Amsterdam in Spring

This past weekend, I took a quick trip to Amsterdam.  My college friend Steph is doing a global rotation for a large public accounting firm like David so I took advantage of knowing a "local" in Amsterdam and visited her.  David and Colin stayed back in London for a guys' weekend (hanging out at the pub, going to the park, riding double decker buses, and watching the Masters).

I had been to Amsterdam two times before, but it made a huge difference to see the city with someone who lives there.  The only really touristy thing we did was visit the Van Gogh Museum which I hadn't done on either of my previous trips.  Other than that, we took a day trip to a cute Dutch village called  Zaans Schans, went to some of Steph's favorite restaurants, walked through the city's flower market, and did some cheese shopping.  It was nice to be able to relax and spend some time catching up with Steph (we hadn't seen each other in five years!) and not feel like I had to run around the city like crazy checking the "must-see" items off that are on a normal tourist's list.

I planned my visit in April as this is normally the peak time for tulip viewing.  Tulips have always been my favorite flower.  Unfortunately, the spring in Europe has been just as miserable as the spring in the US so everything is late blooming this year.  We were still able to see quite a few tulips at Keukenhof, a famous flower garden located in Lisse. Keukenof had quite a few flowers already in bloom, no doubt planning for the late spring and not wanting to lose out on tourists as it is only open from late March to late May each year.  Only about four of the tulip fields outside of the park were already in bloom.  It was still amazing to see all the tulips.  

I have included some photos from the trip below.

Bikes, canal, boats - this picture sums up Amsterdam

I loved all the colors of tulips at the flower market

I would buy tulips all the time if I lived in Amsterdam

Zaans Schans - a cute Dutch village a short drive from Amsterdam

With my wonderful hostess Steph at Zaans Schans

Keukenhof gardens

I LOVE tulips!

So pretty!

In Bruges

We took advantage of the Bank Holiday on Good Friday by visiting Bruges, Belgium from Friday to Sunday of Easter weekend.  Bruges is the site of the 2008 film In Bruges starring Colin Farrell, which I have yet to see but was asked by countless people if I had seen it when we mentioned we would be traveling there.  I guess I will have to add it to my Netflix queue.  Bruges is a small city surrounded by canals known for its chocolate and lace.  We skipped the lace but definitely took advantage of all the chocolate shops in the city.  The trip pretty much centered around eating chocolate and sampling Belgian beers including the local beer Brugse Zot at De Halve Maan Brewery.

Colin's favorite part of the trip was once again a boat ride.  The boat trip went through the many canals of the city.  Colin insisted on announcing "BRIDGE" every time we would go under one (approximately every 15 seconds).  I am sure the fellow passengers loved the commentary.  We also went to the french fry and chocolate museums which were about as lame as they sound like they would be.  The city is known for its art museums, but we have given up on going to art museums with a toddler.

We headed back to Brussels on Sunday afternoon via a local train and then took the Eurostar the rest of the way to London.  Colin is still enamored by "choo choos" so was a happy traveler.

I didn't take many pictures on this trip but have posted a few of the ones I took below.

Markt - the main square of Bruges 

Another quality Buckley family picture in front of one of Bruges windmills

Canal ride

Canal ride

More quality parenting - sampling beer at De Halve Maan Brewery while your child watches an iPad and eats a sucker

Birthday Weekend in Paris

 Two posts in one week!  A new record!

After returning from the US on the morning of March 8th, we were up at 5:00am to head to London St. Pancras Station to catch the Eurostar to Paris the morning of March 9th.  My birthday is March 10th, and I wanted to spend it somewhere fun so planned a quick weekend trip to Paris.  I wasn't thinking about the potential jet lag when I booked the trip.  Colin and I were both up until about 2:30am which meant we had less than three hours of sleep when we headed to the train station.  This trip was probably not my greatest idea, but you only turn 33 once :)  I actually think being outside and busy helped with our jet lag.  We have been back on our normal schedule since early this week while it took much longer to get over the jet lag when we returned from Christmas in the US.

This was my third trip to Paris, and we did a lot of the same things I have done on previous trips, but the city never gets old.  There is something magical about it.  Although, traveling to Paris with a child is definitely a different experience.  Rather than dining at fancy French cafes and bistros, we ate at such places as the Hippopotamus Grill.  Good thing they still serve wonderful French wines there!  Colin's highlights were a boat cruise on the Seine and a ride on the carousel under the Eiffel Tower.  We returned to London the next evening.  It was a quick trip but a lot of fun.  Here are some pictures.

Can't complain about a birthday spent in Paris.

Colin and David outside the Louvre.  I have been in before and was overwhelmed.  We decided it best to skip it on this trip with a toddler although we did go to the Musee D'Orsay while Colin was napping.

Colin would not leave this statue in the Tuileries Garden alone. 

This view never gets old.  That being said, I am glad we live in London rather than Paris.  London isn't as beautiful as Paris but is a much more livable city.

Riding the Paris metro made me appreciate London's tube.  The tube is by no means handicap accessible making it a huge hassle with a stroller, but it was nothing in comparison to the metro which was next to impossible to navigate with a stroller and extremely crowded.

Arc d' Triomphe.  After we took this picture, we commented on how any other kids we have will find these pictures of Colin some day in front of all these monuments in European cities and feel really shafted that the most exciting pictures of them are in front of places like the Lambeau Field and at the Wisconsin Dells!

I don't know why we bother trying to take family pictures.  Colin aways refuses to cooperate.

Colin loved the boat cruise down the Seine.  He is obsessed with boats these days.

I love the Eiffel Tower at night.  

We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower on a cold and cloudy morning.  It was still worth it though.

Colin faking a smile and hoping we could leave the cold Eiffel Tower soon.

Carousel below the Eiffel Tower.  No surprise that Colin choose the "choo choo" to ride on.

Nutella crepes.  These really should be a staple of any diet.

Notre Dame.  Colin spent a lot of time catching up on sleep as we checked out the Paris sights.

Surviving Winter in London

This blog has been silent for a few months now.  There really hasn't been much to write.  After the fun of traveling back to the US to see both of our families for Christmas, we came back to gloomy and rainy London.  January and February were both long and boring months.  I can see how it would be easy to get depressed in London in the winter.  It rained practically every day and the sun didn't shine for months.  On the few occasions when it wasn't rainy, it was too muddy to do anything outside.  A couple of times, I decided we just needed to get out of the house so put on our rain boots and headed to the park.  Colin always managed to take a spill and get covered in mud from head to toe making going on these outings more of a hassle than what they were worth.  My other plan was to use these boring months to get into shape.  However, by the time I got myself and Colin dressed, walked the half mile to the bus stop, got on a bus (which likely meant waiting as a few passed us by that were either too crowded or already had the maximum of two strollers on board), got off the bus and walked to the gym, dropped Colin off at the gym daycare (which usually resulted in a meltdown and him grabbing onto my leg and begging me not to leave), working out for an hour, and then doing the reverse journey home, it was just too much work to do more than a few times a week.  Oh how I miss just hopping in a car and driving to your destination.  Colin also seemed to be sick every other week making the winter longer.  So much for my theory that he would get sick less this year since he was no longer in regular daycare.  I think I could make the walk to his doctor's office in my sleep.  Colin's favorite words this winter became "Show" and "George" (after Curious George) which just illustrates how often I had to revert to TV to keep my sanity.

This is also the time of the year that David works crazy hours at work.  In order to escape the endless days as a temporary single mom, I booked plane tickets for Colin and I to travel to Wisconsin to visit my family at the end of February.  I would also get to meet my new nephew Griffin Thomas Hartel who was born on February 23rd.  When I booked these tickets back in August, I imagined a two year old Colin to be a calm, well-behaved traveler.  Apparently, I hadn't been around very many two year old boys in the past.  The days leading up to this flight were filled with increased anticipation.  How was I going to survive a nine hour flight with a little boy who can't sit still for more than two minutes?  Not to mention that the logistics of getting two large suitcases, two carry-ons, a car seat, and a toddler through the airport seemed impossible.  We survived (not without a few glares from fellow passengers) and made it back to Wisconsin.   I truly believe this would not be possible without the creation of the iPad.  I really should send Apple a thank-you letter.

We had a great time in Wisconsin.  Two weeks is the longest I have been back since college.  It was great to have time to just relax and spend time with my family without having to rush places like at Christmas.  My nephew Griffin was born the morning after our flight landed.  Perfect timing!  Colin and I got to go see him at the hospital later that day and got to spend lots of time with him during our time in Wisconsin.  Colin turned two right before we left so we celebrated his birthday again with my family.  We were sad to head back to London but very happy to see David.  We missed him!!  David's busy season is pretty much over now (the perk of him being in an audit group here rather than tax with an April 15th deadline) and spring has almost arrived so the end is in sight.  We even got to take a trip to Paris over my birthday weekend.  More on that to come.  Here are a few pictures from our winter and trip to Wisconsin.

Snow is so much better than rain!  This was the one time we had snow to play in this winter.

Happy 2nd Birthday Colin!  Celebrating in London.

Flight to the USA.  Thank goodness for the iPad and Colin's love of Curious George.

Meeting my nephew Griffin.

The new parents and baby Griffin.

Aunt Ang and Uncle Shannon have on demand Curious George on a big screen TV - doesn't get better than that!

Sisters and their boys

Colin loved sledding!

Celebrating Colin's 2nd birthday in Wisconsin with a "choo choo" cake

A Rainy Day in Brussels

Yesterday, we spent the day in Brussels, Belgium.  Brussels is just over two hours from London via the Eurostar train.  This was our first time on the Eurostar, and we were impressed.  The train station we departed from (St. Pancras) is right in the city and easily accessible by the Tube whereas most airports are quite far outside the city.  In addition, you only need to arrive between 30-60 minutes before your train departs saving quite a bit of time.  Plus, children travel free until age 4 (assuming you don't mind them sitting on your lap) which is a definite perk as the tickets can be quite expensive depending on when you book them.

We were less impressed with the city of Brussels.  I don't know if it was just because it didn't stop raining for one second of the time we were there or if it was actually the city.  Other than having great beer and chocolate, the city didn't really have much to offer.  When the number one tourist attraction is a sculpture of a small boy peeing (Manneken Pis), it can't be a good sign.  I have heard great things about Bruges, Belgium so we want to travel there at some point instead of giving up on Belgium entirely. 

Here are a few pictures of our day....

Colin & I in front of the Manneken Pis

Not impressed

Nativity scene at Grand Place

Mussels in Brussels

Quality parenting

Christmas Markets in Berlin

The first weekend in December, we traveled to Berlin.  I had wanted to experience some authentic German Christmas markets during our stay in Europe and decided to combine this experience with a visit to a city I had never visited before in Germany (I had previously traveled to Munich as well as the Rhine Valley area).  Berlin has long been at the cross roads of history.  Berlin staged a revolution, was headquartered by fascists, bombed to bits, ripped in half and finally reunited – and that was just in the 20th century (per my guide book!).  The city has underwent a clear re-birth since the days of the wall.  David and I both commented a number of times how this was a city we felt we both would be happy living in.  Public transportation was easy, there was no shortage of restaurants or shopping, and everything had a modern yet down-to-earth feel.

We visited a few places of historical significance including Reichstag (Germany's parliament), Brandenburg Gate (location of Reagan's speech demanding Gorbachev to tear down the wall), Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin Wall Museum (including the location of one of the few remaining sections of the wall), and Checkpoint Charlie.  There were many more museums and sites that I would have enjoyed seeing, but you have to pick your priorities when traveling with a toddler (Colin's choice was a trip to the Berlin Zoo which was the best zoo I have ever visited).  Come to think of it, you have to pick your priorities when traveling with a sport's obsessed husband as well (David's choice was a visit to the Olympic Stadium).

In between the sight-seeing, we visited five of Berlin's Christmas markets.  Berlin is ranked one of the top cities for Christmas markets with around 60 different markets in and around the city.  Each market has the traditional array of food and gift stalls.  We pretty much ignored the gift stalls and went straight for the food - bratwurst, crepes, currywurst (curried sausage - a Berlin specialty), pommes frites, Belgian waffles, and many glasses of Gluhwein (mulled wine) were consumed on this trip.  A lot of the markets had other attractions too like giant Ferris wheels, ice skating rinks, and children's rides.  One even had a giant man made snow hill that you could take a sled down.  I am definitely thinking a trip to another German city will be made next Christmas to experience some more markets.

Here are some photos from our trip...

Ready to head into our first Christmas market (and my favorite) at Gendarmenmarkt

LOVED the Christmas markets

Climbing up the dome at Reichstag

Brandenburg Gate

All bundled up to tackle some more Christmas markets

David's favorite stop of the trip - Olympic Stadium

Flight home and Colin's last flight as a lap child

Oslo: The Most Expensive City in the World

My sister Angela and I traveled to Oslo, Norway for the weekend during her visit to Europe.  Angela's high school friend Charolette has lived in Norway for the past seven years so was our personal tour guide during the trip.  November is the worst month to visit Norway due to the short days and gloomy cold weather, but we figured we never would get another chance to travel to Oslo so wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.

Oslo was recently ranked as the most expensive city in the world in a survey conducted by UBS.  Zurich and Tokyo were the second and third most expensive cities.  London came in at number 10.  Our first stop when we got there was for a small plate of nachos, two glasses of wine, and a Coke which produced a bit of shock when our bill was the equivalent of $65 USD.  Oil was discovered in Norway about 40 years ago turning Oslo into an affluent and prosperous city.  Taxes are extremely high especially on goods where the government wants to control consumption such as alcohol and on imports to promote the purchase of local products making the city very expensive.  The trade-off is great wages and very low unemployment for Oslo's residents. 

The city is very compact and easily walkable.  Everything in the city seemed so new and modern compared to London.  Despite the rainy and cold weather, we did a lot of walking to check out the various areas of the city.  My favorite stop was the Vigeland Sculpture Park.  Other than that, most of our time was spent eating the local cuisine.  We had some really fabulous food in Norway.

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Our first taste of brown cheese - kind of like a sweet Velveeta

Vigeland Sculpture Park - amazing

Ang with our fabulous hostess Charolette

The rain finally stopped and out came a rainbow!