Amsterdam

We have just returned from a four-day trip to Amsterdam.

Neither of us had ever been there before, and though we now have children and couldn't properly "enjoy" the city, we were still keen to check it out.  (Not like we'd want to do any of that stuff, anyway...)

We stayed in a holiday apartment very close to the centre of the city.  The apartment was nice and comfortable.  Its always nice to have a separate bedroom for the kids and a kitchen where they can eat, since that is their favorite holiday activity (and it starts at 6 a.m.)

Once we figured out some of the local transportation, we were on our way through the city.  We spent a bit of time traveling by boat through the canals.  Entertainment, relaxation, and transporation all wrapped up in one nice package.  

We also did a bit of walking.  On the first day we walked to the flower market, which Susanna enjoyed (while Ben napped on a bench nearby.)  On the second day we visited the Van Gogh museum.  We managed to get through the whole thing, but it didn't take long.  We followed some good museum advice: buy a few postcards at the shop when you get there, and then go looking for those paintings.  Susanna did well with the game and found most of her pictures.  Not sure what happened to the rest...  Susanna and I also visited the Anne Frank house and talked a little bit about what happened there.

On Tuesday, our last full day, we went to the science museum, called NEMO.  It was nice to be in a place where the kids could touch everything and explore at their pace.  They managed to stay interested for a few hours.

The highlight of the trip was the pancakes.  We found a good pancake restaurant on Sunday and went back on Monday and Tuesday.  They had lots of toppings and combinations of toppings and every one that we tried was excellent.  The kids' pancakes came with really good prizes - Ben ordered a Fireman pancake and got a fireman's hat... Susanna ordered an Animal pancake and got a stuffed monkey.  Good stuff.

Here are a few photo highlights:

We ended up lunching at Hard Rock Cafe on the first day.  They had free face painting, and that made eating there totally worthwhile.

Riding the boat through the canal.  
We visited this replica of the Amsterdam near the science museum.  They loved exploring the ship.
Walking (running) along a pedestrian bridge towards the centre.
A little love by the canals after our last meal at the Pancake Bakery.