Our favorite family trips through Europe — from biking in the Netherlands to exploring Italy’s ancient ruins and charming small towns.
I had been trying to find the perfect time to visit Giethoorn. This little town with no roads is in northern Holland and is a little less than two hours by car from our house. With weather looking like it might be decent we made plans to drive up on a Saturday morning, rent a boat …
Summer feels like the season to go pick some fruit. We had a great apple farm in the fall and I’ve been looking for more options ever since. So, when Jeff sent me an e-mail asking if I wanted to pick him up from work with the kids to go berry picking I was over the moon. …
When H turned 4 we decided that heading to Efteling would be a fun way to celebrate his birthday. We arrived for the 10am opening and stayed till about 3pm. The Efteling is a theme park based on old fairy tales. It is the Netherlands version of Disney, but with less commercialism and more charm. …
The boys’ birthdays are both in the spring, so I decided I would just have one big party for both of them. They are both very into camping and adventure so we decided to have an American camping party. Traditional Dutch birthday parties are a bit different than what we are used to. They involve …
I’m convinced that everything The Railway Museum in Utrecht does is done well. Admission for Day Out with Thomas is included in the Museumkaart. We did have to purchase a ticket (€4) for our one-year-old who is too young to need a Museumkaart, but required admission to Day Out with Thomas. We decided to attend Day …
Kasteel Hoensbroek is known locally as the “the most lordly stronghold between the Rhine and Meuse.” It also has a reputation for being kid-friendly and is a part of the Museumkaart Program, so we had to go check it out. The castle sat on an important trading route near Maastricht, Aachen and Cologne existing in some form …
This morning we headed to Zuiderpark in Den Haag to check out International Steam Days. This model railroad showcase is something to be seen due to its amazing location in Zuiderpark. The park hosts an incredible model train club that has railroad tracks in all sizes. The largest set of tracks holds trains capable of …
I’m embarrassed to say that Paleis Het Loo made it onto my radar when we visited Madurodam. I snapped a photo of the palace and gardens, in miniature, and added them to my must visit list. When the perfect spring day presented itself we enlisted some friends to join us and made the two-hour drive …
On April 27th, the Netherlands celebrates Kings Day wishing King Willem-Alexander a happy birthday. The holiday has a reputation for being one big crazy party, but my experience here in Delft was quite different. The reputation may hold true in Amsterdam, and perhaps even in the evenings in a student dominated town like Delft. The …
Clingendael Park in Den Haag is home to a lovely Japanese Garden. This weekend marked opening weekend for the garden so we decided to pop over and check it out. The Japanese Garden is only open to the public about eight weeks each year in Spring and Fall, but it is worth the visit. This tranquil …