The rest of Amsterdam

When we arrived in Amsterdam we left the car at a park and ride. We walked but to get to a couple of places we bought passes on the Hop on/Hop off canal boats.  With headphones you could get a good dose of history of Amsterdam or you could just enjoy the view.  But it mainly got us places without kids complaining about too much walking.

The second day Cormac decided that his Lego figure Admiral Ackbar would be joining us.  So we had to take pictures of him at different locations.  Here he is having a snack and coffee.

Navigating on the canal boat.

Viewing the sights from the boat.

Waiting for pancakes.  Admiral Ackbar is now well acquainted with Amsterdam (and I am happy to report we didn't lose him on his adventures).

The Pancake Bakery

Dutch pancakes are like big, flat, unfolded crepes topped or filled with whatever you can dream up.  Delicious.  We went to The Pancake Bakery to try them out.  The Pancake Bakery has been around since the 1970s and is located in an 18th century warehouse.  It is always packed and we had a short wait but it was SO worth it.  The pancakes were delicious.

Gus got a pancake topped with ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream, because why not?

The rest of the kids ordered off of the kids menu.  It was a basic pancake with powdered sugar.  But the best part was the "surprise" that came with each order.  Cormac and Cadel ordered the Animal Pancake and each got little stuffed animals.

Maggie ordered the Princess Pancake and got a little set of princess jewelry.

The Heineken Experience

After NEMO we decided it was time for mom and dad to get a pick.  Naturally, we chose the Heineken Experience.  The original brewery was turned into a museum in 1991, then revamped in the early 2000s and renamed the Heineken Experience.  

It is a self-guided tour and takes about and hour and a half depending on how much time you spend on each section.  The beginning was all of the history.  The kids were super bored so we didn't spend much time there.

After all of the history, brewery equipment, etc., comes the Brew You Ride.  We weren't sure what to expect but this made believers out of the kids for sure.  It was an interactive ride where you are basically treated like a beer and taken through the whole brewing experience by a goofy guy on a video.  There were water drops, bubbles, blowing air and moving around.  The kids (and Pat and I) loved it!   Once you finish the ride you get to all of these really cool interactive exhibits for the rest of the tour.  We all had so much fun and spent lots of time on this part.

On one exhibit you get on bikes in front of a green screen.  The people on the other side can watch as it shows you driving through Amsterdam with Dutch music going.

This is what they saw.  At first they had no idea that it was taking a video with a background.  There were also virtual rugby and soccer games, a fussball table and lots of neat stuff to look at.

Of course the tour ends in the bar where everyone gets two drinks.  Beer for mom and dad and orange soda for the kids.  This place was an enormous hit with us all.  I am not sure who had more fun, the kids or the grown-ups.

NEMO

NEMO Science Center is an enormous science museum filled with kid-friendly exhibits.  We went there the morning of our first full day in Amsterdam.  It was a big hit.  All of the information is in Dutch and English so no problem reading about everything (not that the kids stopped long enough to read anything).  We spent the whole morning there and stopped for lunch at the cafeteria at the top (the museum is five stories tall).  The kids had a great time!

The Houseboat

The houseboat we stayed on while in Amsterdam is called the Quinta.  The boat was built in 1901 and renovated last year.  She was moored in a main canal, not a smaller one, but we were in a very residential/business area so there weren't tourists everywhere.

This was the kids' room.  They loved it.  They loved the boat and thought it was awesome that we stayed on it.  The boat had three bedrooms.

They are peeking out of the "window" to the room Pat and I slept in.

It was very spacious and reminded me of traveling in the Airstream only with a lot more space.

The stairs go up to the wheelhouse.  That is where the door is to board the boat.  The picture is taken in the third bedroom.  Down the stairs on the left is the rest of the houseboat.

View from the wheelhouse.

The other direction from the wheelhouse.

Down into the boat from the wheelhouse.

It was a great experience and I am so glad we were able to stay there.

Spring Break

Last week was spring break for the kids.  I planned a road trip to Amsterdam and Brussels.  We made the Amsterdam part but had to cancel the Brussels part due to travel restrictions after the bombings.  We did have a good time in Amsterdam.  I rented a house boat for us to stay on while we were there and the kids loved it!  Because of the number of pictures I have I think I will have to break them up into a couple of posts.  First up a couple of pictures from Amsterdam.

 Loved the canals, architecture and bikes everywhere.

 Centraal Station.

And LOVED the cheese.  We brought lots home too.

JAG Formal

This past weekend we went up to Grafenwoehr for the JAG formal.  We reserved a room at Army lodging there on post and the kids were so excited to have the Disney Channel and Nickeloden (it's the small things these days).  They even got Popeye's before we took them over to childcare for the evening.  Then mom and dad got a much overdue evening out.  It was a good time.

Watching the Disney Channel.  Silly the things you miss from America.

We had Gus snap a picture of us before we all headed out.  Not too bad for old people dressed up for "prom".  The kids were amazed when I put on a dress and heels.

Still waiting for spring...

Last week we had a good snow day.  It started snowing when we walked the two big boys to the bus and stopped at lunchtime.  Maggie and Cadel had a good time playing in it before it started to melt.  The big boys got to play in the snow when they got home from school that day but it was already starting to melt a bit.