Stood in silence and witnessed a high octane role play. It was that of an A 380 being landed. The nomenclature, the adjustment of the glide path, the chatter with the ATC; all was on a loop mode; practise makes perfect remember ! was the throw back. Our pilots, severely underaged but trebling high on energy and determined to clock in the airtime. On another day, this would have been amusing but today, it was just confusing. We had just landed after an eight hour flight and wanted to head to our hotel and crash; on the other hand – the kids who were in the same space as us literarily seconds ago were now riding on a infinite surge of energy; the trigger – a replica of a propeller and a cockpit that had sneaked up on us just as we about to exit from the airport.

The immaculate replica had triumphantly desecrated any hopes of slumber we had and we were now on a sprint as against peacefully hitting the bed, which looked so plausible a moment ago; the result – grabbed a quick bite, hailed a cab; checked in to our hotel, hopped on to a train to the Centraal station and ended up on a bicycle, in the middle on the city!

I could have sworn it was less than a minute since we had landed in this city. It was like we were absorbed by a hypnotic pull that began ever since the propeller and the cockpit had emerged from the corner and the hypnosis only ended by landing us on bicycles in the middle of the city.

Oh well, I told myself. In a city where there are more bikes thann its residents what could possibly go wrong – it is called the quad cycle. Where the lead driver does all the heavy paddling.

I gotta say though, as we navigated through the streets of this beautiful town; somehow it reeled in such enthusiasm, that it magically lifted the spirits. Through bridges, canals and narrow alleyways we steered and rode till the evening set in. The 17th century architecture here blended in perfectly with the bustling metropolis that it is today and the light at dusk spewed pure magic. The paddling of the bike was exhausting but the cool, relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the city that rode along made it one of the most memorable days of our trip. Whenever we look back at that day, we have nothing but smiles on our faces.

A food binge followed after the self guided tour through the city centre. As we scurried through the magnificent alleyways of the Centraal district. We pit stopped and sampled food at virtually every turn. Indulgent and insatiable was the ice cream at Van Der Line at the Beur’s passageway and the desert at the Banknet bakery.

NEMO AND HIS TECH

DAY 2

Dawn drew in and re-engaged our inclination to be on the move and with clockwork efficiency we were up and the next thing we knew was that we were on to train to the central station and on a bicycle, yet again.  We biked to the eastern docklands to visit the NEMO science and technology museum; one of the most visited museums in this part of the world. It is housed in a stunning building that resembles a multi decked boat. Built in the 1920’s, its has five floors of exhibitions.  Everything in the museum is very interactive  – from science labs where you can synthesise vitamins in DNA to a humongous water play area that combines the playtime with references of scientific concepts, it is just brilliant. In a city that boats of museums of likes of the Rijksmuseum, Nemo has been consistently drawing in more visitors and for good reasons. The hands on engagement its exhibits provide is second to none. It is just as captivating as the big boys of the vicinity, in my opinion. A must visit.

On the fifth floor there is a marvellous roof top terrace that overlooks the fabled maritime museum and offers breath taking views of the city. A refreshing place to retreat. Late evening we walked down to Dam square and dined at one of the restaurant there before calling it a day and heading to our hotel.

das Het Muizenhuis

Day 3

This day was dedicated to spontaneity. We had no plans; no agenda and we were weaving a path as we went along. The city of Amsterdam has so much to enthrall you with; there are innumerable hidden gems like courtyards and alleyways that call out to be discovered. There is no better way to discover them than proceeding on an impromptu expedition. But therein lies a conundrum – all this leisurely strolling through the city; we knew we enjoy and find it thrilling but that necessarily isn’t the case with the children and this when you desperately need some heroes to emerge from the corner that can get us all aligned and more often than not, they do.

We were walking through the beautiful neighbourhood of Jordaan and we could see the excitement in the kids drop, with all that walking. We passed by a shop called Het Muizenhuis. It looked like an art gallery from outside but soon we discovered it wasn’t; it was one of the most unique places. It captivated the kids and us in an instant and we ended up spending the better part of the the afternoon there.

In 2008 Ms. Karina Schaapman authored an internationally acclaimed series of children’s books on the adventures of two mice named Sam and Julia. While being very different than each other, they were best friends and lived in a magical place called the mouse mansion; the story in the books is on how they discover the many rooms of a mouse mansion and meet its inhabitants.

The photos of the mouse house illustrated in the book are that of a studio, a three dimensional set created by hand over a period of three years. The shop is essentially that original set of the mouse house used in her books. 

Apart from the books the studio also retails other things the likes of which include small box furniture kits that can be assembled and furnished into your own mouse house, shape by your own imagination. They have coloring kits there as well. The kids loved “the spot and find game in the studio”

This was such a special place

The day ended with us taking a cruise on the Amstel and through the infamous canal district.

Cheese, windmills and tulips

Day 4

It was a very early start for us today. We drove south from the city of Amsterdam for about an hour to reach to the city of Gouda – one of the most revered cheese happens to have come from this region. Every Thursday morning from April to August there is a market held here where cheese wheels come rolling in on horse carriages and wagonettes by farmers. All this takes place in a square of the medieval city. The cheese wheels are then rolled into a nearby weighing house where they are weighed and priced. The atmosphere is enchanting to say the least; the horses, wagonettes, the cobbled stone streets and buildings add such magic to the whole setting and this is complemented by the cool breeze that ushers the smell from the baked cheesecakes and chocolate across ever corner of this magical place. DO NOT miss sampling the cheese crackers here !

After experiencing the palpable energy, magic and exhilaration of the Gouda cheese market we wanted to let some steam off in the serenity of the tulips Kukenhoff and reel in some fresh air. On our way to the garden we stopped at Madurodam. Madurodam was a miniature version of the Netherlands with scaled and remarkable replicas of various Dutch Landmarks. A treat for the kids and as for the adults, it houses a decent cafe.

After a short while in Madurodam we were on our way to the tulips of Keukonhoff. The reputation of this magical garden precedes itself. Though it is bustling with tourists the swaying of the tulips breath in an indescribable calmness and serenity. The endless colorful backdrops are infinite and each one of them so unique – never cease to amaze. Surreal

We were strapped for time so we couldn’t visit windmills at Leiden but if you are in this part of the world I would certainly recommend that you schedule for some time to visit them

das Museums

Day 5 

The day started with us touring the city on a hop on bus. Got dropped at the gorgeous museum quarter where we spent the better part of the day museum hopping or at least we attempted to; the museums here are enormous and the exhibits infinite.

In the afternoon, we headed back to our hotel to grab our bags and made out way to the airport.

continued…