The Netherlands

Last leg of our journey.  I would argue the best leg...simply because we are all together everyday.  The family vacation portion.  We arrived to our apartment in Hoorn on Friday night around 9pm.  A bit later than anticipated because we had a delay for de-icing at the Warsaw airport.  (Parenting at its best when you are sitting in an airplane on the runway for 1 hr.)  At times it has seemed that the cold and snow were following us.  Woke up to 4 inches in Krakow Friday morning, then to Warsaw with delay, then Netherlands, where we had some snow both Saturday and Sunday, but gave way to beautiful sunshine yesterday afternoon and today. 

Here's a few final picture of Krakow to give you an idea of the market square.  The Cloth Hall runs down the center with dozens of merchant booths, 2 very old churchs stand within the square, an Easter Market was set up outside, and the Square includes many cafes, shops, and restaurants.    

 
We enjoy our location in The Netherlands and it has been a good spot for the exploring we've done throughout The Netherlands.  Saturday we stopped in Apeldoorn to see the city and house where Jeremy's dad was born. 

Brinkhorstweg 1

Then we headed to Apeldoorn's center to check it out and grab lunch. 

Bagel sandwiches and coffee at Bagels & Beans

Buren and the Marechaussee (military police) Museum were our next stop.  Jeremy's Opa served in the Marechaussee for many years and his uniform is in the museum. 



Tough cop



Sunday we ditched the car and took the train into Amsterdam for the day.  Evan was not excited at all! :)

We attended Easter service at the English Reformed Church.  Built in the 1490's, this church has been worshipping at this location since 1607.  It stands within the Begijnhof, one of the oldest inner courtyards in the city of Amsterdam.

   

Easter lunch: Uitsmijters (bread, ham, cheese, and eggs) at Broodje Bert

We enjoyed a relaxing Canal Cruise and found it was a great way to see the city as well!

One of us didn't even know we took a boat tour! :)



Snacks: Oliebollen. YUM!



Dinner: More Dutch food, Pannenkoeken. Seems like all we did was eat, but we walked...A LOT! :)

And we're caughtup to today, Monday.  This morning we made the 30 min. drive to the town of Volendam.  Neat place on the Zuiderzee.

Stopped by a wooden shoe and cheese factory.



Wooden Shoe Converse!



Hard to believe only a day and a half remain.  Tot Ziens for now!

     

4 and Krakow

He's 4!  Can't imagine life without Evan's sweetness and curiosity!  4th birthday and 3rd different city...Chicago twice, Holland, and Krakow.  We spent the day celebrating and acclimating to another new city.     





Chose one present to open in the morning.  This also gives an idea of our view from our hotel.  A pretty spot on the river with a view of the Wawel Castle as well, which was our first spot in checking out Krakow.  The castle is large with much to see, but the Dragon's Den was the most interesting to the 3 of us. 



Here's Evan by the entrance. Unfortunately, the den is only open for an inside tour during the summer months. We did manage to find the dragon though. Evan has been pretty into the dragon. Both kids received a stuffed dragon when we checked into the hotel.







From castle looking back to our hotel (just right of center)
We decided to have dinner on the Market Square.  We took a birthday tram ride to and from.  Evan has been begging to ride the tram in each city since we saw the first one in Warsaw.  He was delighted!



Earlier in the day we located a cupcake shop. Evan chose a different cupcake for each of us to enjoy.  The baker was so sweet and patient, telling Evan to pick his out for free and he even got to put his name on the box (with a little help)

  Today we headed to the Transport Museum.  We spent time with the hands on exhibits and also viewed many motorcycles, trams, cars, etc. from the past.  

Lake Como, Italy and Lugano, Switzerland

 Milan is in such great proximity to the Italian Alps. We decided to take advantage of this by renting a car and heading for the beauty North of Milan. Our whole day, including much of our driving as well as our time in towns, was filled with incredible views and awe of such beautiful scenery. Lake Como is the shape of an upside-down "Y" and we made our first stop at the crux of the "Y", Bellagio.   We spent a few hours meandering through the town - admiring the arcitecture, taking in the views, indulging in espresso and croissants, and breaking for lunch in the main piazza.

 

View as we drove up one side of the "Y'.  Much of the shoreline is populated and much of the driving is on roads built into the edge of the mountains.  Quite often about one and a half car widths wide.  Jeremy did some excellent driving. 

 

Taken from Bellagio looking to town across.

  

Bellagio - a "vertical" town, as most were along the way.



 Then we headed over the border to experience a bit of Switzerland.  We found it interesting that there seemed to be a distinct difference,noticed quite quickly, between Italy and Switzerland.  Switzerland appeared cleaner and more modern.  Again, we spent time walking the town and emjoyed dinner here.


Piazza along the water in Lugano

A great walkway and park run along a very large portion of the lakefront. 

Now, we arrived in Krakow.  Excited for what another week holds...

Milan

Ciao!  We're in Milan!  Here's what we've been up to:

A church service in Italian.  Well, we heard a sermon in Italian and sang songs and scripture in English.  We walked a significant distance in the rain to attend this English speaking service, per their website.  However, we entered to a lengthy sermon in Italian.  As we exited we found out the English speaking service followed, so stayed for as long as we could before needing to check out of our hotel and into our more permanent one for the week. Jeremy frequently attends a service when he is abroad, but it had been quite a while for me and I was struck with amazement at the beauty of the church worldwide.  Such a great opportunity and reminder of the diversity of God's people.  Kept thinking how I might again see these people in Heaven.

Sunday afternoon:  A trip to the Duomo via Evan's preferred method of transport - the subway.

Another way of transport:  Ayana is under there. :)  Rainy on Sunday and Monday, but our poncho came in handy!

The Duomo was started in the mid 1300's and took nearly 6 centuries to complete.

Then, back to the Duomo today with the 3 of us to head to the top.  Amazing architecture and incredible views!  We took an elevator to the terrace level and then did a good number of steps to get to the roof.  Evan and Ayana were the only kids I saw the whole time we were up there.  I felt quite nervous the whole time, trying to watch them near the edges, take pictures, and take in the scence.  Sort of crazy,and we got some looks, but we did it and I do not regret it!

Mountains in the distance near Switzerland.

Top of the Duomo letting all know how many more sleeps til his birthday

Statues on top and Piazza below.

And after our climbing, we snacked on the steps of the Duomo overlooking the bustling Piazza del Duomo.

Monday we needed a down day, so we headed to the pool. Swim caps required! Ha! Personally, I think they pull them off well. :)  I, on the other hand, did not, so no pics of that included.

We are taking in much of the local food.  Pizza, Pasta, Fresh cheeses, Gelato.  If we lacked a bit in food last week, we are definitely making up for it this week.  YUM!