Advertisement
Published: November 18th 2013
Edit Blog Post
Holland
Arriving and seeing the first windmill September 30th: After passing through the last lock on the trip down the river we docked in Amsterdam: We went on an escorted tour of the sights, stopping to view a windmill but that was a small event as many of us took more interest in the electric car being recharged at the charge point and the guide was quizzed on the aspects of the car, cost of charge, how often it required a charge. Interesting to know- the car could go 200 km before recharge - that would get us from Mandurah to Mindarie but not home again without recharge so not a good prospect for Sandgropers and other Aussies. We then went on a canal cruise - interesting though the windows of the boat were scratched and dirty. Back on board the Amalyra for our last night as a group with a lot of chat about all and the best places we had visited.
October 1st. 2013: Disembarkation - goodbyes said and we were off to our hotel for a few more days in Amsterdam. We met up with Noleen and Wayne and decided after a coffee, to go and look at the Maritime Museum. It was a
nice stroll and time for a chat, going to different sections in the museum so we arranged to meet up for lunch. The museum is well worth visiting and there is plenty to look at. A quiet walk back to the hotel and then out for tea at one of the very many eating places close by.
October 2nd.: We met up with a friend of Vera and walked around the city looking at the sights and going through a porch from 1592 that used to be the city orphanage's entrance and is now the museum entrance. Nearby is a square and 2 churches. After a rather exhausting day of sightseeing we had a meal at one of the nearby restaurants before retiring as tomorrow promises to be another busy day.
October 3rd: Today we were joined by relatives S & M so it was off to the station to board a train to The Hague and then a couple of trams to see the house where Vera lived before moving to Australia. We were fortunate enough to meet the person living there now who invited us in later that day. So in the meantime we headed off
Amsterdam
The electric car on yet another tram to a seaside area where we had lunch and then went on by bus and tram to Madurodam, the miniature village. At the end of the day after a meal with S & M it was time to say goodbye.
October 4th: Today we spent doing our own thing - a rainy overcast day so going on trams to nowhere to see where they went was an option for a while though I really wanted to go to the Canal Museum opened earlier this year - FANTASTIC - gave a good insight to the planning of the canals and design of the city which made walking around and direction much easier to understand. Well worth the visit. Next was the Van Gogh museum - standing in queue for 1 1/2 hours and then to be hurried through and not being able to see so much due to the crowd - was it really worth it? I guess one does it because! For our last meal we had pizza - and yes it was quite good.
October 5th: Departure for home - another long flight but we arrived home safely after another absolutely wonderful time,
Amsterdam
The seven bridges seeing new countries, cities, towns and villages; meeting new people and catching up with friends and family.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.071s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0452s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb