We boarded our ship, The Nautica, which sails under the Oceania flag. It is a lovely, smaller ship that caters to an adult crowd: mostly over 40 and almost no kids. We splurged on this trip and took a stateroom with a balcony…very nice indeed.
The ports of call were not all places that I wanted to go but there were enough of interest to make it worthwhile. I had my knee replaced 5 months prior and this was my first big trip post new knee and figured we would test it out slowly. Hence a cruise without strenuous hiking.
First stop, Zeeland, Netherlands. Not a great start – we went on a ship excursion to see part of the dike and delta system that keeps the Netherlands from going under water…interesting but not worth writing about.
Amsterdam next. We landed at 7:30 am and departed at 3:30 pm: not much time to see what I expected to be a wonderful city. We purchased our tickets to The Anne Frank House on line and reserved the first entrance of the morning. We found the house experience fascinating. Most of us know the story of the young girl who hid there during World War II, but being there and seeing a more personal side of her made her story so much more compelling.
We left there in a sober mood and walked a bit along the beautiful canals.
Bikes & Boats
Houseboats
Gotta go back some day and stay in one!
For my knitting friends
We decided that with very limited time we would do the Hop On – Hop Off Boat (yes, like the buses). Great way to see a city with so much water. We stopped off to see a diamond display since Amsterdam is known for its diamond market. Big mistake: it was very little display and mostly high pressured sales.
two funny guys
3:30 pm came much too soon – back to the beautiful ship and on to the next port.
Tip: buy tickets to the Anne Frank House on line, in advance – you will avoid the long lines and the potential wait until they open general admission at 3pm
so…