Posts filed under 'Outdoor Activities'
Ice-skating has a long history in the Netherlands, and there is no child in this country who didn’t grow up learning how to skate! Of course this would happen the old-fashioned way: on ‘botjes’ (double-bladed skates) and holding on to a chair to remain balanced.
Traditionally, children living alongside the many rivers or canals in the Netherlands would be very pleased when they could skate to school instead of walk — it would save a lot of time! (And, of course, not everybody owned a bike like in modern times!) Their parents would strap on their wooden skates with leather thongs and skate for miles to go and see family they hadn’t seen in months.
On weekends big tours would be organized, and alongside the canal one could find little stands selling ‘koek en zopie’ — cookies and hot chocolate (or gin for the dads). After the tour, the family would come home to a big pan of ’snert’, the traditional Dutch pea-soup…
It’s been a while since it has frozen in the Netherlands, at least enough for all the natural waterways to freeze. In fact, the last ‘Elfstedentocht’ (Eleven Cities Tour), an ice-skating race that takes place in the north of the Netherlands and keeps every Dutchmen captivated as soon as the temperature drops under zero, was in 1997!
Thankfully every city in the Netherlands will make sure there is an artificial ice-skating rink in their centre. And in Amsterdam there will be five!
- Skating Rink Museumplein: 17 December 2008 – 22 February 2009, open daily from 10 am until 8 pm. My absolute favourite Skating Rink, to be found at the foot of the wonderful Rijksmuseum!
- Skating Rink Beursplein: 11 November 2008 – 4 January 2009
Not far from the central train station. There will also be a little Christmas market!
- Skating Rink Leidseplein: 1 November 2008 – 11 January 2009, open daily from 10:00 to 23:00. Not far from the Vondelpark. Set up in the middle of the cafés and restaurants of the Leidseplein.
- Skating Rink Wittenburgerplein: 6 December 2008 – 19 December 2008, open daily from 11 am until 4 pm.
Near to Amsterdam’s lovely city zoo, Artis.
- Skating Rink Westergasfabriek: 5 December 2008 – 4 January 2009
West of the city centre. There are loads of other wonderful activities in the Westergasfabriek area!
Well, we say: when in Amsterdam, do as the Dutch. So take your children for a skate on one of the many skating rinks (but don’t be afraid to show off your own skills as well)! Skates are for rent at the rinks.
Enjoy!
Esther in Amsterdam
December 1st, 2008
On the southern outskirts of Amsterdam is a huge park/woodland called the ‘Amsterdamse Bos’ (Amsterdam Forest). It offers great activities for kids, like swimming pools, playgrounds, a theater, a pancakes restaurant, and one of our family’s absolute favourite outdoor activities in Amsterdam: the macrobiotic goat farm ‘Ridammerhoeve‘.
The beauty of this goat farm is that it is really, in all reality, a goat farm! So besides it being a city farm, with the mere purpose of giving city kids the opportunity to get closer to animals and to teach them ‘where the milk is coming from’, the main purpose of this farm is to produce (organic) goat’s milk and make it into cheeses, yogurt, ice cream etc., all for sale at the little café, where you can also get a nice goats’ cappuccino!
Even though the work, as in any other farm, never stops, the doors of Ridammerhoeve are open 6 days a week for the public, and most specifically for kids, who can help feed, brush and cuddle the baby goats, clean their stables, see how the goats get milked, and, if they are lucky, witness the birth of a baby goat!
It is so very cute to see all those children, each with their little bottle of milk, adopting a little kid (who are always very happy customers) and feed them as if they gave birth to them!
When my ‘kids’ are done feeding the goats, caressing the pig, horse and chickens and eating the delicious goat’s ice-cream, they still don’t want to leave as there is still a lovely, all-wooden playground to explore (and a real tractor to play with)!
Ridammerhoeve was started over 20 years ago and is still as popular as ever – I’ve spoken to many ‘older’ mums in Amsterdam who have told me that they too took their children to the goat farm!
xxx Esther
Esther in Amsterdam
October 22nd, 2008
Once a year, a magical event hits the city of Amsterdam… De Parade!
Although ‘De Parade’ does translate into ‘The Parade’, it is nothing like a parade – it is in fact a theater festival, disguised in an old-fashioned looking fair ground!
‘De Parade’ offers a mix of art, theater, film, magic, comedy and music, together with a good supply of food and drinks. The atmosphere is arty, bohemian, easygoing and trendy – every single hip person in Amsterdam seemed to be at the opening night last Friday! It’s a great place for people-watching and having drinks by itself, but the shows are really worth paying a visit. The theater makers now have an outlet for ideas that are hard to find an audience for the rest of the year, so you can see some really special performances here!
One ‘idea’ I saw and thought to be supercool, was a silent disco. About fifty people in an open air disco, all wearing headphones and dancing the stars of the sky, and occasionally all singing along with the lyrics. Such fun! I will definitely go next time!
Every afternoon, beginning at 3pm, there is a special children’s program, with theater, dance, film and workshops. It’s aimed at kids aged 4 to 12, but it’s really a great place to bring younger children too – there is so much to see and experience! There are also some carnival rides that children will love!
Don’t worry about cooking dinner – next to a variety of bars and terraces (all special and cool), you will also find a huge choice of cuisines on the festival terrain: Portuguese, Algerian, Surinamese, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Cajun, soul food, French, pizza, to name a couple… All serving small portions, so great for kids (and for us, as we can try out many)!
Now, let’s hope for some good festival weather the next few weeks!
xxx Esther
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De Parade takes place in summer in the Martin Luther Kingpark (about 4 kilometers south of the city centre).
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Esther in Amsterdam
August 2nd, 2008
Last week we finally had a nice and warm, summery day in the Netherlands, so a girlfriend and I took our children to one of the hip & cool city beaches here in Amsterdam: Strand Zuid (South Beach).
Behind the (big & ugly) congress centre, ‘Amsterdam Rai’, and on the border of the Beatrix Park pond, a lovely treasure is hidden: a beach in the middle of Amsterdam!
There are 2,000 square meters of sand, chill-out areas, bars & terraces with good food, sun-loungers, a beach volleyball field and showers. It’s great to bring your children here on a warm summer day; they can enjoy themselves in the sand and play with all the other kids, while you can relax a bit with a rosé and pretend to be in the Mediterranean…
It’s also not a bad place to come without children – for a stylish dinner on a nice summer evening… It’s open until midnight on weekends.
xxx Esther
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STRANDZUID
Between Amsterdam RAI and Beatrixpark
Europaplein 22
1078 GZ AMSTERDAM
*Map*
Open daily 10.00-23.00, in weekends untill midnight
Only in summer!
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Esther in Amsterdam
July 28th, 2008
We FINALLY enjoyed a nice spring day yesterday in Amsterdam – what joy! I had lunch with a girlfriend (and our children) in the ‘Vondeltuin‘, a lovely café/restaurant with a huge terrace AND playground in the most northwestern tip of the beautiful Vondelpark, and it was perfect – I still feel the sun burning on my cheeks!
I had an enormous smoked chicken sandwich with avocado, which I thought I was never going to finish as it looked so HUGE, but I did anyway — I must have been hungry! My friend had a just-as-big sandwich with smoked salmon and lemon. She must have been hungry too…
The kids were fast asleep in their buggies (lucky us!), but would they have been awake, they could have enjoyed themselves immensely in the playground, or have eaten a huge plate of ‘poffertjes’. Poffertjes are a Dutch specialty that children (and parents) love: a sort of mini-pancakes, but a bit sweeter and a bit softer. High chairs are available (3).
Bigger kids (and parents) can rent skates here — only 15 euros for a full day! Or 5 euros for the first hour and 2,50 for each next hour, if you’re less fanatic…
Don’t worry if you think you’re a disaster on skates – this is no excuse: a workshop can be booked at the Vondeltuin and before you know it, you’ll be an expert!
You will even be able to skate-carry that picnic around you picked up at the Vondeltuin (only by reservation)!
Hello, summer!
xxx Esther
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Vondeltuin
Vondelpark 7
1075 VR Amsterdam
+31 (0)6 2756 5576
*Map*
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Esther in Amsterdam
April 10th, 2008
Monday:
Go out for breakfast in the Bakkerswinkel. A basket of different sorts of bread, muffins, scones and croissants makes way to your table accompanied by a much needed coffee and orange juice. Fancy jams can be found on the table. Open from 7AM – what a wonderful way to start the week!
After, take your children to the Amstelpark, where there is a lovely playground and a little city farm. A ‘real train’ can take you around the park – a sure hit with your little ones.
Had enough of the park? Go to the Scheldestraat where you can find the great kids’ shoe store Meys&Co (open from 1PM onwards), with Koter&Co across the street where they sell a big selection of the cool Dutch kiddie brand Imps&Elfs (and more).
Before going back home, don’t forget to visit Italian delicatessen Feduzzi for a cappuccino and one of their mouth-watering Panini. And don’t forget the babyccino for your little angel! You can pick up something for dinner here too – I promise you, the food is great and prices are reasonable.
Tuesday:
TunFun is an indoor playground that your children will LOVE. There are different soft play areas for different age groups, and there are also benches and a lounge area for the grown ups. A good place to start the day with a cup of coffee (and a great place to go if it’s raining)!
Artis, the Zoo of Amsterdam, is not far from here. Because of the mix of historic buildings, huge amounts of green and great variety of animals, this is truly a magnificent place to spend half a day.
In the unfortunate but not unthinkable case of bad weather, Artis provides many indoor activities for your children and yourself to enjoy: the aquarium, the greenhouses, reptile house, Planetarium and the new butterfly-garden.
The playgrounds and restaurants are very good, but if you feel like having lunch in a different environment, you can go to restaurant Plancius across the street from Artis. It’s a good place to go with children (high-chairs are available).
Wednesday:
Make your way to the Central Station because right next to it is NEMO: the science centre. Great for kids! There only rule here is: forbidden NOT to touch!
From the sloping roof-piazza, the view over Amsterdam is magnificent. In summer, this roof-piazza transforms to a city beach (sand, bean bags, stunning harbour views and tapas-style snacks)!
If the weather is not good enough to enjoy lunch on the roof (it happens often in Amsterdam, this is why I keep mentioning it), you better go to the new Public Library next door. On the top floor is a self-service restaurant with a wonderful selection of fresh food, sandwiches and fruit juices (yes, cakes too), with again a great panorama over Amsterdam and plenty of high-chairs. After lunch, you can visit the VOC ship in front of NEMO to have a taste of life on a ship in the Golden Age (18th century).
Thursday:
Go shopping in the Nine Streets where boutique after boutique makes you wish you came with a truck instead of a pushchair (to load all the goodies in)!
After, take your little ones for lunch in restaurant Pancakes! where you’ll find high chairs, toys, kids’ menu and a friendly staff! Or, get ‘friet’ with mayonnaise at the ‘Vlaams Friteshuis’ in the Voetboogsteeg; arguably the best Belgian French Fries in Amsterdam.
Friday:
Grab your bakfiets (or rent one) and make your way to the Amsterdamse Bos. Go for a long stroll, let your children run around for a bit, and then visit the macrobiotic goat farm. There are chickens, pigs, cows, and, of course, goats. Kids can help feed the baby goats and are allowed to cuddle. The cheese factory can be visited and there is a cheese shop – so don’t worry too much about dinner; goat cheese will do just fine. The playground is made from all natural materials and there is a maze!
You can have lunch here, or at ‘Boerderij Meerzicht’, with chickens and peacocks roaming around the farmyard.
In summertime there are wading pools, and an adventure island (with footbridges and a little ferry) to be explored in the Amsterdamse Bos; building huts is allowed here!
After the journey back home, put your children to bed early as they will be exhausted, and enjoy a quiet evening with your man (or find a babysitter and hit the streets of Amsterdam)! Cheers to the weekend!
Esther in Amsterdam
February 18th, 2008
