A watery tale

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Geo: 51.8889, 4.63505

For the last two days of our journey we are in the Netherlands. To explain the comprehensive and complex water management techniques that are in use, Lubo our programme director gave a lecture in the morning followed later by one on Dutch history with samples of Dutch cheese and Junever to go with it. Thus armed with this knowledge we walked from the ship to one of a series of windmills standing alongside polders, which are strips of reclaimed land previously under water. Windmills look very pretty on the horizon and are very complex structures close up. Most have now been replaced by electric power stations which can shift water out of the low lying land at a much greater rate. There is a saying that "God made the world but the Dutch made Holland". This is an amazing fact as the majority of their country lies below sea level and they have created it. They build stronger dykes to keep the water out but even the Dutch realise that in 100 years they will lose land again due to rising sea levels. The windmill we saw was a working water mill and there was enough wind at the time of our visit to see the huge sails turning the wheels inside and shifting the water away. The millers still live inside. I would not want to be climbing such steep steps every day.

Later the ship sailed on towards Amsterdam passing a Noah's Ark complete with elephant and giraffe on the way. It was sad to have our last supper on the ship. We have met some really nice people and we know it is highly unlikely that we shall ever see them again.

Disembarking in Amsterdam was an easy affair. We did not have to vacate our cabins or put the luggage out until 9am. They organised a taxi, took our luggage off and that was that. Off we went to the Hilton Hotel a huge modern affair but with nice views over one of the canals. Our room was not ready so we dumped our stuff and walked to the Rijksmuseum a 15 minute walk away. It is worth while getting tickets beforehand in order to avoid any queues. The museum has been under refurbishment for several years so it was the first chance to see it for some time. It is laid out according to the centuries and rooms contain not only the art but also the furniture and other decor of the period in order to get a better idea of the time. Most of the art is Dutch but there is a smattering of Monet and Courbet etc. The busiest rooms were those devoted to Rembrandt and Vermeer.

Outside we wanted lunch but to our surprise the nearby proper restaurants were closed at lunchtime and only open for dinner. We walked for ages until we finally gave up and went in a bar which did wine and bar food. On the way back we walked through Vondelpark, which is a huge green area very pleasant to walk through apart from the interminable bicycles which are absolutely everywhere and have complete priority over pedestrians and cars. You really have to keep a watch out in all directions and crossing the roads is worse than in Cairo or Rome!! No one wears Lycra or cycle helmets and they travel really fast along the cycle lanes which are everywhere. Have to admit we did not see many fat people so I think they are a healthy race because of all the cycling. There are literally thousands of bikes parked all over the place.

Not wanting to search unsuccessfully for a restaurant for dinner we booked an Indonesian with the concierge of the hotel and got a taxi to it. He suggested the “Puri Mas” .We chose the Rijstafel which is a selection of different dishes so that you can have a selection of all the different tastes. It was different but very tasty and a reasonable price. Everywhere in the city was very busy as it was the culmination of the Gay Pride festival and there had been a canal boat parade earlier. All the hotels were full so just as well that we booked everything earlier. If you dont want to be surrounded by hundreds of young people all partying then don't come at this time of year. We had no choice and we only saw the parade on TV, which was fine with me!!

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