We had another early breakfast this morning since we had to be packed so early. I am going to miss the chocolate brownies and the lemon pastries for breakfast every morning. YUM!! And plus it’s kinda nice having a celebrity in the same dining room with us. Yes, Aaron Eckhart was back again this morning, and I just smiled quietly to myself.
Soon we were off – all 31 of us headed out by bus for Amsterdam with multiple stops along the way. We were soon in the Netherlands, and we were all eager to catch pictures of windmills, but the original windmills are harder to find these days. We only managed to see a couple of them on our drive.
We had a fancy lunch at the seaside Kurhaus Hotel in Scheveningen, which is on the North Sea. After lunch, we walked outside to catch sight of the North Sea. It was windy and a bit chilly along the seashore, but it was also beautiful.
Next, we drove a short distance to the Madurodam, which has hundreds of miniature replicas of the Netherlands’ landmarks like castles, churches, windmills, and other area attractions and places of significance in this country. There just was so much to see in such a limited amount of time. I think we had a little more than an hour to see it all, and it was next to impossible. It was completely fascinating.
Aat told us stories on the drive. I loved hearing him talk and share his life’s stories. He grew up in the Netherlands during World War II and was originally from Rotterdam. The winter of 1945 was brutally cold and food was scarce, and the people were forced to eat tulip bulbs to survive. His advice: don’t eat tulip bulbs. No matter how you fix them, they taste awful!
We finally arrived in Amsterdam and drove through part of the city to get to the place where the boat was docked. I’m so excited to finally board the boat. Our cabin (301) is near the end of the hall. Mom and Dad are just down the hall in 305. The rooms are perhaps a bit smaller than I imagined, but I think it’s all gonna work out. There are drawers and a closet to store clothes and to stash our unpacked suitcases. The bathroom is small, but it has everything we’ll need. The beds fold up for storage so that we have mini couches to sit on in the day time.
There was a letter in our cabin warning us of a recent virus development along the river. Any passenger who comes down with the symptoms (vomiting and/or diarrhea) should report it to the reception desk and take precautions not to infect others (isolation until the symptoms cease). Uh-oh!! L
Soon after boarding, we had a welcome meeting and learned that we would be divided into 4 color groups and assigned to a program manager for the duration of the trip. We are on the YELLOW team, and so Tineke will be our program manager for the next couple of weeks. We learned that many of our co-travelers from Brussels are also in the yellow group such as Dick and Audrey, George and Marilyn, etc. So it sounds like we’ll have a great group! We also got to meet Captain Roger Spoor, Ben (the hotel manager) and Gingus (the restaurant manager) for the first time.
After our meeting, we headed up to the dining room for dinner. We ate with Susan and Gladys. We had a pleasant first meal onboard with 4 courses: the appetizer, soup, entrée and dessert. I have decided to take photos of our food (as often as I remember to do so) to keep track of what we eat, how it is presented and perhaps to help me remember what I enjoyed or really didn’t care for, etc.
Mom and I did a bit of exploring around the boat, and then Aunt Peggy came and found us. I spent quite a bit of time up on the sun deck taking pictures of the surroundings. I fell in love with a massive sailboat that was docked near our ship. Hmmmm...maybe I will try sailing some day as well!
We are going to be docked here until tomorrow afternoon I think, and then we will finally be heading out on the Amsterdam canal towards the Rhine River.
We are going to be docked here until tomorrow afternoon I think, and then we will finally be heading out on the Amsterdam canal towards the Rhine River.
WOW! It’s been quite a day. I’m tired, but I’m also hyped up. I hope we all sleep well.
Favorite Thing or Funny Moment
- Aunt Peggy: finally getting on the boat
- Mom: Madurodam
- Me: Madurodam – I loved those mini structures, but I was sad we didn’t have more time with them!
- FEELING: Hyper!
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