Holland - Day 4

We all slept great, especially us because Carsten had his own room. Yay! The weather report looked worse for the next day and since we all wanted to see Amsterdam, we elected to go on this day even though we had been pushing ourselves pretty hard sightseeing. We had heard about some park and ride places around the city, so we tried one but got redirected to another one, which took a bit of time. We found where we were going to and then made the train into the city, which was very nice. At the Central train station we booked a canal tour and made our way directly to the boat. Across the canal from our boat we noticed a parking ramp for bicycles, which we thought was pretty cool. There were so many bikes everywhere, but honestly, we never actually saw anyone with a helmet - even the children didn't wear helmets there. Bicycles seemed to have the right of way in all circumstances, especially over pedestrians, so you had to watch out. We enjoyed the canal tour as we got to see a lot of Amsterdam without walking, but I'd have to say that Carsten was getting increasingly unhappy as we rode. Grandma and Grandpa took over and helped make Carsten happy - thanks! Here's a few photos of our morning in Amsterdam:

Central Station

Bike Ramp!

Ready for our tour!

Carsten liked looking out for other boats :)

Pretty buildings along the canal.

Smallest canal house in Amsterdam.

Carsten was getting anxsty.

He was happy with Grandpa and...

...Grandma! 

We got off the canal boat at the Rijksmuseum, and had a hotdog by the canal before we went inside. Here's a few photos before we went inside and of the Nightwatch which was inside:

Rijksmuseum

Our boat and the house that I liked.

Not too happy about life, but he ate a whole hot dog anyway.

Nightwatch!

Right after we went inside the Rijksmuseum (just after noon), Carsten had the biggest meltdown to date. He was crying and nothing helped. Finally he stopped crying after I put him on my back in our Ergo carrier. At which point a rather terse employee informed me that no backpacks were allowed. I explained that this was the only thing that would soothe Carsten at the moment, but he was really quite mean about it and made us wait while he talked to his manager. It was a very frustrating experience and it made me quite upset, which of course didn't really help things. I ended up putting him in front in the carrier, and after a little while, he fell asleep for 30 minutes, which was just enough time to make it through the museum. The museum was under construction, so there were only a few things to see, but we got to see the Nightwatch which is the most famous work there. All in all, it wasn't a great experience and after thinking about it for a bit I realized that we had probably just pushed Carsten to his breaking point because he had not had a proper nap in 4 days. And he really hadn't been able to run around all morning since we were on some kind of transit the whole way. So, now we know his limits and we would have been wiser to try to get him some better naps and exercise during that time to avoid meltdown city. We'll know better in the future. We let Carsten get some much needed run around time. Here's a few cute photos:

Run run run!

So happy to run around.

Mom and Dad! With Carsten still running in circles...

We made some new plans for the afternoon. Carsten, Andy, and I went to the NEMO, which is a children's science museum, so Carsten could run around (he couldn't wander in Amsterdam because of the canals). Mom and Dad went into the city and walked around the Old Town area and tried to go into the Anne Frank museum but it had too long of a line. Andy and I weren't thrilled to be doing the museum, but it was just what Carsten needed, which is ultimately what we needed to survive the afternoon. Carsten loved the museum and actually his favorite part was a water area where he could pour and dump buckets of water. We ended up putting his rubber boots on because he was getting so wet :).

We found NEMO!

Inside the museum!

Fill those buckets!

Put on those rubber boots!

Mom and Dad in front of Central.

 We rejoined Mom and Dad at the Central train station and got a few things to eat (including Belgian chocolate which was SO good and cheap compared to Swiss chocolate) before heading home. Carsten looks pretty beat in this photo :). Mom had the tough job of keeping him awake in the car as we drove back from our park and ride station.

At home we put Carsten to bed quite early and then Andy and I walked to the ocean to see part of the sunset while Mom and Dad stayed with Carsten. It was SO beautiful. And cold. But mostly beautiful :). When we got back we sent Mom and Dad out to go see as well. Here's a few photos:

The ocean!

So pretty!

Mom and Dad at the beach!

It was a long day, but overall, it was fun and we enjoyed seeing Amsterdam and the ocean!