Day Trip with Kids: Gouda

When I arrived in Amsterdam on my own with two kids under five years old, I didn't think I would get a chance to explore any further than this eclectic canal city. Instead of signing on for a hop on hop off bus, I purchased a weekly tram ticket so I can take the kids on tram rides and some sightseeing. Four days went by and the kids and I became very familiar with the city and it's sights through our numerous tram rides. We have visited museums, parks, markets and even art galleries. Then I thought, maybe I can try going a little farther now that the kids are settled and has gotten over jet lag. My first attempt at a day trip on my own with the kids, Gouda.  


Gouda is a town in South Holland known for its cheese. The city center is compact and easy to navigate, which is great when visiting with kids. Taking a train from Amsterdam central, Gouda can be reached in a little under an hour. Once we arrived in Gouda's train station, it was an easy 10 minute stroll (under 10 minutes if walking without kids) to the market square. The market square was filled with stalls selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables, cheese and knick knacks. With the snacks we purchased from the market in hand, we headed to a quiet spot next to the canal to enjoy. After our tummies are full from our delicious yet budget friendly meal, we started exploring.

Market square

Gouda's Old Town Hall is the oldest Gothic town hall in The Netherlands, built between 1448-50. However, there was a wedding there that day and we didn't feel right to intrude. So we admired it from the outside.

Old Town Hall

Across from the Old Town Hall is The Weighing House where most of the cheese business was and are still conducted. The building consists of a souvenir shop on the first floor, a pipe making demonstration on the second and a cheese museum on the third. The cheese museum had cheese making equipments and scales on display. A video on the process of cheese making was shown. It wasn't the most interesting thing I've ever seen but the kids seem to enjoy it.

Cheese weighing equipment at The Weighing House

Pipe making demonstration

Following the tourist signs, we snaked in and out of small streets and peeked into the Museum of Gouda and Saint John's Church. This is the part we all enjoyed. Exploring what seems like a quiet, forgotten garden by the Museum of Gouda and Saint John's Church is thrilling yet paradoxically, relaxing. We sat on the benches for a while and made up stories of the bricks and ruins we stumbled upon. There was also a beautiful terrace outside of the Gouda Museum which looked like it was serving afternoon tea. It looked very classy and elegant.

Museum Cafe Gouda

In the late afternoon, I decided to do some cheese shopping. We popped in and out of dozens of cheese shops and sampled more varieties of Gouda cheeses than I've ever imagined existed. The kids enjoyed it immensely and was patient with the whole shopping experience; which was rare. What I thought would be a 10 minute grab and go turned into a full hour of cheese tasting.

Cheese Shops

To end our day trip with a bang...we walked back to the train station only to find it on lock down. There was a bomb threat in the train station. We were trapped! No trains or buses were allowed to leave Gouda until...god knows when! We waited around the station for an hour and still no news of when there will be running trains again. By this time the kids are tired and cranky. I can sense a melt down coming. So, we headed back into the town center and hung around a cafe for 2 hours. Luckily, the cafe had toys and games to keep the kids entertained. While the kids played, my brain was running in circles trying to find a way home. At last, I did!

La Place

We circled the main street a couple of times to see if there were any buses. I saw a tour bus with loads of people getting on and I asked to hop on. Since I was a single woman traveling with two kids, the driver deemed it safe for us to get on. We were dropped off at the nearest train station and from there we took the train back to Amsterdam. By this time the kids had fallen asleep and I was carrying the younger one on my hip and pushing the older one on the stroller. It seemed like a bleak moment until strangers on the street came to my aid. One woman went out of her way to take me to the train I was supposed to take, waited until the train came, and another helped me carry the stroller with my son on it on to the train. I've heard about the kindness of strangers but it's the first time I've ever had an encounter. Words cannot express the gratitude I felt for these strangers; these people whom I've never met and probably will never see again. Not only did they come to my aid in the time of need and weakness but they also made me see that there are people out there who are kind just to be kind. Sitting on the train on the way back to Amsterdam, the ending to The Diary of Anne Frank flashed through my mind, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." It's been years since reading Anne's diary, but I believe what she believes to be true because I've seen it. And it's ironic that I just happened to be in Amsterdam at the time of this epiphany.

Statue of Anne Frank in Amsterdam

The kids were exhausted from the long day and I'm glad to be back safe in our apartment. I know the bomb threat is not an everyday occurrence and The Netherlands is generally a safe country, so it didn't deter me from taking another day trip with the kids after we all got a couple days of rest.   

84 Days of Summer

This is a 3 month trip across 3/4 of the European continent with travelers spanning 3 generations. Naturally, my family and friends are curious as to how it turned out. Here are a few statistics I have gathered from our trip as a brief summary.

Length of trip: 84 days

What we carried: 3 pairs of pants, 3 short sleeve shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 1 jacket, 1 pair of slippers, 1 pair of walking shoes, 1 umbrella, 4 pairs of underwear. (Items per person). Shampoo bar, 1 bar of soap, iphone, tablet PC, Kids' security blankets, and other toiletries.  

 
Number of hours on airplanes: 27.20 hours

Hong Kong International Airport

Number of hours on trains: 64.20 hours

On a crowded train from Berlin to Prague

Modes of transportation: Airplane, Train, Car, Bus, Tram, Ferry, Raft, Boat, Horse Carriage, Bicycle, Cable Car, Metro/Subway.   

Number of countries visited: 9

more...

Countries: The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary.

Number of cities/towns visited: 28

Cities/Towns: Amsterdam, Amersfoort, Gouda, Rotterdam, The Hague, Brussels, Brugge, Libin, Leuven, Charleville Meziere, Bastogne, Copenhagen, Odense, Lubeck, Berlin, Prague, Karlstejn, Cesky Krumlov, Vienna (transfer), Bratislava, Kosice, Budapest, Munich (Transfer), Frankfurt (Transfer), Nuremberg, Bamberg, Koblenz, Trier. 

Nuremberg, Germany

Number of Museums visited: 37

Museums Visited By City

Amsterdam: Maritime Museum, Bags and Purses Museum, Rembrandt House, Van Loon Museum.

Rembrandt House

Gouda: Gouda Cheese Museum

Gouda Cheese Museum

Antwerp: Fashion Museum.

Brussels: Auto world, Royal Museum of Fine Art, Margeritte Museum, Musical Instrument Museum, Natural Science Museum, Chocolate Museum.

Musical Instrument Musum

 Brugge: Fries Museum.

Copenhagen: National Museum, Rosenborg Treasury.

Rosenborg Treasury

Odense: H.C. Anderson Museum, Railway Museum.

H.C. Anderson Museum

Berlin: Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Bode Museum, Pergamon Museum, Museum of Technology Berlin, Gemaldgalerie.

Edouard Manet's "Im Wintergarten" at the Alte Nationalgalerie

Cesky Krumlov: Castle museum.

Wenceslas Cellars of the IVth courtyard of the castle

Bratislava: Municipal Museum, Museum of Wine Making.

Municipal Museum

Kosice: East Slovak Museum, Miklus Prison Museum.

Miklus Prison Museum dated from 13th century

Budapest: House of Terror, Transportation Museum

House of Terror

Nuremberg: Toy Museum, Albert Durer House, Museum of Nuremberg Trials.

Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Trials

Bamberg: Cathedral Treasury

The Alte Hofhaltung medieval courtyard

Trier: Karl Marx House

Rotterdam: Maritime Museum.

The beginning of his pirate phase

Number of Castles/Palaces visited: 9

Castles and Palaces: Feudal Castle (La Roche-en-Ardenne),Rosenburg Castle (Copenhagen), Amalienborg (Copenhagen), Prague Castle, Karlstejn Castle (near Prague), Cesky Krumlov Castle, Bratislava Castle, Vajdahunyad Castle (Budapest), Nuremberg Castle, Peace Palace (The Hague).

Feudal Castle (La Roche-en-Ardenne), Belgium

Number of day trips taken: 14

Day trips: Gouda (Netherlands), Amersfoort (Netherlands), Antwerp (Belgium), Brugge (Belgium), Bastogne (Belgium), La Roche-en-Ardenne (Belgium),  Leuven (Belgium), Charleville Meziere (France), Odense (Denmark),Travemunde (Germany), Karsteijn (Czech Republic), Bamburg (Germany), Trier (Germany), The Hague (Netherlands). 

Brugge, Belgium

Note worthy attractions: Amersfoort Zoo, Tivoli Garden (Copenhagen), Koblenz (Ehrenbreitstein) Fortress, Singing Fountain (Kosice), Nyhavn (Copenhagen), Legoland Discovery Center (Berlin), Fisherman's Bastion (Budapest),Labyrinth of Buda Castle (Budapest),

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, Koblenz, Germany

Note worthy religious institutions: Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (Brussels), Strahov Monastery (Prague), St. Vitus Cathedral (Prague), St. Elizabeth's/Blue Church (Bratislava), Franciscan Church (Bratislava), Cathedral of St. Elizabeth (Kosice), Basilica of Constantine (Trier), The Dom (Trier).

Library of the Strahov Monastery in Prague

Note worthy architecture: Antwerp Train Station, Dancing House (Prague)

Dancing House (Prague)

Shopping: Strøget (Copenhagen), Turkish Market (Berlin), Haschermarkt (Berlin), Vaci Utca (Budapest), Central Market Hall (Budapest).

Strøget: The longest pedestrian shopping street in the world!

If I must choose...

Child friendly day trips:  Amersfoort (Netherlands) and Travemunde (Germany).

Dinosaur forest in Amersfoort Zoo

Travemunde beach

Favorite cities with kids: Amsterdam for it's many playgrounds, parks and eclectic museums. The lay back atmosphere is perfect when traveling with kids. Brussels for the food and children friendly museums. Belgian specialties: fries, chocolate, and waffles are all big hits with kids. Museums like Auto world, Musical Instrument Museum and Chocolate museum is a great way to introduce children to museum culture.  

A whimsical character on the canal

Chocolate Museum Brussels

Favorite museums with kids:  National Museum Copenhagen and Museum of Technology Berlin. The National Museum of Copenhagen with vast collections of viking culture and Danish heritage. Free entrance for all with a Junior museum located on the first floor. The Museum of Technology Berlin is a museum complex that features collections of aviation, railway, telecommunications, automobiles, textile, navigation, power engineering, etc. There is even a historical brewery and outdoor picnic space.
  

National Museum Copenhagen

Technology museum Berlin

Most scenic train ride: Koblenz - Trier. Castles sitting on hilltops and vineyards covered hills along the Rhine.

Please excuse the shadow of my creepy hand in this beautiful scene

Most eventful train ride: Copenhagen - Lubeck. The entire train goes onto a Ferry that takes it from Rodby (Denmark) to Puttgarden (Germany)

Preparing the train for the ferry

Most memorable religious institution visited: The Cathedral of St. Peter (Trier). This impressive Romanesque structure sits above the former palace of Roman emperor Constantine the Great. It is also where the Holy Robe, one of the most significant relics of Christendom is kept.
   

Favorite off the beaten path destination: Kosice is the most eastern city of the European Union. Voted as European Capital of Culture for 2013, it is a city full of promise. It is worth sitting through a 5 hour train ride, cutting across Slovakia for. Must visit before this hidden gem is discovered by mass tourism. 

The Singing Fountain

Favorite castle: Cesky Krumlov Castle. Just opened to tourists in 2011, this castle offer great panoramic views of the city and unique exhibits.

Memorable meals: Pork knuckle in Cesky Krumlov and open face sandwiches in Copenhagen.

Krcma v Satlavske

Best sandwiches ever! It tastes a lot better than it looks!

Surprise encounters:

I've seen flash mobs in movies but this is the first real encounter (Brussels)

Rodin's "Thinking Man". It's smaller than I thought.

Chanting monks on the streets of Bratislava

We live in an age of contrasts

Mind baffling moment: Learning to use the coin op washing machines in Copenhagen.

It really was harder than it looks

Cities I would love to visit again: Berlin and Trier. Berlin for its festive mood for every season, to see the rest of the hundreds of museums of anything and everything, and its boho chic neighborhoods. It is also the most affordable city to visit in all of western Europe. Trier for its fascinating history as the oldest city in Germany, founded by Augustus in 15 B.C.. There also stands some of the best preserved Roman architecture in all of Europe. 

A second hand book store in the boho chic neighborhood of Kreuzburg

Trier's main market square, in use since 882 A.D.

Cities I probably won't be visiting again: Prague and Budapest. Once the hidden gem of eastern Europe, these cities are now over populated by tourists and prices has also been inflated as a result. It has lost some of it's authenticity and character. For those who would like to avoid the problems caused by mass tourism, I strongly encourage going in the winter months where crowds are thinner and hotel prices are more reasonable. Warning: Hungarian winters are unbearably cold.

Charles Bridge

On top of St. Stephen's Basilica

Beautiful sunsets: Prague, Budapest, Copenhagen.

Hungarian Parliament

Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest

Copenhagen

Little Mermaid, Copenhagen

Charles Bridge Prague

Well, this pretty much summarized our 84 days of summer. I was a little sad when it came to an end, but there were also plenty to look forward to once we're home. This will not be the only post of our amazing trip. I will try my best to upload more info about the places we've visited and things we've done.