We checked the weather forecast last night and it looked like today was going to be a beautiful day. We decided it would be the perfect day to go to the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem. When I first started planning this trip it looked like the museum wouldn't open for the season until April but luckily I checked back a few months ago and saw that the opening was moved up to March 24! My family loves places like these, we've visited Open Air Museums in Switzerland, Sweden, and Ireland.
The museum opened at 10 am and it would be about 90 minutes in transit time from our apartment. I set the alarm for 6:30 when I went to sleep last night. I didn't sleep straight through but luckily the few times I woke up, I was able to fall back to sleep. I was slow to get up when the alarm went off! Our breakfast was similar to yesterday and all of us seemed to be moving kind of slow this morning.
Today we planned to take a picnic lunch with us, I started making sandwiches after breakfast and quickly realized that we had no cheese slices. I remember debating which kind to buy when we were at the store Saturday night, I guess we put them back without deciding. Luckily, Dan is awesome and he offered to walk to the store and get cheese. Once he got back I finished making the lunches and then we packed up to leave.
We would be using lots of public transportation today, our trip involved a metro, train, and bus ride! We took the metro to Amstel station where we caught a train to Arnhem. The process was pretty easy except for the train to Arnhem being about 20 minutes late. It wasn't a big deal, we planned to spend all day at the museum so we didn't need to rush. The train ride was lovely, the countryside was beautiful! We saw a lot of baby lambs in fields. It was a two story train, my kids love those and of course they wanted to sit upstairs. Once we got to Arnhem we exited the train station to find where to catch the bus. We had a hard time finding the bus stop, we spent probably 20 minutes trying to figure it out. We found out later that we went out the wrong exit from he station! We finally found a bus stop (thank you google maps) and took the bus to the stop indicated. When we got off the bus we walked about 15 minutes to the entrance of the museum.
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| On the train |
We used our Museum cards for free admission. Admission without the cards would have been 73 Euros for our family. We were given maps and we started our walk around the museum. Our first stop was a Horse Drawn Oil Mill, a man explained the process of how they made linseed oil. We continued on, stopping at different styled houses that had been moved to the museum from other parts of the country. Some of the houses had guides who explained the history of the home. All exhibits had signs explaining them in multiple languages including English. It was a beautiful day, we honestly couldn't have asked for better weather.
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| Happy Kids |
As it got closer to lunch time we came upon a small bakery. Everyone was hungry so we all chose something to have with our lunch. We found picnic tables near an open area with a small square. We ate our picnic lunch while watching kids in the square play on bikes and push cars. At one point a whole school group of what looked to be 6 or 7 year olds was there playing. After we ate, my kids were dying to try the bikes, it was so funny watching them try to ride them. They finally got the hang of it but it took a bit of practice!
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| Bakery |
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| So happy to have a picnic lunch |
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| These bikes were so funny! |
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| Ali trying to get the hang of it! |
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| Connor giving up on the bike and switching to the push car |
After lunch we continued to explore the museum. The buildings and exhibits were interesting and the grounds were beautiful. My kids found a playground to play on. I told Dan today that I swear they are going to be 18 and asking to play on a playground. They had a blast running around while Dan and I relaxed. European playgrounds always seem to have fun things that we don't have at home. It was fun to see the kids act like they actually liked each other.
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| Always fun! |
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| Teeter totter |
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| Look!! Sometimes they like each other! |
The kids had a blast and then we continued on to see some other parts of the museum. We ended up back at the square with the little bikes and push cars. There was a cafe with outdoor seating and we decided to stop for a snack before we left. We all ordered the traditional Dutch Poffertjes. They were amazing!! They are little mini puffed pancakes with butter and powdered sugar on them. They are like heaven on a fork, yummy!!
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| Poffertjes |
After about 4 hours of walking we were getting tired so we decided to head back to Amsterdam. We found a bus stop that was closer than the one we used earlier today and waited for the bus to Arnhem Central Station. The bus ride was fine until about the last 4 minutes. We all have our own transit passes that you have to use to check in and out when you use any public transportation. Ali was holding her card and somehow she dropped it, she immediately panicked and started looking under the seat. We were one stop away from where we needed to get off and I was kind of freaking out too, that card is attached to my credit card and she needed it to get back to Amsterdam. While in the little scene with Ali and I trying to find the card was going on ... I looked up to see that Dan is off the bus! What the heck?! I quickly signaled to him to get back on the bus and right then Ali found her card. Dan had been sitting quite a few rows back from us and he told me that he saw me get up (to help Ali find her card) and assumed it was our stop! This whole little scene took probably less than 2 minutes but oh my goodness! It is pretty funny looking back on it!
Our ride back to Amsterdam was uneventful. The train ride was quiet, apparently we got on a quiet car (this really is a thing, we were in a section that was designated as a quiet section). Ali and Dan slept for part of the hour long ride back to Amsterdam.
We arrived back at the apartment at about 4:30. What a great day! I highly recommend the Netherlands Open Air Museum to anyone visiting. It was very well done and one of the best Folk Museums we've visited.
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| Our street, bikes, cars, and the canal |
We all relaxed for about an hour, everyone was tired. We walked a ton today, my fit said 7 miles and I'm sure it was at least that much. Ali wanted to try a take out restaurant called Wok to Walk, there is one about a 1/2 a mile away so we all walked there. It was a lovely night and perfect for walking. The restaurant is very close to the Rembrandtplein square, there are a lot of bars, restaurants, and clubs in this area. We saw a few other restaurants we might try while we are here. Wok to Walk was fine, it is tiny like honestly the four of us ordering our food seemed to take up the whole restaurant. It is a place where you choose your ingredients and they make stir fry for you. We took our food to go because it was way too small to dine in. While Dan waited for the food, the kids and I went next door to the french fry stand and ordered our "frites" with mayo. They are served in a paper cone and they are piping hot when served. We enjoyed our snack on the walk home. Oh yeah, we also stopped in a bakery. Ali ordered a donut and Connor ordered a cookie. I told Ali that it better be the best donut ever because that thing was almost $5! Note to self, if prices aren't listed be sure to ask!
Yesterday was a good day, but today was a great day! Today felt like vacation, lots of fun, smiles, and laughter!
Tomorrow: Anne Frank House
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