Millers' Time

Tuesday, September 17

Slept pretty good Sunday night even though the room was warm and I had the window open and the fan on. The hotel is in the city downtown area so was fairly noisy, but once I was asleep I stayed that way until the garbage was being taken.

We met for breakfast in the restaurant attached to the hotel. Nice spread of typical European breakfast – cheeses, breads, meats, cereal, fruit and eggs to order. Both hotels and the ship had the same kind of coffee machine where you could get regular coffee and any time of espresso drink you wanted.

The only unusual thing this hotel had was a huge honeycomb. I have seen pieces of honeycomb in restaurants before but nothing like this. It looks like the frame from the hive is slid into a specially made metal tray so the honey stays put.

After breakfast, Don and Frankie went to meet his cousin, Peter, again at his atelier. I went to my room and ended up sitting on the little balcony in the fresh air and writing blog posts.

I took a shower and let me tell you about European showers – they are weird. When I was in Paris, the shower had directions! None of the ones in the hotels or ship did and some of us had a cold shock! There is usually a couple of handles with a handheld shower nozzle and a large one on the ceiling. Once I figured it out, I was okay.

The other thing that was unusual in both hotels was the hair dryer. It does not stay on. You have to hold it down the entire time you are drying your hair.

I met up with the guys for wine at a nice little cafe. We were across from the Hotel Adler and their cow, Heidi. Many people stopped in front of us to take a picture.

Frankie had bought one of Peter’s man bags. He had to have the strap changed from left to right so didn’t have it yet. It is all handmade and will be something that will last him forever. He picks it up in the afternoon.

We moved on to another place to get a couple snacks to eat. The one we were at was more of a seafood place and I kept smelling not so good seafood smells.

The whole area around our hotel is full of cafes with sidewalk tables so it isn’t hard to find one. We stopped at a tapas and pasta place. More wine and some salad, chicken wing pops (the big bone with the meat pushed into a pop), and calamari.

I went back to hotel and took a nap after all that wine. They guys went to pick up the bag.

We met up for dinner and went to Swiss Chuchi, a fondue and raclette restaurant. Don wasn’t very hungry so he got onion soup with a puff pastry ‘crouton’, which was actually more like a sheet of pastry over the top of a large bowl.

Frankie and I got the raclette, since I had never had it before. I chose the pork and Frankie got the veal sausages.

The place was very busy and it was funny how some people act and treat the waiters. We had ordered a bottle of wine and our waiter brought it out and was getting ready to open it when a man (American) demanded he pay his bill right then. So, we were put on hold while this was taken care of and the man and his family left. So rude!

Then while the waiter was once again opening our wine, a couple at another table raised their hands like they were in school. They had been seated after us and had their menus, so it wasn’t like they were being ignored. The waiter said he would be with them soon, and finished our wine. There were many waiters and everything was taken care of fairly quickly.

The waiter brought out a cooking device that had three levels to it and plugged it in and turned it on. It started heating up quickly. Next another man brought out Don’s soup then returned with two plates for Frankie and me. One with our meat and the other, a divided one, with pickled onions, gherkins, tomato, mushrooms, pear, baby corn, cheese and a space in the middle. Then he got a bag of small, hot potatoes and long fondue type forks.

He demonstrated how to do it. The meat went on top to cook along with mushrooms, corn, or whatever you wanted. Then there was a little square skillet where you put the cheese and put it on the second level where it melted and bubbled up. You cut up your potato, added the mushrooms, scraped the cheese out with a special tool and then cut up your meat and ate. It was fun and delicious.

Dinners usually take a couple of hours and they never rush you. You always have to ask for the bill. When we left, there were many people still waiting for a table.

We slowly walked back to the hotel and said goodbye to each other. Their flight was a couple hours earlier than mine. My flight had been changed from going through Atlanta to going through JFK. The time had changed by two hours and I get in an hour later. Go figure.

So ended my great European river cruise trip with Don and Frankie. We have talked about other trips but no firm plans yet.

They are always great fun to travel with and we get along pretty darn well. I can be a loner so many times that it can be hard for me to be around others for extended periods, but this has been great.

Monday, September 16

Sunday was departure day from the ship. I went to sleep around 10:30, woke up at 2:15 and couldn’t get back to sleep. Always the day before leaving somewhere or flying somewhere, my mind goes around and around on what needs to be done.

I got ready, finished packing my bag, then went for coffee. After a while I went down to the restaurant and sat and drank some water. When I don’t get enough sleep I get a bit jittery and my stomach is not right. So, I just sat for a while then got up to get some melon. Don and Frankie were just coming in so I moved to a bigger table with them. Barb and Celia showed up right after.

It is always bittersweet seeing people for the last time, most you will never see again. There were a lot of people saying goodbye to friends they had made during the cruise.

After breakfast, I went back to my room and got my backpack and water bottle and went to the lounge. Don, Frankie, and I were all heading on to Zurich while Celia and Barb were staying by the airport to fly out on Monday morning.

We all gathered in the lounge to wait for our taxis. People came by to say goodbye as they left. We were about the last ones of the day at 9:45. Barb and Celia were first to be called so we said our goodbyes. Then our taxi was called and we went up the stairs to where our luggage waited and got a chance to say goodbye to Agnes, our cruise manager.

There was a marathon scheduled in Basel that day so the taxi driver had to detour around a lot of closed streets until we got to the train station. Train stations can be very confusing when you don’ know the language. We found a machine where we could get tickets but decided to find the human ticket sellers to be sure we got the right one.

It was about 10:15 and the next train to Zurich was at 10:33. We never thought we would make it but we got our tickets and hurried to the departure area and made it in time. The cabin was a bit small for all of our luggage but we made it in.

The ride went through some beautiful hills and farmland but I didn’t get any pictures. We arrived in Zurich about an hour later and went out to the taxi stand. I asked the driver if he took credit cards and he asked where we were going. When Frankie showed him, he said no credit cards but it wasn’t far and we could walk. They just didn’t want to take us the half a mile or so to the hotel. So, we walked.

The hotel is a Best Western Plus in Old Town Zurich. I got a single and was surprised that they actually have rooms with a single bed! The biggest issue for me was no air conditioning. I like to sleep cool and so was a bit worried about it. They did have a fan, though. The room was nicely appointed, however, and I had a little balcony that looks out onto other residential buildings.

One of my favorite Hitchcock moves has always been Rear Window and that is just what I thought of when I looked out. I love Jimmy Stewart in anything and Grace Kelly’s outfits are so outlandishly beautiful as was she. The plane even has the movie in it’s library so I may have to watch it on the way home.

We were able to check right in to our rooms (YAY!) so we all had time to rest for a while. Then we went a street away to have a little lunch. All of the cafes seem to have outdoor seating so we found a place in the shade for me and Frankie. Don loves the sun so he was okay in it.

I had a lovely little salad with pomegranate dressing and crostini with chèvre melted on top. It was just a perfect meal for a hot afternoon. None of the places here are air conditioned, as far as we can tell. I had read something earlier this summer about how only about 10% of Europe is air conditioned and that is a real problem with the extremely hot weather they are having now. It was around 80 degrees here which is very unusual.

Frankie wanted to come to Zurich to meet a distant cousin who found him through DNA testing. Earlier this year, they traveled to Ireland to meet a cousin of Don’s. I haven’t done the DNA testing, but my brother has and as far as I know no one has reached out.

They were going to meet him for a drink at 3:00 and I decided to try to take a bit of a nap so didn’t go with them. His cousin is an artist/designer using leather. He doesn’t really have a store but makes things on order through Instagram. I will have to check his stuff out online. I just checked it out and it is beautiful bags.

https://peternitz.com

They had a nice meeting for a couple hours. I managed about an hour of sleep and when I woke up the sun was blaring in the glass door and it was very hot in the room. I shut the black out curtain and put the fan directly on me.

We met up for dinner around 6:00 or so. We were going to a Swiss restaurant his cousin had suggested. It was still sunny and warm and we walked along the river. It is a beautiful area of the city and there were many people walking or sitting at cafes.

The restaurant, Zeughauskeller, is like a German beer hall. This area of Switzerland is very German. The restaurant building was from the mid-1400’s and for many years was used to store artillery and ammunition. There were communal tables and lots of wood. The ceiling was quite beautifully done.

Don ordered his favorite, Wiener schnitzel, and Frankie and I got a specialty sausage that came with red cabbage and chestnuts, spaetzle and sauerkraut. The plates were huge and I was only able to eat the sausage and maybe a quarter of the other stuff. We were all used to the small portions of the ship.

It was a lovely walk back along the river and through the town to the hotel. We found a few shops we wanted to visit on Monday. It had cooled off some and the lights from the buildings reflected in the river. It was early to the room but I listened to my book for a while and then went to sleep.

Sunday, September 15

Saturday we were docked in Breisach, Germany. I decided to stay on the ship today since my knee was really sore. Plus, it gave me a chance to relax, drink some lattes, and catch up on my blog posts. Don and Frankie went to Riquewihr and Barb went to Freiburg. Turns out it was the easiest walking day of all so I should have gone. Oh, well, another time.

I sat in the lounge, which was thankfully cool, and there were just a handful of guests who wandered through now and then. The staff took the time to clean and at one point, I heard someone down the crew access stairs yell at the top of his lungs, F— You!. I kind of cracked up and no one else was around to hear. So, being on a ship together for 10 months working 7 days a week, with two separate 2-week vacations can get on your nerves.

The others got back a little before 1:00 and we all met up for lunch. The ship took off for Basel as we were eating. Then Don, Frankie, and I went to the front deck of the ship with our wine and watched the banks of the river go by.

During the cruise, we have gone through many locks, most of which have been at night. Today, however, we went through a huge one as we sat on the deck, so I finally got some pictures.

It got pretty warm so I went back to my cabin to pack my stuff as we had to have our bags out by 8:00 am in the morning and vacate the room by 9:00. More guests were coming aboard that afternoon and all the rooms had to be cleaned and made up again.

Back in the lounge later that afternoon for disembarkation information and more goodbyes, then to dinner.

Dinner was an appetizer of lemon pepper crust salmon, teriyaki sauce, and vegetable salad.

Next was beef consommé, noodles, celery, tomatoes.

Then the main course of red wine braised beef short rib, spinach, grilled zucchini, cherry tomato, and creamy polenta. It was probably my least favorite of all the meals. The short rib was a bit dry and maybe I was just gourmet cooked out.

Dessert was warm almond pudding, caramel sauce, mango coulis and salted caramel ice cream.

After a quick stop in the lounge, I went to bed.

Friday, September 13

I got up and was out by about 8:30. I went to the coffee machine in the lounge area and sat and had a couple of lattes. Then I realized breakfast was over at 9:30 and I had missed out. They did have a German ‘brunch’ of sausages, some sort of ‘meatloaf’ and sandwiches of tomato and lettuce to go with the meatloaf at around 10:00 so I got a small sandwich there. There was supposed to be pretzels but I later heard they had them at breakfast, so I never got a German pretzel. Next time.

I went to the sundeck for a while and enjoyed the weather and listened to my book. Then I met up with Don, Frankie, Barb and Celia in the lounge for the light lunch. I had green salad, Asian noodle salad and a couple of chicken wings.

Up next was the trip to Heidelberg Castle. We bused into Heidelberg from Mannheim. Then went around the ruins of the castle. The guide, Roland, was good but not quite as humorous as Marcus. He did lighten up a bit towards the end.

The drive up to the castle was a bit scary at times since the roads were very narrow and twisty and come to find out the driver had never been there before. He did a good job but I wouldn’t have wanted to be the one driving.

We then went into a cafe on the square and had some wine and shared a plate sausages, sauerkraut and frites. There were beautiful Alpine geraniums around the square. They are different from the ones we have at home. Don said they have tried to find them and were able to order some once but they didn’t do as well as these.

Barb got some shopping done. The big bonus was a pair of Josef Seibel shoes for €33! I used to wear them when I worked and paid more than that! After that we met up with the guide and got on the bus that took us back to Mannheim in rush hour traffic. Reminded me of home!

The dinner was to be a special event. The AmaWaterways is a member of the World’s Oldest Gastronomic Society, Confrerie de la Chaine de Rotisseurs. Membership is by invitation only and is extended to those possessing world-class culinary acumen. All of the European Amawaterways ships are members.

The starter course was fabulous. It was Pâté de Foie Gras, Beef Carpaccio with a Walnut Brioche, Fig Chutney and Port Wine Onion Confit. We all loved the little swirls of pâté so much we wished we had a half a cup or so to save for later. Someone mentioned it to the waiter and we ended up all getting another plate.

The main course was MustardCrusted Rack of Lamb, Tarragon Sauce, Ratatouille, Broccoli, and Potato Gratin. It was all excellent. We didn’t hint for seconds this time, even though it was excellent and cooked perfectly.

Dessert was Opera Gateau, Raspberry Sorbet, and Dark Chocolate Kailua Ganache. There was a slice of orange on top of the sorbet that was dried or caramelized somehow and it was very tasty. The gateau was soft and melted in the mouth.

It was a very pleasant dinner and evening, but I went straight to bed again afterwards.

Thursday, September 12

It has been such an action packed week that I have myself confused on which day we did what. I typically write the blog posts the day after the activity. So, this is really about what we did on Wednesday. I almost forgot to write about it.

I got up early to make sure I was ready for the Rhine River Gorge and the 30 some castles we would see. I ate breakfast then went up to the sun deck to observe the scenery. It was quite cool and a little foggy. They have blankets to use on the deck but not enough for everyone. I got mine since I was one of the first few people there. Don and Frankie came up after a bit and we sat together.

It was really quite beautiful scenery all along the river with high hills where the castles were built. Agnes, the cruise manager, did a running commentary about each castle as we came to it. Some had amusing stories or legends. Some were tragic and some were amusing. I will just post a couple of the pictures that I took since I took quite a few.

One of the interesting things we learned was that during World War II the Americans tried not to bomb the castles and cathedrals. So, to protect the train tunnels the put fake castles at the entrances. I wondered if they did it before the war really got going or quickly did it once they started getting bombed. I haven’t been able to find out yet.

After a lunch of suckling pig, pork belly, sauerkraut, sausages and fried potatoes, which was way too much for lunch, we went into Rüdesheim for a wine tasting tour. We took a little train into the town and then walked up into the vineyards in the hills. We tasted 3 different Reislings since that is the grape mostly grown in these parts. The first two were nice, the last was too sweet. He also poured a couple of Pinot noir wines but I wasn’t impressed.

Don and Frankie and I walked back to the boat. So it was another day of walking and climbing hills. My legs and feet were tired.

We met back up with Barb and Celia for dinner. I was still so full from lunch I just had the appetizer and veal broth for dinner. Don and Frankie were a bit rushed through dinner as they were going back into town to meet the children of Don’s long time friends. I went to bed.

Wednesday, September 11

We traveled through the night to Cologne. We all ate breakfast together. There is the buffet with the typical breakfast foods or you can order off the menu.

I got to the table a little after the rest of them and they were just getting their food. They had ordered the A+ meal which was steak, eggs, hasbrowns, bacon and a grilled tomato.

I ordered the eggs Benedict. The Benedict came on toasted white bread instead of an English muffin so was soft and just not the same. And one of the poached eggs was over cooked so the yolk was not runny. Oh, well, I still ate it.

The day was sunny and warm – the nicest day so far. Don, Frankie and I sat on the sun deck for quite a while and soaked up some sun. Barb and Celia had tried to play cards on the deck but it was too windy so they went to the lounge to play Hand and Foot. They ended up meeting a couple who played with them.

Lunch for me was a nice salad and then curry. There were two kinds – shrimp and chicken. I got a little of both. It was good but not very spicy so I had to add some sombal oelek.

We arrived in Cologne a little ahead of schedule. We had a tour scheduled to walk through old town then go to the cathedral. It was nice because the tours are small groups with a local guide.

Don, Frankie and I went on the ‘regular’ tour instead of the gentle or active. Celia stayed on board as she is limited physically due to her knees. Barbe joined the other ladies, Sara and Deanna.

Our guide was excellent. He was witty and very intelligent, a history teacher for 16-17 year old boys. He asked each person where they were from and knew the state or province capital and some bit of trivia about everywhere.

Our guide, Marcus, and two statues. It is good luck to stand on the feet and rub the nose.

We went into an old town square where Marcus told us a story about a poet who lived on the upper floor and a musician on the lower floor. The musician would put his instrument out the window and play and disturb the poet. The poet finally got fed up and “Driss happens.”

Cathedral Church of St Peter is the main attraction we saw in Cologne. It was started in 1248 and finished in 1880. However, it is under constant repair and cleaning. The saying goes that the day it is finished will be the end of the world.

The inside was huge with vaulted ceilings and large stained glass windows. It is a working church, not a museum so there were people praying as well as tourists gawking.

We got back to the ship and I had to get ready for my dinner at the Captain’s Table. I was the only one of the five of us invited, so far, at least. There are Captain’s dinners usually twice during the week. I think the cruise manager felt sorry for me because I was by myself. Lol.

The dinner was the same menu as the rest of the diners had. There was fish and turkey. I got the fish and it was very good.

I was seated next to the captain so was able to converse with him. He seemed a little shy. He is only 42 and has been a captain for 13 years and worked the cruises for 19. He is Hungarian and lives near Budapest.

On the other side was a woman from Montreal. She was interesting to talk with and was on her second cruise with AmaWaterways. She comes with a friend that she worked with over the years.

After the dinner, I met back up with my friends and we sat in the lounge listening to a couple who sang older pop songs. Frankie was enticed to dance once again even though he said he wasn’t going to. I left and am not sure if the rest of them danced more.

Tuesday, September 10

NOTE: having major problems uploading pictures and other stuff. Connection is not that good here. Will repost tomorrow, but for now here is post with grammatical errors and missing photos.

Monday started as every day does on the ship, with coffee and breakfast. I sat by myself and had some fruit, scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon. The coffee in the restaurant is not very good, in my opinion. It is very strong, which I don’t mind but it just doesn’t have a good flavor.

Next up was the canal tour. We walked a few blocks from the ship to get on one of the canal tour boats. We had a guide who was rather humorous. We were told to take our QuietVox, a system that allows you to hear the guide thru ear buds. Everyone got their systems working, and the guide kept saying he wasn’t going to say anything until we got on the boat. Once we got on the boat he had a PA system so we didn’t need the damn things at all. Kind of funny.

The tour was pretty good. We learned more about the canal system and the housing situation. One of the most interesting things I learned was that you can tell if a church is Protestant if it has a swan on the top of the spire. It is Catholic there is a rooster.

There were many houseboats of all kinds along the canals. Some were quite dilapidated and others were nice. Being a boat owner, I wondered where their waste water went. I was going to ask but he was talking so I looked it up. I guess they decided to have all the houseboats hooked up to city sewer by 2017. They had a team that went out to every houseboat to see what kind of connection they would need since they were all different and the city paid to connect them.

After the tour, Don, Frankie and I went in for lunch. Frankie and I had the two Dutch specialties – mustard cream soup and a dish of meat balls (although they were actually flat) with vegetables and potato noodles.

The soup sounds kind of weird but was quite nice. Not an overwhelming mustard flavor. The meatballs were tasty and in a mild tomato sauce. The noodles were interesting and looked more like a roasted vegetable. (I am forgetting to take food porn photos.)

The ship left Amsterdam around 1:00 in the afternoon. It moves along a little faster than I expected. Great scenery everywhere. It started on a canal and then went through locks to the Rhine River. It was funny because I was taking a shower and when I came out of the bathroom it was dark out my windows and I thought we were next to another ship so I was hiding behind my towel. Then I saw brick walls and realized we were very, very close to a wall and learned that it was a big lock.

We then sat in the lounge and watched the scenery for quite a while. We had not seen Celia or Barb since we got back and they hadn’t answered Frankie’s text. Turns out they had taken a 3 hour nap!

While in the lounge, our cruise manager, Agnes, talked about the various excursions on Wednesday. She is Hungarian and very friendly. She did get a little frustrated because her PowerPoint presentation did not work. It never fails when you have a 100 people waiting technology fails.

We were joined for dinner by a couple of elderly women from Oregon who also had a place in the Bahamas where they spent 8 months of the year. It has been destroyed by the hurricane so they weren’t sure what they were going to do or even if it was covered by insurance.

I had an appetizer that had a shrimp filo packet and carpaccio and other things. I thought it was two different appetizers on the menu but it was not!

My main was chicken stuffed. With feta and Olives (but I didn’t see any olives) with mushroom risotto. The food has all been very good and a lot of variety. The wines every day are from the local areas that we travel thru and we haven’t met one we didn’t like!

After dinner, there was a musical performance in the lounge. There were two violinists and a guitarist. They played mostly classical and were very, very good.

Funny thing was that the ship slowed near a high wall and the three musicians literally jumped onboard with their instruments. We did not see this but heard about it. We kind of wondered if it was really true. Don and I went up after the performance and bought their cd. We asked the guy and he said it was true. He also said it was scarier jumping off than on. Can you believe it?

I have really enjoyed the cruise so far and don’t think I will ever go on a large cruise ship again. But, you never know.

Monday, September 9

We joined the AmaViola, our river ship for the week, around noon on Sunday. It was a breezy and cool day but there was finally some sun. The five of us all were given our rooms right away so I unpacked my suitcase and got everything hung up. Hopefully, the wrinkles will fall out a bit. The ship does not allow irons or any kind of heating device in the rooms for fear of fire.

We then met up in the lounge and started day drinking. The boat slowly filled with people and it seemed everyone was doing the same.

At 6:00 there was a cocktail hour with the captain where we met the crew and then were given our safety lecture. We signed up for the Chef’s table dinner for 7:00. It is a fixed multi-course meal that is the same every night. Th meal is served with wines to fit the various courses – Usually local wines

It started with an amuse-bouche of Heirloom tomato carpaccio and eggplant caviar.

Next was lemon pepper, turnip-cucumber tartar, vegetable vinaigrette, and chick pea mousseline.

The soup was a carrot and ginger with a dollop of tabbouleh crème fraiche topped with cumin ciabatta.

The next course was skin grilled sea bream with citrus sauce, celery mash, and beluga lentil ragout. Not a one of us remembered to get a picture, we just dived in and ate it right away! But it was artfully arranged and tasted great too.

The restaurant seats 25 each night and there is just the one chef who prepares it all and a couple of waiters to serve.

There was a palate cleanser of vineyard peach sparkling wine before the main course. It was green pea velouté, wild broccoli, guacamole, beet root, and Nebraska beef tenderloin. The beef was perfectly cooked and very tender and the little sides definitely enhanced the dish.

Dessert was rum raisin crumble (no one cared for it much) apple tartelette and vanilla ice cream on a little cookie plus thinly sliced apple chips.

lt was wonderful and we all had a fun time. The only thing that ruined it was there was a table of ‘ugly Americans’. The one man had a very annoying and extremely loud guffaw laugh. I embarrassed Frankie by imitating him hoping he would take the hint but of course he didn’t. The people at the next table came over and commiserated with us. (Not sure if the link will work but he was loud and constant.We have continued to hear him all over the ship.)

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ei0qQZ4vdduauAAkmyIkc-tw#Amsterdam_-_Haarlemmerbuurt_&_Noord

After dinner we ended up back in the lounge and had more drinks and danced to the DJ tunes. Maybe we didn’t really need those extra drinks but we had fun while it lasted.

Went to bed and slept very well until about 5:45 am. Would have been nice to just lay around all morning but I had to get up and get some coffee and breakfast before our canal tour at 9:00.

NOTE: It seems my WordPress account was no longer connected to FB so my first post did not appear. Hopefully, it is now fixed.

Saturday, September 7, started off with the breakfast buffet in the hotel. They have a nice selection of foods – cereals, fruits, cheese, cold cuts, breads, eggs, bacon, sausages and a coffee machine that makes espresso drinks and regular coffee.

We planned to do the hop on, hop off bus tour today so we could see a bit more of the city. Don, Frankie and I walked down the street to a souvenir shop that sold tickets. We had vouchers from the hotel and they told us it would be cheaper to get the tickets on the bus. So, we walked down to the closest bus stop to wait for Celia and Barb. Frankie had called a taxi for them.

We have found that the reception desk at the hotel is not the best source of information and not real helpful. When we checked in we had the trouble with our rooms being cancelled. They took our credit cards for incidentals at that time, but I came back to my room to a note saying I had a ‘high balance’. When I called, they said they had not credit card on file!

The day before when Frankie went to get our tickets for the Van Gogh museum, the woman ordered two then was not able to get the other three and told him there was nothing she could do. And there was other misinformation given.

Rainstorm

Standing in the rain with thunder and lightening

As we waited, it started to rain, then it started to pour. We didn’t have umbrellas (Amsterdam is like Seattle in a lot of ways. One being that many people wear rain jackets or just go in the rain. We didn’t have either.) We ended up running over to the canal boat area where there were some umbrellas. That helped but we still got wet.

Amsterdam is a city of bicycles. There are bike pathways next to the sidewalks and the cyclists get a bit upset if a person is in their way. For the most part, the cyclists follow the rules of the road but we all wondered if the bikes have right away over pedestrians and vehicles. Driving here must be very frustrating since there are small roads with pedestrians and bikes everywhere. Some of the Uber or taxi rides have been a bit frightening. While standing in the rain we saw cyclists go by with no rain gear and getting soaking wet, even the little kids. Also, no one wears helmets.

After taxi issues, Celia and Barb finally showed up and we caught the next bus. There were headphones that you plugged into the side of the bus and listen to the narrative. It was okay but it seemed like the attraction was almost past before they started talking about it.

Rijksmuseum

Old apartment buildings

One of the only windmills in Amsterdam (photo credit:Frankie)

We passed the museum area, the concert area, a lot of apartment buildings, went thru the ship docking area, and then thru the diamond quarter. We decided to get off in the diamond area and go to a Delft shop and use the bathroom. It was around 1:00 and we were wanting a snack and a beer. Celia and Barb decided to continue the tour and Don, Frankie and I went around the corner to a cafe.

The buildings in Amsterdam are built on soft soil so they pound wooden pilings into the ground and then the buildings are built up no more than around 4 stories. Many of those buildings are now leaning.

At the cafe, Don and Frankie got some calamari and I got some Dutch cheese, great brown bread, and pickles. It rained again a little and since we were outside we put up the umbrella. After finishing our beer and wine, we took off for the red light district.

There were a lot of people, suggestive signs and things (i.e., penis bottle opener) in windows, the smell of pot everywhere, many shops selling same, and we saw one woman in a window. This area has had a lot of problems with tourists getting drunk and puking and peeing in the streets so they don’t allow tours anymore and also have cracked down with fines for those things.

We ended up at The Old Nickel, which is a bar and hotel. Don had stayed there in 1968 when he was 24 and in the army. It was a funky old place with wood wainscoting and walls. The thing I noticed was that the various glasses, beer mugs, etc. on a ledge around the top of the room were sparkling clean! The bathroom smelled like it hadn’t been cleaned in the hundreds of years the place had been around, though.

1614 Church

Red light district

Red Light District Canal

The Old Nickel

Then we walked to the Dam Square which has restaurants around it, there was a band playing across the street, and thousands of people. We got a table at one of the restaurants outside and had wine. Then took an expensive (ripped off) taxi ride back to the hotel. It was about 4:30 by then and had been a long day with a lot of walking. My feet hurt!

Dam Square

Euro Pub on the Dam Square

We all met up and went to dinner at Black Restaurant. It was another small, intimate place on one of the canals. Most of us got steak that was very good. It all came with unlimited fries and salad, which got Frankie singing Red Robin, in reference to the Seattle area restaurant which has unlimited fries.

The Black Restaurant

My rare Butcher Steak with pepper sauce and the basket of fries and salad.

The Black Restaurant on the canal (photo credit: Don)

The dinner was another success that we all enjoyed. The day had its ups and downs as far as weather but we saw a lot of sights and enjoyed it all. Sunday we get on the ship.

Don, Frankie and I left Seattle around 2:00 pm on Wednesday, September 4th. We flew Delta straight to Amsterdam in a 9 hour flight, arriving about 8:30 am. No sleep but felt pretty good for the first few hours.

We tried to check into our hotel which was part of our Delta package but for some reason they had cancelled our reservations. We don’t know yet if it was Delta or the hotel. Frankie is going to contact Delta Vacations about it. However, the hotel had rooms so it wasn’t a problem. They did not have them available until 3:00 though.

We walked down the street and across the canal to where there was a long street market. A lot of the booths were extensions of the stores behind them. Some interesting food stalls and lots of clothing, bags, junk, etc.

It was very windy and cool (felt good to me, as usual). Then it started to drizzle. That is our basic forecast for the days we are here.

We went into a coffee shop/cafe. Don and I had our 10:00 am Heineken and Frankie had a coffee. We sat there for a while chatting some with the two women who worked there until the rain stopped.

Canal by hotel. Our hotel is the second building on the left. (Photo credit: Frankie)

We were very tired by then and walked back down the street to the hotel. We figured if we sat in the lobby they might give us rooms quicker. Not. Don and Frankie’s room was ready first so we all trooped up there. They lay down and I sat in the chair trying to stay awake listening to my book and playing games. Finally, a little before 3:00 pm I finally got my room. I lay down around 4:00 and kind of slept for two hours. They are tearing down a building next door and were using a backhoe to clean up broken up cement. So, it was rather noisy.

The other members of our party, Barb and Celia, had come in sometime after 3:00 and went straight to their room. They decided not to join us for dinner.

We walked a couple blocks away to a highly popular restaurant, Cafe Loetje. It was a fun place and very busy. We got there just in time to get seats at the bar while waiting for our table. A few minutes later there was standing room inside and out for tables.

Bar at Cafe Loetje

Frankie and I ordered something we never see in the states – veal liver. Don ordered his favorite – schnitzel. The menu was ala carte so we ordered sides of fried onions for our liver, and everyone was going to order french fries until I noted that I had seen that they were large orders. So the waitress said 2 baskets of fries for the 3 of us. We should have ordered 1 and the liver came with bacon and onions so we had way too much food. It was all good though.

Frankie and Don

Veal liver with bacon and onions

The next morning after a fairly good night of sleep, we went to the Van Gogh Museum. We weren’t able to get all the tickets online so had to stand in line at museum and were able to get them. They release tickets that aren’t available online at machines by the museum. It was weird.

Frankie, me, Don, Celia and Barb

The Van Gogh museum

We split up and all saw the museum at our own pace then met up in the cafe for wine. Van Gogh was definitely an interesting and troubled man.

We all had a rest in the late afternoon then met up for dinner out. We went to Mamouche, a Moroccan French restaurant. Four of us went for the chef’s surprise 3 course dinner. Don chose a couscous and grilled meat dinner.

We started with an apertíf of Prosecco with Moroccan rose petals. We all thought it was going to have a rose syrup or something but it was just a petal.

Our surprise dinner started with an appetizer. I got filo dough filled with chicken, onion, raisins, and almonds. Frankie got a filo with tuna confit, capers, parsley and quail egg. We split them between us. They were both good, but I liked the tuna one best.

Interior of Restaurant Mamouche

Filo filled with chicken, raisins and almonds

Filo with tuna, capers, parsley and egg

Next we were served a hot, steamy tagine. Mine was lamb, almonds, plums, and sweet potatoes and Frankie’s was cod, prawns, onion and potato. Both were very good. Don enjoyed his couscous and grilled meat with sweet potato and pumpkin. Celia and Barb had the same things that Frankie and I had.

Tagine of lamb shoulder, plums, almonds and green beans

Tagine of cod and prawns

Couscous and grilled meats and vegetables

Dessert was creme brûlée and a citrus yogurt ice cream and a filo filled with almond paste with cinnamon ice cream. Those who know me well know I am not a cinnamon fan but the ice cream really didn’t taste much of cinnamon. The desserts were all eaten before we remembered to take pictures.

We were all really happy that we had tried someplace so different. The service was pretty good and the restaurant was busy but not too noisy.

Back to the hotel for a night cap and then to bed at around midnight.

It was a good day but not too busy.