Our second trip during the May holidays was to Amsterdam. We left the Gare du Nord train station in Paris and within a few hours were in the heart of the city.
We stayed in the Jordaan, a residential area in the western part of Amsterdam. Our apartment was a little different from others we’ve rented (before and since) in that it appeared to be the primary residence of the couple we rented it from. Their pictures were up, their refrigerator had their food, their kids’ toys were lying around, etc. It was slightly odd to see them off and take over the place but the wonderful canal views made up for any misgivings we had.
The Jordaan is a casual, family-friendly neighborhood with a wide variety of restaurants and English spoken everywhere. We enjoyed a traditional Dutch meal in a small restaurant, had good pizza another night, and were surprised by how much the kids enjoyed Turkish food. We also had the opportunity to indulge in a marvelous apple cake that brought back many memories of growing up and spending time with my Dutch grandparents.
The next morning we rented a car and drove about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam to see the tulips in bloom. The place to go was Keukenhof, which is more or less a park dedicated to flowers, and tulips in particular. It had around a hundred arrangements of tulips (and a few other flowers such as daffodils, hyacinths, etc.) each done by a local bulb producer. It also had a playground for the kids, multiple exhibition halls, a windmill, and lots of food.
As lovely as the tulips were, the highlight of the visit to Keukenhof was seeing my Mom and Dad and Aunt Anneke. They had just arrived in Amsterdam -- Mom and Dad for a river cruise to Vienna and Anneke for a few weeks stay in the Netherlands -- and took an organized tour to Keukenhof the same day. I was hopeful we’d be able to find them (among the acres of tulips) and, sure enough, we did. The kids were particularly excited to see “Oma and Papa” as it had been about nine months since they had last seen them.
Together we walked around Keukenhof, caught up, snapped photos, and had a very enjoyable day. And after they caught their bus back to Amsterdam, we continued our explorations and walked around some more.
We spent most of the next day at Vondelpark, a large park in the Museum Quarter. We first met some family friends of Erin’s, Chris and Allison Hull, for coffee. We had last seen Chris twenty-one years prior at our wedding when he was a teenager. We had a lot of catching up to do.
We then met my Mom’s cousin, Daan Knuttel, along with Mom, Dad, Anneke, and Daan’s partner Jaap, for lunch. Daan and I have always had a special connection, begun on a trip of his to the States when I was a five or six that I remember well. As always, it was so nice to see him again.
That night we walked from our apartment to Dam Square in the center of Amsterdam for a Remembrance of the Dead gathering and moment of silence. Dam Square was crowded but we made our way through the crowds and were able to see, at a distance, King Willem-Alexander, who had been newly crowned only a few days prior.
The following day we drove out to the part of the Netherlands near where my Mom grew up and visited the town of Hoenderloo. We went first to the cemetery there to visit the graves of my grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relatives. We were met there by Mom’s Aunt Lisbeth, her three daughters Ellen, Monique, and Tanya, their partners, Ellen’s daughters, and my Mom’s Uncle Arthur. It had been about five years since I’d seen this part of the family and it was great to reconnect and catch up. We went to a nearby restaurant, where we’d met them five years previous, and enjoyed lunch together. Afterwards, Arthur took us to another nearby cemetery to visit the grave of his wonderful wife, Ally.
It was a long day but I so enjoyed seeing such special people and such a special part of the Netherlands.
On our last morning we visited the famous Rijksmuseum, which had just recently reopened after being closed for renovations for a number of years. We then grabbed our bags -- had a bit of a mix-up on the trams (everybody made it off except me so we were briefly separated) -- and went back to the train station. There, in a very nice surprise, we were greeted by Mom & Dad to see us off.
Our trip to Amsterdam was one that we really enjoyed. The city itself and the people were so pleasant. Compared to Paris everything felt so relaxed and easy. There is a huge difference when English is spoken by everyone vs. when you pretty much need to speak French.
We’d like to return to Amsterdam for a longer time (maybe a summer) and enjoy the city, the diverse food, the friendly people, the bike culture, and spend some more time with my second cousins.
We stayed in the Jordaan, a residential area in the western part of Amsterdam. Our apartment was a little different from others we’ve rented (before and since) in that it appeared to be the primary residence of the couple we rented it from. Their pictures were up, their refrigerator had their food, their kids’ toys were lying around, etc. It was slightly odd to see them off and take over the place but the wonderful canal views made up for any misgivings we had.
The Jordaan is a casual, family-friendly neighborhood with a wide variety of restaurants and English spoken everywhere. We enjoyed a traditional Dutch meal in a small restaurant, had good pizza another night, and were surprised by how much the kids enjoyed Turkish food. We also had the opportunity to indulge in a marvelous apple cake that brought back many memories of growing up and spending time with my Dutch grandparents.
The next morning we rented a car and drove about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam to see the tulips in bloom. The place to go was Keukenhof, which is more or less a park dedicated to flowers, and tulips in particular. It had around a hundred arrangements of tulips (and a few other flowers such as daffodils, hyacinths, etc.) each done by a local bulb producer. It also had a playground for the kids, multiple exhibition halls, a windmill, and lots of food.
As lovely as the tulips were, the highlight of the visit to Keukenhof was seeing my Mom and Dad and Aunt Anneke. They had just arrived in Amsterdam -- Mom and Dad for a river cruise to Vienna and Anneke for a few weeks stay in the Netherlands -- and took an organized tour to Keukenhof the same day. I was hopeful we’d be able to find them (among the acres of tulips) and, sure enough, we did. The kids were particularly excited to see “Oma and Papa” as it had been about nine months since they had last seen them.
Together we walked around Keukenhof, caught up, snapped photos, and had a very enjoyable day. And after they caught their bus back to Amsterdam, we continued our explorations and walked around some more.
We spent most of the next day at Vondelpark, a large park in the Museum Quarter. We first met some family friends of Erin’s, Chris and Allison Hull, for coffee. We had last seen Chris twenty-one years prior at our wedding when he was a teenager. We had a lot of catching up to do.
We then met my Mom’s cousin, Daan Knuttel, along with Mom, Dad, Anneke, and Daan’s partner Jaap, for lunch. Daan and I have always had a special connection, begun on a trip of his to the States when I was a five or six that I remember well. As always, it was so nice to see him again.
That night we walked from our apartment to Dam Square in the center of Amsterdam for a Remembrance of the Dead gathering and moment of silence. Dam Square was crowded but we made our way through the crowds and were able to see, at a distance, King Willem-Alexander, who had been newly crowned only a few days prior.
The following day we drove out to the part of the Netherlands near where my Mom grew up and visited the town of Hoenderloo. We went first to the cemetery there to visit the graves of my grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relatives. We were met there by Mom’s Aunt Lisbeth, her three daughters Ellen, Monique, and Tanya, their partners, Ellen’s daughters, and my Mom’s Uncle Arthur. It had been about five years since I’d seen this part of the family and it was great to reconnect and catch up. We went to a nearby restaurant, where we’d met them five years previous, and enjoyed lunch together. Afterwards, Arthur took us to another nearby cemetery to visit the grave of his wonderful wife, Ally.
It was a long day but I so enjoyed seeing such special people and such a special part of the Netherlands.
On our last morning we visited the famous Rijksmuseum, which had just recently reopened after being closed for renovations for a number of years. We then grabbed our bags -- had a bit of a mix-up on the trams (everybody made it off except me so we were briefly separated) -- and went back to the train station. There, in a very nice surprise, we were greeted by Mom & Dad to see us off.
Our trip to Amsterdam was one that we really enjoyed. The city itself and the people were so pleasant. Compared to Paris everything felt so relaxed and easy. There is a huge difference when English is spoken by everyone vs. when you pretty much need to speak French.
We’d like to return to Amsterdam for a longer time (maybe a summer) and enjoy the city, the diverse food, the friendly people, the bike culture, and spend some more time with my second cousins.
No comments:
Post a Comment