In July, Garrett had a conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands for several days. I tagged along. While I ended up doing some exploring alone (and with a friend), Garrett and I were also able to see things together on his off-time.

This is not our first time taking an international trip; however, we were a little more nervous for this one for several reasons. 1) It was our first time in a country where English was not the primary language 2) COVID restrictions were still evolving 3) We had just moved to a new state less than a month before 4) I was about 16 weeks pregnant.

In the end, everything worked out, and there weren’t any major complications. Right before leaving, they lifted to requirements to test negative before re-entering the country (huge relief)! We did have to be current on vaccinations and have proof of that before flying to the Netherlands. While Dutch was the first language, most everyone could speak English, and there was many tours and menus that had an English translation. On the whole I felt well during the entire trip, with only occasional bouts of sickness.

Our biggest complication (which wasn’t really a complication) was the transportation around the Netherlands. Garrett and I had never been on a trip where we didn’t rent a car or were so immersed in city life. There was a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to get around, but we did it and were quite proud. We ended up traveling by: plane, train, tram, foot, bike, boat, and bus.

Normally, I give a day by day account of trips, but this time, I’m sharing individual highlights.

Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk, loosely translated to children’s dike, features iconic 18th-century windmills in Holland. They were used to mill grain, but also to control flooding and water in the area. Today, you can rent a windmill if you go to school for 2 years to become a miller. You must also complete a certain number of revolutions every year as part of the agreement. It doesn’t seem like too bad of a gig.

Two windmills are dedicated as museums. The first shows how a family with a dozen children lived in the mill! The other windmill was an older style.

The grounds were beautiful at Kinderdijk with walking and biking trails as well as ferries. There was a pump house museum, gift shop, and small farm complete with goats and chickens. I absolutely loved the ferry and talking with the miller. I enjoyed it so much, I went to Kinderdijk twice. Once with Garrett and a couple of friends and another time on my own with another of the conference goer’s wives.

To get to Kinderdijk, we took a waterbus from Rotterdam (my favorite mode of transportation).

After touring the windmills, we ate a late lunch in town or at the cafe on the grounds (depending on what time I was there).

Kinderdijk is picturesque, fascinating, and such an awesome experience. I’m amazed that people have worked these windmills for generations. They even still wear wooden clogs! I was also taken aback at just how much power the sails get in the wind. They roar.

Delft

After our flight and arriving in Amsterdam, we hopped a train to Rotterdam. This proved to be a bit of a struggle as the direct train was cancelled. After asking around, and trying to read Dutch, we made it on the correct trains and to our hotel. We took a quick nap and texted our friends Kyle and Johnna to meet up.

We decided to head to the local city of Delft. This meant getting back on a train. However, this time was much smoother considering Johnna and Kyle had been touring the Netherlands already for a few days so were pros at this. We purchased our train ticket, and 20 minutes later, we were in Delft.

Delft is known for their blue painted pottery. Royal Delft has been creating the iconic Delft Blue since 1653. The style originated in Asia, but through trade found a foothold in Delft.

Before exploring the city, we ate lunch on a canal boat which was lovely! After, we walked around and explored the city square, a local market happening, and shops. We even found an antique shop! If you know Garrett and I, you know we love antiquing. To be able to antique in another country was very cool (and different). These items were a bit more antique! We ended up buying a tile from the 1700’s that had a windmill in Delft blue painted on it!

We also got to climb to the top of a windmill in Delft. There were so many steep ladders! We ended our time there with drinks in the square. A few days later, I would head back to Delft with Kim to tour the Royal Delft museum, eat gelato, and sample local cheese in the square. One thing I loved about Delft was how it wasn’t overwhelming. It was quiet and historical. In contrast, Rotterdam is large and very modern. It had been leveled in the War, so is much more new than other areas. Delft is much more relaxing.

Gouda

One of my favorite cities was Gouda (pronounced how-da). I went with Kim on a rainy Thursday. The rain couldn’t stop us from heading to Gouda that day because it was cheese market day! We arrived to the city square filled with crowd, wheels of cheese, and vendors! While part of it is just a reenactment of the past, there’s also plenty that is real. There was a horse and wagon to come and deliver the cheese. They weighed the cheese and auctioned it off. There was also free samples and singing.

Kim and I took three tours that day. The first was the Waag (Weighing House) that dated back to 1669. Here, we learned all about he architecture of the building, how cheese (Kaas) was/is made, and saw the massive scales for weighing goods like cheese. We also did a cheese tasting; however, it was entirely too much cheese, so we discreetly wrapped it up to carry back to our husbands. Before the market closed, we went out and bought several baby wheels of local cheese. I was quite proud of our purchases. I just hoped it was allowed through customs (it was)!

Our second tour was of the City Hall. It was an impressive building that was quite Medieval. It was made out of wood until a fire. They rebuilt in a most impressive way.

Our third tour was of the of the Kamphuisen Siroopwafels factory. They had a really fun video that went into the history of the Kamphuisen siroopwafel cookies which are different than stroopwafel cookies. The original recipe was developed in 1810. After a few family generations, it was sold, but the safe that holds the original recipe is still in the building.

We were able to see the siroopwafel cookie making process from beginning to end, sample the cookies, wear stylish hairnets, and even slide down a slide.

Rotterdam

By the end of our week in Rotterdam, I felt like we could navigate trams and streets pretty well. We explored restaurants, museums, parks, and the zoo. Some events were in conjunction with Garrett’s conference, but others were just a bit of exploring on our own. I will say, the city is very modern with some incredible architecture. It was very different from anywhere else I’d ever been.

Rijksmuseum | Van Gogh Museum | Maritime Musuem

After Garrett’s conference, we took the train back to Amsterdam to stay in the Owl Hotel. It was very cute but did not have AC or a proper queen bed (aka very European). While in Amsterdam, we spent time at several museums. The first was Rijksmuseum. It was massive and filled with all sorts of art from so many eras. It truly was beautiful. I think the gardens were especially gorgeous. We didn’t get to see everything, but still enjoyed it immensely.

The Van Gogh Museum ended up being one of our favorites, and we are so glad we got tickets ahead of time. It did such a great job taking you through Van Gogh’s life and art from beginning to end. It didn’t just feature his art, but also the art of his friends and inspiration.

The Maritime Museum was much bigger and more epic than we expected. Housed in an old armory on the water, there were so many exhibits of model ships, parts of ships, maritime history, and even ships we could go on! The ship we were able to go on was an old East India Company ship. We loved this museum!

Amsterdam

I honestly wish we could have spent more time in Amsterdam rather than Rotterdam. The history in Amsterdam was incredible. It was nothing to see buildings still being lived in and utilized from the 1600’s! Some highlights from our time in the city included a canal tour, Central Station, walking miles of the streets, bridges like Magere, and visiting shops. We accidentally ended up in the Red Light District. We were trying to find an old church. We found it, but it ended up being on the same road as the Red Light District.

Most people either ride bikes, walk, or ride public transit in the Netherlands. We mostly walked and were really able to see some beautiful sites that way. Another thing that came in handy was the I-Amsterdam card which got us into many museums for free as well as public transit.

If you look up at the buildings in Amsterdam, you can see different styles (indicative of the era) as well as tiles that depicted what that building used to be used for. People couldn’t always read back then, so they’d have imagery to let them know about businesses and shops.

Muiderslot Castle

On our last day in the Netherlands, we decided to go on an adventure. After a lot of research and thinking, we decided we’d tackle a bike ride to Muiderslot Castle. After brunch in Central Station, we rented two bikes and headed out. The journey was 9 miles one way. We had just gotten outside the city, when I realized that this was not as easy as I thought it would be. Blame it on being pregnant or maybe it was just I was plain out of shape… needless to say I did have to stop a couple of times, worried Garrett, and ended up adding 30 minutes to our journey.

Challenging was the word I used; however, I’m so glad we did it. The scenery along the bike ride was beautiful. There was wildflowers, bunnies, water, sheep, and cows. In fact, a cow totally stepped in front of our path and refused to move for several minutes. She was a salty heifer that had the look of “try me”.

90 minutes later, we came upon the town of Muiden. The backdrop was the most gorgeous medieval castle complete with moat and swans swimming in it. Talk about a Swan Princess moment. We’ve toured castles in Scotland before, but this one was very different. Rebuilt in 1380, the castle has been preserved over the centuries. Not only was it very cool to tour inside, but the gardens were stunning! We also were able to eat a fabulous little lunch in the gardens from a pop-up cafe.

After touring all corners of the castle, we climbed back on our bikes to head back to Amsterdam. We had to be back by a certain time to return our bikes. It was excellent incentive. I’m so glad to say, we made it or rather I made it! Poor Garrett had to go slower than he normally would to not leave me behind. We rewarded our efforts with gelato and a long sit. It was a great final day despite the challenge of it.

Food

We tried a lot of good food in the Netherlands. It’s a huge cultural melting pot, so there was a lot of foods from other cultures. My very favorite foods that were very Dutch were bitterballens and poffertjes. Bitterballens are typically fried beef and gravy balls (croquettes). I did have some that were risotto and cheese. We had bitterballen several times, and it was always good! There was even a version of bitterballen at McDonalds on a sandwich.

Also always good was poffertjes or mini Dutch pancakes. These were typically served with butter and powdered sugar, but we also had some with fruit on them too. I still dream of these guys.

Other notable foods included mint tea, “American hot dogs", incredible ramen, bitter lemon soda, lamb, tacos, Indian, gelato, pizza, and more! We discovered a Japanese restaurant where we had to cook our food on the table grill in front of us. Food was brought to us on robots! We also had an incredible breakfast at an outdoor cafe outside of the Van Gogh museum where we ate chocolate covered waffles and Dutch apple pie. Taco Bell and McDonalds are similar but not quite the same as USA.

Headed Home

Our time in the Netherlands was wonderful and filled with new experiences. Headed home, we had an early morning (5am) to catch the bus to the airport. We had heard that the airport was crazy and to allow lots of time. We went as early as we could before our flight. They were only allowing you to arrive 3 hours before your flight. It took us an hour and half to get through security, and that didn’t count checking bags. I’m so glad we only brought carry-on bags (yes, we fit 12 days of clothes in carry-on bags). I’m also glad that by the time we boarded the plane, I felt a whole lot less green. Let’s just say the morning and bus ride saw a very icky Marisa.

We made it through customs with our cheese and siroopwafles and arrived back in Indianapolis by dinner. I’m so very thankful that Garrett’s job and professors gave him the opportunity to attend and present at the conference in the Netherlands. I’m so glad that I was able to tag along (with baby See) and for the most part feel well the whole trip. I’m proud of both G and I for getting out of our comfort zone. We were rewarded with so many memories!

To the Netherlands