#kinderdijk
Day 8:
The last day of my European Family Vacation ended on quite a lovely positive note, as we trekked to Gouda, Den Haag, and a few other short stops.
First, we made our way from Amsterdam to Gouda, one of the best cities of the trip. Known for delicacies like their Gouda cheese and stroopwafels, this city was vibrant, historic, and incredibly charming. We made our way around the marketplace in the center of town, where we sampled some awesome cheeses and foods like kibbeling, little chunks of fried cod with a delicious tartar sauce. We also stumbled upon a few bakeries and bought ourselves some fresh cookies and breads to munch on for lunch. The stroopwafels are probably my highlight. If you’ve never had a stroopwafel before, here’s what it is. It’s two thin crunchy waffle cookies with a caramel-like sauce sandwiched in between them to make a delectable treat. They make them fresh in Gouda, which is also where they were first created. How cool, right? These treats can be found in the United States at specialty stores and on United Airline flights in the morning!
Anyway, we stocked up on our treats and made our way around the countrysides of the Netherlands, where we were treated to spectacular views of the tulip fields. We roamed around and stopped whenever we got a chance to take a look around, before we then made our way to Den Haag. Den Haag is kind of like the administrative capital of the Netherlands, even though Amsterdam is technically the capital. You’ll find the Supreme Court, lots of Dutch embassies, and United Nations offices here as well. A city of over 1 million people, the Netherlands’ third largest city had a lot to offer. Sadly, we were only able to spend about a couple of hours here, but it was a really cool place. We snagged some quick bite to eat at a fast-casual Asian restaurant (which somehow ended up being one of the better quick meals we had).
And then we made our way to the Kinderdijk windmills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest concentration of historic windmills in the country. We wanted to head here by sunset to capture some photos and enjoy the views, and it certainly did not disappoint. The golden hour with the setting sun made for a beautiful evening, strolling around the windmill grounds and soaking it all in. It made for a nice final night in Europe, before we headed to the AirBnB for the night.
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