We started our trip energized and excited, but travel to the Netherlands quickly deflated our spirits and had us wondering aloud “what were we thinking? Is walking the Camino de Santiago insane? Is this trip too big for two little kids?”
It started with our train to Amsterdam. We’d had a struggle with the Eurail booking app and had needed to take a later train than anticipated, but we got up early to catch the first train out of London, eager to get to our next stop. We reached the train station and immediately realized the error of our ways. We hadn’t left nearly enough time to clear security and customs, and we missed our train.
We were able to rebook for a later train, and the booking staff was kind enough to rebook us without penalty, for which we were grateful. Then began the arduous task of taking the train with our stroller…
Back home, we love our BOB Duallie double stroller. It is strong and solid and smooth, handling most terrain (including snow) with ease. Here in Europe, our stroller is a behemoth, too big to handle.
First, we could hardly get the stroller through the train station. It physically didn’t fit through the queue, and we needed to be escorted through customs. Thankfully we made it onto the platform all right, but then we needed to get the stroller onto the train. We held up the entire line for our train cabin as we rammed the stroller into the train and then had to collapse the beast and find somewhere to store if before anyone else could board. We were flustered and embarrassed by the time we’d finished wrangling the thing, and we spent the entire trip stressing over how we would get off the train.
When we reached Amsterdam, we were grateful for a long stop, allowing us time to unload. In our worst imaginings, we saw the train doors closing with one or more of us still on board, separating us while we tried to offload everything. We were so grateful that we decided to walk from the station to our hotel, and we headed out eager to see the city.
The beauty of Amsterdam was quickly overwhelmed by our struggle to navigate narrow sidewalks with our wide stroller. With the extra weight of our daypack, which we pushed so we could carry our two backpacks, the stroller was nearly impossible to push up and down curbs, and we struggled to maneuver around pedestrians and avoid getting hit by cyclists.
It was a terrible walk to the hotel. Sandra and I both agreed we would park the stroller and explore Amsterdam without it. However, what did it mean for our plans to walk the Camino de Santiago with the stroller if we couldn’t even manage walking in Amsterdam?
We locked our stroller up outside of our hotel, feeling tired and defeated. Then we checked into our hotel, ready for a hot shower and some sleep.
The receptionist at our hotel was apologetic when he told us that our room was on the top floor, but we weren’t worried about a few flights of stairs. We naively each grabbed a backpack and a child and headed to our room.
The stairs… How do I even start describing the stairs? They were so steep and narrow that we nearly had to climb them with our hands and feet like a ladder. We reached our room and decided we could never leave.
We did leave the hotel, though, and we enjoyed our time in Amsterdam. We didn’t get the chance to do some of the big things we’d wanted like the Anne Frank House, Heineken Experience, or a canal tour, but we did get a taste of what Amsterdam has to offer.
Vondelpark
In the city is a large park, Vondelpark, which was filled with dogs and families and cyclists. Kids were running barefoot, and people were all talking and laughing together outdoors. Walking through Vondelpark, I was immediately struck by how long it has been since I’ve seen people gathered together in such a carefree manner. The past two years of the pandemic have been stressful and isolating, and it was refreshing to see a city of people enjoying the sunshine together.
We bought a picnic to take to Vondelpark and we found a couple playgrounds for Addie to check out, as well as a bouncy castle. Other parents encouraged their children to share toys with Addie, and help her on the playground equipment.
Keukenhof Gardens
For our second day in the Netherlands, we took a day trip to the Keukenhof Gardens. These gardens are famous for their tulips which bloom in the spring. The garden is only open for two months, from mid-March to mid-May. Approximately 7-million tulips are hand planted in the gardens, and the result is a stunning, colorful display of flowers.
We found the daytrip to be long. The shuttles were slow and left later than we’d expected. However, the gardens were incredible! Flower rabbits, flower rivers, a sea of flowers in every colour. It truly was spectacular.
Our one regret was choosing not to being the stroller with us, as the garden was too big to fully cover with a toddler, so I’m sure we missed some aspects.
When we returned from our day trip, we’d wanted to do an evening canal cruise, but we spent most of the evening in the train ticket office, still struggling to book train tickets. We leave for Paris in the morning!
We didn’t get to see and do everything we would have wanted in Amsterdam, and we finally figured out the bus system, which would have made navigating the city easier, but we enjoyed our time here and are ready for the next stage of our trip.
So lovely, your photos. Thanks for taking the time to blog so we can see how much fun and adventure you are having ❤🌷🌷🌷
The frustration of strollers. Either they are too flimsy, or too small, or too big. What to do! But the pictures are gorgeous as i am a tulip lover!
Wow, that was a day to remember.
I certainly admire your ability to roll with the punches. Travelling outside your own country is exhilarating but also stressful. It helps that you both are young and fit and can adapt
to challenges. The gardens looked exquisite. I remember when you order French fries you are given mustard instead of ketchup.
Fond memories of Amsterdam. We did go to the Anne Frank home – you could go upstairs and see where she hid. I don’t believe you can now. Could be wrong. The world with children is the same almost everywhere. People go out of their way to invite children to join in with their own when they see a child playing by themselves. It’s lovely
I do remember the small houses and lots of stairs when we stayed at b and b’s. Hope everyone gets a good nights sleep
Until we hear again from your world
Love to all
I visited the Anne Frank home with my dad in 2014, and at that time we were able to go upstairs. It was a sobering experience to see where the family hid.
Since covid, we’ve found people tend to keep their kids away from others, so it was really refreshing to see her be included
You’ll be experts on travelling with little ones after this. You should publish a parents guide or something. Seriously.
Glad you are still managing to find adventure amidst the misadventures. I hope things begin to go more smoothly.
Happy travels!
Shauna
Wow beautiful tulips ! Addie was looking forward to those flowers and she finally got to see them !
She loved them!
You got this mamas, and while we have never done quite what you are doing, we have executed a couple international moves with a kid in tow and had these same doubts when things invariably go sideways. Lots of tears of frustration and lots of reminding ourselves this is all voluntary and we can stop anytime, but maybe we could also just get some sleep then try again. I bet you are going to look back on days like this a year from now and smile as you shake your head saying we had quite the learning curve, didn’t we?
This first leg of the trip is just such a whirlwind that by the time we figure out one place, it is on to the next! Things should settle down once we get to Spain 🙂 And yes, sometimes sleep is all that is needed to shake off a long day.