Spring Break: Cochem and Burg Eltz, Germany

After leaving the outdoor museum of Arnhem we headed to Cochem, Germany (about 3 hours away) where we would spend our last night of Spring Break (I know you thought this trip would never) end!

How to keep three boys happy in the car?  Give them ice-cream and lots of Curious George to watch on the iPad

Priority number one when reaching a destination: Get your wiggles out!

The Cochem castle as seen from our hotel

We walked around the cute little town of Cochem but only Oma and Andrea wanted to hike up to the castle.

While Oma and Andrea were hiking we got the boys a bite to eat for dinner.  Julian was very possessive of his french fries:)

Sunday, April 15.  After a great nights rest and a  wonderful breakfast in our Cochem hotel we drove over to Burg Eltz.  This castle has been in the Eltz family for 850 years and had never been destroyed through all the many wars that swept through the area.  All of the furnishings in the castle are from 500 years ago and were used and still belong to the Eltz family.  I think this was one of my favorite castles I have seen while in Europe.  It was just so neat to know that one family had maintained it for so long.

We decided to hike up to the castle from Moselkern.  It took us about an hour but it was a beautiful hike through the forest and right along the river.

Townsend exploring a cave he found on the walk

After all that hiking you turn a corner and there it is!!!

Don't the boys look super excited to tour an old castle?

Here we are after our tour.  No pictures were allowed to be taken inside the castle so you'll just have to go and visit your self.  It was a great castle and one that I highly recommend.

And that's it.  The end of our Spring Break road trip.  What an adventure!

Spring Break: Alkmaar, Zandvoort and Arnhem, The Netherlands

Friday, April 13.  The one touristy thing Hyrum wanted to see was the traditional cheese market held each Friday in the city of Alkmaar.  So on Friday morning we drove the 45 minutes up to this cute little town.  We were expecting rows and rows of cheese selling stalls but instead we got this...

...did I mention it was touristy?

This was the only way the boys could see what was going on!

And this is what we were all standing around watching.  These men put on a show of how the cheese market used to run with men carrying sleds of cheese rounds to be weighed and then bought or sold.  Totally not worth going to unless you LOVE crowds.

On the plus side, we got away from the crowds and found this cool church with a wooden ceiling...

And this street entertainer was pretty fun to watch...

And the boys got cupcakes...so altogether, not a total loss

We left Alkmaar and headed over to Haarlem, where I dropped Hyrum, Oma and Andrea off to do some site seeing.  I told Hyrum if he wants to remember his time in Haarlem he needs to blog about it, we'll see if that happens.  The boys and I spent the afternoon enjoying the beach in Zandvoort, which was just a few steps from our hotel.  The weather wasn't super warm but they still had fun running around the sand and playing in the waves.

They tried to build a sand castle but they lost interest

Emerson doing handstands in the waves

Julian loved to get wet sand in his shovel and then try and dump it on my feet

The next morning, Saturday April 14, we left Zandvoort and drove about 1 1/2 hours to Arnhem.  We have always enjoyed outdoor museums here in Europe where they bring old buildings from all over the country and re-assemble them in a park.  The boys enjoyed seeing how an old bakery and cheese factory worked but I'm pretty sure the highlight was watching the man at the restaurant make Dutch pancakes.

A windmill at the outdoor museum

Andrea and I on a draw bridge

Andrea humored me and rode around on this old fashioned bike so I could get a video

Hard at working making Dutch pancakes

There was even a street car that would take you all around the park if you didn't feel like walking

I'm pretty sure Julian could have stayed on the street car the whole time we were there:)

After we enjoyed some fresh air and play time at the park we got back into the van and headed toward Germany...

Spring Break: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Thursday, April 12.  Our hotel in Zandvoort left much to be desired, especially after the fabulous apartment we left behind in Bruges.  The shower was actually in a closet and all 7 of us had to share a card table and two chairs whenever we wanted to eat.  But, it's not the hotel you stay in that makes a trip wonderful but the city you get to explore and Amsterdam certainly did not disappoint.

The train station in Amsterdam.  We took the train from Zandvoort to Amsterdam so we wouldn't have to worry about traffic or trying to park.  Lucky for us, Rick Steve's walking tour of Amsterdam starts right at the train station:)

The "hidden" Catholic church.  For two centuries it was against the law to practice Catholicism.  Even though it was illegal it was tolerated as long as Catholics practiced in humble, un-advertised buildings, such as this.  What a contrast from the rest of Europe where Catholic Cathedrals are the main attraction!

The Begijnhof.  This courtyard housed unmarried women and widows that wanted to leave the world behind and live out their days in quiet service to Christ.  The women who lived here took care of the poor and sick of the city.

There is only so much walking you can make three kids do in one day so we opted for a boat tour of Amsterdam.  It was a nice way to get some views of the architecture and layout of the city.

A view from the water.  Amsterdam was sort of like Venice...with cars.

Classic view of Amsterdam, the city of bikes!

After the boat tour we decided to split up.  Hyrum took the boys to a fabulous children's museum and Oma, Andrea and I hit the wonderful art museum.  Can you tell Julian is super happy to not be in his stroller walking around an old city?

Townsend, surrounding himself with a giant bubble

Emerson, being silly with mirrors.  Even though it was crowded Hyrum said the boys had a great time and they were happy to be in an environment that was made for running, touching, exploring, building and climbing.

Oma, Andrea and I continued the walking tour of Amsterdam on our way to the Rijksmuseum Art Museum.  This was an interesting arch.  Above is written, in latin, "Homo sapiens non urinat in ventum" which means, "Don't pee into the wind."

Only in Amsterdam!

During our walk Oma found something that she liked...

...and I found something that I liked.  I debated taking the train back into Amsterdam the next day just so I could have one of these chocolate croissants!

Oma and Andrea in front of the Rijksmuseum.  If you like the art of Dutch masters, this is a must see museum.

A little Frans Hals...

A little Vermeer...

 A little Rembrandt...

And a little Jan Steen...

By far the most impressive piece in the museum is "The Night Watch" by Rembrandt.  I love the use of light and dark to focus your eyes on the important figures.  Seriously, a wonderful masterpiece.

After leaving the museum we wandered around a bit to find a bite to eat.  Unfortunately, the "OMA Falafel" was closed...we were all very sad.

We met up again with Hyrum and the boys outside the Anne Frank house

Anne's diary is actually on display at the museum.  I read the book "The Diary of Anne Frank" when I was in 8th grade.  I still remember how much it touched me and how I had hoped it had a different ending.  Seeing the house and the hidden annex where she lived for two years was really amazing.

You weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum so this is a photo of a postcard showing how this bookcase concealed the stairs leading up to the secret rooms.

Most of the rooms are pretty empty but there are quotes from her diaries on the walls and it is so amazing to walk through the rooms and imagine living life in fear of being discovered each and every day.  I had to include this photo of Anne, what a beautiful little girl and what a tragedy she and so many like her were killed just because they were different.

Amsterdam streets are lined with these posts.  The boys got pretty expert at jumping over them.

Family photo in Amsterdam.  Probably my favorite part of the whole day was walking around in the evening, after we had already seen all the sites on our list.  The city was quiet and the lighting was perfect for some photos.

Wow...what a day!  It was busy and full of walking but I'm glad we got to see Amsterdam.  We headed back to Zandvoort on the train and went off to bed as soon as we got to the hotel.