Dad's Visit: April 1-20, 2009

Finally, my dad made it over the pond for a visit. He arrived early on Saturday morning, and after spending a day lounging around Amsterdam, we started our busy week of sightseeing. He was in Amsterdam over Easter, which was nice because normally I don't even notice that holiday; I guess it's because there's no point to it without family.

We took a trip to Rotterdam and did a boat tour of the harbor and all the shipping containers...

From earlier posts you already know Rotterdam is a major port city
On the way back from Rotterdam our train stopped in the Hague, so we decided to get off and take a look around. These are the Royal buildings and the International Court of Justice is also in the area.

Where's the bike?

My dad was fascinated by my house, and rightfully so. This is my room...

And the kitchen below it.

We spent some time exploring Amsterdam as well, and it was nice to finally climb a tower and get a bird's eye view of the city - something I've never done before. This is taken from the Zuiderkerk (Southern Church).

From the tower we headed to the to the reconstructed VOC ship Amsterdam - it sunk on its maiden voyage.

And of course the Red Light District. You're not allowed to take pictures but we were sneaky with this one.

We also took a trip to Keukenhof, and the tulips were in full bloom.


Back in Amsterdam, more exploring. We had freakishly nice weather all week long.

On the Houseboat Museum...

One evening we also visited Haarlem, the capital of North Holland. It's a small town so was a nice contrast with all the cities we visited.


And no trip to Amsterdam is complete without a Paap boat trip. My friends joined as well, so we had a lot of fun. My future boyfriend was even on board so it was funny that he got to meet my dad.

Squat house and garden on the water.


The famous Seven Bridges.