The Netherlands Part 3: Amsterdam and The Worst Meltdown Our Toddler Has Ever Had
As I stated in my earlier blog post, we didn't stay directly in Amsterdam, we stayed in Leiden outside of the city which meant we needed to find a way to get into Amsterdam for the day. Driving was out of the question because it can be a tad sketchy and Zach didn't feel comfortable, so we decided that public transportation would be our best bet. We've used the trains in England and in Paris so I was hopeful we could figure it out, but Dutch is a difficult language to understand so I went to the hotel desk and asked them to give me a crash course into trains/trams in Amsterdam. We started by taking a taxi to the train station and I went up to the window and told the ticket taker I wanted to go to "Amsterdam Zuid Station." He gave us our tickets and then the confusion began! The train systems were very confusing to figure out at first and we couldn't figure out what train to get on. That's when I asked a lady at the platform to help us, and luckily she spoke English. She pointed us in the right direction, and I glanced at the platform map and it all finally clicked with me! I figured it out! The train ride was about a 30 minute ride to "Amsterdam Zuid Station." Once we arrived at the station I knew we needed to purchase tickets for the Amsterdam tram system to get to the Van Gogh Museum. I found the blue Tram ticket machines in the station and decided on the "One Day Tram Pass" which was about 7.50 Euro per adult, and meant we could use the public transportation systems for 24 hours. We found the tram and it (once again) took me a few minutes to study the map (which was all in Dutch) and again, it clicked, I figured out what Tram we needed and what stop to get off at. Soon we were on our way to the Van Gogh Museum. I pre-booked tickets for timed entry at 10am and we made it there in time at 9:50! PHEW!
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| The Van Gogh Museum |
The Van Gogh Museum was an interesting gallery full of works of Van Gogh and interesting facts about his life. They do not allow backpacks or heavy coats, so we had to check our bags at the coat check area. The museum was fairly crowded and Xander already wasn't in the best of moods so we kind of went through the whole thing fast....about 45 minutes fast. There were no pictures allowed inside which sucked, but it's worth going too! Next to the Van Gogh Museum is the "Rijksmuseum: The Museum of the Netherlands" which is also full of famous artwork and out front features the famous "I Amsterdam" sign that all the tourists take a photo with. Again Xander was already in a bad mood so we decided to take a quick photo at the sign and get moving before he melted down.
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| I amsterdam sign |
After our picture taking endeavors we found the nearest tram and headed to Amsterdam Central Station which was the starting point for most of the touristy activities in the area. Originally we wanted to go to the "NEMO Science Center" because it is super kid friendly but Xander starting falling asleep so we decided to take a canal boat ride instead. There is a HUGE tourist center right next to Amsterdam Central Station that offers many hop on/hop off bus and boat tours, excursions to other towns, and tickets for different activities in the area. We opted for the 1 hour canal tour which seemed to be the quickest option. The ride started out great, Xander was sleeping, the sun came out, and then about 30 minutes in, he woke up. And he was ANGRY....like, HULK angry. Soon he settled down once he realized we were on a boat, and it was exciting, so I sat him next to the window to enjoy the views.
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Post Hulk-out...Pre meltdown
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After he settled down from "hulking out" he seemed happy and interested but that didn't last long. He decided he wanted a snack, and everything I had on hand apparently wasn't up to his "refined pallet standards" and all he wanted was a cookie. He screamed the word "COOKIES! MINE! NO!" About 50 times, threw himself down under the seats, and just lost it. The entire boat was staring, we were at a loss at what to do....and thank GOD....the boat finally docked! Once we finally wrangled our screaming toddler off the boat, we walked a few feet to get situated and figure out a plan of attack. This is when Zach noticed a bunch of people walking around with cones full of Dutch fries (frites), which we had been trying to find the entire time! Like a beacon of hope sent from above we found the fry stand and ordered a huge batch! I sat down on the nasty sidewalk with Xander while he chased pigeons and ate fries, both of which seemed to bring him out of his funk.
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| One of the many Canals |
We did a little more walking and we started to notice it was becoming more and more crowded. That's when I made the executive mom decision and decided that we should start our trek back to Leiden. All three of us were exhausted and ready to go, so our time in Amsterdam was short and sweet! Luckily we found a tram, made it back to the same train station, and found the correct train to take us back to Leiden. Amsterdam was an interesting city to say the least, and I probably won't go back while I am in Europe, once is enough for me!
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