As promised by the forecast, it was raining on our second day in Amsterdam. It was quite fabulous to sit in our waterside apartment and watch the reeds sway in the wind and rain. It was a whole other thing to consider going out in it.
Thankfully we got a bit of a break in the rain when we headed to our tram stop, but it started coming down again while we were walking from Centraal Station to the NEMO Science Museum. It is quite awkward to run with strollers, bags, and cups of Starbucks coffee (and it wasn't even a good coffee!). We got there in the end, only slightly wet. The museum is in the shape of a boat and is reached by crossing bridge while being buffeted by gale-force winds.
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| NEMO Science Museum |
The place was great for kids, really interactive, and included a 15 minute 'show' where the concepts of potential and kinetic energy were demonstrated for them with large falling domino blocks, a ball on a roller-coaster style track, and things involving gravity and wind force. (I'd tell you more but I really wasn't paying much attention.)
It was very busy and very noisy, to the point of being overwhelming at times for us quiet types. But the kids really enjoyed it (especially 10-year-old Master J) so it was worth it to keep him entertained for a couple of hours. We even got to put on lab coats and do experiments with vinegar and baking powder mixed under pressure, another highlight for Master J.
There is a rooftop restaurant with great views out over Amsterdam city, but again, super windy!
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| View from the rooftop of NEMO Science Museum |
After lunch the weather looked to have cleared slightly, so we went on a 1-hour canal cruise. But Miss L (1-year-old) was very tired and grizzly and it felt more like 4 hours! It was lovely to see the city from a different viewpoint, which is what a lot of the publicity about the city says... "The real city is best viewed from the canals".
After that it was time to get the kids home and fed. While they showered and went to bed I headed back into the city on my own to go to the Body Worlds Museum. This exhibition definitely wouldn't appeal to everyone, but it was incredibly interesting for me. It is an exhibition of the human body, made up predominantly of plastinated (preserved) cadavers that have been specifically donated to the museum, or science in general, by people who wished that their bodies could be used for "the training of physicians and the instruction of laypersons" after they have passed away. It was incredibly interesting, but not something that we could have taken the kids to. Don't scroll down if you don't want to see the pictures... they could be seen as graphic if you don't have an interest in that sort of thing personally or professionally.
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| The muscles |
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| The nerves |
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| The urinary system |
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| Internal organs |
After that I headed home and we all packed up and headed for Paris the next day. We didn't get a chance to sample any of the goods that Amsterdam is renowned for. It wasn't really that sort of trip this time. I'll come back without kids and see what happens!
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