Easter in Amsterdam (with visits to Bruges and Ypres!)

With the Easter holidays looming we were on the look out for a short break (neither of us could get much time off work!). Flight prices were ridiculous so we settled on the Eurotunnel and a trip over to Amsterdam.

We set out, as usual, after work and drove down to the Premier Inn in Ashford. You might ask yourself why we don’t just cross over and stay in France instead?!? Well, over the years I’ve come to realise that it can be very stressful getting out of work, packing up and driving down (M25 traffic – Ahh). This way it doesn’t matter what time we arrive at the Premier Inn and it all feels far more relaxing. We also know where we’re going and we’re not trying to find a key box in the dark in a random French village (we’ve been there and done that!).

Anyway, a quick overnight stay (the children hate having to skip the much loved Premier inn breakfast!) and we crossed early in the morning ready for our drive to Amsterdam (around 6 hours from the port). We called into a supermarket for breakfast and a few supplies (aka wine!) before hitting the road.

I love the freedom that road trips offer – you can visit different places on route to your destination. This time we settled on a brief visit to Bruges.

Bruges

This wasn’t our first time in Bruges, we’d been once, before the children, and once with them. Like before, we parked in the Bierkorf parking – just a short stroll from the main square. The parking is attached to a large public library – it’s worth noting that there are toilets in there! We walked straight to the Bell Tower. I would recommend booking your tickets in advance (we did it in the car whilst trundling through northern France!) – it will speed things up (which is important, if like us, you are on limited time!). The steps up the Bell Tower are narrow and uneven but both children managed perfectly. We all loved the views from the top although we were disappointed that the main bell was under repair so wasn’t ringing.

We’d promised the children some chips for lunch (what else would you eat in Bruges!) so we picked up some takeaway fries from a street vendor outside the Bell Tower (they were actually delicious!) and found a bench to watch the world go by. A quick pit stop and feeling revived we began our little tour around the chocolate shops of Bruges, taking in the sites and sounds as we went. We were in the town in the run up to Easter so the shops were full of beautiful eggs and Easter treats. We visited several shops (it would be rude not to!) but ended with a visit to the wonderful Dumon chocolate shop (reported to be one of the only chocolate shops in the town where the chocolate is still made on site). Stocked up with Easter goodies (including a stupidly expensive slab of chocolate equipped with a wooden hammer! What could possibly go wrong!?!), we stopped at Chez Albert for a wonderful Belgian waffle (regular readers of the blog will know that we raved about this place on our last visit! It was just as good!).

By now it was time to hit the road again on route to Amsterdam.

Accommodation

As always, we settled on an Airbnb. We chose to stay on this wonderful houseboat just outside Amsterdam. I knew the children would love to stay on a boat – what a novelty! The boat was easy to find thanks to the detailed and clear instructions from the owner. There was free parking over the road (down a steep ish bank) which made things easier. Although we didn’t use the bus, we understand there was a public stop just over the road which would take you into the centre in around 45 mins. The boat itself was in a lovely quiet, residential area (full of houseboats!) and had everything we needed for a short break. It was a little more basic than we had expected but charming nevertheless. We loved feeding the ducks from the boat window each morning and having the water outside your window made it all feel very relaxing!

A day in Amsterdam

Our first full day was to be spent in the city. Our first ever holiday as parents had been to Amsterdam (with grandparents in tow for support and an 8 week old baby!) so it was great to be back (this time with another child and slightly more parenting know how!).

After a quick breakfast on the houseboat (there was no bakery around so I was pleased to have grabbed some yummy waffles from the French supermarket!), we drove into the city centre (an easy 30 min drive). We parked in the Q Park at Amsterdam Central Station (probably not the cheapest carpark but centrally located and secure). We had booked to go on the highest swing in Europe (more about that in a moment) but with time to spare we found a small bakery and grabbed some pastries. Stocked up with pastries we strolled through the central station (and a particularly cool tunnel!) to the waters edge ready to catch the free ferry over to A’dam Lookout (take the F3 to Buiksloterweg). The children loved the novelty of the ferry journey (even if it did only last 5 minutes!). We found a spot to enjoy our croissants in the Easter sunshine whilst looking up at the terrifyingly high swing we had booked to go on!

So more about the swing…..I’m sure most of my family (including myself!) thought I was mad to have booked this swing but family travel is all about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone (and this was certainly going to do this!). We zoomed up to the observation deck in a high tech lift, equipped with a light show, and dumped our bags in a locker. We then joined the queue for the ‘over the edge’ swing (the name is enough to make you nervous!). It was epic (if not a little nerve racking) – there’s nothing quite like swinging backwards and forwards 100 metres above the city on Europe’s highest swing with your feet dangling over the edge! If the swing isn’t for you there are plenty of seats and beanbags to enjoy the view. There is also a café so you could easily spend time up there on a nice day.

With barely time to recover from one adrenalin filled activity we collected our tandem bikes from Black Bike Rental at Amsterdam Central Station (honestly, what was I thinking when I booked this?). The bikes took a little getting used to but, in hindsight, tandem bikes were exactly what we needed – it meant the children couldn’t get lost in the busy streets! We settled on peddling down to Vondel Park – the largest city park in Amsterdam, and certainly one of the most famous parks in the Netherlands. By this point we were in need of lunch (and a stiff drink!). We stumbled across Park Zuid, housed in a beautiful building on the edge of the lake and equipped with tables with swings (clearly one swing wasn’t enough for this trip!). We enjoyed a lovely lunch (homemade pizza as well as some more traditional dishes) before jumping back on the tandems in search of a play park. We spent what was left of the afternoon peddling around the city, showing the children the Anne Frank museum (they were too young to go in and besides it was fully booked!), and the floating flower market.

With the bikes returned we jumped on another ferry (this time the F9 to NDSM), making our way to the Pancake boat. We took our eldest on the pancake boat in Rotterdam when she was two years old. Since then it’s become something of a talking point and we had promised our youngest that we’d take him one day! So, we set sail for a 75 minute tour of Amsterdam from the water (not that anyone was really looking out the window!) whilst enjoying unlimited traditional pancakes (what more could you ask for?). If this isn’t exciting enough, there is ball pit and slide at the bottom of the boat for the little people! Completely full, we returned to our house boat for a very small dinner!

Flower fields

The following morning (Easter Sunday) and after the traditional Easter egg hunt (on the boat!), we drove to Keukenhof (otherwise known as the flower fields!). This was a day I had been waiting for for many years! Do book in advance, especially for popular holiday days.

We spent the morning in the more formal gardens (which were absolutely stunning). The children also enjoyed the small playpark and the pancake stand! It’s well worth taking a picnic. Whilst there are plenty of cafes and restaurants dotted around the gardens, they were all very busy! Instead, we found a bench overlooking the flowers…now that’s what they call lunch with a view! After lunch we picked up our bikes from the main carpark (all the tandems were reserved that day so we settled for individual bikes!). We had the most wonderful afternoon cycling around the flower fields (there are easy to follow routes). I would go as far as saying that this was more magical than the formal gardens. The smell of the hyacinths was something else and around every corner was yet another stunning flower field. The children, having never really ridden that far at home, surpassed themselves. 9 miles and a pitstop for Dutch apple cake later we returned to the car, exhausted but having had the best day!

We settled on dinner out. Having read lots of reviews (I particularly enjoyed Amsterdam Wonderland) we chose to eat at Café Restaurant Amsterdam – a family friendly restaurant housed in an old pump room. The menu was varied, with something for everyone and the service friendly yet relaxed. We had booked online but it’s a large restaurant so I imagine there would be plenty of space.

Ypres

On route home and keen to break up the journey we chose to visit Ypres (other options would be Ghent, Antwerp or Brussels but we’d visited those previously and fancied something different). We found a great parking area, attached to a hotel and very central (which was great because having had wonderful weather it was now chucking it down!). We dashed to the main square and into a very low key pizza/pasta restaurant called T’Appel. It was packed with families and students, great value and exactly what we needed! After lunch we walked up to the Menin Gate – dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in World War I and whose graves are unknown. You can access the town walls from here. This would make a lovely walk in nicer weather. We spent a little bit of time here talking with the children about the significance of the memorial and showing them the various poppy wreaths that had been left.

Next up was the Flanders Field Museum, a wonderfully interactive museum dedicated to World War 1. The children loved the audio guide (accessed via poppy wrist bands which they got to keep!) which also introduced them to the stories of individual people who had lived/worked/served in Ypres. It was at the end of this visit that we used the Commonwealth War Graves computer to search for our family surname. To our surprise, it found a distant relative in a cemetery not that far from the centre. So, after a final Belgian waffle at Il Gusto (just over the road from the museum), we set out in search of the grave. The children were amazed to find a grave with their surname on – talk about bringing history to life!

All in all, a wonderful little break – you can always rely on Holland and Belgium for a fun-filled family holiday.