This week saw us exploring Holland and towards the end of the week off through Germany and into Denmark. (We will be exploring more of Germany on the way back down)
Unfortunately the weather was not perfect but at lest there was not a lot of rain, so small blessings!
Don’t forget all the places we stayed with GPS co-ordinates can be found here.
June 19
We arrived in Amsterdam and headed straight to Camping Vliegenbos. This is an excellent location and Brett was already familiar with them having stayed 25 years ago!!
Got settled and I got some work done and we all explored the park. There is some video footage of the park in our weekly youtube wrap. Seriously great location.
We walked down to the local Dirk Store for food supplies. GREAT prices so we took the 
opportunity to fill up on some staple food items knowing we are heading to Norway where the prices are a little scary.
Weather was windy and cold so Miss B read some of her book (on tablet) Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe which we then took turns with each chapter to finish it. (I can’t not know what happened LOL)
June 20
Early to rise and off we went on foot to the Ferry, about 1.5km. The ferry is FREE, yes I said FREE. Not much is free these days especially where transport is concerned but the Ferry is. Straight across the water to Amsterdam Centraal.
What an absolutely beautiful city! Would not hesitate to come back again. Making our way to the Van Gogh museum (high on our list, Miss B an avid art lover) we discovered that no tickets are available at the entrance. You have to have bought them online for a timeslot entry in advance. I jumped on the internet and bought tickets for 12:45pm, only one and a half hours wait.
Handpan Heaven
While waiting we found a musician playing a handpan or hang as it is
commonly known as. We
had not seen one before and fell in love with it. Researched it wanting to buy one and decided it might have to wait – eeek! We also met a lovely American lady called Marty who was lovely and very excited to hear about the Amsterdam duckshop we found on our way to the museum! (We hope you found the shop and got your ducks Marty 😊)
On entering the Van Gogh Museum you have to leave your backpacks at the cloakroom. We picked up a kids questionnaire for Miss B to complete during our visit. This was fantastic and we all learnt a lot more being so interactive. Someone announced over the loud speaker welcoming anyone who wanted to come to an art lesson on the ground floor to make there way there. It has been a loonnnggg time since I have painted and to have Miss B participate in an educational opportunity we jumped at it!
Painting Van Gogh at Van Gogh Museum!
It was FANTAS
TIC, both Miss B and I had a ball. It was an art room like the ones we all had in school and everyone had their own Easel. The teacher was there to explain the project and give guidance, all paints, apron, brushes and paper supplied. Unbelievable experience and one I will not forget. We were supposed to be doing a self portrait, but I did not want a painting of me so Van Gogh it was!
I have also established I will not be a famous artist anytime soon! (ever
the optimist) LOL Continuing on with our exploring of Amsterdam city….amazing buildings including Rembrandts House (1639-1658), canals, street performers, cheese shops and coffee shops 😉.
Bikes, Bikes and more bikes! Even out of the city it is lovely to see how Holland has catered for Bikes.
After almost 25km of walking we returned home with our sore feet, cooked and fell into bed, knowing we were going back tomorrow and feeling totally happy about that fact.
June 21
Weather was a bit average today and we took that to mean a sign that we should sleep in, and we did. Got schoolwork done and set off to the ferry. It was definitely a little chillier but still an enjoyable walk.
Lovely cobblestone streets, quirky shops full of colour and lots of
activity on the streets! We really enjoyed exploring and feeling the vibe of Amsterdam.
Taking lunch with us of Chicken & Salad baguette (Normally Ham & Salad but decided to mix it up a bit!) They pack well, stay fresh and save you a 
fortune!
We stumbled on the most loveliest second hand bookshop. Brett and I are working on a project that has us delving into markets and secondhand bookshops sourcing the miniature books from countries we visit. We ended up with three and quite funnily in red white and blue for the Dutch flag!
Winner Winner and the chicken dinner (or lunch anyway).
Customary pictures along the canal and headed back to Betsy.
June 22
Heading north we visited a lovely town of Muiden. Stopping to look
at the Muiderslot Castle, a fortress built in 1280 and one of the first in Holland to be equipped with round towers.
Continuing on to Kampen where we stopped to eat lunch. Every town as beautiful as the last. We moved on earlier than anticipated as we ended up parking in the middle of what became a wedding party and thought Betsy might be camera shy.
Further north we stopped in at Fort Bourtange, the star Fort, built
in 1593 under the orders of William the Silent.
It is in the shape of a star…hence the name star fort.
It’s original purpose was to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen, which was controlled by the spaniards during the time of the Eighty Year Wars.
We walked around the Fort and I got my first picture of a windmill, something H
olland is famous for but not as easy to find! It would of course been fabulous if the sun had been shining but beggers cant be choosers!
We shot the drone up for an aerial photo where Fort Bourtange is at its best, but it was very windy and we could only get one photo.
Just after this we crossed over the German border (in fact we were in out Germany/Holland/Germany/Holland a few times today). Settling at a wildcamp or parking area which is not hard in Germany. They have large areas, with toilets, bins and safely off the road.
June 23
Big driving day, found at an Esso fuel station a DHL locker bank which makes me believe that you can get items and have them sent to Europe too. See our blog post on Need parts or goods
Stocked up on supplies for Norway. Got some oil for Betsy from Toom.
June 24
We visited Danevirke which is a fortification constructed by the 
Danes in the Early to middle ages constructed between the 7th to 12th centuries. It is one of the oldest and largest brickwork structures in Northern Europe.
There is footage of the wall and walk in our weekly youtube wrap.
We spent the rest of the day resting and reading as it was a Sunday and ALL the supermarkets were closed. We wanted to buy up before leaving Germany so we were patient.
June 25
Off shopping we went. Aldi first for beer and groceries then across to REWE which is a bit larger and more variety for balance of groceries (and beer lol)
We struck it lucky here and managed to pick up some Kelloggs
Frosties – not the important part. The box had a coupon on it that gives us 50% off for up to 5 people minimum of one child to LEGOLAND. So excited been wanting to go for ages. Going to do an individual page on Legoland however I get in there. Stay tuned…
Crossed the border to Denmark and first fuel station we visited had a dump point (free) drinking water (free), bins and did have showers available for 3.60 euro per person. We were already going to a caravan park as we needed to do some work, power up everything so onward we went.
Arriving at Den Gamle Stald near Ribe, we were met with lovely 
hosts and beautiful grounds. They are also a B&B. Nothing better than being all cleaned and sitting back with a drink. Miss B met with another travelling family from Germany which led to conversation of travels and heading the same way as us, also with a single child. We may have to start a group on single children, they always seem to hunt out other kids so well!!
Until next week…safe travels
What did we take
What we took, electronics, kitchen and all things we needed for the duration of our roadtrip click here. (we are slowly adding each week as we have data/time)
Having done a three and half month roadtrip last year in South Europe and 5 months in UK & Northern Europe in 2018 we were pretty confident in what we would need’this time. Also, what worked and what we would not bother taking again.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube
Comment here