Visitors, Take Two

On Tuesday morning, after a week of wonderful weather and new adventures, I dropped our second set of visitors, my in-laws, off at Schiphol Airport. After they were successfully through security, I hopped on the train back to Utrecht and reflected on their week in Europe.

Mr. Traveler and Parents in Amsterdam

Before they arrived, I worried about selecting the perfect activities for Mr. Traveler's parents. They hadn't taken a real vacation in ages, because they own their own business. In addition, my mother-in-law had never been to Europe before, so I knew that she was apprehensive about leaving her comfort zone. Since this trip was such a unique opportunity for them, I wanted it to be perfect. I sent a list of possible sites and activities, in the hope that they would decide on a few "must see" spots. They mentioned that they'd like to visit Keukenhof, but other than that left the planning up to us.

While this was originally frustrating to me, I realized I was projecting my own travel style on everyone. I am a planner by nature (although I have let myself enjoy more spontaneous activities since arriving in Utrecht), so I was surprised that they hadn't researched any of the activities. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that doing so might seem overwhelming or intimidating to someone who is not used to traveling and who hasn't lived abroad. In addition, while I might have said, "We really just wanted to see you guys," to someone to be polite, they genuinely meant it. It's a pretty awesome feeling to know that someone wants to visit with you more than they want to see all of the exciting things to see in a new country. Finally, while my travel style involves cramming in activities to make the most of my trip, this method of traveling can be quite exhausting to some people. Realizing these things, allowed me to relax and not worry as much about planning the perfect activities or fitting as much as possible into each day.

Still, I felt it was very important that they did see a good sampling of the Netherlands (or at least our little area) for a few reasons. First, it would allow them to understand both the challenges and excitement that being here entails. Second, it would provide another common bond between us and them, something we can talk about when we return home. And finally, it just seemed like a waste to travel this far and not at least see some of the major sites.

Since I didn't get a whole lot of input regarding desired activities, I opted to pick a few on my own and then listen to both the verbal and nonverbal feedback. For example, I planned a day in Delft and Keukenhof and then ran the idea past everyone. Everyone seemed to think it was doable and at least somewhat interesting, so I proceeded with the plan. I also revamped some of our plans to include more bus rides and less walking when I realized that the walking was a little tiresome and painful for people that are not used to walking everywhere.

Once I adapted to our guests' needs (with a little pushing on my part to at least see a few more things than they were planning to), I was able to relax and just enjoy our time together.

So what did we do during their week in Utrecht? Well, Wednesday they got here late in the afternoon, so we just visited and discussed plans for the week. Thursday, we spent the day in Utrecht so they could get their feet wet (only figuratively -- we had no rain for their entire visit) and see where we live. We walked along the Oudegracht, ate lunch at the cafe in the V&D department store (so they could see the city from above), toured the Domkerk, and visited a few of the many antique shops.

Friday, we had our most rigidly planned day so that we could fit in both a trip to Delft and to the Keukenhof. We visited the pottery factory, walked around Delft, and ate lunch outside. I think everyone's favorite part of the day was walking through the gardens at the Keukenhof. What a beautiful sight!

The pictures don't do it justice!

Saturday, Mr. Traveler had a baseball game, so we once again stuck around Utrecht, but the visitors and I  squeezed in a trip to the Spoorwegmuseum in the morning before the game. Mr. Traveler's father seemed to really enjoy this museum, but soon it was time to head off to the game. Mr. Traveler's parents really enjoyed getting to see him play baseball for the first time in 10+ years and kept commenting that his mannerisms on the field hadn't changed a bit.

Sunday, we opted to go to Amsterdam. As Mr. Traveler said, "You can't come to the Netherlands and not visit Amsterdam!" We didn't pack the day too full, though, and just visited the Rijksmuseum and took a canal boat tour. We hadn't done either thing before, so it was a good opportunity for all of us to experience something new together.

Inside the Canal Cruise Boat

Finally, on Monday, the in-laws had mentioned that they didn't want to try to fit too much in so they would be well rested for their day of travel. While Mr. Traveler headed to work, the rest of us went to the post office to mail off the last minute postcards. At this point I almost lost Mr. Traveler's parents because the doors on the bus closed behind me and they were left stuck inside. Luckily, a kind fellow passenger informed the bus driver, who dropped them off just a little ways down the street. Reunited (and more aware of the need to get off the bus quickly), we mailed the postcards and then hopped on another bus to the botanical gardens at Utrecht University, where we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the gardens. We wrapped up their trip with homemade pizza and a fun night of Apples to Apples.

While I was initially worried about creating the perfect trip for Mr. Traveler's parents and cramming in as many sites as possible, I found that at the end of the week, spending time together (as they had said all along) and not the perfect itinerary was the most important and enjoyable part of their visit.