Legoland in Billund, Denmark is the Original Legoland. It opened in 1968, right next to the Lego factory. We knew that a trip to Denmark had to include a visit to the home of Lego. Our visit was a bit bi-polar. We loved Legoland. It was perfect for our four and two year old who …
Fruit Picking in the Netherlands
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. …

A Day at Efteling with Toddlers
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. …

A Day in Hamburg
Our arrival into Hamburg was rough. What was supposed to be a 5-hour drive turned into an 8-hour adventure when traffic came to a complete stop on the highway. The plan was to leave Utrecht (Netherlands) with tired kids and have them nap on the way to Hamburg where we would arrive for a late …

A Day in Malmo, Sweden
While spending our May break in Copenhagen we decided to take a Mother’s Day day trip to Malmo, Sweden. I mean, why not? We headed out over the Oresund Bridge by car. The journey over this 10 mile bridge/tunnel combo will run you ~ €50 each way. (You can also take the train, which is much …
Kasteel Hoensbroek in South Limburg
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 …

Quick Stop in Kolding, Denmark
We made an afternoon stop in Kolding on our driving day from Hamburg to Copenhagen. Parking turned out to be a bit of a problem since the city was having a large market. We found some street parking though and ventured through the market to Koldinghus, which actually had its own parking lot we could …

A Dutch Palace: Paleis Het Loo
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 …
Exploring Den Haag Japanese Garden & Clingendael Park
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 …
Flevoland Fun
We never miss an opportunity to tag along with Jeff on a work trip so we can see a new part of the Netherlands. Jeff was headed up to Flevoland, the area of the Netherlands created in 1986 by reclaiming land from the sea. While Jeff was in meetings we hung out in a nearby …