Nana and Pops Time in the Netherlands

Nana and Pops had only visited the Netherlands once in the summertime, right after Maeve was born. We were not very mobile then, so we had a lot of places to show them this time around, some favorites of ours and some new places as well. Friends who went home to the States for the summer lent us their minivan so we were able to really explore. And the weather fully cooperated!

First adventure: Cherry picking at Fruituin van West, a place we'd always wanted to go. 

Next up: Hiking in Schoorl. 

For the second time, I got lost and we didn't end up on the path to the beach cafe, so we wandered a bit and then had lunch by the dune. 

Dinner with Jude at our Japanese spot. 

We took a full day trip to Giethoorn (next post). 

Sunday in Amstelpark where both the TREK festival and the PureMarkt were going on. 

Nana got to ride in the bakfiets mobile.

Beach day in Katwijk aan Zee to end a great week together! 

And it wouldn't be a Pop's visit without a project; prepping our outdoor table for a re-stain. 

A great week together!

Final Day in Bergen

We spent our 4th of July exploring Bergen.

In the morning we toured Rosenkrantztarnet, a 13th century tower, and the King Hakon's hall. 

Yummy lunch at Egon, with a cozy interior. There was even a kid's corner. 

The kids went home with Pops, while Pete, Nana and I walked more of the city. The neighborhood on the far side of the harbour was really charming with lots of old, colorful wood homes. 

Historic Bryggen across the harbour. 

Got the kids out to play when the sun came out. 

Mexican date night for 4th of July. Popcorn Mojito!

All good trips must come to an end. To get 6 people home with one car, I gave my parents 2 options. 1. Fly home with the kids or 2. Take the car ferry from Bergen to Denmark and then drive home. They preferred the ferry/road trip option so that they could see some of Denmark/Germany. This also gave us a few days at home to settle in and for me to get back to work. What a great way to end an epic road trip- hop on an 1 hour and 45 minute direct flight home! 

Goodbye mountains

Hello home

Our "green" roof was abuzz with bees and these pretty yellow flowers when we got home!