Sanders Go Sightseeing: Amsterdam, Netherlands

We just got back from a fun-filled weekend in Amsterdam!

The weather was atrocious (wind chill in the 30s, really windy, really rainy, and really COLD) but it was typical European weather for this time of year so we knew what to expect and didn't mind...too much! We successfully combated the cold and rain with lots of hot chocolate and warm tram rides. Getting around was really pretty easy.

We had to laugh because we taught the kids to say "no cars, no cars" when they cross the street so we know they look before crossing. Towards the end of the trip the kids were looking across the street and saying, "no bikes, no bikes." Love those two!

(Be sure to check out THIS article for local travel advice.)

We stayed at the Hotel Mosaic City Center Hotel in the Oud-West area of Amsterdam and really liked it. We found an amazing deal on booking.com (which is where we find most of our hotel deals). The room was really nice and the staff was happy and kind and spoke English very well. They offered the children free juice and brought them balloons when they came to clean our room, which really made their day! They had a free coffee/tea station in the reception area but no breakfast option.

We ended up going to a local grocery store for some fresh croissants (under 4 EUR for four people) the first day there and went downstairs to the Street Kitchen our last day. The food there was more expensive (around 35 EUR for four people) than we really wanted to pay for breakfast. However, we didn't want to walk around trying to find another spot (a lot of shops/restaurants were closed for the holidays) so we bit the bullet and I'm glad we did...the food was really yummy!

I would go back for the caramel coffee in a heartbeat!

Our favorite meal while we were there though would have to be the take out pizza we got from New York Pizza near our hotel. I really didn't want pizza and was against going there (I love trying new/local foods) but it was the only thing nearby that the rest of my family would eat. It was also cold and starting to rain again! The staff really took to the kids (who of course were there to impress) and even gave them each a toy as we left! We enjoyed our pizza in our hotel room watching cartoons in our pjs!

The kids actually did really well on this trip, especially with the wind and rain. The city's Light Festival was going on while we were there so we went on a canal tour to see some of the light exhibits (we purchased tickets from the booths near Central Station). We were a little disappointed that we couldn't see much from the boat (the windows were really foggy) but we were at least warm and dry so that was a win...and we got free hot chocolate! Their favorite part of the boat ride was passing and being passed by a kayaker!

Here are some pics from the boat ride:

(Toward the end of the ride people started opening windows for better photo ops.
The cold air was worth the views!)

We also toured the Anne Frank Museum (no photos allowed, sorry) and the Van Gogh Museum. The Anne Frank Museum was a very sobering experience. I can't begin to describe what it felt like to walk up that staircase and then see that baby girl's handwritten notes along the walls, especially since we recently visited some of the concentration camps. Never forget. Never.

A few things about the Ann Frank Museum. The line can be horribly long, but to us, it is well worth it. You can beat the crowd by ordering tickets online via their website. However, we wanted to go later in the evening when time slots were not available. Luckily, due to the time of year/weather/stars aligning we did not have to wait very long at all to enter, maybe 20 minutes. I was actually a little disappointed because an amazing group of carolers had came out to sing Christmas songs to those standing in line!

The Van Gogh Museum was much more lighthearted and interactive. The kids had so much fun going on a "treasure hunt" and playing with all the art Apps throughout the floors. At one point they had to find one of Vincent's sculptures that he painted and draw the same figure. It was nice because you can get really up close to the photos...nice, that is, until your 6 yr. old gets excited about finishing his sculpture and tries to hold it up next to an original million dollar piece of history and about makes a museum employee pee her pants. True story. Not funny.

Once we (safely) exited the museum we walked down to Central Station and meandered around the local Christmas market. We found some hot chocolate and a kid's ride and then jumped back on the tram once it started raining again. We even ended up at the I AMsterdam sign for a quick photo op!

Traveling the city with children was not as difficult as I thought it would be. We had to be careful on which streets we went down (there are a lot of "coffeeshops," window workers, etc.) but, for the most part, it was a very family-friendly place. Most of the people spoke English and everyone was very welcoming.

(My kind of coffee shop!)

All in all, it was a great experience though and we made some awesome memories....we would love to come back!

Here are some more random pics from our trip: