Day 4 - Amsterdam

Before I get to the Amsterdam recap, I have to rave about the cabin’s bathroom. It’s bigger than we’ve had on NCL, 2 sinks, big shower, and heated floor! The water pressure in the shower is to die for. Thanks Dave Tedesco for convincing us to upgrade. Totally worth it for the bathroom alone. On to Amsterdam, well not really Amsterdam.

Wiki: Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths. We didn’t actually go into Amsterdam though; we did a “Leisurely Dutch Countryside” tour.

This was about all I could handle after watching the Texas score in the middle of the night. I couldn’t stream the game so score watching was it. We not only lost the game, we also lost an hour upon our arrival in Amsterdam. Great season by the Horns. On to the Arch era.

Remember from last summer the bottle tops that unscrew but don’t come off? We’ve found them again.

The ship docked in Ijmuiden, north of Amsterdam. Driving through Ijmuiden we passed an old water tower that was converted to an apartment building.

The tour guide was dropping sayings as we drove along: Go Dutch - split the bill; Dutch Courage - take a drink before going into battle. The Netherlands is also Holland, which means low lands. Holland is generally below sea level and swampy. The tour guide likened it to Louisiana.

Our first stop was Volendam. Wiki: Volendam is a tourist town in the municipality of Edam-Volendam, province of North Holland, Netherlands, known for its streets, old fishing boats and the traditional clothing worn by some residents. The women's costume of Volendam, with its high, pointed bonnet, is one of the most recognizable of the Dutch traditional costumes, and is often featured on tourist postcards and posters. We strolled through the town, tasted some fish, shopped a bit, and found the Margretha, which I’m saying is Dutch for Margaret. Also, many houses had large picture windows looking towards the street. The tour guide said they don’t mind if people look in and crime is very low so there’s no worry about people seeing into the house.

On the bus ride we passed a golf course with golfers. It is a balmy sunny and 31 degrees. The course is covered in frost. Then we passed a driving range - it was full at 11:30 AM and 35 degrees. I caught a little bit of yet another course.

Then we went to see the windmills in Zaanse Schans. They are so cool. The one we visited still makes paint. Don’t ask me how as I skipped the lecture and went up the ladder to the deck to check out the view.

On the way out we found a shoe!

We sailed two hours late, seems like a theme for this cruise, and there was a bit of sunset.