MADURODAM - the Netherlands in Miniature

Should we go or not? Of course we go! We have had great weather so far and
lets assume it will clear up by the time we get to den Haag.

Madurodam
Still overcast but no rain! Here is just the place to go if you want to see all of Holland in a few short hours. Provided you don't mind seeing it at 1/20th scale! Located in den Haag, Madurodam is an adventure in both modern and historical architecture and events. Great fun for young and old.

In the background is the Peace Palace in den Haag.
It is the seat of  the International Court of Justice.
In the foreground is peace itself in the form of Lois.
Some might claim that Lois is more mischief than peace.

Utrecht Dom, 110 meters high.

The cheese market at Alkmaar. Gouda cheese of course!

A functioning miniature roller coaster.

Lois really wanted to see the princess in the castle.

One of the modern buildings, Hoofdkantoor Nationale-Nederlanden, had glass windows and it was a perfect way to get these self-portraits! 

The settings were very realistic, the miniature trees were all real.

 

Remember King's Day that we celebrated a few days ago? The color orange represents the royal House of Orange-Nassau. In Madurodam the toilet paper is all this bright orange! You might say this is a bit over the top when it comes to showing your colors. Or under the bottom?

Now play time for the kids:

The playground at Madurodam was anything but miniature. A huge boat where you have to climb down onto the deck. Sea pirate, Sanne-Joy, storms the ship and takes off to her secret island.

First mate, Lois, creates a pair of "sand glasses" to keep the sand out of your eyes.

 Admiral of the fleet, Rebecca, captures the pirates and brings them to shore with her magic wooden shoes.

In the evening we were invited to share a meal with Wilmar's parents, Wim and Dianne, who live in Rotterdam.  They visited us in the US while Wilmar and family stayed at our home, so this was a delightful time to catch up and reflect.

Another full day brought us home tired but content. 

If you are keeping track you will know that we are a day behind in our daily blog but hope to catch up today.