Goodbye Danes, Hello Dutch

We wrapped up our Copenhagen stay a couple days ago, rented a car, and headed west to the birthplace of the Lego in a town called Billund. This was a quick side trip that we couldn’t pass up while in Denmark.  The countryside of Denmark was a repetitive and largely unremarkable landscape of wheat fields, pockets of trees, an occasional barn and farmhouse, and randomly placed windmills.  Even still, it felt good to hit the road again after two weeks of European city life. We’re Californians after all, and cars are a fixture in our world.

Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. He is most known for his witty take on traveling the world and pointing out the little things that many people miss. On one of his train journeys to see the northern lights, he was passing through Denmark and chuckled at the name of a small town called Middelfart.  I chuckled too.  As luck would have it, Middelfart happens to be in between Copenhagen and Legoland. Of course, these kinds of opportunities cannot be passed up. It should be noted that our middle child (who shall remain nameless), is no stranger to passing wind (TMI?).  

We had absolutely no preconceived notion of what this town may be like, so we were pleasantly surprised at how quaint and old timey it was. Quite randomly we stumbled upon the central main street, with buildings that, from a distance, appear to be painted by a three year old trying to create fake trim and facades. But, upon close inspection, it was simply black paint on the exposed wooden skeletal structure of the building with the voids infilled with plaster.

We rolled in on a Sunday morning. It's the day that everyone rests in Middelfart.

The two Middle Farts in Middelfart (I'm a middle child too)

We were also unexpectedly involved in a 2 mph NASCAR race trying to get in to Middelfart.  Click here for the video.  It’s pretty humorous. https://youtu.be/MjMjHL9XVEY

We spent the night in a small home (in Kolding) about 40 minutes from Legoland (in Billund). This was probably the boys favorite Airbnb so far, owing to the fact it had a trampoline. Priorities.

As we’ve come to expect, weather can be unpredictable in Denmark. In addition to the torrential downpour we swam through to get to Kolding, we arrived to Legoland to grey skies and scattered showers. But we didn’t come all this way to let a little moisture hold us back.  Fortunately, this minor morning nuisance gave way to great weather in a couple hours.  While it was not appreciably different from our SoCal version, it was a lot of fun, and the kids continue to make life so easy for us. Autumn's post highlighted something I was personally quite proud of, the Bryce sized tower they created during a mommy and daddy timeout.

Fastforward to today.... (Netherlands (aka Holland))

We’re in a small “village” (as the locals say) called Ilpendam about 15 minutes north of downtown Amsterdam. My last time in Amsterdam was just a hair under 20 years ago, and my priorities, and therefore my memories, are a bit…. dim. I had no idea how lovely it is beyond the 2 mile radius of Central Station - which remains spectacular (except for the scaffolding shrouding the exterior).

Our Airbnb is absolutely lovely as well, and just a stone's throw down the brick road from the local cafe and pub.  Ilpendam is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and if our host were to amble into the place, there would have been a resounding “Tiny!” (pronounced teenie) from all the patrons. The tables are dressed in carpet (to absorb the beer), the sconces are dim, the walls plastered with photos of locals playing rugby and sombreros with a story of their own. The background noise was filled with 70s era hits like “Shaft”, and “Pick Up the Pieces,” and the food hit our bellies just perfectly.  We were even visited by the village golden retriever. It all seemed so… perfect. Then we stepped out to a magnificent sunset that painted the sky and nearby waterway in tones of red and orange - Cherry on top of a great first day.

The carpetted tables are AWESOME! All Autumn needed was a pillow...

Village Pup making sure we were satisfied with our meal. 

We spent this morning having our groceries temporarily confiscated (the Netherlands has something against credit cards) while I ran to the nearest ATM, and then spent the afternoon at the Van Gogh Museum. There should be a study done (and perhaps there is) trying to determine the exact point at which going to a museum goes from utter torture (Bryce), to unbearable boredom (Zane), to modest interest (Autumn), to could-spend-all-day-reading-every-display-and-appreciating-every-bit-of-it (Steve & Nicole).

Afternoon chilling at the park before the museum

Pleepleus

When you don't have a skateboard or scooter, use the ramp as a Warp Wall.

Bryce's opinion of the Van Gogh Museum

Not to worry, it's a fake

We rounded out the evening at a restaurant that would kill it in the states (perhaps it’s already there, but I’ve not seen it yet). So if anyone wants to jump in the restaurant business - you’re crazy.  But if so, here is the blueprint for success: Wok Your Way. It’s like Mongolian BBQ, meets Korean BBQ, meets Chinese, meets Thai - done in a Chipotle fashion.  You pick a base (noodles or rice), pick your meat(s), pick other toppings, pick a sauce, and they key it in without a hassle.  Five minutes later, your buzzy-puck lights up and you’re ready to eat.  The beauty is that everyone in your family gets EXACTLY what they want.  Why don’t we have this!?!?

Randomly walked through a street market. Couldn't pass up this two layered waffle glued together with caramel.  Oh yeah, that was as good as you would imagine.

Stork on a vendor's tent.

More ziplines.  It's become compulsory to try every one we see.

Bryce likes tofu, Zane doesn't. Nicole likes broccoli, Zane doesn't. I like mine hotter than hell, Zane doesn't. Zane gets what he wants, and we're all happy. 

Random Thought: The people here are Gi-Normous (very tall, to the lay-person).  We're not exactly blessed with height as it is, but oh man we feel like hobbits compared to these people.

Tomorrow we rent bikes and cruise around the Holland countryside.