Family Fun in Europe, Part 2: Amsterdam

This is my second post about our family's 2024 trip to Europe. I recommend starting with the first post. You may also enjoy reading about the educational travel our family has done in all 50 states. 

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bright and early on Sunday, July 14, the three of us met up with the rest of the family. We had a full schedule of activities in Amsterdam. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the streets downtown were deserted. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. We started with a short walk from our hotel to the Metro, which was also gloriously people-free. That's Trevor (18) in the middle with his cousins Allison (11) and Timothy (23). Allison was dressed similarly to the rest of us: long pants, a short-sleeved shirt, and a light sweater. Trevor was ready for camping in the Arctic (three heavy layers) and Timothy was dressed for golfing in the tropics. That's typical of both of them. 

We headed to Centraal Station, then strolled through downtown. 

I highly recommend early on a Sunday morning if you want Amsterdam all to yourself. 

  

Another benefit to an early Sunday stroll when the rest of the city is sleeping? It's a lot more family-friendly. We walked through the outskirts of the Red Light District when no one was taking part in any of Amsterdam's more notorious legal activities.  

 

  

Such a pretty morning!

The kids* bought some baked goods to enjoy as we approached our first destination of the morning....

... the Amsterdam Cheese Museum! (*Allison is a legitimate kid, but Timothy and Trevor are technically adults. However, the three will forever be "the kids" in my mind.)

My mom really likes cows. And cheese. 

  

So do Trevor and Steve. We each found a favorite flavor among the many samples. 

  

I highly recommend the lutjewinkel. 

The cheese exhibits were very interesting, but oh my gosh - the staircase leading to the exhibit area was ridiculously narrow and steep. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture. As it turned out, I would see even crazier staircases while in the Netherlands. But I didn't know that yet. My parents opted not to go downstairs at all. 

  

After the Cheese Museum, we headed next door to the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. We loved it. 

Tulips are a huge part of Dutch history, which is weird considering that they are most certainly not native to Northern Europe. Tulips come from Central Asia. The word "tulip" is a Latinized version of the Turkish word "turban." 

The museum is packed with interesting information about tulips. 

  

Different rooms tell about the tulip's history, cultivation, and influence in art. 

I was especially interested in learning how they harvest tulip bulbs. Growers lop off the beautiful blooms in order to grow the largest, healthiest bulbs. But the flowers don't go to waste - they're fed to cows, who find them delicious. They're not equally delicious though; cows pick through them and eat the red ones first!

Yes, those are real flowers. There were vases full of fresh tulips throughout the museum. 

  

We left the museums with tons of new information about cheese and tulips. We had about 40 minutes before our timed tickets at the Anne Frank House, so Brian zipped into Pancakes Amsterdam to get an apple pancake for us to share. Delicious!

  

Pancakes are a big deal in Amsterdam. You'll find pancake shops all over the place. Don't expect American pancakes though. You can find them if you try, but why eat what you can have at home? Instead, try the traditional Dutch pancakes that are thin and lacy. Don't make the mistake of saying "Dutch pancakes are like crepes" in front of someone Dutch, like I did. Dutch pancakes are not crepes (although I stand by my proclamation that they're LIKE crepes). 

We were right by the Westerkerk, with its famous spire, so we headed that way to check it out. Sadly, scaffolding covered the spire and access was blocked. Darn. 

  

Hey - look! It's Amsterdam's Smallest Cheese Shop! 

It was slightly bigger than the not-very-large laundry room in our house. There wasn’t room to take pictures except for up close. Here’s some cheese. 

We still had time before our appointment, so we went to the local Albert Heijn. I'm telling you - if you don't make it a habit of visiting grocery stores wherever you travel, you're seriously missing out. 

Yum - a whole section for stroopwafels! You can tell we're in a tourist area. This Albert Heijn had tulip, wooden shoe, and windmill treats for sale. 

  

I've definitely had people look at me strangely when I photograph shelves at the grocery store, but I don't care. It's so interesting! 

We joined the waiting masses outside the Anne Frank House. It is a very popular attraction, as it should be. You can read about dark times in history, but visiting the places where they happened leaves such a deeper impression. Even though it is challenging and emotional, do not visit Amsterdam without going to the Anne Frank House. 

The experience started with a 30-minute lecture. It was very helpful in providing background and explaining what we would see in the museum. That was the only place where photos were allowed. 

  

The museum was very powerful and I'm so glad I went. Unfortunately, it was quite crowded, which was frustrating at times. And a word of caution: the Anne Frank House is not accessible to people with physical disabilities. Staircases are very steep and some have really high steps. I struggled with some of them; one was basically a ladder. Do not visit if you are not confident on your feet and able to negotiate stairs with ease. 

Oh, and use the bathroom at the museum. It's one of the few places in Amsterdam where you can use a toilet without paying. Technically, you have to pay to get in the museum, but even that isn't a guarantee elsewhere that a bathroom will be free. Anyway, my point is that if you ever see a public bathroom in Amsterdam and there is any possibility that you'll need one in the next few hours, go. Otherwise, expect to A) spend significant time looking for a bathroom when you need it; and B) pay to use it once you actually find it. Many bathrooms only take electronic payments, so don't send your kids to the bathroom without you there to swipe a card.

We had a late lunch at the outstanding Pancake Bakery, one of the top-rated pancake places in the city. And yes, we made reservations. 

We started with an order of poffertjes for the table. Soooo good!

Steve and I shared a pineapple pancake. It was delicious. 

Allison ordered a "Surprise Pancake" off the kids' menu. Her pancake had gummy bats and a wrapped lollipop on it. Surprise!

This is the Dutch, which features stroopwafel chunks, cinnamon ice cream, chocolate flakes, and whipped cream. Yum. 

I didn't get a picture of the savory pancakes, but there were a lot of delicious options. I had a bite of Trevor's, which had cheese, ham, and mushrooms. So good!

The hop-on-hop-off tour we bought had a canal cruise as part of the ticket, so that's what we did next. It ended up being my favorite thing we did in Amsterdam. 

I loved the view we got from the water. The perspective is totally different than on the streets. And the narration was very interesting and informative. 

Even without narration, it would have been an awesome way to see Amsterdam. 

As we floated along, I added a lot of places to my mental list of things I want to visit the next time we're in Amsterdam, like the NEMO Science Museum. 

Do you see the hooks dangling from the posts sticking out from these buildings? That's how the Dutch get furniture into (and presumably, out of) the upper stories of their houses when they move. You certainly aren't carrying furniture up a Dutch staircase. This dangling-furniture method is particularly surprising to me since the houses are right up against the canal. 

A bit of a digression, but the house hooks reminded me to tell you about the many forward-leaning buildings in Amsterdam. In some cases, that lean is intentional. But often it's not. It's never intentional when the houses are leaning sideways or backwards. We saw plenty of those too. 

We hopped off the canal cruise at the Bloemenmarkt, Amsterdam's floating flower market. 

We loved it, particularly the first stall. The entire ceiling was covered with bunches of dried flowers. 

  

It's pretty much a rule that tourists in the Netherlands have to stand in oversized wooden shoes. Yes, this is still in the floating flower market.

  

  

I'm a big fan of googly eyes in unexpected places. 

I know you didn't doubt me, but here's your proof that the flower market is floating. See the water and the boats out the windows? 

OK, I suppose that doesn't prove that the market is floating, only that it's on the water. Whatever. Here's more water. 

The flower market has plenty of non-flower stuff for tourists. These little houses are so cute on their own, and even cuter all together. Smart to design something where your customer is guaranteed to buy multiples.  

The flower market is G-rated, but be aware not all of Amsterdam's souvenir shops are quite so family-friendly. After we left the flower market, I popped into this Christmas-themed shop across the street to look at all the darling ornaments.

One aisle over, still in the same shop, the theme was no longer Christmas and the items for sale were not anything I would post on this blog. It was very shocking in what I thought was an innocent store with Christmas decorations. Whatever lurid Amsterdam things you are imagining might have been on display... yes. That. And that. 

Enough said. Let's talk about stroopwafels. Timothy was on a quest to find the best ones in Amsterdam. These were a top contender. Warm, gooey, and so good. 

If you like architecture, you need to book a flight to Amsterdam immediately. Literally every corner has an interesting building. This is the Munttoren. 

We hopped back onto the canal cruise to finish the loop and head back toward Centraal Station. We had a trainee driver this time. As interesting as the sights were, it was just as interesting watching her learn how to captain the boat. There were a few incidents, but no permanent damage was done. At least not to the boat we were on. I can't speak as to the things she hit. And to be fair, someone else hit us once also. So apparently driving well is not nearly the priority I would have thought it would be for being in charge of a boat in the canals of Amsterdam. 

We took the Metro back toward our hotel, stopping for dinner at Market 33. Since it's a food hall, you don't need reservations. Perfect! 

There were a bunch of great choices. Steve, Trevor, and I shared a Chinese appetizer, a Japanese entree, and an Italian dessert. Steve sampled the Dutch beers. The rest of the family took their food to go back to the hotel. 

  

We had a wonderful day in Amsterdam. What a neat city! You could spend weeks there and not scratch the surface of cool things to do. As it turns out, the Holland countryside is just as great to visit. That's what we did the following day. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.