved us wrong, and we went back the following week and had a second great meal. It is called San Pedro’s Steakhouse on Haarlemmerstraat and we got a warm reception from the owners both times, two guys run the front and back of house in the small restaurant with about 10-12 tables. They brought a big basket of garlic bread to hold us over, but the steaks, sauces and sides were worth the wait. After dinner, Ken walked the boys through the infamous RLD, a quick tour to dispel the myth and wonder, while Cassidy and I found an ice cream shop on the way home for the night.
The next day I was excited to have plans with each individual child and planned this with Ken’s help occupying the other kids. That morning we both took Ethan on a Historic tour of Amsterdam with a guide that had been recommended in one of our Amsterdam groups. We were paired with another family who also had older teens and enjoyed the next 3-hours learning all about Amsterdam over the different time periods. For lunch, Ken went off with the boys and Cassidy and I headed to the shopping area in the Jordaan called “the 9 streets”. We started with brunch at Teds, which had changed their menu and took my favorite sandwich with goat cheese and pears off the menu! It just wasn’t the same after that, but Cassidy enjoyed her chicken and donuts (instead of waffles). Going into all the little shops and stopping for ice cream and stroopwafels in the grid map of 4×5 streets. We walked over to the mall, which was a beautiful former post office of Amsterdam, but has turned into a sad shopping mall with only 6 stores total. I’ve walked by it for years and always wondered…the realization was pathetic really.
We all met up in Dam Square again and this time Aidan and I were off cheese tasting at the Old Amsterdam Cheese Store. We stopped in a few other touristy cheese stores on Damrak, tasting small samples of cheeses, the older the better! When we arrived at the cheese tasting, we were ushered upstairs where there was a screen and tables set up with cheeses and wine glasses. They taught us about the Dutch family that owns the cheese company and how to experience the cheeses. I enjoyed having the double wine tasting, really the way to do it! An hour later, we left with our 3 favorite cheeses & a jar of mustard as a souvenir. We planned to spend golden hour seeing Vondelpark and museumplein just south of the canal ring. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time and we just ran into the restaurant instead. We went to a cute little storybook bar called Hansengrietjeamsterdam (Dutch version of Hansel & Gretel) for dinner. It was fine, but not as good as I hoped. It wasn’t worth going all the way over to that side of town, with all the rain and was a missed opportunity at a better restaurant close by our apartment.
On our last day in Amsterdam we actually canceled the day trip we had planned and opted for a free day instead. I took the laundry early and had the boys pick it up in the afternoon. I wanted to take Cassidy to the Zoo or NEMO the science center, but she wanted to go back to the ship at the Maritime Museum, so that’s what we did. We’ll have a few kid things to visit on our next trip and there will be another trip. Our kids loved it so much we switched up our itinerary and headed back to our beloved Dutch city for the last two days, but more on that later. After the museum, Cassidy said she wanted to go on another canal cruise. This time I found the hop on/hop off canal cruise that stopped outside the Maritime Museum and had great stops. I typically don’t like these tours, but the boat only part (never take a bus tour in Amsterdam, they can’t travel down the narrow streets) was a fantastic way to get to all the main tourist spots in a short period of time. We got off at the stop near the diamond factory, but to my surprise Cassidy was too hungry to look at diamonds. We stopped at the first cafe we passed and it ended up being the perfect spot to sit outside in the sun and have some lunch. After getting back on the boat, Cassidy promptly fell asleep for the rest of the cruise around the canals. Getting off at Central Station, we stopped for one more ice cream before we had to get packed up for France the next day.
Amsterdam Part Two
How did we end up back in Amsterdam, when our original trip was scheduled to stay in Zandvoort, about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam? Our original plan was to spend 2-nights at the beach town and have a family beach day in a very different environment than the Florida beaches the kids all grew up visiting. But the rainy & windy weather and water temperature (in the 50’s) was not going to allow for this idyllic beach day we fantasize about when hearing about the sunny weather the 2-weeks before our trip. So when the kids were all sad about leaving Amsterdam before going to France, Ken and I decided to do a little itinerary switcher-roo and scrapped the last 2 nights in Zandvoort to return to Amsterdam instead.
About a week after leaving the Netherlands, we woke up in Antwerp, Belgium and drove an hour to see Kinderdijk, an amazing collection of windmills about an hour south of Amsterdam. You can walk the area yourself for free or choose to take the boat and windmill tour with a ticket purchase. There were lots of ducks and ducklings around and they loved eating cheese! Leave it to the Dutch ducks to like cheese, but my daughter was so pleased to get to feed them. Then we drove the last hour to return the car at Schiphol airport. We checked into the Sint Nicolass Hotel just down the street from Central Station and relaxed back in our beloved Amsterdam. We revisited one of our favorite steak houses and had another great meal. Ironic, since Ken and I always worried it was a tourist trap, like the Italian place down the street. We still chuckle at my pathetic cheese plate every time we walk past that restaurant on our way to Central Station.
Our last day in Amsterdam was another day with no plans or reservations. After picking up one more load of laundry (after a Fanta explosion in the car) we had breakfast at the hotel. A great boutique hotel breakfast featuring a traditional salad bar with meats, cheeses and breads, plus pancakes with toppings, fruits and bakery items and even sausage, eggs and sautéed mushrooms to try to appeal to both European and American tastes. Great hotel location, close to all the tourist spots and even had a fun coffeeshop, Resin, 2 doors from the hotel. For a last minute booking, this was a fantastic location at a good value for a double room and a triple room. They even had complimentary drinks in a cooler, hoping only to provide for their guests and a good review, which they got from our family!
We decided to take the ferry to the Noord (northern neighborhood) that used to be a low income, residential area, but is now attracting more tourists with some attractions such as the A’dam tower, Film eye, This is Holland Experience and lots of canal front restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels. The ferry docks are located in the backside of Central Station, close to the back taxi drop off location or an easy walk through the tunnel. Be sure you get on the right ferry, one goes straight across, near the attractions and the other stops at the main hotels in the area. The ferry was a nice experience, free and quick. It is quite funny to see all the pedestrian and bike traffic all on the same ferry that just shuttles back and forth on the 5 minute journey all day and night. We even saw a mini car drive onto the ferry and back off on the north side, only in Amsterdam!
We went up in the A’dam tower to have panoramic views of the city and let the boys swing out over the ledge. The ride wasn’t as scary in person as it looked from the ground, but still not for me with my recent feelings about heights. There is a revolving restaurant and bar to enjoy a meal or drink with a view as well as a fine dining experience at Moon Restaurant. We just went to the outside observation area where the swing and photo spots were located all around the roof. Hubby and I got to see Amsterdam like we never had before and it was a beautiful view! There are a few more neighborhoods we need to explore in the future, including more of the Noord neighborhood, West Amsterdam and Zuid (South) Amsterdam where there are lots of hidden gems tucked into residential neighborhoods.
We bought the combo tickets that include the A’dam tower and walked over for the 3:00 pm show of This is Holland, an experience that takes about an hour. We sat down for a quick refreshment and shared a piece of traditional apple pie until the show/ride started. We began in a room showing an introduction movie, introducing a silly character who spoke in Dutch (subtitled in English) and gave you some background information about all of the Netherlands and its history. Then you move into a second chamber, to sit/stand around a 3D map of the Netherlands and continue to learn more about their shipping industry, cheese making regions and the largest natural skating pond in Freesland. That is my next winter bucket list item! Finally, we moved as a small group to the flight simulator that reminded us a lot of the ride Soaring at Disney World, but better. This technology seems to be popular as I’ve seen it advertised in Iceland too. The flight simulator takes you on a nice ride through the Dutch countryside and over the 12 Dutch provinces. The ride is neither scary or nauseating, I am quite sensitive and loved this experience. It was very well done and a long ride. When it finally finished, probably 12-15 minutes in length, my daughter wanted to do it again, since it was so enjoyable. I highly recommend coming up to the Noord for these fun experiences that are not crowded. Spend a day coming up, have lunch at one of the cafes or book a room at one of the new hotels up in the area, serviced by the free ferry.
Finally we had to leave Amsterdam for real this time and face the long flights home. Overall the airline Play got a D+ since they were really small planes (not what I’m used to flying a transatlantic flight, everything was sold at cost (even water) and the luggage cost more than the flights themselves. Other than that, the kids rated Amsterdam an A+ location! They have already asked to come back, so I have two tentative plans to return in 2 summers and 5 years for the next Myers family vacations to Amsterdam.
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