Trip to Holland

Last weekend we took a three-day trip to Holland. We drove our new-to-us car and were very impressed with the gas mileage. Overall we averaged 43 miles per gallon! We were able to fill up in Xanten, near the border of Germany and drive around the Netherlands including the coast and back home on one tank of gas. Not too bad for a 9-year-old car.

Holland is one of our new favorite countries. It was beautiful. The people were also very friendly. We drove there Friday and went to Clara Maria Cheese & Clog Farm. We learned in German how they make wooden shoes and cheese. The wooden shoes and cheese are made completely on their farm. We sampled around 10 different kinds of cheese. It was the best cheese we have ever had. So we splurged and bought some.

On the farm

Some of the cheeses, so good!

Where part of the tour for the cheese process took place.

Where the wooden shoes are made.

Some of the cows on the farm.

Friday night we went to Naarden Vesting and ate at a family restaurant in the star fort. It's a fortified city with a large moat around it with borders shaped like a star.

Saturday we spent the whole day in Amsterdam. We took the canal boat around the city. It was neat getting to experience Amsterdam on the water. Canals run through the whole city. Our boat passed the zoo and we got to see a few animals as well as many other sights. We decided to tour the Houseboat Museum because of the popularity of houseboats in Amsterdam - we wanted to see what one looked like on the inside. Many of the houseboats look like trailer houses on water. Others look really nice. Here are a few pictures:

On the canal tour

A few animals at the Amsterdam Zoo from the canal

Houseboat Museum

Inside the Houseboat Museum

A few houseboats

Our favorite stop in Amsterdam was visiting Anne Frank's house. Collin was in the one act play in high school and we have studied her story. It was very touching and sad walking through the house her and her family hid in during WWII. We got to see her original diary and were really glad we were able to visit her hiding place. Here's a picture of the secret door leading up to the annex.

Some call Amsterdam the Venice of the north. We are not sure which place we liked better, Venice or Amsterdam. We both think Amsterdam has better and cheaper food than Venice. Amsterdam is a lot bigger than Venice and the canals measure 65 miles long. Here are a few pictures of the canals and landmarks in Amsterdam.

Nemo Museum

Sunday we awoke to rain. We were not expecting rain and sadly had to cancel one of the main things we were planning to do in the Netherlands, visit the Keukenhof Gardens and see all the pretty flowers. It is supposed to be the most beautiful garden in Europe and is only open during April and May. We drove by and took a picture of the garden from the street. We also were able to see rows and rows of tulips along the road.

Picture taken from our car of the Keukenhof Gardens

Tulips on the side of the road

Rather than visiting Keukenhof in the rain we decided to drive to the beach and then home. We finally got to see the North Sea. We stopped at the Zandvoort beach. We got out and walked in the wet sand, took a few pictures then stopped in a little restaurant and bought a cookie. There's a special cookie that is kind of like a sugar cookie with marzipan that is a specialty in Holland. Collin discovered it in Amsterdam and we decided we had to have another one. Overall we had a great time and look forward to visitng Holland again.

Zandvoort beach