Friday, November 14, 2014

Our 9 tips for a weekend in Amsterdam with kids!

A few weeks ago we took the fast train from Frankfurt to Amsterdam for the weekend.  We were visiting friends, and absolutely fell in LOVE with Amsterdam.  It is a fascinating, vibrant, and fabulous city.  I would move there in a second!!!

Where we stayed...
Our friends recommended we stay near to the main museums and the large and lush Vondelpark, at Hotel Mosaic City Center.  This is not in the canal district, or the red light district, but is a great central spot to access the entire city.

What do do?
1. EXPLORE on foot!
Amsterdam is an amazing city to explore on foot.  It is full of little boutiques, restaurants, museums, trillions of bikes, and the CANALS.  It's gorgeous and fascinating.  We marveled at house boats, snacked at cheese shops, bought street art, gawked atsoccer madness, noted all things ORANGE (the national color), and even snuck some covert peeks at the various marijuana bars, prostitutes, and sex shops.

Amsterdam is very well known for it's pot and prostitutes.  We read in various guidebooks that the red light district is completely safe and very touristy, so we decided to wander through.  It's in the middle of the historic canals and is a beautiful part of the city.  However, the sex shops and prostitutes are visible.  Our kids (ages 3, 6, and 8) giggled at some merchandise but were otherwise unfazed by the lewdness.  There are Dutch families who live in the Red Light District, and we did see many children out and about with their families, so it was not uncomfortable that we were there with children.

2.  The Van Gogh Museum
It's always a delicate balance while traveling with children - exposing them to art and museums while not being boring.  The Van Gogh museum does this perfectly.  The children each got a scavenger hunt booklet that directed them around the museum with clues to answer a secret message.  We learned a lot about Van Gogh and had a very enjoyable morning.  They are now "Van Gogh experts!"

3.  Vondel Park and KinderKookKafe
Vondel Park is the central park of Amsterdam.  It is a beautiful park with playgrounds and various gardens.  It also contains the Kinder Kook Kafe.  This small restaurant was a HUGE hit with our three little ones.  At this restaurant when one orders a meal, they receive a platter with all the ingredients for the meal, which is prepared by the children.  We loved this!


4.  Poffertjes!  YUM!!
Amsterdam is full of restaurants advertising poffertjes, tiny, sweet, delicious Dutch pancakes.  It's worth a stop to find a canal-side restaurant and indulge!!

5.  CANALS...by boat!
We did two boat tours while in Amsterdam, we went on a guided boat tour and also rented a paddle boat.  We drove by sights such as Anne Frank's house (which needs to be seen with reservations, and only by children older than ours), peeked in the windows of house boats, and enjoyed the beauty of Amsterdam.  The paddle boat was my personal favorite!!

6.  Katten Kabinet
I had read about a privately run museum containing artwork related to cats, in a canal-side mansion, so we decided to check it out.  It was an interestingly random way to see art, but we enjoyed it.  We even caught sight of a few of the cats that reside in the historic mansion and some chickens in the back yard.

7.  Sculpture!
There are so many famous sculptures and squares dotted throughout the city.  Some, like this one, can really be enjoyed up close and personal!!!  Next time, I would like to go to the Rijksmuseum to see the actual painting!

8.  Flower Market
The Amsterdam Flower Market is extremely famous, and is a worthwhile place to walk through, especially with children.  The colors, smells, and myriad of bulbs, seeds, and other flower-related items are incredible.  We bought some black tulip bulbs here!

9.  Enjoy and have FUN!!
Dutch people are so nice, the food is great, and city is gorgeous, and the museums and public squares are fascinating.  Amsterdam is an incredibly fun place to visit!!



Things We Learned About Luxembourg

We recently went to Luxembourg for a weekend.  It's a short drive from Frankfurt, and we found a cheap hotel near to downtown on Booking.com.   Before going to Luxembourg, we really knew nothing about it.  Here are some interesting things we learned....

1.  Luxembourg City has a ravine - making it a city with a lot of natural beauty.
The biggest surprise I had about Luxembourg was how beautiful it is!  I expected it to be pretty, safe, and interesting, but I did not realize that it is basically built around and within a ravine.  There are many trails, parks, and bridges which are spectacular.  It's a great city to explore on foot.

2.  The Hop-On Hop-Off Bus is an easy way to get to know the city.
We explored the downtown and historic areas of Luxembourg City on foot, but enjoyed the double decker hop-on hop-off bus tour to get a sense of the city as a whole, and the immense amount of banking and industry.  Luxembourg is a really wealthy place!


3.  Luxembourg has a Grand Duke!
Luxembourg is the last "grand duchy" in the world.  The historic center of Luxembourg has a small castle, with a patrolling guard (with a gun).  This was super interesting to our kids.  If you go, we highly recommend getting hot chocolate at the "Chocolate House", the chocolate, tea and coffee shop across from the guard.

4.  Lastly, and MOST IMPORTANT, you have to go see the US and German World War II Cemeteries.
The Luxembourg American Cemetery contains remains from about 5,000 American soldiers who gave their lives fighting the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.  It is a short drive from Luxembourg City and an absolute must-see.  It is immaculately maintained (the grass looks like a golf course) and a very peaceful and somber place.  Our children were awed by the sacrifice these brave souls made.  It is also worth noting that General Patton is buried there.

A few minutes away from the American Cemetery is the Sandweiler German Cemetery, which contains the remains of over 10,000 German soldiers from the same battles.  It is, as would be expected, significantly less-well maintained (with wildflowers and some weeds growing around the gravestones).  To see the two cemeteries juxtaposed is a poignant reminder of the tragic loss of life on both sides in any military battle.

5.  Luxembourg is a great weekend destination!
We had fun exploring the city, providing us, and the children, with a moment to remember the fallen during World War II, and learned quite a lot.  Luxembourg is worth a visit!