Be prepared. It's a long slideshow, I know. We just had so many pictures I had a hard time picking and choosing.
The highlight and goal of our trip this time was to actually go into Amsterdam. Last year, we focused on Keukenhof and the flowers. I tried to get Matt and the kids to go back again to Keukenhof, but they weren't having it. I guess forcing them one time is punishment enough and they were good sports last year. Anyway, Amsterdam was fantastic!
When looking at the pictures, notice the bicycles everywhere. I'm talking... you can't imagine the number unless you are there. It's bikes, bikes, bikes.... thousands and thousands all over the city. We were told they have to fish out 10,000 or some crazy number a year out of the canals from people dumping them. There are "parking" garages of nothing but bikes on several levels. I can't even fathom how you begin to find your own in all that mess. I must say, we should take a hint in America to be more fit. However, many of them smoke too so I guess that ruins the "health" benefit.
Anyway, we visited the Anne Frank house which is what I was looking forward to the most. It had a really long line, but it moved very quickly. I really remember reading that book in school. It had such a huge impact on me. I'm not one to remember details and history, but for some reason that has always been in my head. I never dreamed I would actually get to stand in the rooms she wrote the diary in and touch the walls she was held captive in. It was amazing to think about. How sad... terribly, terribly sad. We got to climb up the tiny stairwells, behind the hidden bookcase... into the tiny rooms. The rooms were empty, as Otis had requested they be when they were taken away to the concentration camps. They still remain empty. We got to see the original diary that Anne had written at the end of the tour. I had talked a lot about it to Landen and really wanted him to read the book before we went. However, I never got it so he had to listen to the little bit of knowledge that I had. To my surprise, both he and Hayden were very intrigued with the whole thing. I know Hayden won't remember, but I sure hope Landen does. I tried to emphasize how this would be so important to them later on in their life and how fortunate they are to tour these things.
After that, we roamed around the city and took a canal cruise. That was fun and a nice break for the kids. The whole city is covered in canals and had so much personality. We never really made it to the "Red Light" district (not something you can see with 3 kids tagging along.) However, we did see a few questionable girls in windows off the beaten paths... I'll just leave it at that. Hayden asked why she was dressed like a "cheerleader." A cheerleader? Not quite what I would relate it to, but I guess that's all he could think of. It made for a lot of laughs between Matt and I.
We had good weather the first two days, but the third day was not so good. It was chilly and rainy so our plans to hang on the beach were changed. We ended up driving through The Haag and roaming the boardwalk. We ended up finding an aquarium to go to that was inside and the kids enjoyed that.
I won't get carried away here so you can see the pictures. Enjoy!
