Travel to Amsterdam

Lucille's 1st overseas flight

Our First Transatlantic Flight with the Kids

On May 9, 2017 we started our journey to Europe. It was the first time for Pearce and the kids to the Netherlands, second for me, but I am not sure two days really counts as a "real" visit my first go around. By the end of our journey over the two days we would travel by car, plane, plane-train, train, tram, and bus. Knowing how challenging travel days are with just two adults we packed as light as we could. We managed to get down to only one large checked bag, a carry on backpack/personal item for both Pearce and I, a little backpack for each of the kids, a medium sized soft-sided cooler bag, a travel tent, and the double stroller (which we gate checked).

In Amsterdam train station

It was still (see above) a lot of stuff, but it was manageable for all the walking we would be doing over the next two days. We did realize we forgot one travel tent and so made a quick plea to Susan and Andy who figured out how to get it Amazoned over to Maastricht by the time we arrived. (Thank goodness because we have a fourth floor room with both windows and doors that open to the outside, so knowing the kids are safe in tents lets us actually sleep at night!)

First leg- still looking fresh

Travel was thankfully uneventful. We caught our first flight at 8:15am, arrived in Atlanta, Georgia and pretty much walked on the next flight at 2:00pm. We scored seats in the back- Hendryx and I had a row of two to ourselves and Pearce and Lucille had a row of three to spread out on because of an empty seat. Lucky ducks.

I'm using his Legs Up while HDK entertains himself

Keeping to my typical travel-with-kids strategy we brought all kinds of food, games, and toys to keep them busy. The best things we brought were two nifty travel gadgets called Fly Legs Up. These allowed us to make a hammock across the gap from the seat to the tray bottom in front allowing our kids to stretch out, spread out toys, and even stand and pound the person on the head in the seat in front of them (not that we allowed that of course 😉). This was a great purchase that I highly recommend for longer flights for kids. Thank you Shauna for letting us borrow yours! Pearce and I didn't get much sleep on the flight, but the kids slept for a few hours which may or may not have been aided by Zarabees natural cough syrup.

2nd leg - one of them is still pumped

We arrived in Amsterdam nine hours later at about 6am. We had a super fast border crossing due to a very sympathetic border control agent who took one look at us and fast tracked us through to the front of what was sure to have been an hour long line. It took about 30 inutes to get both bags. Everything in the airport was easy to navigate. We exited customs an entered the main lobby area which is very nice with shops, restaurants, and of course, a Starbucks. If you know me at all, you know we stopped. We even scored a free cookie from the barista for the kiddos to snack on.

From inside the airport, we took the train to the Central Train Station in Amsterdam. We were able to buy tickets from a kiosk and then tap on on a small machine to activate our cards. We learned that any time boarding and exiting public transportation you need to do this. At Central Station we hopped on a tram that was right out in front of the Station. We bought three cards for Lucille, Pearce and I at the teller on the back of the tram. He let us know that the tickets were good until early Friday morning an could be used on any public transportation- score!

The tram then took us to a bus which we again entered through the back and clicked our tickets on boarding and exiting At this point we made our only error in traveling.We forgot to request our stop by pushing the button to request a stop (the train and tram stopped at every stop) and so we went two stops over. Pearce realized our error and we hopped onto a bus going in the opposite direction. Finally, we walked a short distance to the small cottage we rented for our few days in Amsterdam called Bloom B and B. Over the course of our three day stay we used buses, boats, trams and trains and all were super easy and convenient, even with our double (inline) stroller. It really makes you wish we built all of our cities in this way in the US.





The Cottage was located on the north side of the Amstel river on the north side of Amsterdam away from the hustle and the bustle. I always enjoy staying in a "real" neighborhood and this one did not disappoint. In the front we butted up against the harbor and could see barges coming to and fro, not to mention the houseboats directly in front.

The back the guesthouse bumped up against a small pasture with real live sheep. Can we get any more charming??? Baaa Raaam Ewee...

There was a small canal that separated us from the sheep much to the kids dismay. Inside the place was charming if not a bit precarious for two small and curious kiddos. Lucille and I ended up sleeping in two twin beds tucked away in a loft that you entered through a ladder and Pearce ended up sleeping with Hendryx for on a queen on the bottom floor. It worked out fine.



It's hard believe, but in true Korbnado fashion, we pretty much dumped our stuff and then headed straight out for our first day in Amsterdam. We were in it to win it.