When we were in Amsterdam, we found out that our second day was going to be a huge city parade and party.
It was the best excuse to do something on our list of “want to do’s”, but we weren’t sure where to fit it in.
While researching, we came across a fairy-tail-themed theme park. I knew the kids would love it, and I was pretty sure we as adults would love it too. According to what I had read, it was a local favorite, and had not become a real tourist attraction, because it was too far out of the way from big tourist cities. Sounded perfect.
Our drive there was awesome. We got to see more of the amazing countryside, and even stopped off the freeway to a random town. That random town turned out to have the best bakery we found in Europe. Not to mention, they were having a little local festival that night, and the whole place was decorated with whimsical flowers everywhere. The bakery just had a few locals in and out of it, and they didn’t speak much English, but they were sooo nice and kind. they were so happy we stopped by, and they thought the children were so cute. The baked goods were so delicious, that after we drove the town (possibly one square mile in total), we stopped at the bakery again on our way out for more treats. It was heavenly!
As we drove to Efteling, the dark clouds started congregating, and creating what looked like a rain storm. The moment we parked, it started to downpour like a monsoon had hit. We were cracking up, and even my mom braved running in to the covered gift shop to wait it out.
Good thing that gift shop sold rain covers, because we bought them, and moved on.
For the first bit, it rained off and on.
But our covers were hearty, and completely protected us.
The whole first area featured different fairy tales. There was a slight synopsis, and then if you touched a button, stood on a certain spot, or opened a gate, the fairy tale would come to life. We were cracking up, because there was a slight darkness to these fairy tales. But Pippi was entranced. Especially for Rapunzel, who after hitting the mark, let down her hair. After seeing this, Pippi looked for Rapunzel in every tower in Europe!
Just to get an idea of how whimsical and cool this place was, check out their trashcans! You put the trash in this boy’s mouth, and he had some funny Dutch response.
Check out the “strollers” for the babies. Pippi kept swiping them to go for rides!
It also featured pink, green, and blue pigeons! We stayed at these pigeons for an hour. Navy was obsessed with feeding them. And every time a new color showed up, we would get more and more excited. Micah and I tried to figure out how they were those colors, and it definitely wasn’t any sort of topical color. It must be something they eat. Or…Efteling really is magical!
The rides were a blast. They were kind of crazy, because they just don’t have the scare of lawsuits. So Pippi was literally hanging off of the carousel that was probably three times faster than our carousels in the U.S. They had awesome roller coasters, and Micah, Scout and Navy ran to a few just minutes before closing to get in their last rides.
Like usual, Pippi made friends with stangers. She had several handfulls of their popcorn, and they were thrilled to share with her. It’s amazing how she gets people to like her…even across the language barrier.
And finally…the food was awesome. My kid’s favorite were the mini pancakes that were fresh off of the griddle. My mom’s favorite was the Chinese food that Micah found in Amsterdam that my mom enjoyed in a chopctisk-fed fashion! By the way — Micah has a talent of finding good food wherever we go. And the fact that he feeds me, the kids, and my mom off of his same utensils is a testament to how rad he is!
I honestly think that Efteling will be a forever memory for all of us.
It was a last minute change, and it was the funnest day.
| DESIGN BY