{ kinderdijk & madurodam }

what a gorgeous and peaceful place kinderdijk was! 19 windmills have been preserved there since 1740 pumping out water that is below sea level. a quarter of the netherlands is actually below sea level and the country always seems to be battling with the sea to keep their land. thank goodness for windmills because that land is worth fighting for- so pretty!

after our afternoon in gouda, ricky wanted to visit where he first saw windmills on his mission. if you ever got a christmas card from him with a windmill in the back-this was the place!

beautiful

gorgeous weather! it was so bright!

you could take the ferry, walk or bike- it was so big!

hayden loved the windmills. they spin really fast! 

bye-bye windmills!

{madurodam}

netherlands only theme park

thumbs up!

the legend of the boy who stuck his thumb in the dijk to save holland

everything here is a "mini-holland." 

the miniature cities offer the highlights of the netherlands on a scale 1:25. 

 

watch out! kiddo on the loose!

he loved jumping into the models that had cars. i think that was amsterdam?

the famous flower fields

a reason to come back one day. the fields are only open in the spring.

the airplanes moved around and that truck brought luggage to the plane

does this look familiar?

the park's version of kinderdijk

they had everything from rotterdam to amsterdam with canals, boats, you name it! it was really cute and actually pretty big!

dutch translation to english

this was actually pretty cool. if you put 1 euro into a slot, these wooden shoes would be brought out onto a mini truck that drove the shoes around the building and right to you to pick up. hayden loved his mini wooden shoes!

they had a "sesame street" kids place. their big bird is blue but elmo was normal.

we were glad we came here. many people recommended it to us so we thought we'd check it out later in the day since they had a laser night show in the evening. 

(it doesn't get dark here until 11:00 p.m.)

if you're wondering how we did den haag to madurodam in 1 day- that is how!

what a fun way to spend our last day in the netherlands! 

{ den haag region, netherlands }

we said goodbye to amsterdam and headed to the den haag region which is located in southern holland and it's beautiful! 

ricky's relative currently serves as the den haag temple president. we made arrangements to go visit and sight-see the surrounding areas. there wasn't a temple when ricky served so it was a sweet experience for him to see it there.

{ den haag, netherlands temple }

there was a beautiful bridge with a cute family of swans

there were 7 baby swans! so cute!

the next stop on the map was perfect timing for lunch. i'm sure you've had "gouda cheese" and that was where we went! gouda, netherlands where  delicious gouda was first created.

gouda, south holland

we loved how the streets were decorated with what made them famous.

so festive!

gouda city center

cheese everywhere! 

we found out where the best cheese shop was and set out to find it.

t' Kasswinkeltje

the cheese was so big! 

we ordered a slice of their finest gouda and took some to go for our train ride to france.

how did hayden like it?

let's just say, he ate everything!

we found another shop that claims they invented holland's famous "stropwafel" cookies. they are dutch thin waffles with a syrup filling. ricky said they were the best he's ever had!

delft, holland

you know the famous dutch pottery that is blue and white? that's all made here in the beautiful city of delft. this heart in the city symbolizes the "delft blue."

off to more windmills and enjoying holland's countryside!

{ amsterdam }

we couldn't wait to get to amsterdam so we headed there in the evening. first stop? a house i couldn't wait to visit and imagined always visiting since i was a little girl - the home of anne frank. it was incredibly touching and very moving. the secret bookcase, her room with pictures she decorated on the walls of her bedroom, the attic- everything was how you imagined it to be. this 9-year-old was amazing and it was an honor to see one of her real diaries.

the anne frank huis

this bell tower was the one she wrote about. when we heard it ring, it made us think, "wow, this is the same bell anne frank heard for 2 years." it was really cool.

this picture pretty much sums up how gorgeous amsterdam is-  scenic canals everywhere, people enjoying their afternoon on boats, beautiful buildings with picturesque windows...just incredible.

instead of garages, people have boat docks!

our hotel

amsterdam sunset

the next day, we had a lot planned to do- 

fun, fun, fun!

ricky couldn't wait to buy vla! 

yes, i'm sure you've heard him talk about it (pronounced fla) and everything thing he has told you about it is TRUE! it is absolutely divine! we couldn't get enough of it and made frequent stops to the market to taste it's goodness.

we wish it was sold in the u.s.! maybe we'll import it and make billions?

van gogh museum

hayden enjoyed his colorful paintings. we could have spent all day staring at his work. we spent a good few hours there. just incredible. seriously.

our favorite painting, "a starry night" is on loan in nyc, so this knock-off sufficed! 

the only way to get around amsterdam is by bike and everyone has one.

instead of car garages, they've got bike garages!

check it out! so many bikes!

so, we decided to check out the city by bike too! it was fantastic!

biker boys!

hayden loved riding along on the bike! he was all smiles!

dam square

the queen's palace

the famous flower markt

lot's of bulbs!

any kind of tulip you want...

only in amsterdam can you rent a bike with tulips on it

hot food vending machines 1 euro!

we enjoyed the day sightseeing, shopping  and eating some great dutch and indonesian food. we really enjoyed amsterdam and would love to go back!