European River Cruise - Utrecht, Tuesday 2010 August 17

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Early morning start, which meant buffet breakfast at 6:30 to start our tour promptly at 8:00. We got on our designated bus and drove from our quiet mooring in Utrecht. (In Amsterdam there is a tall-ships festivalso we had to move away.) We drove to a small demonstration site where one fellow showed how wooden shoes are made, and another explained how Dutch cheese is made. Items for sale, of course.

After a longer drive into the country, we came to "Zaanse Schans ”, a “Heritage Park” for windmills, established when windmills were falling into disrepair. The little village actually houses people, some of whom work there. It was interesting – one business was set up as a sort of general store with many historic items. Unfortunately the windmills each required a five euro entrance fee. We preferred to take photos – even though it was drizzling most of the time. From there we drove back to the ship. I enjoyed riding through the countryside, both rural and highway, seeing how things are organized.

We set sail at lunch time and then I needed nap. Deirdre was kind enough to attend the briefing about the rest of the tour. At 4:00 Deirdre and I joined up again to enjoy cake and coffee in the lounge, where we discovered that “tea” started at 3:30 and ended at 4:00. Still we had two pieces of cake and our coffee. Then we went up to the Sun Deck to walk off our indulgence. Since the drizzle turned to rain and wind blew cold, we only did a few rounds.



In the evening was the Port Talk, the Captain’s reception (champagne and a canapé) and the welcome dinner in quick succession – except the dinner service to our table was very slow. My dinner was good – rare prime rib, with delicious hot fries (instead of au gratin potatoes). Our dinner companions were a couple of sisters and their husbands. I talked to Kevin, who was an IT network manager. Dinner was so late we went to our rooms and flopped.

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Photos

Lots of cheese
Traditional equipment on display in sales room

Windmill Park
Lots of visitors despite the drizzle

Wooden shoes
Copied from a form with a lathe

Homes on display
The staff live in this historic village.

General Store
An enticing display of historic goods and tools.

Bucolic scene
Now a romantic remanent of a once-hard life

Windmill
Our fascination with windmills was limited to the exteriors.

Windmill 1672
Shot while the sails were rotating - quite difficult to get the date in view!

Windmill Park
Heavy cloud and rain created a mood of mystery.