*(32) BEST Layover Ever

A few times of the last 7 years we have read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. Then this last year we read Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge. Both of these books had me so excited to have a long layover in Amsterdam. I was hopeful that we would have enough time to leave the airport. 

We had a 7 1/2 hour layover. With a little research I found several people say that it was plenty of time and highly recommended using the time to explore the experience the beauty of Amsterdam. There are several places detailed in Hans Brinker and I wanted to see so many of them. In the end we choose to go to Haarlem. 

It was so easy to go through customs. There was a very convenient and inexpensive luggage locker so we didn’t have to take our carry-ons with us as we went to explore.  The train station is conveniently located in the airport. 

The train ride along the countryside was beautiful. Most everyone rides bikes most everywhere. Probably the most interesting thing we saw was a man riding a bike next to a house he was leading with a rope. There were so many fresh flower stands, windmills, and bikes. We only needed to make one train transfer. I was so proud that we figured all of this out and were doing it. 

The train station we arrived at in Harrlem is where one of our families favorite movies is filmed, The Best Two Years. As we walked though town we saw other familiar places from the film. 

After asking a couple people for help we were able to find the Ten Boom House Museum. Right around the corner from it was a cheese shop. We went in and were given a guided tour and sampled several cheeses. They were the best cheeses we have ever had, and we've had a lot of really good cheeses. The hardest part was deciding which one to buy. 

The family waited for the next free tour of the Ten Boom House Museum to start while I ran back to buy a couple crepes. When I got back the door was locked and no one was responding to my ringing the door bell. Instead of getting upset I offered a prayer of gratitude that they were all getting to experience it. Seconds later the door opened. 

It was INCREDIBLE! I was still able to go into a few rooms within the home that we had read about. The final place was Corrie's room! We each got to stand in the hiding place! I can't adequately describe my feelings. It was smaller than I imagined. I was incredible. 

We were afraid of missing our train back to the airport or it taking longer than we planned so we ran all the way back through Harrlem. We arrived with plenty of time to take pictures and take in the beauty of the train station. Everything went smoothly getting back to the airport, reclaiming our carry-ons, going through security, and finding our gate. In fact it went so well that we had over an hour at our gate before boarding. We were so tired at this point that we had to take shifts walking around to stay awake so we wouldn't miss our flight.
The Netherlands is for sure somewhere we want to visit again and for a much longer stay. We instantly LOVED it.
Visiting Amsterdam and Harrlem were not necessary or related to our service, yet Heavenly Father blessed us with a meaningful side trip for us in our journey. I believe He doesn't just bless us with the minimum but He delights to bless us with more if we will allow ourselves to be guided, receive it, and especially when we are grateful. 

Pics
Bag storage
Train tickets
train stations
train ride
Harlem center
Cheese shop
Ten Boom Home
Crepes 
Train station