Just Keep On Rolling

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...or otherwise titled, The Weekend of Perpetual Motion.

Wow. I don't know if at 11pm on Sunday night I can do justice to the weekend that punctuated (with an exclamation point) the week of excess, but I will try...

Since our friends Stephanie, Dan, their daughter Amelia and babysitter Aimee flew in and out of Amsterdam we thought it would be a fun opportunity for all of us to take a trip together. Our family had not yet been to Amsterdam, though Jonathan and I had been in college. Jonathan needed to work on Friday so I suggested we leave in the afternoon and head up to Amsterdam, settle the kids with Aimee at the hotel and then meet Jonathan in the city later in the evening. To begin with we had trouble finding accommodations. I have looked into weekends in Amsterdam before and have had no luck finding anything reasonable. Dan ended up on Priceline.com on Friday morning placing bids on hotels. We were not going to get anything in the city for less than $150/night so we decided to go out towards the airport. We ended up getting three rooms for $75/night which we thought was a great deal. Jonathan and I were planning to spend Friday night and come home late on Saturday night since we had plans on Sunday afternoon with a colleague of his from the University, but then ended up staying at extra night at the same price. With reservations in hand we made a 1:37 train out of Leuven and were on our way. The kids played and ate on the way to Mechelen where we were to make our connection which would then take us the rest of the way to Amsterdam. Not.

Upon arrival in Mechelen we discovered that the train we had been planning to connect with had been canceled. There was another train an hour and fifteen minutes later so we hunkered down and settled in for a chilly wait on the platform (there was no station to speak of to wait inside of). After about an hour and thirteen minutes there was a sudden announcement that the train was now taking off from an entirely different platform. Quick, kids, run! I should point out at this time that we were four adults, four kids and eight pieces of luggage (only one tiny one was mine, I swear!). We made it to the other platform to board an insanely full train, trying squeezing all of that onto the train. Well, we did it and found corners for the kids to squat in and headed out. After about 40 minutes and several stops the train emptied slightly and we were able to find seats for almost everyone, though spread out in all directions. Kids were still entertaining themselves for the most part at this point but were beginning to show signs of wear. Shortly after obtaining our seats the train stopped at a random station over the border in the Netherlands never to start again. We waited for about 20 minutes and then an announcement came over saying everyone had to get off. The eight of us and our eight pieces of luggage followed the crowds through the station to another platform and at one point Dan just turns to me and says, "Just keep on rolling". After about 10 minutes of negotiating we figured out the NEW best route to Amsterdam (it is now after 4pm). We get on another train and head towards 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) where we will need to make another transfer to get to Amsterdam. We get to the next stop but the next train isn't for an hour (it is now 6pm and dinner time is looming). We find a decent little sandwich kiosk and pick up sandwiches for everyone and beers for the adults (all nourishment is much needed at this point). Eventually our train comes and we make it to the Schiphol stop in Amsterdam at 8:15pm, almost seven hours after we started our three hour trip.

The hotel turns out to be a Courtyard Marriott (you never know what you are going to get when you bid on Priceline) and it is really nice, although it is ten miles from the airport on an infrequent shuttle bus. Meanwhile we are going back and forth on the cell phone trying to figure out where and when to meet up with Jonathan. He is running into similar train problems (minus three adults, four kids and eight pieces of luggage) and it turns out that part of the issues were two suicides on the tracks in the Netherlands. We get the kids settled in Aimee's room and we end up meeting Jonathan at the hotel lobby at 9:30 and deciding that none of us have the energy to tackle navigating our way into the city that night. Instead we head next door to an amusement complex of sorts with themed restaurants and bars, loud music and Cosmic Bowling. Many Duvels and Amstels later we make it home to quiet hotel room and crash hard for the night.

Hard to believe but that was only day 1 of the weekend. Saturday morning we all get up and not too quickly make our way back to the airport via the local city bus. We had no food with us and we were all starving. We stocked up at a grocery (and I had a Starbucks!!) and then headed into the city. We all wanted to try and go to the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House if we had time (and cooperative children). We opted to walk through the city so we could soak it all in. It was a gorgeous day and the kids found adventures on almost every corner, street performers, pigeons and statues to climb, to name a few. The city was all decked out for the holidays and we found many shops with Sinter Klaus and Schwartz Piet (a little black elf character that seems completely not PC). We all really enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum and it was well worth the walk to get there. The exhibits were fantastic and the kids were especially enthusiastic about seeing all of the artwork. Afterwards we all desperately needed to eat. For lack of another immediate option we ended up at a decent Italian place which had something for everyone. It was 4:30 at this point and we decided that we would try and push on to the Anne Frank House. Abigail was spent after the travel, walking and late nights all week, so I put her in the backpack and she immediately fell asleep. After her power nap we got to the Anne Frank House. It was open until 7pm and we luckily didn't have to wait in line too long since it was now officially freezing and raining. This museum was another amazing place to visit. It was quite stark on the inside and I really wished I had reread the book before visiting. Sometimes it can be hard to go to a place like this with kids but in some ways it helps you detach a little so that you are focused on explaining things to them. They were all very inquisitive but in typical kid fashion not overly affected by the horrors that we explained to them.

Our two sights checked off our list we all walked back to the train station (I checked on-line later at we walked over 5 miles with the kids over the course of the day) and Jonathan and Dan stayed in the city while Stephanie and I were to accompany Aimee to the hotel shuttle at the airport. Not quite as simple as it sounds because of some very rude tourists who wouldn't help us by taking the next shuttle, but after some dealing with kids and grown ups alike they were on their way and we were emotionally spent. We almost decided to follow them back to the hotel but then we figured we would never have our night out in the city and that was why they brought the babysitter here. So we go to catch the 15 minute train ride back to Centraal Station to meet the guys and, of course, the trains have all been canceled because they are working on the tracks. So now we are standing in the rain waiting for a shuttle bus which brought us to another station where we caught a different train to Centraal. Thirty five minutes late we get there and almost miss the guys who figured something happened and were about to head back to the hotel! Good thing we met up. We ended up having a fun last night together in Amsterdam, touring the sights that wouldn't exactly be appropriate for children and having a final doner kebap together (they became, rightfully, addicted to them on their visit here).

Sunday morning we all went to the airport together where we missed our train by about two minutes. It did give us an opportunity to stock up at the grocery and have a coffee. We have found that it can be disastrous to travel for a few hours on the train without the appropriate amount of food. Our first train ride was an uneventful hour and 45 minutes. The big girls completely entertained themselves with their babies and by coloring. Eliza, in a state of exhaustion, cuddled sweetly in between pointing out windmills in the fields. The train was late into Antwerp so we missed that connection and ended up not getting into Leuven until 3pm at which point we had to frantically bike home in a cold rain so we could all change and get ready for our 4pm pick up. I made a small batch of brownies to bring with us while Eliza, who fell asleep in the backpack on the bike ride, napped. The big girls got to catch up briefly with Grandma and Grandpa via video phone and then we were off again.

We had a terrific traditional Flemish dinner of fish soup and witloaf (Belgian endive wrapped in ham covered in a a cheesy cream sauce). Jonathan's colleague Jan and his wife Karin were great hosts, as were their children, who spoke perfect English, and completely took care of playing with the girls. Another very late night for all of us. On the way home we drove past the Atomium all lit up which the girls thought was really cool. In bed a little after 10pm and then Jonathan and I tackled picking up the house a little bit before I settled down to write this (though I think pictures will wait until tomorrow). It was a weekend fraught with missed connections, bad timing and craziness, and yet it was so much fun at the same time. The kids were amazing and, as is typical lately, so adaptable to any change in plans. We had a terrific time with our friends both in Leuven and in Amsterdam.

And now we will relax for three whole days before flying to Barcelona at the end of the week.

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Photos

Canal View
A typical canal street in Amsterdam.

Street Performers
Abigail and Aimee posing with one of the many street performers working the crowds on a sunny Saturday in Amsterdam.

Crooked House
A lot of the houses lining the canal streets are crooked. They have hooks on the tops of them to help move furniture in and out because the staircases are SO steep and narrow.

Bring in the Troops
The girls playing on the statues at Rembrandtplein on our walk to the Van Gogh Museum.

The end of a long day
A rather fuzzy picture captured in the dark after we returned from a night on the town. It was quite a lovely scene to witness the three girls cuddled up.

Comments

[Wendy]

Ughhh!!!!!!!!!
I am so jealous!! I think we should have spent a month with you guys. Sounds like a great time, exciting, and nerve wracking all in one. Keep up the good times, can't wait to hear about the next big trip. And then......HOME!!! :)