Tuesday April 8 Day 8 Ghent and BruggeSunny and warm
We were docked in Ghent. There was an option to stay a half day in Brugge and then explore Ghent on your own or to stay in Brugge for the day with transportation back to the boat at the end of the day.
We elected to remain in Brugge for the entire day. We were glad we did. The guide for this tour was terrible. That was the consensus of our entire group. We enjoyed Brugge much more sans guide.
She never stopped talking and was difficult to understand. She said that she would walk slowly and give us time to stop and take photos. Another guide stopped with her group and said that "this is one of the most picturesque spots in Brugge." Our guide just walked right past it. She never stopped, and at times was so far ahead of the group we had no idea what she was talking about.
I did say something to Christian (one of the Viking program assistants). His response was pretty noncommittal, but he was writing like mad on the clip board he always carried with him. It looked like an evaluation to me.
After the tour we were taken to a lace making demonstration. We were told how to tell Belgian lace from imported lace. Lace made in Belgium will never have embroidery on it. It will always have a made in Belgium sticker on it. Price is also an indication because Belgian lace is 2 to 3 times more expensive than other lace. A piece of lace on display was pointed out to us as "fairy lace" or "witches lace" because it is so difficult to make you have to be a fairy or a witch to make it. The piece was about 12 inches across and was marked at 499 Euros. At the exchange rate when we were there , it was $788 plus change. I did do a little bit of early Christmas shopping, but that piece is still on the wall.
The guide left us after she delivered us to the lace shop, so we happily had the rest of the day on our own.
Brugge is a beautiful town. It is much larger than we expected it to be. We would have loved to go back to some of the places the guide breezed through, but weren't sure how to get there.
After the lace shop, we headed back to the Central Market with our next door neighbors. It is completely lined on 2 sides with cafes. We browsed the various menus. Our neighbor had said she really wanted crepes. I went ahead to Café Francais. I didn't see any on the menu which I thought was strange. I asked if they had any and was given a menu that was nothing but crepes and waffles. However, they were all for dessert. We walked around the square to explore some more because we decided it was too early to eat lunch.
After looking at a few more menus, we went back to Café Francais. After looking at the regular menu, I asked about crepes. They produced the menu I had seen earlier. I decided that since we were in Belgium, I really wanted a waffle. Paul and I had huge Belgian waffles with fresh strawberries and ice cream, and our neighbors had crepe suzette. The food was delicious, the setting was beautiful; and the weather even cooperated. We were sitting in the sun, and it was warm enough for us to take our coats off.
Our travel agent and her friend had lunch at the same place later and had a pretty wide ranging conversation with the same waiter that we had had. We were surprised to find out that the waiters are paid on a commission basis, because at no point were we pushed to buy more food.
After lunch we did a little shopping. Our first stop was at a pharmacy that our waiter had recommended. He told us it would open at 1:30. It actually didn't open until 2 so we decided to explore some of the streets going off of the central square. We found a pharmacy there. The pharmacist gave me an excellent anti-nausea medication because I was still not 100%. I ended up using it as a precaution every time we got on a bus.
We made our way back to the lace shop where I bought some lace Christmas ornaments for our granddaughter and nieces. We ran into our neighbors in the square. We'd lost track of each other when we went searching for a pharmacy. He asked if we'd bought our chocolates yet. Whoops! We almost forgot. Off to Leonidas because that had been recommended by the guide in Dordrecht. That taken care of, we went back to the square to sit when we remembered the long walk back to the bus. There was a shuttle available, but we opted to walk. It was a long day after walking on cobblestones all day. We think we probably walked close to five miles.
When we got on the bus to go back to the ship, Julianna, the other program assistant, said she was just going to be quiet because she knew we were all very tired. That was very much appreciated by all.
This was a favorite stop of everyone in our group. We'd love to go back and stay in Brugge.
Wednesday, April 9 Middleburg and Neeltje Jans Visitor Center of the Delta Works Flood Control ProjectSunny and cold in the morning. Sunny and warm in the afternoon.
We had been told to be prepared for cold wind and to make sure we were dressed for it. There was no wind and it was probably about 65F.
The day started with a brief walking tour through Middleburg, which was very heavily damaged during World War II. There really wasn't much to see. It seems that this was just a way to get passengers off the ship and onto the tour buses when the ship moved to the next port, Bruinisse. The buses would meet the ship there after the Delta Works tour.
In the Neeltje Jans Visitors Center, we were shown a film about the construction and how this amazing piece of engineering works. It was really fascinating. The whole area has been dammed and set up with electronically controlled flood gates in order to prevent another disastrous flood like the one they had in 1953.
Our cruise is fast coming to an end. Our Disembarkation Briefing was tonight. It was much more organized than check-in.
Thursday, April 10 Day 10 Amsterdam, Keukenhof Gardens (optional Delft tour)Sunny and warm
Lanika got on the bus, and everyone's reaction was this is great! Then she got off and the rumor flew that she was on the wrong bus. The whole bus sighed together, "Oh, no." Then she got back on, and lucky us, we had her as a guide for the second time.
She pointed out some things in Amsterdam that other guides had not mentioned. She also told a funny story. It is probably not true, but we all enjoyed it.
Remember the hooks on the houses? According to Lanika, sometimes if a husband had been out drinking and couldn't make it up the steep steps in the house, his wife hooked him up and hauled him into the house. If she was angry with him, he was allowed to hang outside on the hook for a while. Thus the "Flying Dutchman."
The trip to Keukenhof Gardens was through pretty Dutch country side. As we got closer we could see some of the fields in bloom. Quite a few of them were being left fallow this year so it was not a huge display.
The gardens are open only 2 months a year as a way for the bulb growers to market their goods. Lanika walked a little way into the gardens with us, and showed us what to do if we wanted to order bulbs. Each grower has his own display area. The flowers are clearly marked as to name, bulb growers name, and the number of their little house for ordering.
You cannot bring bulbs back to the US yourself, but you can have them shipped to you from the bulb growers. We also learned that the bulbs in packages like the ones we buy to plant in the fall are a year or more old. The ones that are shipped directly to you have been harvested that year.
We were free to wander through the gardens on our own for several hours. They were exquisite. In addition to the flowers, there was modern sculpture throughout the gardens. There were also special display pavilions.
The orchid pavilion was spectacular. It put Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA to shame. We found the orchid pavilion because we got lost and ran into another couple on the cruise who saw our Viking receivers. They told us we shouldn't miss it, and pointed it out to us. Since I grow some orchids, it was a treat.
Other pavilions had displays of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other bulbs. We have never seen such huge tulips anywhere. Some of the blossoms were the size of a small dinner plate.
This was definitely a highlight of our trip for everyone.
We arrived back at the ship at 1:30. Those people who were going to Delft had ˝ hour to grab some lunch before they left. Paul and I had opted not to go. We stayed on board and did our packing and just sat back and relaxed. As it turned out, we were glad we stayed behind.
The group from Delft got caught in commuter traffic and dinner had to be delayed for them. Tonight was the Captain's Dinner. The group returning from Delft just had time to throw on some dressier clothes and run to the lounge for the occasion.
Each of the department heads gave a toast. The captain, who does not speak English, started giving the statistics of our voyage because so many people had been asking. As he is rattling off the number of nautical miles, etc. (I understand enough German to know that he was spouting numbers) Peter was looking at him. You could see Peter thinking, "How am I going to remember all of that to translate it." When the captain finished he grinned and handed Peter a piece of paper with it all written down. Everyone got a good laugh out of that. One thing that we all noticed was that every time we saw the Captain, he was smiling.
All the stops were pulled out for dinner tonight. It was definitely gourmet.
Friday, April 11 Day 11 AmsterdamSunny and cool.
This is the start of an additional stay in Amsterdam arranged by our travel agent, not through Viking.
One of the nice things about this cruise was that we did not have to have our large bags outside the stateroom until 8:30 the morning we were leaving.
Your on-board account is not settled until the morning of departure. You can either put cash gratuities in box set up by the reception desk, or you can add them to your account that morning. Your account can be settled either in Euros or by credit card. Julianna was helping checking people out, and I felt bad, because she was the one I had given a hard time when we checked in. Fortunately, we had a number of very pleasant exchanges during the cruise. I think she understood jet lag talking.
Once the account is settled, you wait in the lounge until time to leave. We were delayed, because the bus company had sent a van for 17 people with major luggage. They took our large bags to the hotel, then came back for us.
As we left the ship, Peter was standing on one side of the gangplank, and Christian was standing on the other. They shook every body's hand and thanked them for cruising with them as we left.
We left the ship too early to check into our hotel. The guide, who was excellent, took us on a brief tour of some places that we had not been. We also went to the Anne Frank House. It was very difficult for some us to negotiate the steps, but we would not have missed it. It was a very moving experience. After leaving the Anne Frank House, more tour. We felt like we were just driving around in circles killing time.
When we arrived at the Amsterdam Renaissance Hotel, we were all checked in and our bags were in our rooms. We were given paper work to fill in when ever it was convenient.
The hotel was undergoing a major renovation. Our travel agent had checked with them before we left, and they said the interior was done. All the remaining renovation was outside.
Prudential was having a huge convention at the hotel of Vietnamese agents. We never had a problem with noise, but some people on other floors did.
After going to our rooms, we met our next door neighbors for lunch at the small café affiliated with the hotel. We were discussing how bad the map we had was. One of the waiters overheard us. He gave us an excellent map that came in handy for the rest of our stay. As we were finishing lunch another waiter answered some of our questions and spent considerable time telling us how to get to the Floating Flower Market, and how to not get run over by a tram. Crossing the street to the Floating Market is very treacherous because of the trams.
To get to the market, we simply walked about a block up a very narrow street and then followed the Singel Canal all the way. It turned out to be a very long walk. We were able to stop at the main post office, which was about half way to the market, to use an ATM to supplement our Euros.
The Floating Market doesn't really float, but backs up to the canal. It is stall after stall selling beautiful cut flowers, house plants including many orchids, and bulbs of all kinds. We've never seen such enormous amaryllis bulbs
After we walked back to the hotel, we changed for dinner and met our group in the lobby. Our travel agent had arranged for us to have a typical Dutch dinner that evening. We went to a tiny restaurant near the hotel. Our group just about filled the restaurant which had set up a long table for us. The dinner was delicious and very inexpensive. We all ordered the same thing except for drinks. They brought 3 huge platters with beef, pork, chicken, and mashed potatoes with carrots. In addition bowls of salad, red cabbage, and more potatoes prepared differently were put on the table. Dessert, which was included, was an ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce.
While we were having dinner one of our group was telling us about the strange sounds they were getting in their room. They were not moved that night. The next morning after she took her shower sewage came up into the bathtub. They moved them then. Several of us had problems with the new heating system. The rooms were very small with very nice amenities, but just not what you would expect in a 5 star hotel.
Saturday, April 12 Day 12 AmsterdamCloudy, raining, sunny
The breakfast buffet put out by the hotel was spectacular. It was hard to decide just what you wanted.
After breakfast, Paul and I stopped to ask the concierge how much a taxi to the Rijksmuseum would be. The amount was fine because we had Euros that we needed to use.
The Rijksmuseum is being renovated. They have taken pieces from their major exhibitions and put them all in one area. There was plenty to see without being over- whelmed. The highlight was Rembrandt's The Night Watch. As it turned out, it was the last thing that we saw before we left. It was a perfect way to end.
Our taxi driver told us that we needed to go around the corner to the Van Gogh Museum to find a taxi back to our hotel. We walked through the Plein which is a very nice, newly restored green area. By now it was sunny and there were quite a few people enjoying the outdoors with either their children, their dogs, or both.
We had one of the wildest taxi drives ever on the way back to the hotel. It was a legitimate cab, but he would cut in and drive along the trolley tracks, then cut back into traffic. We both gave a big sigh of relief when we got back to the hotel unscathed.
A farewell dinner at the hotel was include in our tour. It was a true 5 course gourmet experience. After dinner our travel agent gave out medals, as she always does. Our next door neighbor got one for "Most Enthusiatic," our other neighbor got one because she was always smiling, and I got the "Lazarus Medal," for a miraculous recovery. She said that for a while she thought she was going to have to ship me home in a box.
Tomorrow we head for home.
Sunday, April 13 Day 13 AmsterdamSunny and cold
We met in the lobby at the appointed time to be taken to the airport. Two of our group were missing. These 2 were never late. Then we heard that 2 people were stuck in an elevator and saw the concierge running around like crazy. The elevators had been making strange noises when we took them. It was our next door neighbors. Our guide and our travel agent's friend went with us in the bus to the airport because we could not wait any longer. Our guide stayed with our friend's luggage at the airport while the rest of us checked in. After checking in, you go to your gate to go through security. The only ones going through security are the people on your actual flight. Paul had no problems this time.
We kept watching for our friends. We all thought that they probably would not make the flight. They just made it.
Because it was Sunday, the hotel had to call the engineer at home to come in and get them out of the elevator. The hotel had a taxi waiting with the doors open to get them to the airport. We all gave them a hard time because they had said they wanted to stay longer, and they had originally met in an elevator.
Again, a very uneventful flight.
I did take Ambien on this end to deal with jet lag. It worked like a charm.
Thursday, April 24We received the Viking Cruise Line catalog for 2009.
Everyone is talking about where we will go next because we had such a good time on this cruise
Sue <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
