Amsterdam: Highlights (14 - 20 September)

Knowing that these days of bright sunshine are likely precious, and that we will likely have plenty of cold (gezellig) days in museums and cafes, we carpe diem’ed, rented a car, and spent last Sunday exploring a few places just outside of Amsterdam.

I really wanted to get to the coast and I was certain the kids would love the sand dunes at Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. (I was right!) The park entrance is about 40 minutes by car straight west of Amsterdam. Like most places in Holland, the best way to explore the park is by bicycle and the main visitor center offers easy bike rentals. With our bikes, a picnic lunch, and a map, we set out on an 8-ish mile circle course through the park. There is a longer recommended route that is 20k/12-ish miles, but the Dunes proved hillier than expected. Ben was enthusiastic, but his little legs were also getting tired.

A few miles into our route, we spotted the herd of Scottish cows who were introduced to the park a few decades ago. They eat the grassy vegetation to prevent it from taking root, which helps to preserve the natural ecology of the dunes area.

We stopped for lunch when we hit the coast and parked ourselves on a lovely, but windy, dune that overlooked the beach. As soon as the kids could finish their sandwiches, they were off climbing.

The reward for climbing up, for course, is the fun of jumping and running down!

We made it with just enough time to continue on to De Olmenhorst fruit orchard. Apple picking is something of a forced tradition in the Finkel house. Like many midwestern families with school age kids, the first signs of fall compel me to drive us to Wisconsin for a hay ride and to spend outrageous amounts of money to pick our own fruit. This compulsion seemed to follow me to Europe. But, it turned out to be a worthwhile stop.

We didn’t have enough time to do any actual picking, which seemed to suit the rest of my family just fine. There was a little festival and plenty to do. The kids spent a long time with a really nice lady who assisted them in making felt flowers. I made a pit stop in the orchard store and came home with plenty of farm-fresh goodies, including the best pears I’ve ever had.

On Wednesday, we were invited to lunch at my friend Suzanne’s house. I met Suzanne through a mutual friend when we were here in 2008. Since then, we’ve stayed loosely connected. It was great to meet her husband and have Norah and Ben play with their son, Bryn.

After leaving Suzanne’s, we made a trip to the Artis Royal Zoo, which was founded in 1838 and has more than 700 species of animals on display. For Norah and Ben, the big draws at the zoo weren’t the animals, it was the aquarium which includes a section on the marine life living in the Amsterdam canals and the cool playground that had great rope ladders for climbing.

Did I mention that they make pancakes at the zoo? We ordered poffertjes, mini Dutch pancakes made fresh on a special griddle pan, and this traditional food earned three more devoted fans.

Poffertjes, mini Dutch pancakes, are made on this special griddle pan. We ordered 16 and did not have enough.

Another day, another crazy fun European playground.

My friend Sarah arrived on Thursday, making a short pit stop between Greece and Paris. We just saw each other about seven weeks ago, but so much has changed since we were last together. She is now working to set up her own photography initiative and traveling across the globe. I graduated from school, got us on the road, and am now quickly growing roots in Amsterdam.

It was great fun to catch up and she was the perfect partner to play tourist in the city.

Sarah is an excellent photographer. Wandering around with her, watching her look for little moments and grabbing my own, was great fun! Also, Eli picked up the kids after school and took them to a movie, so we had the whole afternoon to explore. This turned into an early birthday celebration, of sorts, which felt luxurious and relaxed.

Honorable mentions this week:

Norah lost a tooth! We didn’t even know one was loose. Fortunately, we were able to verify that the tooth fairy travels to the Netherlands and pays in Euros.

Ben and I take time some nights to enjoy dessert on our front stairs. It is great fun to just watch people passing by. We see all our favorite bike riding combinations - teenagers carrying an extra passenger on their back rack, bakfiets filled to the brim with kids, an older gentleman riding with his dog in a basket. Plus, we get to say hello to the shop owners and managers on our block who we have come to recognize - and who now recognize us.