Wandering Browns

For the second half of our day in Amsterdam, I wanted to visit the Rijksmuseum, a big art museum, and Austin did not. So, he took Landon to the Maritime museum while I took on the Rijksmuseum. From where we parted ways after lunch, it was a far walk for both of us. My walk took me through the heart of the city where I discovered the famous floating flower market, Bloemenmarkt. These days, there were some bulbs and some live flowers, but mostly souvenir shops which was a little depressing. I also passed the Munttoren, a tower that was once part of the medieval gate into Amsterdam. It was first built in 1480, and the city has grown far beyond that original gate at this point.   Bloemenmarkt Munttoren Rijksmuseum exterior Exterior details Even the outside of the Rijksmuseum was impressive. It was originally completed in 1885 after a contest was presented for the best design. Albert Cuypers won with a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance architecture. The museum h...

 After splitting up to see things of interest to us in various parts of Amsterdam, we met back up at de Bijenkorf department store in downtown Amsterdam. It was right across from the Royal palace, Nieuwe Kerk, and National monument, so it was easy to find! We were there to claim our free gift as part of the Holland pass. Our free gift was a commemorative tin with candies in it, which we thought was pretty spiffy for a free gift. After claiming our gift, we thought about what we wanted for dinner. The top of the department store was also a cafeteria style restaurant. We ordered a pesto pasta dish, pizza, and salad which were all delicious and our first Italian food for awhile which was a welcome change. Our Magnum bar creations The real star of the cafeteria, though, was the Magnum bar booth. For those who don't know what Magnum bars are, they are extremely delicious chocolate covered ice cream bars. In stores, they are sold in various flavors like chocolate, chocolate brow...

Waiting for the tour to begin! As a family, we decided to buy a Holland Pass because it gave us discounts at all of the places we wanted to see in the Netherlands. As part of the Holland pass, we got an hour-long canal tour of Amsterdam. On a gray, cold day, we headed up to Amsterdam and parked right across from the Amsterdam Central, where the canal boat tour started. Typically, we would have taken the train to save money and avoid parking issues, but we compared costs and trains from Rotterdam to Amsterdam are more expensive for the three of us then the parking fee was! Since I reserved it online, we paid 20E for parking for the entire day (or 24 hours)! We registered our vehicle on the website, and the cameras at the entrance knew us when we came in and let us in without any hassle. I would definitely recommend looking into parking ahead of time and reserving a space. It saved us money and hassle of struggling with parking in a watery, not car-friendly city! Amsterdam Cent...

Royal Palace of Amsterdam (and Landon in the stroller) Just a short walk from Amsterdam Central Station is Dam Square and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. With the entry fee, a free audio guide is provided that explains the main rooms and purposes of the building, and directs guests on a tour. I appreciated that this is one of three Royal palaces that the royal family actually uses, and it was open to the public to wander around the first two floors! The stately citizen's hall Atlas with the world on his back Originally, this building was a town hall where the local government operated. It was built in the 17th century and the architect was inspired by Roman architecture. At that time in the Dutch Golden Age, Amsterdam was the most important city for trade in the world. In order to get to the 2nd floor where the tour began with my stroller and sleeping baby, I had to ask for a special escort that made sure I stayed on the tourist floors. The elevators were hidden ...

Originally, Landon and I were slated to meet up with Austin's co-worker and go to the zoo in Amsterdam. That did not end up happening, but I had already promised Landon a zoo trip, and I wanted to check out Amsterdam, so we found ourselves in Amsterdam on a cold, windy day. It was about an hour train ride over from Amsterdam, and then a 5 minute tram ride on a tram we caught right outside the station. Dutch public transport is really a breeze to navigate- I'm so grateful!  The Royal Artis zoo is a relatively small zoo that prides itself on ecological, animal-friendly enclosures. This was evident in the first exhibit we came to in the zoo- a giant enclosure with camels and oxen in it, just wandering around grazing.  Fancy gate at the zoo In addition to the zoo animals, there was a small butterfly pavilion, planetarium, and aquarium. Even though it was cold, we were able to see most of the outdoor animals interspersed with the indoor exhibits and had a good day there!...