June 18th – When we woke up this morning, we thought that our plans for the day would be washed out given a very heavy rain. Since breakfast at the hotel was too pricey, George and I went off to McDonalds to have breakfast and bring something back for George Jr. We were quickly drenched. By 10 am when we were getting ready to leave, the rain had abated and the forecast had changed to allow for some sun and cloud throughout the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon. Our plans were still on!

Madurodam is a miniature village in The Hague which, if I am correct, was what first turned Len Cullen on to the idea of building one in Whitby. While this one covers less actual area, there are many more miniatures, more moving parts and lots more interactive displays. One section contains the historical buildings of The Netherlands, while another concentrates on the industrial story and still another depicts the cultural side. Some of the things that fascinated us were:

• the moving procession at the cathedral
• a chocolate bar delivered by truck to me from the Mars bar chocolate factory
• a simulated concert with fans moving to the music with George’s voice coming through the speakers
• Trains, trams and boats everywhere

We planned to stay for two hours but it turned into three.

Fortunately, the rain held off until just as we were leaving.

There was lots of discussion on the way into Amsterdam about dropping the bags at the hotel first or dropping the car at the airport first. We decided to do the latter since George Jr had a very large duffel bag that didn’t need to be transported into the city. After filling the car with gas (a story in itself), we dropped the car, checked the duffel bag and took a hotel shuttle into the city. Good choice! Amsterdam – the city of every type of transit all moving at the same time. Watch out for the trams; here comes a car; oops, stay out of the bicycle lane.

Our hotel, Vondel Hotel, is very well located in the museum area beside Vondelpark. After checking in and having a brief rest, we were getting ready to head out for dinner when I decided to pull out our tickets for the symphony concert which we had ordered a few weeks ago. George and I both had in our minds that we had chosen Sunday night. Surprise…it’s Saturday night! A quick change and we headed off to dinner at a restaurant we knew close to the Concertgebouw Hall.

The program included the world premiere of Morphic Waves by a composer younger than George Jr and a number of Mahler’s Lieders sung by a British mezzo-soprano. The second half was Brahm’s Symphony No. 4 in E, which was stunning in an old European-style concert hall built in the 1880s.

June 19th –  Today we split up and did different things since we had so little time in Amsterdam. George Jr went to see the Banksy exhibition at the new Moco Gallery and then took a 48km bike ride in the afternoon.  George and I trooped around old town looking at gardens. This weekend was Open Gardens and there were about 30 gardens on the list. Most are never seen by the public because they are gardens of the houses along the canals. Access to the back yard is only through the house. We saw some nice gardens but we both agreed that our garden would rival any of the ones we saw today. Great affirmation of all our hard work!

George Jr treated us to supper for Father’s Day and then we went on the sunset cruise of the harbour and canals. A great way to end our vacation.