The Northern Isles Day 19
The Northern Isles
Day 19 - Monday, July 28, 2003 - ms Rotterdam - At Sea & Rotterdam & Amsterdam, Netherlands
A stressful day. We were up at 6:30 after a night of tossing and turning. Part of it due to Holland America’s policy that they want people out of their room by 8 AM and that we have to start boarding buses at 6:30. They told us that we needed to be ready at 6:30 even though we were not scheduled until late.
We were finally called at 9:15 and we went down the gangway to find that the bus was not there for us. They had not yet set out our luggage. Secondly, we entered the port of Rotterdam at 3 AM and late night partiers were parked by the quay and as we passed the honked their horns and yelled.
We closed our door to the veranda and outside. At about 10 AM they finally got all of us a bus, loaded all the luggage - too much for everyone - and with Ron as our guide we were on our way to Amsterdam and the village of De Zoeker - a reconstruction of an old Dutch community on the canals with windmills and cheese factory.
Gennie and Susan got front seats in the bus so we could have unobstructed view of the Dutch countryside. We drove north on the motorway and Ron gave us a brief outlook on his nation. It is called Holland by many (one of the provinces) but the real name is the Netherlands. 50% of the land is below sea level and the highest point is 400 feet.
They have a population of 16 million people and the same number of bikes. Everyone on the Netherlands rides a bike and this helps their traffic problems as they are one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. We passed the large city of Delft, noted for their pottery.
Then we went outside the Hague, their governmental center where as Amsterdam is their capital. They are ruled by queen but are a parliamentary democracy. Just outside of Amsterdam we passed their international airport - Schiphol. We went through the capital and drove to Zaandam to see the village.
Our tour guide took us directly to a working windmill where we saw how the Dutch used to process linseed into oil. Other windmills were used to pump water to reclaim the land. As this was a very old windmill that had been relocated in this village, all the parts were made of wood or stone.
The Netherlands has only 950 of these left and all part of their national heritage treasure. We went to the cheese factory and had many types of samples. The Dutch cheese is just outstanding. Very flavorful and hearty. We stayed at this heritage village until 12:15 and then left to go to Amsterdam.
As we did this last 30 minutes, Ron told us what to see. Amsterdam is a walking city. He mentioned going to the Van Gogh or their other art museum. We could possible see the Ann Frank museum also.
There are many canal boat tours and he then suggested that all of us should walk through the RED LIGHT DISTRICT. He told us that Amsterdam (and the Netherlands) are very liberal.
Their prostitution is regulated and taxed. The girls are registered with the government and are medically checked. He also let us know that marijuana and mushrooms are legal if bought in personal amounts.
The bus stopped in front of the Crown Plaza City Center (*****) and we were let off to register. Susan and Gennie went in and we were the first two of five buses to get in. Our rooms were not ready so we checked on our luggage and then went to walk around the city and take a canal tour.
As we left, there were over 150 people in the lobby wanting their rooms. What a mess! The Holland International Canal Tour was one hour and cost us 9.5 Euros. It was excellent trip and we cris-crossed the city seeing canal boats that housed people, people taxis, and bicycle canal boats.
When we returned to the city center and Central Station, it was already 2:30 and we wanted something to eat. Bob and Susan went to a Greek fast food outlet and Gennie and I went to McDonald’s. We walked back to the hotel the long way, through some alleys and shopping areas.
There were a lot of people out enjoying the beautiful sunny day. We saw Bob and Susan, returned to our hotel and then found that our room was ready. We are 506 and Susan and Bob are across the hall in 507. We received our luggage, put away some things and went out exploring the city.
First we went to an ATM machine to get some Euros. We had a chance to check out Central Station and see that they have a train to the airport. We then walked around and suddenly we were in the Red Light District. What an experience.
We had been told not to take pictures of the girls so we put our camera away. They sit behind large windows, advertising their wares in very limited clothing. In three blocks we had seen enough of the girls in mid-afternoon the shops that frequent this area so we walked out of the area.
We then just wandered around and came across coffee shops and then “coffee” shops that sell marijuana and mushrooms and other soft drugs. We also saw all sort of other shops, mostly clothing but also flower and tulips, porcelain and knick-knacks.
At 5:30 we were back in the room and I began to work on the journal and Gennie worked on redistributing the items in the large suitcases. We had agreed to meet Susan and Bob at 8 PM to go out for Italian. We showered and got dressed and at 8 we met them to go out.
We went to La Madona and all of us ordered pizza. Bob ordered escargot for a starter and then Gennie and Susan ordered 4 cheese pizza with Bob and I ordering the Neapolitan (anchovies). Everyone had a soda and I had a glass of wine. By 9:30 we were on our way home.
When we got back, Bob and Susan brought me their memory cards and I downloaded them to my computer. We edited them and then I burned their vacation pictures on to a CD. Now they have a permanent record.
We said our goodbyes as they will have to leave by 8 AM and we can sleep late as our flight is not scheduled to fly out until 3:50. We will have opportunity to spend a little more time in Amsterdam. At 10:30 we went to bed. NO TIME CHANGE!
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