Gallumphing through the tulips

Day 2 of our spring break adventure was spent at the Keukenhof gardens in Lisse, Holland.  If I thought that the bikers ruled the roads in Bruges, I was sadly mistaken since Holland is truly where bikers rule supreme.   Which makes sense since the whole place is flat, flat, flatter than Nebraska, flatter than Kansas, flat.  (and below sea level--therefore the windmills).  When the wind picked up in the evening it was quite easy to see why there are so many windmills all around to take advantage.   I am very grateful to the wind, however, since once it began to be chilly most of the buses left and we were able to enjoy things more.

On the way home I took a wrong turn and the GPS brought us back on one of the smallest roads I have ever driven on.  Luckily we met no cars coming the other way and we were treated to a lovely panoramic view of the tulip fields, the hyacinth fields and other flowers stretching out in rainbow stripes.  The smell of the hyacinths is probably the strongest memory I'll carry with me.

Bruges

Bruges, (Brugge?) Belgium,  is a medieval town with canals where the moat of the castle used to be.  Cobbled streets, tiny alleyways and old buildings make it dangerous to cars, and when you add in hordes of tourists on foot, bikers who own the roads and a GPS which tries to take you the wrong way down a one-way street and you've got fun!   We saw an old lady in traditional costume making lace,  (why do we have no pictures of her?)  a bajillion tourists in the market square, and an early-morning fish market and produce market in the other square.

On the road that morning we stopped in a tiny town at a fritterie to try the frites.  I was not impressed, but I'm not any kind of a french fry fan.  Much better were the pastry pockets filled with curried stuff and simply divine were the pear filled pastries we got from the patisserie next door.  Nobody spoke English and they seemed sincerely confused by my attempts at French.  Luckily pointing and pantomime seem to work everywhere!

Bruges is a city made for bikes.  We wanted to try biking around, but with only one day and only one bike at our hotel with a kid seat in back we opted to walk.  (and walk and walk and walk. . . . )  Saw museums, an old church, canals, parks, and at the end of the day we headed to a park to let the kids blow off some energy before dinner.

 This may have been a mistake since Zak cracked his head running out of one of the tunnel and required stitches.  Our hotel was very helpful, finding a doctor across the square within easy walking distance and so we sent off Ben and Zak with a washcloth held on his head.  Much to our surprise, they were back within the hour in plenty of time for dinner.   Oh, and I ate a lot of chocolate.  Ben didn't believe me when I told him that we needed to buy at least double what he got, and I was right--we ran out before the border of the Netherlands.  Sad, sad.

Oh, and Bruges is a UNESCO world heritage site.  I want to go back when it's not crawling with tourists and day-tripping river cruisers.  Maybe.

How to see Europe on a thousand dollars a day

Spring Break!

Step 1: Drive an American-sized car while paying European-sized prices. Pay a hundred Euros every time you fill it up. Watch your husband lament the fact that only Esso stations in Germany accept his Esso card. Laugh because your car takes about 11 litres per 100 klicks. Remember that the last time you paid over a hundred bucks to fill a car it was at the height of expensive gas in the states, and you were filling your biggity full-sized van. Wonder how the Prices can afford to fill up their full-sized van in Europe?

Step 2: Fill that huge van to the brim with little people
2a: find a hotel room to fit 8 people, (or two, or three rooms)
2b: feed all 8 people regularly

Step 3: Make at least one visit to the doctor *





Step 4: Damage the aforementioned vehicle. Twice. Realize that you have a problem parking a minivan in tight spaces. Wonder why you never scraped the sides of the biggity full-sized van? Conclude that you need a car with rubberized sides as you watch that vein in your husband's temple throb while he contemplates the scratches. Then, watch the ding in the windshield crack ALL the way across the windshield. Think bad words.

Step 5: Convince your husband that you can spend responsibly while visiting a Dutch cheese shop.

Step 6: Give thanks that you've had the opportunity to travel in Europe. Seriously.

* Actually, at 30 euros to get Zak's head stitched back up it was probably the cheapest thing we did all week. Easy, too, Ben and Zak just walked across the square to the doc's office, zip, zoom, all done in time for dinner! I may be in love with socialized medicine now.

Seriously

Exhibit A in the "He's definitely Ben's child" case.

Does he look as if he is enjoying himself? No, he looks as if he is silently cataloging all the dangers around him. I think we have determined that the engineer gene is certainly dominant.

Land of the Deutsch Lego!

Friday being a down day for the husband meant we had a day to go play. What do you do on a cold, breezy, cloudy spring day? In our case, we tagged along with friends to get a deal on a group rate at Legoland; our last trip to an amusement park was such an unexpectedly fun experience we decided to try it again. And, while the park is aimed towards the younger kids, I think we all had a good time. At the very least, even the teenagers were seen with a smile on their faces! That's almost worth the price we paid!

No and Em both got to drive little electric cars in the farschule (driving school) for little kids. It was thoroughly hilarious watching those kids drive around and crash, albeit very slowly, into one another. It was obvious which kids play a lot of Mario Kart, and which don't!

Possibly my favorite part of the day was watching No. He would ride the rides with an intense look of concentration, obviously taking these rides VERY seriously. Once off the ride, however, he would jump around with his little fists in the air and yell: "that was my favorite! Can I again? I love it!" Also hilarious was watching Emma whoop and holler on the roller coaster, absolutely having the time of her life--in stark contrast to her older siblings, who just were not that happy to ride the rides (not unlike their father).

The most dumb ride, where you pedal a car around an elevated track, had the very longest lines. It caused us to wonder if the long lines just made people think the ride was worthwhile?

Also, is the lego-making tour really making legos, or are they just pretending since it is lego land and all? Most of it was obviously faked.

In hopes that the sun will shine someday

A few weeks ago we saw a plethora of snowdrops pop up in our yard and all along the riverbank. They are now my favorite flower next to crocuses, since I so eagerly await the onset of warmer weather.

Big Boy

Or so he insists, even while he refuses to use the toilet. The little man recently turned 3 and continues to delight me every day with his interesting uses of language. The kid who refused to talk a year ago has turned into quite the motormouth!

His 'Danna' continues to be his favorite sibling, quite possibly because she spoils him whenever given the chance.

No has one speed: running. This is my normal view of him, chasing him down to keep him away from the traffic or whatnot.