Easter in NL (29/03-01/04)

A Good Good Friday:

Having shown my twin sister around the main sights of the Hague by Thursday evening it was time to see them all, and all the other sights of the Netherlands, in miniature! Madurodam, an enormous miniature village, was a great day out for us and my host kids. Lining almost every section of the park were interactive kids games or toys to keep them entertained and card-activated informative videos for the adults. As we weaved our way through the traditional mills, wind turbines, boats, bridges, castles, churches, houses, cities, flowers, cheeses, stadium and airport I was thrilled by how much I recognised and how much I’d seen in real life.

I didn’t get to stop and observe as much as I would have wanted to as a lengthy stop at the incredible kids playground proved necessary as did a stop at the café for a quick muffin and hot chocolate :) Once back home Sophie and I got ready for a night out to celebrate my friend’s birthday. That ticked off another attraction off the list.

Saturday:

Midday called for a relaxing bagel and tea at one of my favourite cafes in the Hague, Bagel & Beans with Sophie and friends. Then a stroll along the Scheveningen promenade- still astoundingly cold for the time of the year!- and it’s pier with its great view across the beach (more on Scheveningen in summer here). A trip to the cinema there rounded off a lovely relaxing Saturday. Simply ‘lifting’ Sophie to all these manner of places was enough to warrant this day of rest. What’s ‘lifting’? The word refers to the carrying of another on the back of one’s bike. Very very common in the Netherlands.

A Sisterly Sunday:

On a day celebrating new life I celebrated having my twin physically back in mine. I couldn’t resist showing her all around Delft and I was really pleased to hear some Easter tunes in Delft’s central square. The cheese tasting in the Henri Willig shop and the visit to the Royal Delft official shop just next door ensured that I completed all that I wanted to in this lovely little town.  

Roaming Rotterdam:

An early start for the train to Rotterdam is how Sophie’s last full day in NL began. Locating a different Tourist Information from my first visit (more here) proved to produce a gem. A free walking tour of Rotterdam’s architecture. The absurd mix of modern and old, simple and complex, curvaceous and jagged, monolithic and bright, opaque and transparent, functional and decorative, dense and sparing, towering and plane. Just wow.

The sun even ventured out as we caught a bus to take us around Rotterdam by water. You read right. A bus. Starting at the Southern point of the harbour we were driven to the Northern point and with an almighty splash (thoroughly enjoyed by all the kids on board) we entered the water. It was a lovely hour long tour, with a perfect view over Rotterdam’s eccentric skyline. Nice to see the Euromast Tower and Erasmus Bridge from an unobstructed vantage point.  

Tuesday morning Sophie and I took the kids to school, then straight to Schipol and then it was back again for me to pick them up. It was a lovely Easter, while it lasted. Love you and miss you Soph x