Lars en Sam in Nederland

  My anxious audience, I know what you are thinking: "Monday has come and gone and there is no new post from my favorite semi-travel/bumbling-parenting blog. How can it be?" Sorry, guys! But not to worry! The kids are down for their naps and I am ready to fill you in on our fun (but exhausting) week. We had back to back visits with Kurt's brother Lars and his lovely wife Sam and our friends Grant and Caroline. I think I will cover our rendezvous with Grant and Caroline in next week's post. I don't want to overwhelm you with semi-travel and bumbling parenting information.
  Last Wednesday, Lars and Sam arrived! And then immediately went out for coffee. These two are professional overseas travelers; They commit to pushing through the jet lag from the very start but it means that they can't slow down lest biology take hold. Since the kids were napping, Kurt took Sam and Lars downtown to keep them awake. They grabbed some coffee and then stopped at the Pilgrim Museum near the market in Leiden. The Plymouth Colony Pilgrims briefly lived in Leiden before setting out for the 'New World'. The medieval building in which the museum is housed has a collection of pilgrim artifacts and period furniture but it is not where the pilgrims lived (although there is some indication that one or more of them set foot there). The hours for this museum align pretty well with nap-time so I'm not sure that I will ever get to see it. I will probably make a special effort at Thanksgiving even though Lars and Sam were not overly impressed with it.

  While Lars and Sam tried to enjoy the museum, Kurt biked to Botenverhurr van Egmond and rented an adorable little motorboat. He then traveled Leiden's many canals and picked up Lars and Sam near the market and the boys and me right out in front of our apartment. It felt pretty posh I must say. For the next five hours we motored around the canals and up through a series of lakes just north of Leiden. We enjoyed a few beers and a picnic dinner on board. The weather could not have been more perfect. I think it will stand as one of the top experiences of this whole sabbatical.

The crew of the charter ship Marco. A motley bunch.

  The next few days was a study in the contrasts between life before and after kids, the childed and the childless. On Thursday we accompanied Lars and Sam to Amsterdam and on Friday, Delft. These were both locations that Kurt and I toured in our 2009 childless European backpack trip. While both times I trekked around with heavy, over-stuffed bags this time it was filled with snacks, wipes, and diapers (actually there were probably a fair amount of snacks the first time) instead of clothing, toiletries, and guidebooks.

Rijks Museum cappucino

In Amsterdam we headed to the Rijks Museum which was no longer under construction as it had been in 2009 (although the train station still was). On our previous trip I'm sure I spent hours meticulously reading every placard even though, with the renovation, the display was very much reduced. This time I did a quick breeze through the Gallery of Honor (where the Vermeers, Halses, and Rembrants are) and then changed a dirty diaper in the Great Hall and chased Leif and Klaus around the mosaicked floor. After about 40 minutes the boys were suggesting in their own persistent and special way that it was lunch time. Since we had really just arrived at the museum, I suggested that we bite the bullet and get lunch at the pricey museum cafe (a stark contrast to the sensible picnic in the nearby Vondelpark that  Kurt and I enjoyed in our youth). The food was delicious. Afterward Kurt and Leif checked out the ship and airplane models, Lars and Sam toured the period rooms, and I successfully got Klaus to take a nap while I puttered around the medieval collection. At this point we were undecided as to when we would head back home. We had always planned to leave earlier then Lars and Sam but I was foolishly hoping we could get the boys to nap on the go so that we could see a little more. After the Rijks we started to walk to the Amsterdam Museum. It was hot and Leif had a bit of a meltdown on the way there so we parted ways and headed for the train station. Actually I was somewhat relieved as my feet were killing me...just like they were in 2009 after the museum. I guess I really only had a half day of touring in me then too. Lars and Sam on the other hand went on to conquer the Amsterdam Museum and the Ann Frank house. They did not get home until after I went to bed.
 

Nieuwe Kerk with boys, Lars and stroller

Delft was much the same. In the morning, we toured the two churches that Kurt and I had seen before, the will-o-the-wisp inspired Nieuwe Kerk and the leaning Oude Kerk. They were still just as awesome (although unfortunately Nieuwe Kerk was under some construction). I was able to correct one regret that I from our first trip- I bought a 1740s delft tile from this adorable antique store just off the square. Alternatively, I did repeat another regret which was to not go up into the Nieuwe Kerk tower. I'll blame it on the kids this time. The weather was a bit rainy so it was not a great day to sit at a cafe all afternoon as we had done in 2009. Not that the boys would have allowed that anyway. At around noon we headed home and Lars and Sam continued to Den Haag where they spent the rest of the day.

Klaus and Vermeer

On Friday night, I put the kids to bed and then Sam and I went out to the one of Leiden's many canal floating bars. I shook off my responsible parent-self and stayed out until 1 or so and got silly drunk. It was a nice end to the few days of stark contrast to my younger days. Thanks, Sam!