Amsterdam

Since there was no school this week and Roger had to work in Amsterdam for a couple of days anyway, the kids and I took the train from Luxembourg and met Roger there.  We managed to do quite a bit despite the fact that I'm still nursing a fairly bad knee injury and had to hobble around the city like an old lady.  I suggested to Roger that we rent one of these bikes so he could pedal us all around, but he  didn't like that idea.  I can't imagine why.

Anyway, it was beautiful.

Kate and Roger were happy to pose on the bridge with all the bicycles

Will was not so cooperative.

I have about 100 pictures like this

But finally I got a good one... or at least one with him in the frame.

He lost a bet with me (that we'd see at least 10 houseboats on our walk back to the hotel) so he had to pose nicely with his sister for at least one picture.  He was not happy but he did it.

We also took a canal boat cruise...

...and hopped off at the NEMO Science Center.

Wow.  The kids thought that was the. best. place. ever!  It's a lot like the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and the kids could touch, experiment and play with things as much as they liked.





Fortunately for us, all the exhibits were labeled in both Dutch and English so we could even understand everything.  Unfortunately for us, we had less than two hours there and I think we could've easily spent an entire day.  Next time!

We also stopped by the Van Gogh Museum for a quick visit.  I'm the one who wanted to go since I love Van Gogh, but I thought Will would also like it since he studied Van Gogh in school last year and recreated his Sunflowers:

His painting was even selected to hang in the library in our town!

I was mildly right. The kids thought it was "fine," but they were much happier after we headed over to the nearby Vondelpark.

There we fed some ducks... 

...walked over picturesque bridges...

 ...and explored the playgrounds.

We actually went there two days in a row... thus the different clothing.

It was such a great trip. On the train ride back, Kate said, "I already miss Amsterdam.  When can we go back?"  Very soon, I hope!