We're Here!

We made it! A family friend was kind enough to drive us to the airport. Threatening storms delayed our flight for about 45 minutes, but we made up some of that time in the air, easily made our connecting flight in Iceland, and actually landed about five minutes early in Amsterdam.

We could have navigated public transport to our B&B easily enough, but the owners needed us to be there by 2PM or after 6PM. Taking a taxi would get us there by 2PM and in time to drop our bags and take a much-needed family nap. So we took a taxi.

Our B&B is: www.bedandbreakfastamsterdam.net owned by Paul and Karen Galdermans and I would highly recommend it in this very expensive city. We have their family apartment, which sleeps five with some extra beds added. It comes with a small kitchen and is quite comfortable. Paul has all the information any visitor could need laid out in a very organized fashion. The B&B is located a bit far from the old city center (about 2 1/2 miles) but in our case, that is actually a good thing. It is in a quiet, residential neighborhood, right on a canal, at the western edge of Vondel Park - the main city park, and no where near the nightlife of Amsterdam's red-light district or it's rowdy tourists. A tram stop just a few blocks away will take us directly into the city center. A grocery store is nearby, as well as many shops and restaurants.

We arrived at about 1:30 local time (but 6:30 AM in our sleep-deprived heads), settled in and took naps until 5PM. I know many people suggest toughing it out and staying awake until evening as the best way to fight jet lag. But they don't have children to contend with and maybe they count on sleeping a little en route. Only Joshua slept any significant amount on the plane. After our nap we walked through Vondel Park (very pretty, with many, many bikers) to the Museumplein and saw the Van Gogh museum (very interesting, but tough for young children - the older children appreciated it). We also hoped to see the Rijksmuseum (national museum) but it closed early even though all our information said it would be open late. Hmmm.., maybe tomorrow.

We had pizza at a neighborhood restaurant and the children played for a while on a park playground, before turning in for the evening.

Tomorrow afternoon we have reservations to see the Anne Frank house and Shelby is furiously trying to finish the book first. We also hope to see a few sights in the city center, but the weather report is for rain and temps in the mid-50's. Brrrr.

Everyone is settling in for a good sleep that will hopefully get our body clocks on track for the rest of the trip...