So the main reason we returned to Amsterdam was money. It was cheaper to fly into and out of Amsterdam as a round trip (even though we flew into JFK instead of back to BOS afterward) than to fly to Oslo and back. The other big reason was to keep Mara from having to sit on too many ridiculously long flights. As it turned out, she did great on the long flights for the most part, so she probably could've handled it.
We discovered that this really was too long of a trip and that it had too many transitions. Mara didn't struggle with the transitions necessarily, but it was just hard to be bouncing around from place to place with so many people and with me being pregnant. We were all pretty good sports about it, though. Especially Mara.
So our second time in Amsterdam I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I did the first time. Partially because I was just so weary from traveling but also because we did a lot of the same stuff as we did the first time (like playgrounds and canal rides).
Also, I should note that I have no idea what day we did what. We were only there for a day and a half, so I can't even remember when things happened. I do remember that my parents, my sister and I went to a laundromat that first afternoon while Corky and Mara went for a walk.
So I'm just going to dump the pics here and caption.
We bought "Hop on/Hop off" tickets for the day, which allowed us to
use either the canals or the bus to get around the city. The passes were good
for all day, so we could go wherever we wanted at any time. Mara wanted to
wear her sailor outfit that I'd bought her in Norway, and she looked SO CUTE. So
we went to the flea market. We had no cash so we just looked, and Corky used his
last few euros to let Mara ride that little carousel which she loved. It was pretty fun!
This is later that same day, we were on the canals, heading for
Vondelpark again to let Mara play at a playground. As we were going
along, Mara saw a playground along the canal side, and asked to go play
there. So we hopped off at the next stop and took her to that park. It had
a zip line!! I didn't get any picture of it but that's because I took a video which
I unfortunately can't put here easily. But she loved it! We all tried it, even me! :)
The BEST creamy tomato soup I've ever had!!
This swan family was swimming around in the canal when Corky
and I walked to the Red Light District in the afternoon. They were
super cute! I'd never seen baby swans before and they were adorable.
Funny story about dinner that night. So my mom and sister were somewhere else, and it was just Corky, Mara, my dad and me. Mara remembered having that giant pancake the first time we were in Amsterdam and had been asking for one for days. So we set out to find a pancake for her for dinner. Well, that proved very difficult! So we ended up in the fanciest restaurant in the Rembrandt Square area... and she had dessert crepes with ice cream and chocolate sauce for dinner! Absolutely no regrets. Haha.
It was the week of Pride festival in Amsterdam, and that night (Friday night), Rembrandt Square was alive! After Mara was bathed and put to bed, my mom came to sit with her so Corky and I could go out and explore the nightlife. I didn't want to stay out too long because a) I was really tired and b) I didn't want my mom to have to sit with Mara for ages. So I walked with him to the edge of the Red Light District and then went back. Corky went all the way to Dam Square to check the party out and then came back.
The next day we fought our way through the millions of ridiculous lines at Schiphol Airport. Like, really, THREE different passport checks? Crazy. Anyway, we made it in plenty of time for our flight to JFK.
This was a nice and short post! Whew! Coming soon, the 5th and final part of this trip.. NYC! See ya soon.
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