We found the merry go round which the girls were really keen on because they also got to do it at Ghibli Park. Afterwards we found a little village which had a monorail going above it and through it in a fantastical manner. We then walked through a few fairy tales while having a lot of fun with it.
We really enjoyed the pedal train ride as you made your way through the gardens and along side the lake. Afterwards all that hard work was paid off with a fairy floss while taking photographs amongst the beautiful purple flowers. We then made our way to another part of the park which included the Roc ride which was a great roller coaster. EV was a bit too small to ride it so she found her own fun.
We also went on the wet ship ride which was fantastic as it combined some great effects and fun drops with a couple of splash areas. We all also enjoyed the car ride which we got on with virtually no wait unlike the Disney ride which had a wait of over and hour. The rides here have been really good fun and have had great ambiance too.
We got up early and headed to the Efteling amusement park. We were so excited because this park is based on various Dutch fairy tales and was meant to be really good. When we arrived there was almost no queue to get it, the first of many contrasts with our Disney experience. The queues had fun activities to play on including the whoopy cushion piano. We enjoyed the food which was a mix of Dutch items and more typical fare, but all quite reasonably priced. Everything was really well thought out and designed to incorporate nature into it. The kids enjoyed the playground while the bigger kids and adults got to ride the big roller coaster which EV couldn't ride. She did get to go with us on the super big wooden coaster which was quite fast and included too cars going simultaneously while having a race. Really fun.
We arrived into the Netherlands at our accommodation which was on a bit of a farm. Our nearest neighbours were horses and a couple of cats. It was quite a nice place and the girls of course loved the trampoline and the animals. Being surrounded by farmland and trees, and having quiet was very nice. Watching hot air balloons float by was pretty cool too.
Far too soon we had to hit the road again and say good bye to Hamburg and our friends, as usual wishing for more time. As we headed out on the autobahn we found a geocache near a lovely little stream and stopped to find it. We also then stopped at a roadside stop for a little play and stretch for the girls while we tried to sign them up for school.
