Netherlands Part III

Upon leaving Amsterdam, we made a quick stop at Clara Maria Clog and Cheese Farm. It is a small working farm, specializing in shoes and cheese- and we happened to be there the same time as three large tour busses. The line to tour the cheese making facility was out the door, so we only stayed long enough to purchase a wooden tulip and eat some free samples of cheese (garlicky Gouda with sweet mustard… yum).

all the cheese!!!

 Our next stop was Efteling Park- a fairy tale based theme park that happened to be a good pit stop for the way home. Now, I am definitely not a theme park person- I hate rides (especially ones that spin) but I thought this one was geared more toward small children and LJ would have fun. Turns out, it was great!  All three of us had a great time. The park was opened in 1952, and all of the attractions are based around different fairy tales- from Little Red Riding Hood to Sleeping Beauty. Many of the attractions featured animatronic shows that played out each fairy tale as you rode through in a little cart, but there were also roller coasters, water rides, etc. Some of the characters were a bit creepy, if old puppets and that sort of thing creep you out. We enjoyed some rides together, and then LJ napped in his stroller while Corey and I took turns on different rides. We had a blast!

Marionettes

Little Red Riding Hood

this guy was a trash can- he sucked up your trash and shouted (in Dutch)  "papier here!"

a house in the fairy tale forest

one of the animatronic shows

the mushrooms were speakers playing classical music

this one creeped me out… haha!

 

Netherlands Part II

Part 2 of our trip to the Netherlands began with a drive to Amsterdam. We parked just outside of the city at a Park and Ride and hopped on a tram, hoping it was heading in the right direction. A nice Dutch man sat next to me and told us when to get off, right near the Heineken Brewery.
The Heineken Experience took us on a tour through the brewery, where you can taste some hops, barley, and plenty of beer. At the end of the tour there were some fun interactive games, and it kind of felt like we were at a hip new club- we took some pics in the photo booth and made our way out. LJ could only take so much clubbing, I guess, because by this point he was ready to go! Anyways, it was a fun experience for beer drinkers and non-beer drinkers :)

Hops and barley

the Heineken Horse Stables

 We then wandered around the streets of Amsterdam for a bit, enjoying some beautiful views of the canals that are an important part of the city. We stopped by Starbucks for an essential collector's mug, and then strolled through Vondelpark. We were then off to our next adventure: Efteling! (See Netherlands Part III)