The Efteling is famous here in the Netherlands! It started as a ‘Fairytale Forest’ in 1952, and over the years the Efteling grew out into a large-scale theme park with roller-coasters and restaurants, most of them still inspired by fairy tale themes such as Sinbad the Sailor or Fata Morgana. But my favourite part is still theFairytale Forest, where you can find the Sleeping Beauty sleeping in her castle, the scary Dragon watching over his treasure, Snow White in her coffin made of glass, the candy house with Hansel and Gretel, singing mushrooms and much, much more to explore.

Visiting the Efteling is truly a joyful experience for the entire family. As soon as they can walk, little children will love the Fairytale Forest, and bigger kids will not want to skip this part either, although they will probably also want to go for a ride in one of the many other great attractions. A visit to the Efteling may take a day, but we usually spend two days where one day we hang out mostly in the Fairytale Forest and the other we explore the rest of the park. You can stay the night in the Efteling Hotel, where the experience goes on with theme rooms (we once stayed in the ‘Flying Dutchman‘ room) and dinners with real fairytale characters — cheesy, maybe, but the kids love it (and so do I).

The Efteling
Europalaan 1
5171 KW Kaatsheuvel | The Netherlands
Phone: 1800 – 0161 (£ 0.12 p/m)

For opening hours visit the website.
It’s best to prevent going during school holidays or summer weekends!

Praq is located along the Amstel river in the beautiful little village of Oudekerk aan de Amstel — not very far from Amsterdam at all (I would say about a 40 minute, very scenic bike-ride). We love this restaurant so much because not only do they serve great food, they also have a complete section reserved just for kids (and their parents). All this is done in a really tasteful way – no Donald Duck in sight! Parents, children, even business people feel comfortable here!

Cool features include: a puzzle wall, car-tables, a drawing-table, a DVD station, toy-kitchens and plenty of toys in general — even for babies. And it goes without saying that kids’ menus, high chairs and changing stations are readily available!

When you’re in town and toying with the idea of paying a visit, make sure you make a reservation first. Because we are not the only ones in love with this place…

xxx Esther

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Praq
Amstelzijde 37
1184 TX Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
+31 (0)20 496 1570
*Map*
Opened daily from 12.00 to 22.00

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Who doesn’t love Miffy? My daughter surely adores her! Dick Bruna created this little rabbit in 1955 and by now her stories have been translated to more than 40 languages! Did you know Miffy has her own website?
Last weekend we decided to treat our children to a little trip to ‘Miffy’s House’ (a.k.a. the Dick Bruna House).
The house is located in Utrecht, a beautiful city about a half-an-hour drive or train ride from Amsterdam. It was brilliant! My 2 1/2-year-old had the time of her life exploring the museum. There’s a real (kid’s scale) house where children can sit at Miffy’s table, try her bed, test her clothes, etc. There are interactive computer games, videos to watch, books to read, big elements to play with, and more.
My 10-month-old loved crawling through the tunnel (with real windows and curtains) and checking out the displays of Dick Bruna’s characters. There is also a workshop where they can make Miffy masks, ears and dolls. I liked seeing Dick Bruna’s other graphic work (posters and book covers), by which I was very impressed! The shop has a fantastic selection of Miffy books and toys, and ships internationally!

xxx Esther

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Dick Bruna Huis Agnietenstraat 2
Utrecht
+31 (0)30 2362 392 (tue-sun 11.00-17.00)
*Map*
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 – 17:00 (Closed on Monday)
Closed on: 1 January / 30 April / 25 December

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