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.

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 Although the windmills have been replaced by huge turbines some of them still turned in the wind.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.

Den Bosch & Eindhoven

Den Bosch & Eindhoven, a set on Flickr.

Having a bit of a sleep in after a big storm we headed out to see the fortified town of Den Bosch. It was a cute little town, with a grass wall thing around it. We stumbled into the town cathedral which had a nativity scene made of REAL stuffed animals! Everything from a camel, badgers, cheetah, horses, chickens, cats, baby warthogs, baby giraffe, deer, goats, sheep, ferrets, foxes ... and more, it was kind of creepy. Next we visited Eindhoven, a bit of a University town with shopping. We were all a bit tired and wet so only had a little look around. It was funny reading the New Zealand news that night and seeing Eindhoven along with England and other parts of Amsterdam that had been hit by the heavy storm ... the stadium roof had fallen in and we mostly just slept through it!