At your own risk...

Something we have noticed here is people get up to some crazy stuff, even biking down the road can "fall" into that category. (pun intended).  It seems to be a sort of "at your own risk" society. One of my theories is that litigation must not be a course of action if your decision to climb on the IAMSTERDAM sign goes sideways and eventually downward on your head...

Some of the parks are a little dangerous too and they are meant for children.   With 12 year olds we are not complaining and have really enjoyed exploring some of these "riskier" parts of town.  (Note this does not include the red light district or coffee shops, those are are entirely out of our league).

This is one of our favourites, which we call ROPE PARK since we have no idea how to pronounce what the sign actually says "Speeltuin U. J. Klaren"

Even local festivals have a "come at your own peril vibe"...like you never know when a T-Rex is going to come up and eat your baby! I felt like I was in Jurassic Park briefly.  The child cried and the parents laughed...either he is going to grow up to have a weird thing for Paleontologists or a phobia of giant reptiles.  

Dutch Food: Pickled Herring (AKA Demented Sushi)

Reviews:

Easton, "This tastes how you would expect it to taste from it's name. I would advise, EAT WITH EXTREME CAUTION and don't purchase a lot."

Connor, "Cold, Slimy and Raw meat.  It's like a worm and a fish had a baby. Pickles not included." Although Connor did eat several bites, not just one.  He also is the author of what we now call it, Demented Sushi.

Kristin,"It's not bad, but it's not good either.  It's better when eaten with lots of pickles and raw onions. Yes, raw onions, that's how much you want to drown out the taste."

Luke, "At least it didn't tasty 'hairy' (herring - haha, groan) "

Microbia: It's the little things...

Upon entering this museum, we entered an elevator and told to look at our reflections on the ceiling, that got closer and closer and closer.  We stepped out into the room and we are welcomed by the words...

"When you look from really close, a new world is revealed to you.  More beautiful and spectacular than you could ever have imagined.  Welcome to Micropia."

The room is filled with Microscopes and information on all sorts of mini-life around/on/near us.

Here you can do a body scan and find out what lives on and in you. It is interactive and a little too detailed for me to handle - Gross

You can also see what type of kisser you are and get an estimated # of bacteria, so lovely!

Connor and Easton pose with their favourite microbe - the Water Bear.  This thing is really quite cool actually and can live for about 100 years, even being dehydrated, frozen, radiated, overheated, etc.!!

I didn't realise Malaria (on the left) and Ebola (on the right) were so beautiful! Although there is nothing beautiful about the effects on a person.

Here is the lab they grow all the microbes in. 

There are many more things at this museum, I confess I stopped here as I was feeling a bit too, up close and personal.  I did learn a lot of interesting things but to me, there are things I would rather not know about, haha.

Diamond Museum

The Diamond Museum was surprisingly interesting.  We weren't sure what to expect, certainly not clips of famous movie "Diamond Heists", replicas of most of the well-known world diamonds and definitely did not expect a giant gorilla skull covered in diamonds.  While most diamonds were not real, it was still fun to see and a quick visit, free with our "MuseumKaarts"

The museum starts with the science behind diamonds, how they form from coal and where major deposits are located.  This was a next step in our summer geology lesson, after going to Frank Slide with Aunt Geologist Nicole, learning all about coal, then going coal hunting.

I did not realise Amsterdam is the Diamond Cutting capital of the world, while the diamond selling capital is Antwerp, Belgium (80% of the world's diamonds go through here!).  We learned it is a very specialised skill to cut diamonds and there are only a few places it is done in the world.  The Dutch have records of doing it for over 400 years and some very special diamonds included - Crown jewels!

Practising our diamond cutting skills...

There was also a cool section on real v. fake and how experts tell the difference.

Yes we are fancy, trying on Diamonds...haha...

Nicole, can you take us on a field trip to find some diamonds soon?  In the meantime we'll be catching up on some movies...Pink Panther, To Catch a Thief, Ocean's Eleven, Flawless, any others?

Stadelijk Museum - Modern Art

This was a fun museum and we only got through about 1/2 today.

Great paintings - recognize any of the masters? Chagall, Kandinsky, Picasso, Van Gogh, and more!  Such an interesting collection of classics, new work and even political posters.

Fun activities:
At the museum they are using images on stickers of current buildings and materials to allow families to create the "City of the Future" and we added our own touches. They are capturing the changes with time-lapse photography and it will be interesting to see how it evolves.

Connor created a defender of the city against Cyborg dragon enemies.

Easton and Luke created a mammoth 800-story tower.  Unfortunately a ship may have already crashed into the top of the tower.  I added some bridges and highways between other buildings.

Rotterdam

We spend a few hours in Rotterdam on our way to and from Kinderdijk.  This Netherland city is known for ultra-modern architecture blended with the old.

Pictured: 

The Bridge: Erasmusbrug, 800m span over the Maas River, links North and South Rotterdam. The suspension bridge has a 139-metre high steel pylon, which is secured with 40 cables.  Named after St. Erasmus (St. Elmo) Patron Saint of Sailors. Designed by Ben van Berkel (1996)

The Building: De Rotterdam. The three connected towers are 149.1m (489.2 ft) high, with a hotel, offices, apartments and shopes. Called a "vertical city", it has received world architectural acclaim. Designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1998.

Much of the city was destroyed during WW2 making it necessary to rebuild. Architects since have choosen new, sustainable and modern materials, as well as tried to retain much of the older structures where viable.  It is quite a beautiful mix . 

Pictured above:
Apartment Building:  The Red Apple 40-storey, 124 m (407 ft).  Designed by KCAP Architects & Planners andJan des Bouvrie.

The Cube Houses (Kijk-Kubus) designed by architect Piet Blom. Located on Overblaak Street, right above the Blaak Subway Station. There are 40 cubes in this group all attached together.  The walls and windows are angled at 54.7 degrees. Meant to provide living space in areas with very little ground space.

De Markthal:  Apartments are arched over the food market of food stands, shops and underground parking. The ceiling a huge art work called the 'Horn of Plenty' by Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam.

A statue on Willemsplein in front of Inntel Hotels Rotterdam Centre.

One of four lions guarding Regentessebrug. A fixed bridge built in 1898, designed by DB Logemann

Connor and Easton explore the square between De Markthal and Laurenskerk (Church of St. Lawrence). The Church was built between 1449 and 1525, and it is Rotterdam's only surviving late Gothic building. After the bombing of Rotterdam in the Second World War, the image of the heavily damaged church and the reconstruction works that followed became a symbol of all that the city and its people had endured.

The war memorial ‘The Bow’ (45m high). Commemorates the 3500 sailors who lost their lives on board of Dutch merchant ships in World War II.

One of many clovers that make the walls of the bridge at Regentessebrug

Kinderdijk - UNESCO World Heritage Site

We took a "water bus" from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk.  Most people took their bikes on the boat. There were several bus stops along the river.  The river is a branch of the Rhine River called Nieuwe Mass.  There are a lot of small towns and beautiful vacation homes along the banks.

It was a hot and sunny day, so it was perfect to be on the water. You can also drive here.

On the website it explains: "UNESCO considers the area...to be proof of human inventiveness in reclaiming and protecting the land. The gorgeous windmills of Kinderdijk are part of a unique phenomenon. The windmills and pumping stations drain the excess water from the Alblasserwaard into the river Lek via the Elshout sluices. Subsequently, the river discharges the water into the sea."

There are 19 windmills from the 18th Century and most are fully operational. It is a really beautiful location and full of history.