Maastrict - a little gem in the South

We spent two days in the southern city of Maastricht in hopes of edging away from the rain front and getting a peek at a part of the country we usually don't see.

The drive was a quick 2 hours into countryside that no longer looked typically like the Netherlands. There were more farms, fields and forests; virtually no windmills, sheep grazing or road level dykes full of water.

Maastricht was very approachable and friendly. We stayed at the very comfy Best Western by the railway station and only a few minutes walk from all the main attractions. Peanut didn't find it so comfy and thought our room to be too confining - she would start to cry as we approached the door :-( The swimming pool downstairs did cheer her up, but we'll think twice before trying for a city weekend in a hotel with a busy little girl again!

Peanut was much more interested in walking the cobblestoned streets than bouncing along in her stroller . Her little Ballerina Duck kept her company - she always has a little soft friend with her wherever we go. Luckily, she isn't overly attached to any one (except Pooh to sleep with) that as long as its fuzzy and cute, Peanut is happy to take Ballerina Duck, Lion, Crinkly Dog, Raggedy Anne, Pooh, little Penguin the fingerpuppet or Frog with her.

We did manage to get in a cup of nice hot chocolate at one of the cafes lining the main church square, the Vrijthof. It was closed off as that weekend kicked off their largest gastronomic affair featuring hundreds of booths of food, wine and other delights.

It was a refreshing detour on our vacation and I hope we can spend more time in this part of the country again someday.

Tummy troubles and ear infections

It seems no vacation of ours is ever complete without someone getting sick!

This time around it was Peanut's papa. Though this is the second time he has come down with similar symptoms on vacation. Poor guy - it just seems his body goes on break when we go on holiday! During our first week in the Netherlands he came down with a low grade fever and some tummy rumbles which quickly progressed to stomach cramps and diarrhea. They had him down on the sofa and moaning in bed for three days. When the imodium didn't work, we went to a local pharmacy for good old fashioned carbon tablets which seemed to finally do the trick.

Peanut and I fortunately stayed healthy that week.

Two days before we were set to head back home, Peanut wakes up with a fever of 39.2C. She had called out for mama a few times during the night, but always quickly fell asleep so I didn't realize anything was wrong until she cried early in the morning.

We decided to take her to the doctor since her fever kept rising after Tylenol doses. In the Netherlands, most doctors are "family doctors" who have office hours until noon and then spend the afternoon making house calls to very ill patients. Oma & Opa weren't sure that a short fever in toddler would be considered 'very ill' yet. Luckily they lived in a small village and were able to call their family doctor and convince her to take us in that afternoon.

It was a quiet little office where we spent just a short time waiting. The doctor saw us in her office. She was very laid back. After we told her about how Peanut was feeling, she checked her ears and confirmed that one of them was inflamed. She said usually they do not medicate for ear infections believing that they pass in 2 - 3 days, but since we were traveling back home so soon she agreed to write us a prescription.

Peanut got the classic Amox. Penicillin treatment and nose drops for the plane. The Dutch Penicillin is not pink - it was a yellowish fruity flavor Peanut didn't like at first. We had to dose her 3x/day with 4 ml.

Since we didn't have much choice as to the doctor, we didn't check that it was covered by our insurance and were a bit worried about what it all might cost. No need to have been. Even with no insurance, the total bill for drs visit and medications was only EUR 39.92 (barely $50.00).

By the time we set off for home, Peanut was already feeling better and Papa was enjoying regular meals, too!

Heather, sand dunes and van Gogh

The Hoge Veluwe national park is a rare piece of largely undistrubed nature in the Nethlerlands which otherwise makes use of virtually every millimeter of land available. It was land purchased by the Kroller-Mueller family and later opened to the public.

While most visitors opt to cycle through the winding bike paths and roads, we toured by car. This sometimes got us some odd glances. We also had to share the roadways with the groups of bicyclists who have as much right it as we did.

It was a lovely and peaceful park. Fields of purple heather were edged by dense forests. The Hoge Veluwe is also home to the peculiar inland sand dunes of the region.

In the middle of the park is the Kroller-Mueller art museum. Again, a private collection by the K-M family which included virtually every major artist you could name - van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Serat and on and on. It was an amazing tour. Peanut quietly sat in her stroller while mama and papa took in some art. We unfortunately did not get to spend as much time as we wanted touring the outdoor sculpture gardens which contained as many treasures as the indoors.

Windmills, green houses and clogs made of foam

On a rare day when the sunshine filtered through the trees, we visited the Open Air Museum (Openluchsmuseum) in Arnhem.

Gathered into the museum from around the country were cottages, farm houses, city homes, windmills, trams and a collection of other buildings. The brochure warned us to reserve at least three hours to make the whole tour.

What made the Museum such a treat was that many of the buildings were still "occupied".

The first home we entered was a combination of the stables and living quarter - just a small space at the end of the barn. Tending a boiling cauldron over a fire was the lady of the house. She was preparing a stew which we could sample.

Next door, a gentleman was making old fashioned waffle cookies with an iron over his kitchen fire. The kitchen table was set for tea and the catch of the day (rabbits) was hanging in the corner.

Outside we could hear a consistent click, click, BAM! click, click, BAM! A mill was turning the hefty wooden mechanism that pounded grapeseeds to produce a steady trickle of oil.

Naturally there were windmills - a whole collection of them. Each showing was the power of the wind could do. One windmill functioned as a sawmill trimming planks of wood down to size. Another had been used to pump water with a huge screw pump.

A collection of green houses from the Zaan area were filled with upper middle class decor, a candy shop and a bakery.

It was such fun and gave all of your senses a way to imagine the past!

On the way out, Peanut's dad picked up a size 12 pair of the classically styled Dutch clogs in bright yellow. They are actually a pair of slippers :-)

The bungalow life

We wisely chose (I can say this with great confidence now in retrospect) to stay at a Landal bungalow park the first week of our vacation in the Netherlands. It wasn't fancy, it isn't going to make any Top 100 destinations lists, and it was not glamorous vacation in quaint Olde Europe. It was just perfect for a busy toddler and her two laid-back parents.

The fact we had our own kitchen, living room, separate bedrooms and a spacious yard was wonderful. Peanut got her meals on her own schedule and in her own space. She llloooved playing outside, watching the birds, carrying pinecones and rocks around and wandering off the path into the woods. We would stroll through the woods to the park shop or playground enjoying the crisp, cool air. Best of all, Peanut loved the puddles from the rain - her first rain puddles.

Our neighbors were close by and all the bungalows could been seen from the roads. The Dutch like to keep their curtains open so everyone can see that nothing unacceptable is happening inside. This practice carries over to holiday time as well. Our living room and kitchen were virtually all glass walls so our fellow-vacationeers riding by on bikes or walking around could glimpse what was (not) happening.

All the conveniences of home, but still we were on holiday.

Nearby was the "largest waterfall in the Netherlands". The Netherlands is an extraordinarily flat country. In many places as you drive beside a canal or lake, you often are at or even slightly below waterlevel. So, a waterfall is something. This one was man-made to help drain the water from the canals of nearby Appeldorn. We had a good laugh though, it looked like a bit like a water cascade at a shopping mall.

Inter-Continental

We've just returned from an action-packed two week holiday to the Netherlands where we had some family vacation time and caught up with Peanut's Dutch side of the family. I certainly should have given myself more credit in the weather forecasting department as it rained for the entire time! What a welcome relief from Texas - we missed out on the 17-day stretch of 100F days.

We chose to fly Continental airlines as they have a direct flight from Houston to Amsterdam which Peanut's papa & I had flown once before. It seems I don't hear as much about Continental as the other major carriers; they are a best-kept secret.

Service has been very good and delivered by happy flight attendents which can be in short supply nowadays. They keep the cabins VERY chilly during the flights, but I think it keeps the air feeling fresh and crisp. Somehow they even manage to keep the cabin and lavatories clean during the whole flight. All seats have private monitors with access to lots of inflight programming. And, they stress, free headseats and meals!

We'd requested bulkhead seats, but they are not confirmed until you check-in. In both directions we got our wish. Peanut was traveling with her carseat so she looked as comfy and cushy as anyone in First Class. Her carseat fit neatly into our Maclaren stroller so it was no problem getting it and her in it around the airports.

I also requested a child's meal for Peanut. What a bonanza! She was served chicken nuggets, green beans and potato croquettes -- with plenty of packets of ketchup! There were also several extra packages of crackers and cheese, a Twix bar, a granola bar, a yoghurt drink and a small salad. Continental provided the milk and I brought straws as otherwise Peanut would be sucking milk through tiny cocktail straws.

There is a mondo-sized lavatory onboard where you can barely reach the toilet paper from a sitting position. If we had wanted to, we could have fit our entire family in there. And, this was back in economy even....imagine what they have up in Business Class.....

The only thing Continental didn't have was goodies for the little ones. On earlier flights Peanut had gotten bibs, bear hand puppets (from Finnair), and rattles (from Lufthansa).

The heightened security alerts and ban on liquids was more of a hassle than anything for us. I would have liked to bring some drinks for Peanut, but those were quickly given by the flight attendents.

And now, the weather report...

with cheif meterologist Peanut's Mama bringing over 300 days of experience....

Good evening everyone! I hope you've got your sunscreen ready. I do and here is your 10-day, aw, heck, let's just call it your August forecast for the Dallas region.

Sunny all day. No clouds, anywhere. HOT, HOT, HOT. 100F. And, HOT.

Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.....

Just so you don't think I'm just one-trick pony. I could do the same for Helsinki, Finland for the month of January.

Evening. As the weather map behind me shows, it will be bitterly cold tomorrow with a thick blanket of clouds continuing to blot out any natural light until say, April. The temperatures will continue to shock you and be around minus 15C. Cold, cold, cold.

Or even, the Netherlands for most parts of the year - like when we have vacation scheduled there.

Goeden avond! . Hang on to that umbrella. Rain continues to drizzle the country all through the next two weeks. Rain, rain, rain, rain....

One place though where I'd be no good is Denver, CO, where Peanut's Auntie M and Uncle PR just moved to. That place has some crazy stuff going on -- anything can happen there!

Just pick the right place and this weather gig is easy!

First Baby Flight!

Summer is travel time so soon after our first road trip, Peanut took her first flight.

We flew Finnair from Helsinki to Amsterdam. As with the car travel, it was all much smoother than I expected :-)

When we arrived at the airport, the check-in lines were as usual extremely long and slow moving. We didn't have a stroller or carseat with us so dad was carrying Peanut. We spotted an empty Business Class check-in counter and the ticket agent agreed to check us in there.

She put us in a row of three seats and blocked the middle seat so in essence Peanut was given her own seat even though we had reserved her as a 'sylilapsi' or travelling in parent's lap. We had the same arrangement on the flight back. This works as long as the flight isn't fully booked and someone doesn't need a seat last minute.

I had seen on the Helsinki Vantaa website that strollers were available at the airport, but they turned out to be made of metal with no cushions and permanently in a full sitting position so intended for older children. So, we continued to hold Peanut in our laps until boarding.

Finnair does not have a policy of letting hchildren/babies board first. When we asked if we could, the gate agend told us that we should just get ourselves to the front of the line... not the easiest thing when having to hold baby especially since everyone likes to line up 20 mins before boarding begins!

Once on board, a flight attendent brough over a baby seat belt which is like a mini-seat belt with a loop to connect to the parent's seat belt. I was told the baby should face forward for take-off and landing, but I was able to breastfeed her during both. We were also given a bear hand puppet and a Finnair bib.

For breastfeeding I grabbed a blanket to cover myself from the 1st class overhead bin as we boarded and requested a pillow. I was also wearing a special breastfeeding top from Expressiva.

The changing table in the lavatory was spacious enough for a 4 mos old.

I didn't call to make any requests in advance.

AtSchiphol airport in Amsterdam we found a baby care room near the restrooms. It was clean, spacious and had a comfortable chair for feeding.

We packed a babycare bag that included:
> diapers
> baby wipes
> a small cushioned changing pad
> bibs (for drool and spit up)
> a few favorite toys and a book
> saline nose drops for baby
> pacifiers even though Peanut prefers her thumb
> an extra change of baby clothes
> a back-up shirt for mom

Baby Passports
Even for travel within the EU, baby needs to either be in her parents passport or to have her own.

We opted to get Peanut her own since for travel to the US, a baby must have her own passport.

The photos were taken at a local photo shop just like adult passport photos. I had to hold Peanut up and try to keep her still while the photographer attempted to attract her attention!

In Finland, the options for passports are for one or ten years (the ten year being slightly cheaper). We took ten years with the thought that we'll get her a new one in about 5 yrs or so. It seems silly to travel with a 2 mos old baby picture when peanut is 9 yrs old!

Car Rental
We rented a car from Sixt at the airport because they were one car rental company that didn't require you notify them 24 hrs in advance if you need a baby/child car seat. On our reservation form we had indicated that we would need a baby seat.

We were extremely disappointed in their service and do not recommend them at all. The baby seat was nowhere to be found. They had to dig one out of storage - it took nearly an hour and it was disgustingly dirty and horribly outdated!! But, at the point we had no choice. After extensive complaining, they offered to not charge us the daily 7EUR fee for the seat.

I'll definately bring our own car seat in the future. Car seats can be brought on board the plane or go in cargo and not count towards the luggage allowance.

Travel Strollers
We bought a Maclaren travel stroller from Prenatal in the Netherlands. The brand was highly recommended by friends who travel alot. The price carries a premium, but we hope to see many years of quality use from it.

It was very nice to have the stroller on the return trip in the airport. It folded and unfolded easily and quickly for putting through the metal detector. Very lightweight and easy to manuveur. It was taken from us at the gate in Amsterdam where they promised we would get it back at the gate in Helsinki. Not so. We didn't see it again until baggage claim.