Doei Efteling!

[whereisirisnow]

Today, I went to the Efteling with my mother. The Efteling is a large fairytale and folklore themed amusement park. You could compare it to Disneyland/world, although the Efteling is much bigger and more fun! As we live very close to the Efteling, we always had year subscriptions when we were little, making sure we went to the Efteling at least once a week. During high school and especially university, year subscriptions were a bit too expensive (and also, I didn't have time to go often), so a visit to the Efteling was limited to approximately once a year. This is the once-a-year trip and we were very lucky as we got free tickets from family! (A normal adult day ticket is 38 euros, but children 0-3 years old are free).

I can thoroughly recommend the Efteling for pretty much everyone, as there is something there for all age groups (think roller coasters, theatre shows, playgrounds, etc.)!

Now that the whole Efteling-commercial part is over, I will start describing my day. My favourite part of the whole park is no doubt the fairytale forest. This forest is especially fun for small children, but I still like it very much, because I just looooove all the fairytales! The fairytales are told in Dutch, but can be read in big books at the attraction sites in German, French and English. And even though they're told in Dutch, the attractions are sooooo good that most of the time you don't even need a voice over.
A selection of the fairytales I encountered:


The six servants: The mighty Long-neck starts to stretch its neck to look at the whole Efteling.


Sleeping Beauty: On the way up to Sleeping Beauty's castle, you'll notice that not only Sleeping Beauty fell asleep. Here, one of the guards can be seen snoring the day away.


The magic clock: Behind me one of the heralds announces something. Not sure why, but when I was small, this (apparently) was my favourite fairytale and my mom was forced to sit down with me on the square for hours on end. I just really liked the fact that the heralds blow their trumpets from time to time, I guess.


This sneaky fellow points the way towards the toilets, while shouting 'kleine boodschap'. No idea how to translate that. It is a metaphor for peeing, in any case.


Mother Hulda (or Vrouw Holle): She is making it snow!


Hansel and Gretel: Posing in front of the witch's candy house. You can see Hansel and Gretel in the background.


The wolf and the seven kids: Freaking out because of the big bad wolf.


The dragon: One of my favourites in the fairytale forest! I absolutely loved this as a child! The dragon is guarding its gold and if you try to steel it (pull one the great golden rings), it becomes alive and breathes smoke. I really wanted to pull the golden ring (for old times' sake and because I just love the bloody dragon). However, when we got there, a little boy had exactly the same intentions as I had 20 years ago: never ever leaving the dragon again! When he was finally dragged away by his parents, I took my chance and went up to the dragon's gold, but he came running back! So we pulled the golden ring together some more, because it really is awesome. There are all kinds of interactive, small details like this in the Efteling. It is freaking awesome!


The Indische water lilies: This is my favourite fairytale. You just have to experience it. The music makes you so happy! (btw: wikipedia said it's called the Indian water lilies, but they aren't Indian, they are Indisch (like me!). Indian meaning of course 'from India', and Indisch meaning 'descended from Dutch colonists who inhabited the Dutch Indies (i.e., Indonesia)'. So, very different.)


Poffertjes for lunch. Again, very Dutch, I believe.


I had been saving my paper for Holle Bolle Gijs (or Hollow Bulging Gijs). He is one the trash systems in the park and he shouts all the time that he is hungry, so could you please, please give him some paper? As soon as you throw in something, he becomes very satisfied and thanks you profoundly. Classic.


Saying goodbye to the Efteling..