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Published: July 31st 2023
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On Saturday we woke early but waited until about 9-30 before setting out. Fletcher wanted to go to the Olympic stadium from 1928. We caught a train from the nearby Metro station into Centraal. Once there we sought directions from an attendant who told us which stop was closest to the place. It was back to the train and an eight stop voyage to the right place
We alighted there and followed signs which led us to the stadium. It was not a very imposing facade and we were not able to enter as they were setting up for the Opening Ceremony of the World Gymnastics Championships which was on the next day. At least we can say we visited it.
From there we caught a tram back into Central but got off just before and walked back to the Mint Tower.This was familiar territory for us as we had stayed here in 1980 and again in 2013. We wandered along the shopping Mall and down to the Flower Market. From there we proceeded to Rembrandt Square where we found a Cafe and had coffee and some breakfast.
We then wandered along the nearby Canal and came to
a cruise terminal. Sick of walking we bought tickets and spent a leisurely hour on the boat, sightseeing along the many canals in Amsterdam. After this we found a cafe, Brasserie Meusewe for lunch. We spent a pleasant hour or so there, sipping a white wine and enjoying the ambience. We then took our time wandering back to the Centraal station to catch the Metro back to our hotel.
We tried to watch some TV back in our room but it wouldn't switch on. I told the girl at Reception and she came up to find that there were no batteries in the remote. She replaced those but it still wouldn't work. I also complained about our windows. They were so dirty we could barely see out. She eventually offered us free breakfast for the next morning in compensation. We returned to the next door Restaurant for dinner where we shared a Cote de Boeuf which was very nice.
On Sunday morning, we again woke early. All we had to do was get ourselves to the port to board our river cruise. We did enjoy the free breakfast, though. At 10-15 we checked out and Reception called us
a taxi. This took us to the river port. We stopped at a Viking ship tent only to find it was not ours. Fortunately the taxi driver had not left so he then drove us to the right berth. We were able to board even though the boat wasn't leaving till later that night. We explored the ship and then were able to have lunch on the foredeck. Eventually we got into our cabin and unpacked. We went back up to the lounge for drinks. While exploring the upper deck we had met Danny, the pianist from Hungary. He was very pleasant and that afternoon was playing in the Lounge. He broke into Waltzing Matilda, just for us!!. We had a welcome and briefing from the Program Director and then headed into the dining room for a very nice dinner. There are many Americans on board, including a large group of ethnic Indians as well as some Canadians. One lady who had seen me singing along to Waltzing Matilda introduced herself as an Australian who had lived in the US for many years. I am sure it will be a good trip.
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