Author: mmmtravelmemories

A retired college administrator who loves to travel. I write to remember the experiences and, I hope, to inspire others to make their own travel memories.

Thursday, June 6 – You Take The High Road; I’ll Take the Low Road – We’ll Get Wet Together

Arriving at Invergordon port at 9:00 so I slept in until 6:00. We needed to be off the ship as soon as they cleared as we had a long tour with WOW Scotland tour company today. Already raining and the sky didn’t look like it would clear anytime soon. Today’s tour was going to concentrate on the Scottish Highlands. I like MC Beaton’s Hamish MacBeth books so I was looking forward to seeing sites that had been described in the book.

I had already contacted the Company about the change in pier and in the change of time. We had been scheduled from 8:00 to 6:00 but had to change to 9:00 to 7:00 and pier because of another ship arrival/departure. They had already received that information but better to be safe. The larger ship – the Balmoral – was already docked.

It was raining buckets and the shuttle busses had not come yet. Some people had been let off the ship and were standing under the rain shelter waiting for the first shuttle. They held the rest of us back. If the weather had been good, we could have walked the pier even though it was long but with the rain, we would have been pretty miserable. 

Shuttles finally started running and we got the next one. We met Rob, the tour company representative, at the end of the pier and he got us checked in and directed to the 30 seater bus. There were 24 of us on this tour. Rob was also our driver and narrator for the day. He was dressed the traditional kilt.

Our first stop was the town of Beauly. As it was still raining pretty hard, we had a choice of touring the graveyard of the Priory Church of the Blessed Virgin and John the Baptist, founded in 1230. Some did choose to go, Chuck and I did not. Instead, we went to a local bakery. I got a chocolate éclair and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was not what I was expecting. It was a dark chocolate taste – not as sweet as what I am used to having. I did enjoy it. Chuck got coffee and a chocolate éclair. I think we made a good choice. Others saw where we were headed and followed.

Our next stop was the city of Inverness. It is the Capital of the Highlands and it sits at the mouth of the River Ness which flows from Loch Ness. We had several options here. We could have walked across the river footbridge to the Inverness Castle. But, it is a working government building so you cannot go in just to look around. We could have strolled up and down the river walkway, or we could have gone shopping. As it was still raining, we decided to stay close and tour the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew. It is a Scottish Episcopal church finished in 1869. However, they ran out of money before they could build the big twin spires that was part of the original design so they have flat columns. It was very ornate inside. We contributed to the church funds by purchasing a sandwich and hot tea from their small café.

We drove up and down the hills of the moor and he pointed out the peat bogs, the types of trees (a lot of pine), the heather, and the flowering yellow bushes called Gorse. We saw a number of sheep, some cows, including the hairy Highland cows (although they were too far away for a picture), and even some alpacas.

Our next stop was at the bank of the Loch Ness. We met Steve, the Nessie Hunter. He was a successful stockbroker in London who gave it all up to search for Nessie for the last 27 years. He lives in an old converted camper and sells Nessie models (and takes donations). He has a website. He is either a genius or a kook. I think the jury is still out. We looked for Nessie but all we saw were ducks. It was a very peaceful setting so personally I am glad the scene wasn’t disrupted by a man-eating sea monster. However, I would have liked to have gotten a Nessie Christmas ornament.

We left Loch Ness and drove through some more interesting countryside and came to the Culloden Battlefield. Vast stretches of boggy flat land. During our tour of the Edinburgh Castle, we had heard about the Jacobite (supporters of the deposed James II and his descendants in their claim to the British throne after the Revolution of 1688) uprising and Bonnie Prince Charlie who wanted his Scottish family (the Stuarts) returned to the British throne. Now we were at the site of the final confrontation between the Jacobites and the British Army.

So you have some Scottish clansmen, who were mostly farmers, going to fight the British government forces. Didn’t turn out so well for the clansmen. The British waited for the Scotsmen to charge with their swords and bayonets and watched them getting bogged down in the soggy peat. The army then picked them off like birds. It is said the “battle” lasted about an hour and the Jacobites lost around 2000 men while the British lost about 300. The ones who made it back home were stripped of their land and had to leave. It is said that Prince Charlie escaped to France and died of a stroke at 61. The Stuarts never made it to the throne. Too bad they didn’t have a dragon to help in their Game of Thrones.

We also got to see a stone house with the thatch roof that would have housed one family and their few animals. Had to heat with smoking peat and the thatch soaked in and released the smoke to the outside. I still think it must have been hard to breathe in there.

It was really raining by this time and even with my rain gear, I was feeling damp and getting cold. I was ready to go back to the ship but we had one more stop to make.

Last stop was to the Clava Cairns. No one really knows how these circular stone burial structures and various standing stones came to exist but they date back from the Bronze Age and the circular structure openings align with the winter solstice so that the inside of the Cairn lights up from the sun on that day – some think so that the souls can find their passage way. Or maybe the whole site was built by aliens. It’s a mystery.

The traffic was pretty heavy getting back to the port. I’m glad I was not doing the driving because between the traffic, the round-abouts, and being on the left side of the road, I would have caused a major pile-up. But Rob got us back in plenty of time before the ship departed. I am sorry it rained on us most of the day but Rob did a great job and I am glad we chose WOW Scotland.

We were ready for some hot coffee and to get out of our damp clothes. Got changed and cleaned up in time to go to the Ocean’s Bar. Before we left port, a bagpipe and drum band came to play and some young women did some Scottish dances for us at the port. I felt bad for them as it was still so cold and windy even though the rain had stopped. We cheered them on from the decks.

We were delayed leaving by the same ship that made us change ports and time. We were supposed to follow it out but they had a medical emergency and were waiting for an ambulance to take someone to the hospital. Hope the person(s) was okay.

Dinner was a steak salad for me and roast chicken for Chuck. We sat at a table for four with a nice couple. She was from Australia and he was from England. They split their time between the two places since they have opposite summers. Not a bad way to avoid winters.

The show tonight was called Silver Screen and featured songs from various movies. Again, the Prinsendam singers and dancers did a good job but I still preferred their first show.

Laundry was back so I got that put away. Tonight’s towel animal is an elephant. Tomorrow we will arrive in Scrabster. I’m afraid to look at the weather report.

Inverness Trivia

Mary Queen of Scots ordered the hanging of the Governor of Inverness Castle because the Governor did not permit the Queen to enter the Burgh.

Loch Ness is the second largest loch in Scotland with depths reaching over 750 feet. It holds more fresh water than all the lochs and lakes in England and Wales combined. It is 23 miles long, about a mile wide and never freezes.

Inverness Castle
St. Andrew’s Cathedral Church – No spires
Church entrance
All kneeling cushions had some sort of design
Original Stained Glass
Marble Statue – “The Angel of Baptism”
The Alter
Gorse in the foreground. Loch Ness in the background.
Still Smiling Despite the Rain
Looking for Nessie
Found Ducks
Still Searching
Home Sweet Camper
Flags Mark Spots where British Army lined up and shot the Jacobites mired up in the peat bogs.
Rob Describing the Battle
Home Sweet Home for Your Family and Your Farm Animals
One of the Burial Cairns with the Entrance Facing the Winter Solstice Light

Wednesday, June 5 – Castle in the Sky

We set our clocks back one hour last night so at least I got an extra hour of sleep. Was up at 5:00 so I could be dressed and ready by the time room service breakfast arrived. The announcement came at 7:45 that Immigration was ready to start reviewing passports. Once you had your passport reviewed, you were free to leave the ship. Our group number was called at 8:10. The line moved pretty quickly. Two bored people at the table glanced at the passports, glanced up at us, and told us to have a nice day. Didn’t even get a passport stamp. Very anticlimactic. Wonder if we’ll have to do the same thing for Ireland.

As the port of Rosyth is a working port, we had to wait for a bus to take us to the Inverkeithing train station. There were several people waiting for the bus so I felt better that we would be able to know what to do when we got there. Turns out we were all new to the process so we would all fail or succeed together. Got to the train station at about 8:40, walked in and bought 2 round-trip tickets to Edinburgh. Had to cross over the small bridge and wait at the platform. The train was on time but it was crowded as it was full of commuters going to work in Edinburgh. I was able to sit next to a very nice man from Inverness who told me just to ask at one of the Information Desks about which exit to use to be closest to the Castle. He was happy to hear that I was from Georgia  as he said that his bucket list included playing golf at The Masters course in Augusta. Go figure. We arrived at the Waverly Station at 9:30 and found an information desk. She pointed us in the right direction.

Outside, it was drizzly and cool so I was glad we had our rain gear. We could see the Castle in the distance but it was shrouded in fog and clouds so it looked eerie. Even though we could see it, I turned on the phone GPS so we could have step by step directions up to the Castle. And it was an uphill climb so I didn’t want to make more steps than necessary. We arrived at the Castle gates at 9:45. The signage was confusing as it wasn’t clear about getting tickets. I knew I had to scan our paperwork for the tickets to print but I wasn’t sure about where they would collect the tickets. After a couple of missteps, we finally passed by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce guarding the gates and were inside the Castle walls.

We decided to wait 10 minutes for the next guided tour of the Castle instead of waiting in line for the audio headsets. Our guide was a very nice woman and she took us all around the inside perimeter of the Castle explaining the history of the Castle and how many times it had been under siege between Scotland and England. The Castle sits on Castle Rock which is an extinct volcano. She said the volcano last erupted 340 million years ago so I felt pretty safe (although how do they know for sure?) The fog never lifted so we could not see the town clearly at all but it definitely gave it a sense of olden days.

We were able to go inside the Great Hall, St. Margaret’s Chapel, the National War Museum, and the Royal Palace. We were not allowed to take pictures in the National War Museum or the Royal Palace. I wish I could have as the crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny (large sandstone rock that is used in coronations) were really amazing to see. We were also not allowed to go into New Barracks as it still houses an active military which still officially runs the Castle. Every day at 1:00, they fire the cannon. We looked at Mons Meg, a cannon that could fire 300 lb cannon balls and the dog cemetery where the military dogs are buried.

It was very crowded at the Castle but the lines went quickly while we were inside. When we finished up about 1:00, I bought a crown Christmas ornament at the gift store. I was glad we came early as we did because crowds were still coming in at 1:00. We started walking down the Royal Mile through the Old Town. We went into a couple of stores, looked at the different Closes (narrow alleys) and passed by St. Giles Cathedral with the national animal of Scotland – the Unicorn. We stopped at a pub for a beer and a hamburger. We could have walked all the way to the end of the Royal Mile to the Hollyrood Castle but decided to take the Scotland Steps (each step is a different color marble) at the halfway point and go back to Waverly. Saw a couple from the ship that had taken the same train that morning and they were also headed back so we followed them to the platform. The train going back was not as full as the one that morning. Once we were back at the station, the bus was waiting to take us back to the ship. All in all – a very smooth process all day.

We left Royth at 6:00 and were going back down the Firth of Forth (estuary of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth) under the three bridges. We barely cleared the bridges much like going under the Sunshine bridge in Tampa. I would have stayed out longer taking pictures but the wind was really cold and it had started to rain again.

After some time spent in the Ocean’s Bar, we went to dinner. I had the coconut shrimp salad and Chuck had the pork tenderloin. I was beat so I went to the room to read but Chuck went to hear the comedian/singer – Jo Little and then spend some time in the Casino. The laundry was back so I got it put up. I tried to read several chapters but didn’t make it past one.

Tonight’s towel animal is a lobster. Tomorrow is Invergordon.

Edinburgh Trivia

Edinburgh was the first city in the world to have its own fire service in 1703.

About 13 million tourists visit Edinburgh every year.

Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads in the world. Around 13 per cent of the population has red hair.

The title of Duke of Edinburgh was first created for Prince Frederick, son of George I, in 1726.

Edinburgh replaced Scone as the capital of Scotland in 1437.

Edinburgh has 112 parks and more trees per head of population than any other city in the UK.

Inverkeithing Train Station
Guarding the Castle Gates for All Eternity
St. Margaret’s Chapel and Gardens
Great Hall
Scotland Coat of Arms
Ceiling of Great Hall
Sample of Types of Armor
So Many Weapons of War
Mary Queen of Scots
Mons Meg Canon
Royal Mile Piper
Touch the Toes for Wisdom
St. Giles Cathedral
The National Animal of Scotland holding St. Andrews Cross Flag

Tues, June 4 – Hitchhiking on a Sea Day

One thing about inside cabins – there is very little light coming in and certainly not enough to wake you up. Since this was a sea day (one of only 3 in 14 days), we did not set the alarm. I don’t know why I was surprised when I woke up at 8:00. I had slept for more than 8 hours. Chuck woke up as I was getting out of the shower.

We had not placed the breakfast request on our door handle the night before so we decided just to order by calling room service. Neither of us was in the mood to brave the Lido and the Dining Room would be closing soon. I was surprised that they were able to bring it in only 20 minutes.

By the time I was ready to leave the room it was time for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. I chat online with a group of cruisers from the same sailing. Questions are posted. People share ideas about excursions, etc. Great way to find information about your particular cruise. Some boards are very active while others are not. I was lucky that this one was a chatty group. Sometimes, one of the members of the group will arrange for a face to face meeting of the group. Depending on what is happening on the ship, I will either attend or not. I wanted to go to this one specifically to meet the people I will be sharing some tours in Ireland. There were probably 60 people at this meeting. Many people were repeat cruisers on the Prinsendam and were on the ship to say good-bye. I was glad that I went.

Met Chuck up on the Sea View deck. I thought it was chilly though it was not raining. He found it pleasant enough to get into the hot tub. I would have been fine getting in but I would not have wanted to get out. We sat outside enjoying the sun until we felt like getting some lunch. While we were sitting there admiring the view, a pigeon suddenly landed on the deck. I leaned forward to look at him more closely and realized he had bands around his legs. Carrier pigeon? Homing pigeon? He certainly wasn’t frightened of people because he just stood still as people walked by him. Nobody bothered him.

We at lunch in the Lido area. The Prinsendam set-up of the Lido is a pretty old-fashioned cafeteria style. They have a long serving line on each side of the ship. I prefer the set-up on the newer ships that have all the different stations scattered throughout the Lido area so you are not waiting for your food so long.

After lunch, Chuck went to enter the first round of the Black Jack tournament and I went to get a seat to hear the Excursion Guide give information on the Scotland ports. I was mostly interested in what he would tell us about getting to the train station if we wanted to go to Edinburgh by ourselves and not through a HAL tour. The other 3 stops, I have tours booked so I wasn’t worried about them. I’ve got entry tickets to the Edinburgh Castle that are only good from 9:30 – 11:00. If you arrive after 11:00, too bad so sad.

So, HAL would provide a shuttle to the nearest train station. Purchase your round trip tickets, get on the right train (it comes every 20 – 30 minutes), and get off at the Edinburgh Waverly station. Make your way out of the station and up the road to the Castle. Sounded easy enough. I just had to make sure that we were off the ship as soon as we could disembark.

Got back to the room feeling pretty confident and find a letter from Guest Services informing all of us that we have to present ourselves to Scottish immigration once we dock. What? It would start at around 8:00 and we were supposed to come to the Library when our number was called with our passport and our room card. It should be over at 9:30. Our number was Group 4. Oh great. What kind of monkey wrench was this issue going to be?

I took myself back upstairs to talk to the Excursion Guide and ask if we had any chance of making it to the Castle by 11:00 given this immigration check. “You’ll be fine,” he assured me. Okay, we’ll see tomorrow.

Back in the room, I got our first bag of laundry ready to send out. I had to leave a note to ask for a 2nd bag because I couldn’t get everything in there. Now that we are 4 star HAL Mariners, we get free laundry as a perk. So very nice. They picked it up when they cleaned the room and left me another bag.

Tonight was Gala night so we got dressed up and had a drink at the Ocean’s Bar. Went to dinner and sat with a solo woman from Australia and a couple from Hawaii. That couple had been on several world cruises. Really knowledgeable. We both had shrimp cocktail and a salad. I had the yellowfin sole and he had the pork tenderloin. The only issue was that we had to wait longer than usual for someone to come take our order. I’m not sure what the problem was but at least we had a nice table conversation.

Since tomorrow is such an early day, after dinner I went back to the room to organize my backpack, paperwork, and clothes so I wouldn’t be running around in the morning. Once that chore was done, I found Chuck at the Casino and we went to watch the Prinsendam Singers and Dancers perform “Atlantic Crossing.” You never know what you are going to get when you have a cast production but this group of young singers and dancers were phenomenal. The guy who could sing Elton John and the woman who could sing Adele had uncanny voices. Thoroughly entertaining.

We called it a night after the show. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50’s and raining. Tonight’s towel animal is a hermit crab.

The Hitchhiker

Monday, June 3 – Easy Embarkation

Slept fairly well last night even though I was excited about embarkation day. Got up around 6:30. Breakfast again very good. I had a pancake this morning. Don’t know how they can make them so thin.

Called for an Uber Black since we had large luggage and I knew an Uber X would be too small. Driver showed up in a Mercedes. Fancy 15 minute ride to the cruise terminal.

Young man met us at the car and took our luggage and pointed us in the direction of the escalators. We moved through both security and getting our key cards quickly. We were handed Group 5 and I asked what Group was boarding next? Group 4. We barely sat down and we were called to board. From the time he dropped us off to the time we boarded the ship – 15 minutes. Unbelievable.

As I mentioned the Prinsendam is an old ship – built in the early 80’s. We walked in our room and couldn’t believe the large size of it. Lots of wasted space. We could do ballroom dancing in the middle. They have learned from the past- smaller rooms mean more rooms.  More rooms mean more money. We also have a bathtub instead of a walk-in shower. Good and bad. Good if you like to take baths. Bad if you like to take showers and you have to step high over the tub and your head barely misses the ceiling. You also have to step up and down into the bathroom itself which can be dangerous, especially in the dark. Those issues have been eliminated in the newer ships.

I love the location. We are toward the back of the ship and we can step outside to an area that is almost like a private balcony (if you ignore the steps going to the upper and lower decks). We are right below the sea view pool so I hope it doesn’t spring a leak. If we were cruising the Caribbean I would be worried about the noise from people in the pool – not so much in the British Isles. We are on the same floor as the casino, the coffee shop, and the main showroom and only one floor above the main dining room. It is a very quiet room.

After eating a lunch in the main dining room which is always more relaxing than the Lido, we went to the Mariner’s Reception. I don’t know why we go. I keep thinking they are going to have speakers but all it turns out to be is that you greet some officers on the way in and then sit with a cheap glass of champagne and some appetizers and talk to other people. I did meet a very nice woman from Australia.

Our luggage had arrived so I had time before the mandatory safety drill to start unpacking. I had to stop to attend the drill and then finished once it was over. Everyone was on time and paid attention so it was over very quickly. The sail-away was beautiful. The day had started out dreary, drizzly, and cool. But the sun popped out and though it was breezy, it was beautiful. Since this sailing is the 2nd to the last one, the crew was having a group picture taken as a memento. I took the opportunity to take their picture also. Know they shed a few tears. Took us a long time to sail down the canal, through the lock, and out into the Channel. We were finishing dinner when we finally reached the Channel. I had the fig, walnut, and goat cheese salad and the eggplant parmigiana. Chuck had the tomato soup and the beef short rib s.

I was amazed at all the wind turbines – not only on land but big wind turbines out in the Channel. Certainly not the iconic windmills that you think of when you hear “The Netherlands”. I had also forgotten that we would see oil rigs but they were in abundance also.

Played a little blackjack after dinner but I didn’t have any luck and I was getting tired. I left Chuck who was on a hot streak and came on to the room. Tonight’s entertainment was the Welcome Aboard show and a movie – The Green Book so I didn’t feel I missed anything.

Tomorrow is a sea day so no alarm needs to be set. Tonight’s towel animal is a crab.

Staff Group Photo as a Good-bye to the Prinsendam
Ferry Port
One of Many Oil Rigs
Harnessing the Ocean Wind

Sunday, June 2 – Two Tours was Too Much

With the help of a couple of Tylenol PM to squelch the beginnings of a headache and neck pain, I slept hard until 5:30 this morning. The bed was very comfortable, no noise from the street, blackout curtains to make it dark, and a very cool 21 degrees Celsius made this exhausted woman happy.

Took me a few minutes to figure out the espresso machine in the room and the rain shower head for the shower. The breakfast area was very nice. A woman made us each an omelet. They had a machine that squeezed fresh orange juice. Had another area with various breads, cheeses, dried fish (salted herring?), salad, and fruit. Interesting items that people have for breakfast. We stayed with the traditional omelet, bacon, and fruit. The coffee machine ground beans for good-tasting coffee. The coffee cups were small so it took several cups.

I forgot to mention that we met several nice people sitting outside the café – a young couple from Milan, a couple from Israel, and another couple – he was from Amsterdam and she was from Scotland. He had very interesting tattoos all over his neck, shoulder, and on his bald head. I wanted to take a picture but I figured he would think it was rude.

Today was another beautiful day – sunny with a very nice breeze. Using Google map directions, we walked 30 minutes to the meet up point for our first walking tour of the day. Our guide was Robbert (spelling is correct) from The Dam Guides. I found the company on TripAdvisor and Cruise Critic. Surprisingly, we were the only people on the tour today so it was nice being able to have a conversation with him as we visited the various points of interest. We learned a lot of history about Amsterdam – how the city was formed, the different religious influences, the rise and fall of tuplip commodities, Napolean’s occupation, the Nazi occupation, and how Amsterdam has become known for its inclusiveness and tolerance. It was a 3 hour tour and even though we stayed in a few block area, we walked a lot from point to point. The tour ended near the Anne Frank house (tours are a 2 month waiting list) and Robbert pointed us in the general direction of the Banks Mansion.

I tried using Google maps but I couldn’t get my data to work and I had a weak WIFI signal. We were hungry so we found a sandwich shop and ate some lunch. I was frustrated with the data signal because I had signed up for TravelPass through Verizon which was supposed to allow me to use data when I didn’t have WIFI. Finally found an information store and used their WIFI to map us back to Banks Mansion. We followed the canal and were back in about 15 minutes.

I got on the phone and called Verizon. Embarrassingly enough, it was operator error. I failed to change a setting on the phone from “block roaming” to “allow roaming.” Once I had changed that setting, the data worked fine.

We rested and enjoyed the wine and cheese offerings again. I had signed us up for the Red Light District tour that evening beginning at 8:30. The meeting point was the same so we had another 30 minute walk to the spot. This tour was led by Mark, the owner of The Dam Guides. Again, we were the only 2 people. He has a law degree and also works as an advocate for the sex workers (the term they prefer to use). The Red Light District was much larger than I had anticipated. I thought it was one street. No, it was several streets. There were stores, live theaters, peep shows, and, of course, the main draw – women (or men dressed as women) in the windows. (Think Bourbon Street on steroids). Many of the women Mark knew because of the legal aid work he does. They waved to him. We never saw anyone in front of the windows negotiating a price with the women. Mark said had we been there on Saturday night, we would have seen a lot of buyers.

We learned that the sex workers are unionized and they do not own the shop windows where they work. They rent the space from a corporation that owns the buildings and the corporation provides security, etc. They work either the day shift or the night shift and the rent is based on which shift it is – night, of course, being the most expensive. Our guide said that the current government is working to reduce the Red Light District. Tour groups going through will be banned beginning January 2020 and some buildings are being bought for other uses. There was a strong police presence and Mark said there were also a number of police in plain clothes. In addition, there are a number of round structures on the sidewalk. They were walk-in urinals so men (and women) would not pee in the canal and possibly fall in. Eeew.

It was an interesting tour. In retrospect, we should have waited and done this tour when we got back from the cruise. Two walking tours in one day was too much. Had I known how big the RLD was, I definitely wouldn’t have booked it. The walk back in the dark was somewhat spooky although a number of restaurants were still open so the streets weren’t deserted. We had a rain shower earlier but we were inside and luckily it didn’t rain on us walking back. We would have taken a taxi but the taxi drivers said the distance was too short for them to bother. Really? No money is better than some money? Okay, we will keep our Euros.

We were back to the hotel a little after 11:00. Embarkation morning was going to come early.

Random Facts about Amsterdam:

  1. Dutch are the tallest people in the world. The height of Dutch man is around 6 ft and 5.6 ft for Dutch women.
  • The cleanest and safest tap water is located in Amsterdam. They have the best water in Europe.
  • Amsterdam is a city which is built on poles – eleven million poles. The city is a placed a meter or so below sea-level. The train station of Amsterdam Centraal alone needs 9000 poles to be supported whereas a normal house needs only 10. These wooden poles of 15-20 meters are placed in a sandy layer which is around 11 meters deep.
  • There are 1281 bridges in Amsterdam, 80 can be found within the canal ring. The most famous bridge is the Magere Brug or Skinny Bridge. When you’re standing on the corner of the Reguliersgracht and Herengracht you can see 15 bridges at the same time. You do have to stand on the side of the non-even numbers and count the bridge where you’re standing on as well.
  • Amsterdam has more canals than Venice and more bridges than Paris. The canals are not stagnant like the ones in Venice so they do not have a smell.
  • Most canal houses are very small at the entrance, the reason for this is that they only had to pay taxes for the size of the facade of the house. That’s why everyone built high and long houses. You can find the smallest facade in the world at Het Singel 7. It is only 1 meter wide and barely wider than the front door. As the house goes back it rapidly increases in width.
  • Amsterdam has the highest concentration of museums per square meter of all cities in the world.
  • Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the only airport in the world that has a museum.
  • You can find more than 4000 parakeets in the Vondelpark. They are not native to The Netherlands but were brought here as pets. A few escaped and decided that they liked the parks of Amsterdam.
Napoleon’s Castle – Still Used Today
Houses are Crooked
All lampposts have crowns.
Robbert and Chuck admiring the painting while Goliath looks on.
Buildings too narrow to move furniture inside. Must use outside pulleys. Look at top of middle building
Re house is narrowest house in Amsterdam. Occupied by 2 adults and 3 dogs.
Statue honoring sex workers.
One of the tamer establishments. (Pictures of women in windows prohibited- union rules).

Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1 – Travel Day(s) from Hell

Don’t think I have ever experienced pre-cruise travel days as stressful as yesterday and today. If the hotel had not had our reservations, it would have been the trifecta in bad luck. However, the hotel is great but I digress.

Going back to Thursday night. I was shutting down the computer once I had finished the first day travel blog and was hoping to get a good night’s sleep before our trip began the next day. The time was 9 pm-ish. I looked up and saw our cat Pumpkin on the back deck sniffing the grill cover. I jumped up almost spilling the laptop to the floor, yelling “there’s Pumpkin, there’s Pumpkin.” Why all the commotion over a cat. Well, Thursday was day 11 that Pumpkin had been gone and presumed dead. We had not seen him since 9:30 pm on a Sunday evening. We had stopped calling for him throughout the day, scouring the neighborhood, leaving the garage door cracked for him to come in, etc. I had stored away his toys and cat tree and just that day had given is uneaten catfood to some neighbors who feed strays. We were overjoyed to have him home. He was thin but appeared unhurt.

But, I had a lot to do. I contacted the cat sitter again so she could take care of him while we are gone. Friday morning, we had to go to Walmart to stock up on food and litter for him. Hated to have to leave him on Friday after just getting him back but it would have been so much worse if he had showed up on Friday night and there would have been no one to welcome him back and he would have had no access to food or water.

We got to Groome’s transportation in East Ridge at 2:30 for the 3:00 shuttle. I started to have a bad feeling about Friday afternoon and getting to the Atlanta airport. I started wishing I had chosen the 2:00 shuttle instead of their recommended 3:00. This is the first flight we have taken in many years that was late at night. Typically, we have taken the shuttle the day before, spent the night at an airport hotel, and flown out early the next day. Nice and easy.

My fears were answered when the HOV lane shut down right before the downtown connector. The driver’s GPS signaled that he should get off the interstate and go through downtown. That, too, was a nightmare as we caught all the downtown office people getting off work and hit every red light. It was so frustrating to see that we were only 10 miles to the airport but we couldn’t get there. All the people on the shuttle had international flights except 1 woman whose Houston flight was to leave at 6:15. We got to domestic at 5:40. I wonder if she made her plane.

We got to the International terminal at 6:00. Two hours before the flight was to leave instead of the 3 that the airport recommends. And, boarding was to start at 7:00. My stomach was in knots by now. I thought we could breeze through security because we has TSA precheck. Nope. They closed at 5:30? Why? People fly all night long. They need that line. All the precheck got us was we didn’t have to take our shoes off and could keep the liquids in the bag. The security line was huge.

Finally found our gate and we shoved down a McDonald’s meal and then there was the announcement that the plane was still being serviced so we would start boarding at 7:30. Also, my Delta App showed Chuck’s bag was on the plane, mine was still “processing.” OMG, we put them on the conveyor at the same time. What is happening?

Finally got to board and we took off about 8:30. We were in Delta Comfort which gave us a little more leg room. I didn’t mind the seats but if I had a do-over I would have gotten a little farther back in Comfort. The lights of the galley were annoying. They did provide food, a sleep kit – pillow, blanket, sleep mask, and ear plugs. All came in handy. We both dozed on and off all night. We were woken up at 3:00 am for a continental breakfast because we were going to be make our landing into Amsterdam which is 6 hours ahead so it was 9:00 am there.

Disembarked the plane at 10:30. Followed the signs to baggage claim. However, we were stopped by a large crowd that had gathered in the area that fed into passport control. There was no lines, nobody telling anyone what was happening. It was a huge mess. I could finally see a sign that said it was very busy downstairs (passport control) so they were only letting a few at a time go – mostly European passport holders who could use self-assist kiosks. Finally, we made it to the front of the mob when they finally said everyone had to follow them to a different gate and use a different set of passport controls. Nightmare.

Took an hour to finally get through having our passport stamped and now we had to keep walking for baggage claim. Of course, now we are in terminals B and C and our luggage arrived at terminal D. Finally had to ask an airport official what carousel had our bags because we didn’t even see Atlanta listed. Once we finally made it to Carousel 17 in the terminal D area (where we should have been able to go through passport control), I could see very few bags still going round and round. I saw Chuck’s bag and we got it. Mine – nope. I sweated out 5 or 6 more minutes and then I saw mine. Hooray!

Of course, we are now one hour late for our shuttle. I did have an email that said if we were late just to let the organizer know and they would put us on another one. We were allowed to board one of the two 12:30 shuttles. The driver was very frustrated with the traffic. Seems Amsterdam does all its roadwork on the weekends and only in the Summer. Highway traffic was snarled so he had to take the backroads (Atlanta all over again) with bicycles, small cars, and scooters zooming around us. I did find out that “shit” is pronounced the same in both Dutch and English as our driver used it many times.

The Banks Mansion is in Amsterdam Centrum which is downtown across from the canal. Beautiful day with people walking and bicyclists everywhere. At that point, I would not have been surprised if the hotel had lost our reservation. But, we were fine and the room was ready. So thankful to drop everything off in the room and brush my teeth.

The room is small as compared to most American hotel rooms but it is very nice. It overlooks the canal so I watched the canal tours for a while. The lounge area has a complimentary bar with beer, sodas, and water. The room’s mini-bar is also complimentary.

We both were extremely tired but knew we had to keep going to orient ourselves to the new time. We walked up and down the streets around the hotel mostly people-watching. So many people. People don’t wear bicycle helmets. Not even the small children who are riding in baskets on the bikes. Did I mention those bicyclists just fly down the road ringing their bells to make people get out of their way? Geez.

Came back to the hotel a little after 4 and had their complimentary wine and cheese offerings. They even offered bowls of Pumpkin soup although I am not sure how it goes with wine and cheese. Nevertheless, it was good. We spent a good amount of time talking to a very nice couple celebrating their 50th anniversary with time in Lisbon, Amsterdam, and Paris. They were from Florida.

I came up to the room and pressed my clothes for tomorrow and then we went wandering again. Sat outside a café and people-watched. Finally, at 8:00 Amsterdam time we came back to the room to go to bed. Chuck is already asleep as I am finishing up.

Breakfast is from 7 – 10 in the morning and we need to leave here no later than 9:45 to meet our guide who will give us a walking tour of Amsterdam tomorrow. I hope the bed sleeps as comfortable as it feels.

A very stressful 2 days but I am hoping for better days in the weeks to come.

Hustle and Bustle of Amsterdam
Taking it Easy on the Canal
Wine and Cheese to Help Take the Stress Away

Thursday, May 30, 2019 – Night Before Trip

So the time is almost here. This adventure started back in February 2018 when I attended a presentation by the Holland America (HAL) Future Cruise Consultant during our Hawaii cruise. He showed several itineraries, but I really sat up and took notice when he presented the one going around Scotland and Ireland on the Prinsendam for 14 days in June of 2019. Most of those northern Europe itineraries focus on Norway, Iceland, etc and only hit a couple of Scotland/Ireland ports but this one was strictly Scotland/Ireland.

Chuck has always talked about going to Scotland and Ireland as a bucket-list item, and I had been studying land-based tours for a while to see what we could do. Now, here was a cruise that hits a number of ports and would be offered in the year he turned 60. And, it was on the Prinsendam. The Prinsendam is HAL’s smallest and oldest ship with only 800 passenger capacity. Every time we were on a HAL cruise and talked to someone who had cruised HAL multiple times said “oh, you haven’t cruised on the Prinsendam? Oh, you must. It is a unique experience.” Alrighty then. Two birds with one stone – great itinerary and unique ship.

I made an appointment with the Consultant and placed a deposit on the trip. I was also happy that they were offering a deal on airline flights booked through HAL as I knew the flights to Europe were going to be expensive.

Chuck was excited about the itinerary until he found out the price. Then, not so much. But I was stubborn and wouldn’t cancel the booking. He loves cruising, he has always wanted to go to Scotland/Ireland, and he’s turning 60. We’re going. {Stomps Foot}.

Then, few weeks later, another hiccup. Found out through the website Cruise Critic that HAL had sold the Prinsendam to a German cruise company and people who had booked 2019 cruises were getting cancellation or re-booking notices. Well, just my luck. Kept waiting for my notice but didn’t get one.

I called our HAL travel agent and she told me that all cruises after July 1, 2019 were being rebooked on different ships or cancelled but since our cruise was in June, we were good to go. AND, the price had dropped, HAL was offering a free drink package, a free steakhouse dinner, and the flight price reduction. We re-booked with the new lower price and perks. Yay! Chuck is now happy with the cruise.

Now the serious port planning has started. This cruise is a very port-intensive one and all new to us. In 14 days, we will only have 3 sea days for relaxing. In addition, there will be no aimlessly wandering around the port, relaxing at a beach, or staying on the ship if we feel like it which is what we do on our Caribbean cruises. Nope. There are places to go and pictures to take so port-planning is essential.

Over several months, between the HAL excursion website, Cruise Critic, and TripAdvisor, I have been able to make plans for each port and Amsterdam (pre- and post-cruise). I have high hopes that each one will be a memorable experience. Fingers crossed.

In addition to booking tours over this past year, the flight was booked, Amsterdam hotel booked, transportation booked, Euros and Pounds obtained, etc., etc. So many details. I have a vacation spreadsheet. Doesn’t everyone?

Packing has been an ordeal. I don’t know what is wrong with us. I don’t care how many YouTube videos I watch about packing efficiently, unless we are going to the Caribbean, we end up with 1 checked bag each, 1 carry-on each, and 1 personal back-pack each. We look like we are going to stay for a month and not 2 weeks. To make matters even more embarrassing, we will be able to get free laundry on the ship so we told ourselves we are just packing “for a week.” Sad.

The weather for this trip is predicted to be a lot like what we experienced in Alaska in June 2017 – 60’s to 80’s with a chance of rain each day.  Our pictures from Alaska had us in our rain jackets most every day (just in case). I hope we have better luck this trip.

So here we are – 16 months later. I always get nervous the night before we leave on a trip and don’t sleep that well. But, I have been having the same nervous feelings all this week. I guess because this trip is the biggest one we have ever taken and this week has dragged on. I know I will relax once I am on the plane (though a 10 hour flight will be no picnic in the park). I just have to get through the Atlanta traffic on a Friday and airport security for an international flight without losing my mind.

Until then, I have to stop thinking about things I might need to take with me and checking the weight of my suitcase. Wish me luck.

PC – Day 13 – Disembarkation

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 – Disembarkation

We got up at 7:00 and I went for my last latte. Sad. We went to the Lido for some breakfast at 8:00 and as expected, it was crowded. A more subdued crowd than on the first day.

We were still expected to get into Ft. Lauderdale at 10:00. I started seeing a lot of high rises ahead on the coastline. I assumed it was Miami. Since we have always gotten to Ft. Lauderdale by 7:00, I had never seen the coast coming in like this on the ship.

We got back to the room and started the waiting process. Holland America always lets you stay in the room if you wish instead of having to go to public areas to wait like other cruise lines have asked us. However, they made several announcements about waiting in the public areas and not crowding the hallways or gangway area. They never mentioned being able to stay in the stateroom although it was in the printed material that we received.

We chose to stay in the room until 10:30 and then we went to the Casino to wait as it was near the gangway. We were finally let off the ship at 11:30.

We found our bags and made it through Customs with very little effort. Got a taxi back to the hotel to get our car. We were on the road home at noon.

It was another great trip. Our next planned trip is in June. However, Chuck received a nice casino offer but he has to sail before May 13th to use it. So, who knows? Maybe a quick trip to the Caribbean in April?

Captain: Wouter Van Hoogdalem
Hotel Director: Ron Bontenbal
Cruise Director: Sabine van Leuken

Officers and Crew: 170 and 606
Nationalities of Crew: 41
Average Speed: 17.8 knots
Miles Traveled: 3269 Miles

IMG_1912
Good-bye Zuiderdam. Hope to sail you again some day.

PC – Day 12 – Last Sea Day

Tuesday, November 13, 2018 – Fourth Sea Day

Got up at 8:00 again. Could see that today was going to be cloudier than yesterday which was fine with me since I would not be taking the time to soak up the sun. Since we were on no deadline, we had breakfast in the dining room. Then we did our 2 miles around the ship.

We decided to go to the presentation “Ask the Captain.” It is an opportunity for him to talk about life on the bridge and answer guest questions. We knew it would be crowded as people are wanting to know more about the azipod situation. The presentation was very interesting. He showed pictures of the bridge and talked about the roles of the different ship officers. He had his chief engineer talk in-depth about the azipod but the result was still “they are not sure of the root cause of the problem and wouldn’t know until they could take it apart in Ft. Lauderdale.” He also talked about his career and his life in Holland. He said would probably be on the Zuiderdam one more year and then would move to a different HAL ship.

He had a good sense of humor. Most people had general questions about ships and being a Captain. One woman who spoke only Dutch asked him about only having announcements in English even though HAL is a Dutch origin shipping line (we know this because the Captain translated for us). She apparently didn’t like his answer as we could tell she continued to scold him. He finally told her we had to move on with other questions. I noticed that the cruise director (who also spoke Dutch) was talking with her after the presentation.

After having lunch, it was time to start the packing process. We would be placing the 2 large bags out in the hallway before midnight and would keep the two small suitcases to roll off with us tomorrow morning. I watched the movie “Ant Man and the Wasp” while packing the suitcases. Chuck always offers to help but it is usually easier for me just to do it by myself.

I like the fact that I am packing mostly clean clothes to bring home. Today was the last day to get laundry returned and my last load got here this afternoon. I did have a dirty clothes bag for today’s clothes.

We got our new paperwork indicating that our disembarkation time for tomorrow will be approximately 11:15 barring any unforeseen issues. Our original paperwork had us disembarking at 8:15.

Was finished before the movie was over. Afterwards, I read for a while and then got cleaned up for dinner. We had dinner with two women that we have seen most nights at the BB King nightclub. They are mother and daughter from Louisiana. I had the Dover sole and a salad. The sole was okay but it had to be de-boned by the waiter. I prefer the filets. Chuck had beef tips. I should have had that dish too.

We skipped the main entertainment tonight – Dave Burleigh, an impressionist. I have seen him on other ships. He is okay. We could hear people laughing. We spent the evening at the first 2 sets of the BB King show. Chuck played his last time at the Casino.

The Lido and the main dining room will be open for breakfast tomorrow as well as the coffee bar. I assume room service is also available although they did not announce it. I set the alarm for 7:00. No towel animal tonight. The monkey is still hanging on the hangar. The bags are out in the hallway.

PC – Day 11 – Third Sea Day

Monday, November 12, 2018 – Third Sea Day

I woke up around 2:00 a.m. and felt a weird motion of the ship. Felt like riding a train, a back and forth motion, instead of the usual rocking side to side or up and down. Made me a little nauseous but I have taken my Bonine faithfully so I didn’t get sick.

Woke up around 8:00 with the new time change. It was a gorgeous day with bright blue skies and a nice breeze. I knew I would be spending the majority of the day in a deck chair soaking up the sun. But first, latte from the coffee bar, breakfast in the Lido and two miles around the ship. Had a surprise as I was leaving the room, the Canadian couple who are the good dancers have the room right next to us. I was surprised I hadn’t seen them before. I guess are schedules have just been different.

During the day, we found out what was making that weird motion. The Captain made the announcement that the one of the azipods were not functioning at full capacity. The azipod is the thruster which allows the ship to move forward, backward, and side to side. Long story short – the ship has to move slower than predicted so we are not going to get to port at 7:00 on Wednesday. They are now predicting that we will get there at 10:00. If we continue at a fast pace, the azipod might stop completely and then we could be in a mess. The Captain said that Guest Services was prepared to help people make different flight arrangements if needed.

If we had a flight on Wednesday, I would be distressed. However, since we are driving, we just won’t get as far up the road as we had planned. There was definitely a long line at Guest Services for people who were needing help with flight changes or other issues. Glad I didn’t have to be in that line.

Chuck swam in the pool for a while but I did not get in. I enjoyed my book, the sun, and the breeze.

For the evening, it was time to get dressed up for the last gala night. We had dinner with one of the couples that we had met at dinner on a previous night. They were from Detroit and were retired educators. Enjoyed the conversation very much. We all had the filet mignon and lobster tail for the main meal. Chuck and I both had shrimp cocktail as the appetizer. Still skipping dessert. Well, Chuck has always skipped dessert. I have had ice cream a few times.

We enjoyed another night at BB King and the mainstage show. It was a show featuring the Zuiderdam singers and dancers in a production called “Off the Charts.” It featured music and dancing from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. I think it was the best of the three productions during the cruise.

Tomorrow is the last sea day so that will mean packing up our stuff and saying good-bye to the nice people we have met this trip. No need to set the alarm. Tonight’s towel animal is a monkey hanging from a hangar.