Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Rabbit Hill - Hopping all Around

No sooner had we unpacked our bags from Portugal than we repacked them to set out for Rabbit Hill in the Netherlands. This place is a perfect cross between the calm, affordable serenity of a State Park and the all-out-entertainment of Disney World. Or perhaps a more apt comparison is summer camp with the array of events, schedules and activities. Honestly, there is no place like it. Only those clever Dutch could have come up with this! Rabbit Hill did have bunnies of its own, but I felt like a rabbit myself - hopping around from one thing to the next. With so much to do we should have planned a month at Rabbit Hill. But our husbands/dads would have missed us. Alas three days would have to suffice. Upon arriving we made a beeline to the indoor playground. Because it was raining. Guess that is the one hiccup with Holland. It rains a lot. But they planned for it with many indoor activities.
Check out this play castle! If I had met the height requirements I would have been right in there with our wee ones.
The large rainbow tower looked a little foreboding from the outside, given the height...
But with netting like this on the inside it was a winner for Brady and Connor to climb away...
A jungle gym made of safety belts. Now that is pretty cool! And seemingly safe.We spotted this 'Arts and Crafts' cabin and thought we all should join in with the painting or crafting some point during the week... And bowling too! Of course when Connor saw this she strutted right down the alley like it was a catwalk. She doesn't quite understand bowling just yet.We rented a 2 bedroom cabin for the week. Even though we were only staying 2 nights you either rent for the "week" (4 nights) or the "weekend" (3 nights) - and you can stay any portion thereof. Since we booked during a low season our rate was less than 200 euros (cabin + access to all activities/facilities for the week - divide it by the two families and it was a great deal). To our delight we were upgraded to a roomier 3 bedroom cabin. Lucky us!We did struggle with internet connectivity, but they were doing "work" on the wireless network so this was probably just a fluke. The kids loved our little cabin in the woods and took in every nook and cranny together.We were at Rabbit Hill over St. Patrick's Day. Since Karen did most of the heavy lifting with cooking (her culinary skills far exceed mine), I busied myself taking the lead on breakfast, dishes and decorating! We were not going to be pinched on this St. Patty's Day!One of the best parts about cabin weekends is eating. We ate well! Karen even brought cupcakes for the kids to ice and decorate for dessert.Rabbit Hill has a rockin' indoor pool! Every 20 minutes or so another "feature" would rotate on. There were fun fountains and tickling bubbles and even this whirling tunnel with a current that pushed you right through!Brady and Connor loved it all and tried everything. But wouldn't you know the elephant slide in the baby pool was far and away the favorite! They must have gone down 100 times each.After swimming the coin-operated bumper "cars" were a must! Elmo got to ride along on the Police Motorcycle.'Bolo Bear' is the Landal Park mascot. So we had to have our photo taken with Bolo outside his cabin.There was a full-scale grocery store within the park for anything you needed or wanted to buy. But after all the swimming and fun we went to the on-site restaurant for lunch. It was the only disappointing part about Rabbit Hill. The food was reasonable and tasty, but the service was S-L-O-W, which is a big problem with two tired, hungry tots in tow and a ticking time clock til naptime.We continued our outdoor exploration after naps. There were countless playgrounds, a mini golf course, and these trolley bikes which were a RIOT!Rabbit Hill is simply the place to be! It was the perfect spot to begin our European farewell. Our last trip with Brady. Boo hoo. At least we went out with a bang!

2 comments:

Karen said...

And I told all the families I know here about this place. It's fantastic!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Dallas sent me here to revisit the glory of Rabbit Hill... we stayed there last summer. You captured it exactly as we remember it, right down to the slow service, which really was the only disappointment. Love Rabbit Hill.
I hope we can get back there.