Amsterdam

We visited Amsterdam for the Thanksgiving weekend. We had Thanksgiving lunch then headed to the airport.  We had a bit of hard time figuring out the train system so ended up taking not one but two wrong trains trying to get to our hotel.  Our hotel was only two stops from the airport, not walkable though. We ended up far from Amsterdam but sadly couldn’t see much because it was dark.  Lesson learned – always review the transportation system before going.  We knew how to get from the hotel downtown, we just didn’t realize it was a different system to get from the airport. Our main reason for going to Amsterdam was to see the Anne Frank house. It was a very sober experience.  I can’t imagine living in hiding for over two years. For additional information go to https://www.annefrank.org/en/

Before visiting the Anne Frank house we went to the Nemo Science Museum.  Max had a blast and we could have stayed much longer.  So many hands on activities and educational exhibits. https://www.nemosciencemuseum.nl/nl/

We also toured the National Maritime Museum. Beautiful building and interesting collections. We spent a really long time in the Rising Tide exhibit. We see such a small part of the world in our own backyards that it is easy to forget that other parts of the world of currently suffering from the climate crisis. Through the photographs and films its extremely hard to deny that the waters are rising. https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.com/

Pumpkin Festival

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the gardens surrounding Ludwigsburg palace. We ate pumpkin seeds and fresh apples. They also had pumpkin inspired foods and drinks. It was very interesting to see the pumpkin carvings and sculptures made out of pumpkins. It’s very nice to be able to visit such a beautiful place several times a year for the different seasons.