TunFun

In an old tunnel and pedestrian passageway, under a busy square in the center of Amsterdam, a kids paradise is created: TunFun. This indoor playground is the ideal place to bring your overactive kids on a cold or rainy day. There are playzones for different age groups, with trampolines, jump cushion, ball pools, slides, and much much more: plenty of opportunity for your kids to climb/kreep/crawl…

The venue looks odd but at the same time very cool - you actually do have the feeling you’re in a tunnel (a very spacious one, don’t worry); the tram can be seen passing by over your head! There’s a lot of scaffolding, graffiti and traffic lights going on, adding to the feeling of cool urbanity. Toddlers and pre-schoolers will love the challenges this place offers, but older kids (up to 12) will still love this place, because it’s so cool.

Plenty of benches and couches are provided for the parents to sit down have a cup of coffee and read one of the magazines or newspapers around.
Well, idealy.

Only in Amsterdam!

My husband got fined yesterday for cycling on the pavement.

-Esther

Can I give you a hand, madame??

After my absence of nearly seven years, I was afraid I would come back to a city of… ahem, I don’t want to insult anyone, but you girls know how I’ve been bitching about Amsterdam for, well, ever: no style, no customer service, no etiquette, no good food, no sun, no mountains, no…

But I must say, after being back for about six weeks now, I feel that the city has changed. People have been surprisingly friendly. Cool shops. Nice restaurants. Clean. Well organized. Luxurious even (at times)!

Fact is, it’s probably not so much the city that has changed – I have changed.

Sinterklaas- A Dutch Tradition

Here in the low-lands, we have a funny holiday called Sinterklaas. I know I’ve been trying to explain the concept to you before, but I thought I’d give it one more try.

St. Nicholas was the bishop of Myra (Turkey) in the third century. He was known for his goodness and generosity: he was quite rich but used his entire fortune to assist the poor. Furthermore he was known for his love for children and as such he became their patron saint. Apparently he was also very concerned about the welfare of sailors and ships but that has nothing to do with this. He died December 6 AD 343, and the anniversary of his death has (weirdly enough) been celebrated ever since. In Holland, we like to be different and celebrate St. Nicholas day (‘Sinterklaas’) on December 5th. But for weeks leading up to that, Sinterklaas keeps everybody busy!

Pancakes!

What exactly are pancakes? In America they are thick and small and eaten for breakfast in stacks – the higher the stack the cooler the cowboy! In France they are called crêpes and are very large, thin and delicate and eaten for lunch or a snack from one of the little street stands. (This makes me wonder… Michela, is there such a thing as an Italian pancake)??

In Holland, ‘pannekoeken’ are the size of an average frying pan, and are a bit thicker than a crêpe but thinner than American pancakes. Traditionally they are eaten for dinner, usually after the traditional Dutch pea soup called ’snert’, with a variety of savoury (bacon&syrup, cheese&paprika) or sweet (apple, banana, icing sugar, sugar syrup, confiture) toppings. It’s a children’s favourite.

We just discovered a restaurant called Pancakes!, which serves, well, pancakes (in all different varieties) and is conveniently located in the center of the ‘nine streets’ in Amsterdam (a little shopping delight for the ones who don’t know it yet)! They have highchairs (I counted at least three) and a children’s menu that comes with a little surprise. Might your little one get bored after all, a toy-box filled with books, toys and games is present, or the staff can provide crayons and paper. There’s a microwave for warming up milk. And they also cater children’s (birthday) parties – age 4 years and up!

xxx Esther

Miffy’s House

Who doesn’t love Miffy? My daughter surely adores her! Dick Bruna created this little rabbit in 1955 and by now her stories have been translated to more than 40 languages! Did you know Miffy has her own website? It’s great to explore with children: there is an audio book, animation, music, games, and more! There are also links to a variety of webshops: the books are great and I can also recommend the DVDs!

Last weekend we decided to treat our children to a little trip to ‘Miffy’s House’ (a.k.a. the Dick Bruna House).

Oliebollen and Fireworks

In the Netherlands, old year’s eve is usually celebrated at home with friends. Board games are played, a comic show is watched and loads of oliebollen are consumed. (Free translation of oliebollen = oil balls; sounds good, don’t you think? They’re basically like donuts and taste darn good)! Of course a decent amount of alcohol is consumed as well – to make the board games more entertaining and the comic show really amusing.

Jip and Janneke

All Dutch children love to read (or be read) the adventures of Jip and Janneke! My children love them, and I’m sure yours would too… but unfortunately these well-known Dutch stories are no longer translated into English. Why is a mystery to me! The stories are sweet and simple, and the pictures are absolutely adorable!

Not a fish!

But a Science Centre!
NEMO is a fantastic building designed by the world famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. It resembles a big ship heading for the ocean and it houses a great place to entertain your children. Their cute motto is: forbidden NOT to touch! I read on the NEMO website that the primary target group is children aged between 6 and 16, but we brought our 2 1/2 year old daughter along together with her 64 years old grandfather and both of them enjoyed themselves immensly! There are soap bubbles so big you can stand in them, life size kaleidoscopes, you learn about DNA, how to provide a house from energy, etc. etc. Everything is set-up in a playful, interactive matter. We were there on a Saturday, so not the quitest of days you can imagine but still there were no lines and plenty of opportunities to do every experiment we were interested in.

Food wise – I would suggest to have lunch on the top floor of new public library. Here you find really good, fresh food, nice fruit juices and plenty of high chairs. (Unless you fancy a simple hot dog or soft bun, then NEMO will serve you just right.)

From the sloping roof-piazza, the panorama over Amsterdam is magnificent. In summer, this roof-piazza transforms in a city beach with sand, beanbags, stunning harbour views and tapas-style snacks. No NEMO ticket is necessary to get here (either by means of the exterior stairs, or the lift inside the building), but before you go you should check the opening hours on the NEMO website because they are dependend of the weather.

NEMO is located on the east side of the central trainstation (walking distance). There is an (expensive) parking garage located underneath the new public library.
Admission to NEMO is €11,50 (children under 4 get in for free). Not cheap but it’s worth it! And you might as well save yourself €2 and get a combination ticket with the VOC ship ’Amsterdam’ harboured in front of the building!
Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10.00 to 17.00; typically closed on Mondays, except for the months June, July and August and official school holidays. Closed on Queensday (April 30th), Christmas Day (Dec 25th) and New Years day (Jan 1st).

Da Bike!

OK, I first thought I should hold off with writing about this topic because it’s really so un-originally DUTCH, but hey – we do live in Amsterdam now, and it’s truly quite impossible to avoid it: The Bike.

I do have to give you girls some background information. After 7 years of cycling to High School, ‘through weather and wind’, as we say here in the Low Lands (meaning rain or shine), 9 kilometers to and 9 kilometers back (about 35 minutes each way – and that’s riding fast!) and 8 years of cycling to university (less far but with hangover – that’s equally bad), I thought I had had my fair share of cycling.
So. No cycling in New York. No cycling in Brussels. And No cycling in London. Seven years of no cycling, and no plans to change that situation. I actually quite liked our lil’ old Saab 93 that we had in London, combined with the occasional taxi!

Sigh.

Back in Amsterdam, things are different.