The Netherlands (With a Baby)!



We just got back from a trip to the Netherlands--our first overnight travel with Katie. Her face above about sums up her opinion of the experience: somewhat annoyed, somewhat interested, and quite a bit shocked that the Netherlands is decidedly lacking in diaper changing facilities.

Overall, it was a really great trip. I'm glad we went. Eric had a work presentation in Groningen and we were on the fence about whether all of us should join. I felt very ambivalent about the idea of travelling with a newborn, especially our kind of intense newborn. But I also felt like we can't pass up opportunities for the big kids or their childhoods will be over and we will have missed it. So we decided to go.

Katie did a great job travelling. She was really a trooper. But I will say it was sort of intense for me because I was constantly worried she'd wake up and/or meltdown in a quiet museum or other enclosed space meant for adults. It didn't really help that we saw very few other kids there. Really not very many. I guess I shouldn't find this surprising given the birth rate, but still...And while people were generally friendly to the kids, the infrastructure was definitely not. We took trains between Groningen and Amsterdam and there were NO changing facilities on the trains. None. I mean, do these engineers not realize they, too, were once babies!? Most other places didn't have them either, so I mastered the change-on-my-lap technique.

Some of the attractions, on the other hand, definitely appealed to the kids. We had a great time at the Dutch Resistance Museum and the Rijksmuseum and on the canal cruise. Both big kids loved the trip. Justin even said it was his favorite country so far. Both cities we visited did seem very clean, well-kept, and lovely. Which again shouldn't surprise me given the prices...

Anyway, it was a fun trip but I'm glad to be home. I will post about our various adventures there over the next little bit.

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