My previous post indicated that it was our last day on our cruise ship, but it wasn’t the end of our European adventure. We had decided to extend our trip with a two-night stay at a hotel in Amsterdam on Sunday and Monday, July 30 and 31. This gave us two full days to explore that area before flying back to the US on Tuesday, August 1.
Day 14, Sunday, July 30
On Sunday morning, we said goodbye to our Viking longship and boarded a bus to go to our hotel. There is a visual of the ship on the side of the bus, and you can see the reflection of the sundeck on the windows. We had enjoyed having the Magni as our home for two weeks, and it was a great way to travel through a beautiful section of Europe.
Daisy packed lightly for our trip.
Amsterdam! Just saying its name conjures up visions of canals, bridges, gabled houses, elaborate Dutch masters’ paintings, and of course bicycles galore.
We were at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam for two nights in this capital city of Amsterdam, and it featured a very modern décor. Our room had a large window between the bed and the luxuriously appointed bathroom, but there was a button you could push to lower a shade over the window if you wished.
Lobby
Bed with viewable bath. This is Europe.
View from Our Window
We had a two-hour walking tour of downtown Amsterdam to get acquainted with the city. It was cloudy with some rain, but that didn’t deter us. This photo shows the iconic “I Amsterdam” letters, a popular site for photos, and in the background is the Rijksmuseum—more on that later.
This city had some unusual apartment buildings with no elevators. One modern design had built onto it a means of getting large objects into the the rooms straight from the street by means of a rope and pulley system. Just attach your pulley to an I-beam arm, pull to your floor and enter through the hall window.
On the corners of the streets where these large rectangular trash compactors and recycling machines.
Of course we went by the home of Heineken.
Near the canal we came across this statue of a fallen man with a bugle in his hand. On 12 March 1945, thirty political prisoners were executed by the Nazis in this location as a reprisal measure. Lest they forget, this monument commemorates the thirty. The German forces in the Netherlands surrendered less than 2 months later.
Parks and canals
Street musicians performed in the museum causeway under a beautiful ceiling that provided good acoustics.
Amsterdam is known as a city where bicycles are a predominant form of transportation, and this was evident from the large parking areas and roadside pathways designated for them. I discovered that the pedestrians had to be very conscious of the marked bike paths. The car drivers where more patient with walkers than the bicycle riders. At least the automobile operators would slow down!
A little later, the sun was peeking through the clouds as the included tour ended, and our morning guide took this photo of us in front of the Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam is clearly a city that supports the arts in various forms.
The morning guide collected the “quiet boxes” he used to communicate with us.
We had scheduled an optional tour that started about noon, and our guide for the morning took us to meet our afternoon guide, Peter. Another couple from our ship had also booked this option but decided at the last minute to cancel it, so we had a private tour! Peter was about 80, had spent most of his life in the Amsterdam area, and was very knowledgeable about the local history and culture, as well as art. Something about his smile and mannerisms reminded Daisy of Robin Williams, and he was definitely entertaining.
This afternoon tour was to the nearby historic town of Haarlem, revered for its old-world history, a museum with a grand collection of works by Dutch masters, and a church brewery.
We met a van that was designed like a limousine, complete with a black-suited, official-looking driver with narrow tie and an earphone in his ear, to ride about 12 miles west to the medieval city of Haarlem, which was founded in 1245.
On the way to our destination, we passed by the the Amsterdamse Poort. This former gateway to the city from Amsterdam is one of the few visible traces left of the old city wall.
Our first stop was the Jopen Brewery and Restaurant, which is located in the historic Jacob’s Church in the old city center. Having stained-glass windows over a modern bar was a new sight for us.
Our table was waiting for us.
Various Dutch meats and cheeses with salad fixings were provided.
The most unique offering was the Dutch croquette made of seasoned veal, potato, and spicy gouda cheese, then rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried. It was the size of a Twinkie.
We had a tasty lunch while learning about the area from Peter. The brewing tanks are behind a glass divider on the right of the picture and the ceiling covered with Persian rugs on the upper left, which helped the acoustics of the church converted to a bar.
Then of course we sampled three of the many varieties of Jopen beer, which are brewed from recipes dating back to 1407. Beginning in the 14th century, Haarlem was the most important brewing city in the Netherlands. From its 110 breweries, beer was shipped all over the world in big 112-liter barrels called “Jopen,” hence the name of this more recent brewery. We like the motto of the “church brewery”: Crafting Divine Beer!
“Crafting Divine Beer”
Our historic walking tour to Old Town continued…
Cobblestone streets and structures
After walking around some of the central city areas, Peter took us to the Frans Hals Museum, which features the works of several of Haarlem’s Old Masters of the Golden Age. Peter described the evolution of art during the medieval and Renaissance periods, ranging from the earlier religious paintings and sculptures to a focus on natural settings such as still lifes and landscapes. This 1653 painting by Salomon van Ruysdael is titled “River Scene with a Ferry Boat.”
I have often admired these painting in art books and magazines. It was a humbling moment for me to be right there with the original work, listening to our connoisseur of fine art describe the scene and interpret what inspired the painter to use this style.
This museum has the world’s largest collection of paintings by Haarlem artist Frans Hals, who was especially known for group portraits, a new art form at the time. This 1627 example shows the officers who served in the Civic Guard of St. George at their farewell banquet.
Each of the faces is modeled after a real person who paid the equivalent of 100 dollars to be in the portrait.
Triptych with the Birth, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ was painted by Hans Memling in 1515.
During this earlier era, the most common choices for artists were religious scenes.
We left the museum and walked to the Market Square. The Grote Markt is the central area of Haarlem. Highlights here were the the Groote Kerk, or Great Church, and the statue erected in 1856 to Laurens Janszoon Koster, the printer. The Great Church is dedicated to St Bavo and is one of the most famous in the Netherlands. It has a lofty tower (255 ft.) and dates from the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries.
The Great Church
Laurens Janszoon Koster allegedly invented the movable-type printing press simultaneously to Johannes Gutenberg.
This building, called the Vleeshal, was the only place the citizens of Haarlem could find fresh meat from 1604 to the 18th century. Salt meat was sold next to the building in the street appropriately named “Bacon Street.”
Peter gave us 45 minutes to run about on our own and designated a meeting point. We found the magnets that we wanted as souvenirs, walked in the shoes of another, and basked in the sun of a late afternoon with other occupants of the square.
Lets see, pot belly, bowed legs, big shoes, all lovable. Every face was into the sun!
Our driver found us and we returned to our hotel in downtown Amsterdam. We had a great unplanned private tour with Peter, and it seemed he had enjoyed the day with us as well.
Day 15, Monday, July 31
On Monday, Daisy had gotten the cold that I was getting over, and she also had a sore ankle from missing a step on our Sunday afternoon tour. As a result, she decided to stay in bed with ice on her ankle to be ready for traveling the next day. I took the optional all-day tour we had scheduled, which was called “Amsterdam’s Golden Age.”
After a drive to Museum Square, the first stop was the world-renowned Rijksmuseum. I only captured a few of these great works of art here.
This photo of Rembrandt’s masterpiece, the “Night Watch” is from a distance so that the size would be evident. Rembrandt painted this group portrait of a company of Amsterdam militiamen in 1642 for their guild headquarters.
Just to show I was there.
Rembrandt's Son Titus in a Monks Habit (1660); Rembrandt as the Apostle Paul (1661)
In this 1660 painting called “The Milkmaid” by Johannes Vermeer, the maidservant pours milk, entirely absorbed in her work. Except for the stream of milk, everything else is still. Vermeer took this simple everyday activity and made it the subject of an impressive painting that features wonderful use of light.
“The Old Woman Saying Grace” (Nicolaes Maes, 1656); “The Threatened Swan” (Jan Assellijn, 1650)
Another painting in the Rijksmuseum is this self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, painted in 1887. This Dutch Post-Impressionist artist is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. He lived in France for the last few years before his death, and portrayed himself here as a fashionably dressed Parisian. It is said that he painted many self-portraits to avoid having to pay a model.
After the museum, we enjoyed a ride on this canal boat. Amsterdam is called the “Venice of the North” and has 1,200 bridges linking its 90 islands crisscrossed by dozens of charming canals.
The boat had large windows on the sides and top to provide comfort in all types of weather, yet views of the tall buildings on the sides of the canals and the bridges under which it passed.
Did I mention that there are draw bridges, too.
In Amsterdam, you may also travel by barge, scooter, or motorcycle.
Of course after the canal tour we had to stop for lunch.
The tax code in the early days of Amsterdam resulted in the styles of the homes. Builders were taxed based on the frontage of the dwelling, so they were very narrow, but deep and tall to achieve the size desired. The fact that canal-front property was at a premium also contributed to this design.
I got back to the hotel in the mid-afternoon and filled Daisy in on the day’s activities. We decide to have a leisurely room-service dinner that evening, and of course we had to pack for our long day of travel coming up.
Daisy and I finally opened a bottle of sparkling wine we were given on the longship.
All we had left to do was go home the next day.
AND WE DID!
Just a few statistics: our trip consisted of 10,655 flight miles, 1,155 cruising miles, and 182 driving miles (Holiday Island to Springfield and return). There were also rides on 22 buses or vans. We were gone a total of 21 nights: 2 each in hotels in Springfield, Budapest, and Amsterdam, 1 flying to Europe, and 14 on the Viking Magni. It was an exciting journey!
Our Grand European Tour was filled with many wonderful sights and experiences. This was our first river cruise, but it probably won’t be the last!
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