Amsterdam Day 2

Amsterdam Day 2 , a set on Flickr.

Our second day in Amsterdam was very wet and windy, so not many photos. Our goal for the day was to visit the Ann Frank House & Van Gogh museum. After braving the 15 minute walk to the Ann Frank House we were lucky to skip the giant cue because the staff came out looking for wet/sad looking families to take in (saved us about 30 minutes in the wind and rain:+) We were not allowed to take photos in the house, it was not as sad or sobering as the concentration camps we have been to but very surreal actually walking through the annex where they were hiding. It was full of quotes, videos and photos. Everyone was surprised at how big it actually was, although after a couple of years never going outside and having the curtains shut constantly plus knowing many friends and family have already been shipped to concentration camps would have been awful. We then walked another 15 minutes to the Van Gogh museum to find another massive cue! Unfortunately for mum we have already seen a number of great art works at the Louvre and Musee d’orsay so decided to give it a miss as we were all pretty wet, cold and the little kids were getting pretty grumpy.

Brussels

Brussels, a set on Flickr.

Everyone enjoyed our day trip to Brussels. Because we went on Boxing Day the streets and main city centre were very quiet when we arrived. Once again we did the city walking tour which covered the Grand Place, Town Hall, comic art scene, the Stock Exchange, St Nicolas Church, The Royal Square, Mont des Arts and the birthplace of comic Tintin. Our guide was super enthusiastic and had lots of information to share about the history of Brussels and wider Europe. The city of Brussels was beautiful, historic, clean and friendly. We enjoyed some Belgium Chocolate, Belgium waffles and Belgium Frites (fries). The icon of the city is a peeing baby, pretty random. The actual baby gets new clothes every couple of days to keep the tourist entertained, but he is everywhere and in most shops it’s pretty funny. Corban loved the tour guide as usual and was happy to take a shoulder ride!

1740's Windmill Kinderdijk & Madurodam

1740's Windmill Kinderdijk & Madurodam, a set on Flickr.

It took about 50 minutes to drive to Kinderdijk where there are 17 windmills that were built in the 1740’s. It was a beautiful morning, making the photos a bit tricky with the light. We were all surprised that people lived in the windmill and there was a little farming community surrounding the mills. Although the windmills have been replaced by huge turbines some of them still turned in the wind. Following this we visited Madurodam (miniature Holland) something for the little kids. It was actually quite interesting and you could learn how the dijks worked, waterways, container shipping and general history about Holland. Mum was pleased that she saw the legend of the little boy who saved Holland by putting his finger in the dijk to stop a leak. Corban and Leo enjoyed looking at all the models and making things work. A good day out.