Netherlands 05
Holland & Belgium in Springtime
Grand Circle Travel
18 Day Tour/River Cruise 2005
April 11 to April 28, 2005
Under TRAVELS, click under CRUISES, Holland/Belgium 05 and on Belgium 05 for other parts of this vacation. (*Both being worked on; check back please)
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This trip began on Monday afternoon with a departure from Dulles International Airport on United Airlines direct to Amsterdam. After an eight hour flight we arrived at our hotel, Hotel Sofitel Amsterdam, and were in our room by 8:30 a.m. It was clean, quiet, comfortable, and nicely decorated.
View the larger map and flag for demographics of the country. The term "Holland" is used by most visitors and is accepted by those living in the North and South Holland provinces. It is not appreciated by the Dutch who do not live in those regions, they prefer the official name "Kingdom of the Netherlands" or simply "Netherlands."
The river cruise portion of our trip carried us through many places in the Netherlands. In this site I will cover only our Pre-Trip Extension in Amsterdam.
Our first day schedule for Tuesday, April 12.
We took a four hour nap then joined the orientation walk at 5 p.m. Program Director Inge Bovee (Netherlands) pointed out all the important places we would need to visit during our stay in Amsterdam. She cautioned us about bicycle riders and dogs, showed us some of the food and money spots, and recommended the latest in transportation.
Our Welcome Drink in the hotel bar included enough snacks to satisfy our hunger pangs so we opted not to eat more and rather get a good nights sleep. We did enjoy meeting other fellow travelers (26 on the Pre-Trip.)
Wednesday's schedule.
After breakfast we were briefed then departed at 10 for a city tour and visit to the Van Gogh Museum. The museum was packed; lots of school children doing their assignments. It houses more than 200 Van Gogh paintings plus works of art by other 19th-century painters and sculptors. Van Gogh's tend to the "dark" side but there were a few nature scenes that we liked.
Inside the gift shop Dotty discovered a "Swatch" watch that was a "must have" so it was purchased. Pictures inside were forbidden but I couldn't resist taking this one of a young woman's hair. Man, was it blue!
The museum entrance wasn't that impressive but the buildings either side were. The second picture is of the Concert Hall; next is the Rijksmuseum. There are always souvenir shops; Dotty checks out the post cards.
Sights during our drive around the city revealed the large network or canals which are cleaned regularly and provide home sights for many. These pictures give an idea of what we witnessed.
Check out the cool man powered vehicle and the thousands of bikes parked in the picture at right. Larger pictures are just a click away!
Lunch was on our own so we took the opportunity to sample some of the local goodies at a soup kitchen just a block away from our hotel. The soup was delicious as was the brown bread. It was our first encounter with food prices and the Euro exchange rate. A bit expensive.
After lunch we had a leisurely and extended walk back. These were some of the interesting stores near where we ate. I was tempted to buy Dotty some lingerie but she thought it might not look so good on her.
These were some more of the interesting sites we observed during our walk.
One of the most interesting things we saw was a prostitute displaying her body inside a street level window. We didn't expect to encounter such a thing in this neighborhood. More fun to watch was this young man back at our hotel.
Dotty and I were invited to join four others of our group for dinner at the Old Holland Restaurant just a block away from the hotel. More fellow travelers saw what fun we were having and joined us. Dutch food doesn't have the reputation of being spectacular but the Dutch Sampler we had was certainly delicious. It contained sausage, beef, veal, and chicken on a large platter of hutspot (mixture of potatoes, carrots, and onions) plus salad, green beans and roasted potatoes.
Thursday was to be our most interesting day of our stay in Amsterdam. In the morning we opted out of going to Ann Frank's House and instead took a walk of the area behind and to the right (facing) of our hotel; the main business section of town.
There was a light drizzle at times but the temperature wasn't bad and the clouds made for good camera shots. This small food market was just a few doors from our hotel and was typical of many we encountered in the area. Dotty loved the clothes! Peek and Coppenburg was on the Dam Square.
Also on the square is The Town Hall. It is built on more than 13,000 wooden piles driven into the Dam's soft sand; notice the beautiful sculptures at its top in the second picture. The hall is now a part-time Royal Palace but apparently popular as a wedding site judging from the couple in the third picture. At right is De Nieuwe Kerk (new church,) now a museum, which was featuring Moroccan art during our visit.
Public transportation was plentiful with buses and electric street cars running at close intervals. Since it was daylight we perhaps didn't encounter as many interesting persons as we might have during the evening. These two were on on the square.
A walking tour wouldn't be complete without a little shopping so we stopped at this beautiful building which had been converted from a Post Office to a mall. There weren't many shops but the few that were there were rather upscale and the prices were very high.
That afternoon we began the Optional Amsterdam Adventure. As if we hadn't already walked enough! The 14 of us were broken into two groups, given written instructions and launched off to answer a series of questions at locations along the route. Our group of course was the best! Roland and Laurel at left then Guy and Dotty, and Lois and Bill.
We followed our instructions to each checkpoint where we had to answer a question. One of the first was, "who will succeed Queen Beatrix?" That answer was obtained from a passerby; intended to help us get to know the locals a bit better. The Queen's son, Willem-Alexander, is the heir apparent. A horse drawn carriage passed just as we made this discovery.
Back in the main square we learned that the Dutch National Monument below is a war memorial and contains urns of earth from each of the Netherlands' 11 provinces and from Indonesia, the former Dutch East Indies.
At the left picture we are trying to determine an answer at The Grand Hotel. Next, Bill locates an ancient "out house" right on the canal edge. Supposedly it is no longer in operation. The bikes by Bill remind me that one of the questions we had to answer was "how many bikes are stolen in and around Amsterdam each year?" Estimates range between 80,000 and 150,000! Everyone has one and that means that there are probably close to 500,000. It pays to ride an old bike that no one would possibly want but still lock both wheels and the frame.
Architectural questions made us more aware of some of the important styles and building methods. For example, most of the houses and buildings have wooden piles driven deep into the earth but over time might fail and cause a building to sway. I can't be sure what the last picture had to do with architecture but I do recall she willingly smiled while I took the picture.
Just as we neared our first rendezvous with our tour organizer (Hans,) standing in doorway, we saw this beautiful section of a canal and its environs. Inside the Amsterdam City Steam Brewery we enjoyed a beverage and then visited the section that at one time had been its operational brewery. We arrived at this point before the other team of eight so won this leg of the adventure. That's Roland with hat, Guy Larry and Dotty, Lois and Bill, and Laurel up front.
Our walking adventure continued just a short distance away where we went inside the oldest drug store in Amsterdam. Dotty bought licorice; there must have been more than a dozen flavors!
The experience wouldn't have been complete without venturing into the famous red light district. Our task there was to determine the "age" for visiting a prostitute. I spotted the young man at left and asked him the question. He seemed to understand but carefully examined the three men in our group and responded in all seriousness; "eighty!" No doubt he thought we wanted to know what the oldest age for visiting and guessed well outside the age of any of us. We had a great laugh but made him feel good by taking his picture with Dotty.
We were repeatedly admonished, verbally and in writing, not to take pictures of the famous ladies of the night, not even during the day! However, in the Visitor's Information Center in the district, there were post cards of them so we bought one for your pleasure. None posed for us the way the one in the picture did but they were certainly a sight to behold. The ribbon is one each of us earned for our journey through the district.
You hear so much about drugs in the Netherlands but we were mostly unaware of it during our visit there. We certainly never saw any adverse evidence of it and from the absence of rowdiness and confrontations it must not be a serious problem. The Adventure tour had us stop at the Famous Bulldog Coffee Shop for a look see into the world of drugs, paraphernalia, and to pick up a few souvenirs (no drugs!) Close by was The Old Church, oldest monument in Amsterdam (ca. 1250.) Inside is a museum but it also hosts concerts and exhibitions.
The journey continued through other interesting parts of the city including this Chinese temple. That's Laurel, Dotty, and Roland standing in front. After making a slight deviation from the instructions we finally reached our destination only to be beaten there by the other team. They got the "Winners Certificate!" From left is Dick and Jane Stradtman (IN,) Barbara and Bill Clark (WA,) Ottie and Dave Jones (OH,) and Suzie and Sam Rich (CA.) They are gloating over their victory!
We had light snacks and beverages at this final stop, enjoyed a few words from Hans and then trekked back to our hotel. Someone with a pedometer said we walked more than six miles albeit at a leisurely pace. I have no doubt it was that.
That night Dotty and I slept like babies after having packed and readied our baggage for the departure. Because we had opted not to take the optional Haarlem tour we joined two others with our luggage to make a short van ride to our ship at 11 a.m.
It was nice arriving early and getting into our cabin and settled before lunch. The remainder of our group arrived in early afternoon and others of the total of 134 passengers came throughout the day. The MS River Symphony was ready and waiting. Those of us who are "Inner Circle" travelers were treated to a "special" welcome. That status is attained when you begin your fourth trip with Grand Circle Travel. Because you are also awarded a nice jacket for your fourth trip, Dotty pulled my arm to get in four trips all within less than eighteen months!!
Our impressions of Amsterdam were very good. In spite of cloudy skies and a few drizzles here and there we thoroughly enjoyed the sites, experiences, and people. We were amazed at the few sirens we heard during our stay; only a couple of times. It was one sign of the absence of fire, accident, emergency, and police calls.
Amsterdam is a wonderful city to visit with easy access to lots of interesting places. In spite of its population you have the feeling you are in a much smaller city. By all means, include it in your travel plans.
We invite you to check out the cruise and Belgium parts of our Holland & Belgium in Springtime Tour/Cruise.
Posted on the Internet on 6/2/05, revised 6/5/06.