What's a European Vacation if You Don't Visit a Castle? - Our Day at Muiderslot

I've always felt that if you're going to go to Europe, not only do you have to immerse yourself in the culture, eat all the wonderful food - but you also have to absorb the history.  And the best way to do that is to visit historical places.  With this in mind during our trip to Holland, Hubs, Bae and I went to visit Muiderslot - a castle located at the mouth of the river Vecht, about 10 miles outside of Amsterdam.

Muiderslot - August 2014

Pannenkoeken - Heaven on Your Tongue in Holland

A pannenkoek or pannekoek is a Dutch style of pancake - one that you absolutely must partake of if you ever visit the Netherlands.  Pannekoeken are traditionally much larger (up to a foot in diameter), and thinner than they are in the good old U-S of A.  Not just that, but they also add just about anything on top to enhance the flavor of the pancake.

We went to the Pannnekoekschip (Pancake ship) which is situated in a canal in the Dutch town of Groningen.  

Pannekoekschip, Gronigen, Netherlands - August 2014

Getting Up to Mischief in the Red Light District in Amsterdam

This week, my sister in law volunteered to babysit so Hubs and I could do some adult type activities in Amsterdam.  We rode our bikes into the train station again, but missed the first train by two minutes (luckily they come every half hour). We hadn't purchased our tickets in advance, but there was a machine.  Then we discovered that the machine only took coins or Maestro (the European version of Mastercard). The restaurant next door told us that the train's "Chief" should have change. He didn't. But he let us take the train anyway - because we'd tried our best. We had money, we just couldn't use it.  

This is the outside if the train station (as an aside, on the way home in the train the last trip, I fiddled with my new camera and tried out some of the non-auto modes on this trip.  It has a panoramic mode that was perfect for Amsterdam). 

Amsterdam Train Station, August 2014

Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet and Bataviawerf

This week we went to the mall in Lelystad, Holland - it's an outdoor mall called Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet. There are a lot of high end stores at the mall. So far, it's the closest thing I've seen to an American mall. It was a contemporary town square though - with cobbled stones walking you to all your favorite higher end stores including Addidas, Asics, Converse, Lee Jeans, Levis, Hugo Boss and more.  And there's a McDonald's that has McKrokets (the croquettes that are very Dutch) and freits with special sauce (mayonnaise). 

Batavia Stad, Netherlands - August 2014

How We Got the Golden Ticket in Amsterdam

We rode our bikes to the train station and caught the train to Amsterdam on our fifth day in the Netherlands. My in-laws live about an hour outside of the city.  It was an overcast day, but the rain held off until we went home.

When we arrived, the train station was bustling with people going everwhere. The train station felt familiar - it had the same vibe as any large station in North America.  The floors were white and sparse, there were stores and food outlets in the hallway below the platform, the scents and smells you expect in a big city.  The building, from the outside, was absolutely stunning.