A day out in the Netherlands, part 1

We have done a lot of traveling over the course of our time in the Netherlands, and have put our convenience of living-in-Europe to good use!  We only have a few months left and have decided to keep our traveling somewhat local - as in, one country.  I think we have done a pretty good job of really exploring the Netherlands, but we are not done yet and there is more to be discovered!  We have several more destinations in mind for day trips around this beautiful country, and yesterday, we checked a few more off of our list.  

We packed a lunch and small day-bag, and headed out to the train station, where we caught a train heading to Den Haag.  The train ride took about two hours to get into the city, and then we had to catch a tram to our destination: Madurodam.  Madurodam is a miniature park and tourist attraction filled with 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch castles, public buildings, and large industrial projects as found at various locations in the country.  It's a pretty convenient, and impressive, way to view most all of Holland in under 2 hours. :)  Truly, the detail and intricacies of each replica was very cool to see.  

I think Brant and I thought this would be a fun place to go as a family, as they had advertised there being several interactive things for kids to play with throughout the park.  Unfortunately, we were both taken by surprise by how stressful the outing became once we arrived on location.  Geoffrey did not wait 15 seconds before bolting down the crowded pathway, attempting to hop over the delicate bushes and landscape and onto a replica street filled with shiny, 2-year-old-toy-sized vehicles, because he "just wanted to play cars." Ha!  Yes, that is what set the tone for the next 2 hours - trying to keep Geoffrey off of just about everything.

I have done my best to minimize (no pun intended) the pictures I have posted on here.  Trust me, I left out quite a few!  Many of the pictures are of places we have visited, with several places unaccounted for.   

Enjoying lunch before entering Madurodam.

Upon entering, we found these bad-boys, and thought we had hit the jack-pot and this would be a breeze.  As you already read up above and can only guess, the kids did not stay seated and we ended up having to maneuver the strollers around the pathways, while trying to keep up with hedge-jumping Geoffrey! 

There it is.  The Netherlands, in all of its highlighted glory.

The tiny trains were a big hit for the kids, and us.  We saw every possible train there was, including the high speed train we took to Paris.  

Weighing the cheese.

He is very happy...but if you look at him long enough, you can also see a little bit of "crazy" in his eyes.  Just after this picture was taken, is when he bolted off the cheese and over the hedges to "just play with cars."

After I had a good talk with him about how we only play with the cars that are at home in Geoffrey's room, he let me take his picture.  The moment the camera snapped, his attention was grabbed and he was off again.

The Rijksmuseum.

This takes being called "tall" to a whole new level.  

Looks like I could be taking this picture from a building across the way.  So realistic!

A part of Amsterdam.  

And this is how Geoffrey looks when I have successfully strapped him into the stroller...it didn't last long.

Dom Square, in Amsterdam.

"Look Mama!  A Minmeal!!"  Geoffrey loves to point out windmills (and still calls them minmeals)! :)

Castle Muiderslot, which we might make a trip out to see in person.

The Maeslant Storm Barrier (which we visited in January).

Waiting for another train...

I was standing this close to him as the train rode by, and was still completely unsuccessful at keeping his hands off of just about every train car!

Finally, a train stopped for several minutes up on a grassy bluff.  Geoffrey did not waste a moment and went right up and took a good long look.  This time, he told me, "Just looking, Mama.  Just looking."  :)  

I guess we've seen the tulip fields! ;)

I love how the detail extends all the way to the tire tracks in the mud.  

I can't tell you how many times we tried to take this picture, but one of them was always running in the opposite direction.  I am "hugging" my kids here, but maybe, just possibly, also holding them in place. 

Found a playground within the park!  It was almost successful, but a bit too big for Geoffrey, and somewhat for Maddie, too.  Bummer!!

He decided he needed my help with the digging machine.  I was happy to oblige, if I could get a picture out of it.

Schipol Airport.  I have only been once, and plan to go back in approximately 2.5 months!

Alkmaar Cheese Market - this would be a fun thing to go see this spring.  

Selling cheese, old school.

We've seen this place lots of times - this is the Kampen Stadhuis, which we ride by on our bikes at least once a week.

It sort of caught me off-guard.  I wasn't expecting to see anything from Kampen here.  Cool!

And finally, Binnenhof, which we also visited in January with my parents.

I saw these beauties as we were exiting the park.

I love how there is almost a neon-glow to them.  

We left Madurodam mid-afternoon, but decided it was too early to head back home just yet.  Stay tuned for part 2 of our day out in the Netherlands! (I know, the excitement is just too much!)