I ♥ Amsterdam!

Day One: Not much to report on today!  We woke up at 5:45 am and took a train from 7:30 to 11:30 to get to Amsterdam.  We settled into our AMAZING apartment.  Click here to check it out!  Honestly, I probably could just stay in the apartment the entire time we are in Amsterdam haha.  We went to the local grocery store (called Jumbo) and noticed immediately things are a lot cheaper here than Paris.  I also noticed an abundance of health-conscious stuff (food, baby items, fresh-squeezed orange juice machine in the veggie section, and the list goes on).  Karen and I really liked going to the grocery store... can you tell? haha.

^^ In our flat the windows in the living room opened up completely wall to wall.  I want these in our house!

Day Two: We headed out to discover this new city.  It was raining but it didn't stop me from noticing the happy people, the biking, and all the colour!  We walked around and ate at this yummy cafe.  We bought Finn some coin-size clogs (we decided we are going to make a little sensory box of trinkets as keepsake for him from this trip).  We visited the famous sign of Amsterdam.  It was all pretty exciting and new!

 ^^ So many bikes and neat to see the ways children are carried on bikes.  We weren't allowed to rent bikes because Finn (being under one years old) was considered too young at the rental shops.

^^ I am a huge fan of Banksy.  So it was pretty exciting to see his artwork displayed at a boutique art gallery.

^^ Sorry Mom I am not coming home.  I started a pancake business!

 Day Three: Finn and I are sick so we decided we needed to stay close to home.  Jenn stayed home to take care of Finn and I.  We walked along the canal sides and rested up.  Karen went to the Rijk Museum and I loved hearing about her visit.  The most fascinating to me was the second king to rule Amsterdam was William II Orange.  He was fourteen years old and he married a nine year old girl named Mary.  They got their portrait painted on their wedding day.  William II died at 29 which made the young girl a widow at 19 years old!

Day Four: We went and saw the Anne Frank House.  The Frank family and another family hid in the secret annex for two years.  They fled to Amsterdam to get away when Hitler gained power in 1933.  They set up a jam business in Amsterdam and then three years later the Nazi group took over the Netherlands.  The families hid in a secret home built above Anna's Dad's business.  They had to be quiet during the day so they wouldn't get caught.  Otto (Anne's Dad) was the only survivor of the 8 people in hiding, the rest were killed in camps.  He published Anne's diary when he came back to Amsterdam and realized all his family had been killed.  It's still hard to believe they were all hiding in there for two years.  I couldn't imagine being Otto and coming back from imprisonment to nothing and no family.  He was the person who really stood out to me during our visit.  He was the one who had to come back and continue to live after all that had been done.
**A really exciting part of the tour was that we saw Anne Frank's real diary.

 ^^ My poor TOM shoes were destroyed in all the rain in Paris/Amsterdam.  I got some new kicks at the local flea market!

Day Five: We headed to Leiden to visit Karen and Jenn's family.  We were sure lucky because we were picked up by Jan (Hank's school friend) in his boat.  He took us on a tour of Leiden by the canals and we stopped off for a latte.  After Leiden, we headed into another town (I don't remember the name).  There we were greeted with open arms and warm hugs!  It was so awesome to meet relatives of Ann and to meet family across the world!  While travelling it felt even more special to connect with people and feel at home.

^^ We stopped at WAAG to grab a latte.  

^^ We drove the boat under an entire street.  It was a tight squeeze but we made it!

^^ Marco and Finn

^^ Mieke (Ann's Sister) looked and spoke exactly like Ann.  It was pretty special meeting her and for her to meet Finn.

Day Six:  Jenn, Finn, and I went on a trip around town in Amsterdam.  It was lovely!  We went to the Red Light District which was not what I thought.  I thought it was more of a party street but it ended up being just a lot of women in windows.  The street was dirty and I thought it was gross.  I think it might be something to see at night?  We bought Finn a sippy cup with a print done by a local famous artist named Dick Bruna.  He makes this character called Miffy.

Rembrandt Square.  Can you find Finn?

^^ The Night Watch by Rembrandt (this painting was replicated by the sculptures above)

 ^^Mom, this picture is for you.  I don't know if you can tell but these are large tubs (like the size of those cans of Ketchup you used to buy) of Nutella!

 ^^ I have quite a few nursing photos that soon I could make a Europe Nursing Collection haha.

Day Seven:  We visited the Van Gogh Museum.  He is one of my favourite artists of all time.  The brush strokes, his sense of colour theory, and his self portraits were all amazing to see in person!  He made over 2,000 paintings in just ten years.  He has inspired me to paint and I'm excited to go home and do just that!

 ^^ Can you find Finn?  You might need a hint (look at the "E")

Karen's Sunflowers were painted by Van Gogh.