Discovering the Unplanned Magic of Amsterdam: Soap Bubbles, Street Art, and Family Adventure

The magic of Amsterdam gave us a day to enjoy and remember. We set out originally for Paris, France, but decided to go slowly, living our lives on the road – like we always do, but this time in a more conscious way, driving short lengths and having small goals and very flexible plans.

So, the day we left the coast of the Netherlands and studied the special landscape there, we decided to pass through Amsterdam to see the wonderful sunflowers by Van Gogh, since we both love sunflowers and art.

But Amsterdam had other plans for us, and what a great surprise. When we arrived at the museum, the line was at least 500 meters long, and the only parking option was underground (and we hated that so much, that we would rather drive for hours long in the capitals of Europe until we found a spot that looks and feels right).

In Amsterdam, that was just at the corner of Sloterkate and Flevoroute, so close to a canal, that I was scared we would end up in the water. Please note, that we drive a minibus, so finding enough space in a capital in Europe is like winning a prize, and this was just so beautiful.

A nice little cafe let us use the bathroom, and our previous driving in the city had shown us a wonderful park, with a cafe, a playground, and trees to hug. And that was just around the corner, after a bridge and in the direction of Van Gogh (in case the line had been a Fata Morgana or something else, we would check it out).

In the park, we played with sand and studied the birdlife, people, and all kinds of bicycles, scooters, and skateboards. Walking through the park, huge bubbles began to emerge over the trees, and my 5-year-old husband began to run after them, followed by my four children.

Long story short, Yvonne, who did the huge bubbles show, enrolled my family, and we had a school day as street artists in Amsterdam. It is such an amazing thing to do: Making huge numbers of huge bubbles, with long fish things and lines, and special soap that allowed the bubbles to become enormous and live long. Lots of kids running after the bubbles, the sun shining, and our friendship with Yvonne evolving very fast.

After two hours of bubbling and assisting a show, we were tired and happy, and had no care in the world for World Famous Art – just wanting sunshine, food, coffee,e and smiles – so we said goodbye and had – at the corner our car was parked in the first place – the most fabulous meal, we have had for years! It was seriously SO delicious and laid back and great; I would recommend everybody to eat at this little cafe, at least once in their lives.

You cannot want anymore from one afternoon. This was perfect. And now, we know how to support our world tour, with street art in parks, making thousands of children happy all over the world.

How lucky can you be?

With love

Cecilie Conrad