Viking Grand European AMS-BUD Aug 2016 photo journal with pre-cruise Amsterdam

[mimmy52]

Thanks, JP. Yes, we'd have blue skies, then gray again, but by afternoon when I was at the Anne Frank house, it was sunny and very pleasant. We had great weather for most of the trip.

[mimmy52]

I had reserved a Red Light District Tour online, and my instructions were to meet the guide at 9:00 pm in front of the National Monument in Dam Square. I would recognize him by his black hat with the red light logo. I was about ten minutes early, it really was a short walk from our hotel, and I watched the activity around the Square. I never did see anyone wearing a black hat with a red light logo but there was a guy right next to the National Monument who seemed to be collecting money from people. Yes, it was my tour.

 

I never did catch his name. He talked fast and a lot of his information differed from what I'd read. But after his talk, we walked along the street next to Cafe Europa and came to the Condomerie, the first condom shop in Amsterdam. It certainly had funny condoms, and you could get one custom made from size small to size liar.

 

 

 

We continued to the area by Old Church, then we passed a lot of store front windows lit by red lights. I don't know why when I read about the RLD, I pictured the women sitting at second story windows. The women were mostly attractive and suggestively dressed. No photos allowed. Amsterdam prostitutes rent a window for 250 euros a day/night and have their own business, no **** needed. Several of them go together to purchase security.

 

We were allowed to take this photo

 

 

 

We walked down one street that had blue lights. That designated the transvestite prostitutes.

 

One other picture we could take that shows how the area was filled with partiers.

 

 

 

The tour concluded at 10:30 and the guide led some of us back to Dam Square, although some stayed in the RLD. I walked from there back to the hotel.

[Daisi]

Great pics mimmy. Makes me look forward to our planned trip. We are hoping to have 2 days in Amsterdam before the cruise so we can either visit where my husband's family comes from or some other areas we are interested in.

 

You were wondering what tomatensalsa is... it's just as it sounds, tomato salsa. I'm looking forward to getting my chips with mayo, and no funny looks...your's looked really good!

[mimmy52]

Daisi, I thought it was tomato salsa, but I still expected it to be on top. Nice to know that's definitely what it is though.

[mimmy52]

Friday, August 5

 

I forgot to mention that the first full day that I was in Amsterdam, after I had the included breakfast and went back to my room, a schedule for the time in Amsterdam was waiting at my door. It showed the time of the included walking tour and had directions on how to use the tram and which trams took you to which sites. It also had the time of our transfer to the ship for the next day and time and information about the optional tour.

 

At the hotel breakfast room for the included breakfast on Friday, I started talking to two women I recognized from the walking tour the day before. They were sisters, and when they heard I was alone, they invited me to sit with them for breakfast. They were taking the Viking optional tour that day which was the Rijksmuseum, a canal cruise, lunch, and another museum. I was seeing some things on my own.

 

I walked to Spui and took tram 2 to the Rijksmuseum stop. I bought my ticket from the driver, swiped it (he reminded me to swipe it again when I got off) and sat down. The museum opened at 9:00 and I arrived a little before that.

 

The iconic sign

 

 

 

The Rijksmuseum

 

 

 

I got in the line for those without tickets. The line for those with tickets was on the other side of the passageway. The only reason there was a line outside was that it was still five minutes from opening time.

 

On the right side, those without tickets; on the left, those with tickets; in the middle, bikes.

 

 

 

After buying my ticket, I headed to the second floor to see Rembrandt's famous "The Night Watch" before a crowd got around it. It's famous for being the first time movement was shown in a Dutch painting. Even though I got there before the crowds, my picture of The Night Watch isn't a good one. The one I took before entering the room is better.

 

 

 

I looked at some of the other paintings and then went into the beautiful library. Wow!

 

 

 

I loved this painting of a family because of what the little girl is wearing on her head. There was an explanation by the painting, and the hat is called a "bumper roll." If the toddler falls, it will protect her head.

 

[mimmy52]

Also on the second floor were the doll houses that I was looking forward to seeing. They were not toys but display pieces created by wealthy ladies. The ladies based their doll houses on their own houses and the objects in them were made to scale.

 

The doll house of Petronella Dunois.

 

 

 

The doll house of Petronella Oortman. It was harder to get a good picture of this one since there were always people waiting to see it up close.

 

 

 

A couple of the rooms in Petronella Oortman's doll house

 

 

 

 

 

Although there was much more to see in the museum, I had other things I wanted to see. After a quick stop in the gift shop, I was back outside waiting for tram 2.

 

Rijksmuseum restaurant on one floor, gift shop beneath it.

 

[mimmy52]

I got off tram 2 at Konisplein to see the floating flower market.

 

Back of the flower market.

 

 

 

The flower market from another angle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are plenty of opportunities to buy your own cannabis starter kits.

 

[mimmy52]

I was glad I saw the flower market early because the two sisters I met this morning said their included tour took them through the flower market later in the afternoon and it was packed and they had areas closed off, all getting ready for Europride 2016.

 

I had lunch at Studio 2 in the floating flower market area.

 

 

 

I had to try poffertjes, and I decided to make lunch more about dessert, so I ordered the ones that came with whipped cream and ice cream and they were also covered with powdered sugar. Yum!

 

 

 

On the way out of the flower market, I saw the Munttoren (Mint Tower) which was once the limit of the walled city and was one of the gates.

 

 

I window shopped my way along Kalverstraat and ended up back at Dam Square. There was one more thing I had to try in Amsterdam before I went back to the hotel for the transfer to the ship. FEBO.

 

 

 

An automat! How cool is that. There was a good selection of fast foods to try and you could order fries at the counter. They had ice cream at the counter too.

 

The automat wall.

 

 

 

I tried the kassoufle, fried cheese. It was okay, not anything I'd eat on a regular basis.

 

[mimmy52]

I just noticed that when I was writing about my tour of the Red Light District, I used a four-letter word that started with "p" that apparently is on the naughty list and it was replaced with asterisks.

 

Just as I had arrived at FEBO, it started pouring down rain so I was glad I'd made that my destination. By the time I ate what I could of the kassoufle, the rain had stopped.

 

I had plenty of time so I walked the street behind the hotel until I came to de Waag, originally a city gate and part of the walls.

 

 

Saturday was the canal parade for Europride 2016. That would have been interesting to see. It was only 1:00 when I got back to the hotel. With time to kill, I bought a glass of white wine in the bar and took it to the area above the lobby to talk to a couple I had met the first day at breakfast.

 

Overlooking the lobby. The dark area is the bar.

 

 

 

At 2:30 we went down to retrieve our luggage from storage, and almost immediately SUVs started arriving to transfer us to the Viking Vili. The transfer was very efficient, with six people in each SUV. Those who had been on the optional all day tour of Amsterdam and another that was an all day tour of Haarlem would be taken directly to the ship from their tours.

 

Check-in was fast. Show your passport, get your key card (which operates the same way as the key card at the Radisson Blu). My room was on the first deck. Although it's described as having a "half-height picture window," it looks smaller to me.

 

 

 

It wasn't unexpected though. I knew the window would be high and not very big. I'm not very tall, so I had to stand on the bench if I wanted to see out of it. You can see the bench in the photo. There was no room for a comfortable chair.

 

Another view of the room. The mirror is on the door to the room and the bathroom is to the left in the picture.

 

 

And one more view that shows how tightly the beds fit into the room.

 

 

 

I did ask to have the beds pushed together, and that made the room seem just a bit more roomy. What surprised me was when, about a week later, I compared rooms with a couple on the second deck who had a French balcony. Their room was no bigger than mine. They didn't have room for a chair either, but they did have that wonderful wall of windows that could be opened.

 

The bathroom

 

Edited August 25, 2016 by mimmy52
grammar correction

[mimmy52]

Even the small rooms are efficient. The area with the bench could be used as a desk or vanity. There were four drawers plus shelf space on one side of the closet and hanging space on the other. There was a fridge and a TV. The only thing missing seemed to be a clock. I use a travel clock when I'm on trips and reception will give a wake-up call if needed. I wondered if they eliminated clocks since so many people have cell phones. Unfortunately, mine doesn't work in Europe.

 

A small tour of the ship starting with the lobby.

 

 

 

The library, a nice spot above the lobby.

 

 

 

Internet station across from the library

 

 

 

The concierge's desk, across from the lobby.

 

 

 

By the concierge's desk is a screen that is sometimes a map and sometimes the weather. Maps and weather are also things that can be accessed from the room's TV, along with the bow camera, the lounge camera (when there is activity in the lounge), movies, and a number of news channels.

 

The screen by the concierge's desk. Photo taken after we left Kinderdijk the next day.

 

 

 

A seating area near the lobby.

 

[mimmy52]

The snack station near the lounge. Not in the picture are shelves that hold rolls and muffins in the morning and cookies in the afternoon.

 

 

 

The top deck on embarkation day. There are some golfers already.

 

 

 

The Vili was at the PTA terminal.

 

 

 

Busses were delivering passengers who had taken the optional tours.

 

 

 

Cast off wasn't until 11:45 that night so you could leave the ship if you wanted, as long as you were back by then. There was security at the gate to the terminal. I was content to stay on board. From 3:00 to 5:00, there was a wine and cheese sampling on the Aquavit Terrace. You could sample the wines that are available with the Silver Spirit Package. One of the passengers was really into the Viking thing.

 

 

 

I didn't get the Silver Spirits Package, but I did sample one wine and had some cheese.

 

[mimmy52]

At 6:15 it was time for the welcome briefing. Program director Sam spoke, the captain was introduced and spoke briefly, the hotel manager spoke, and the chef, Ionel (called Johnny) from Romania. Dinner was at 7:00.

 

 

 

I sat with the two sisters I had met the second day in Amsterdam along with another couple. We had the good luck of sitting in the section served by Aldrin (whose nickname of course is Buzz) and Edwin. They always had a smile, they remembered names, they remembered likes and dislikes, and they seemed to me to be the most efficient team in the dining room (not that I knew it the first night--that observation is based on sitting at other stations for breakfast and lunch).

 

I had taken a Viking Rhine Getaway two years ago, and I noticed that they no longer served an amuse bouche before the appetizer. Since there's plenty of food, it certainly wasn't needed. I had a baked cheese soufflé as an appetizer and "crispy sea bass & saffron veloute" as my entrée. Other entrees were veal loin or sautéed cauliflower steak or you could get the always available Caesar salad, poached salmon, chicken breast, or prime rib eye steak.

 

My sea bass

 

 

 

After dinner I went to the top deck hoping there might be a sunset, but not so much.

 

 

My evening ended talking to "neighbors" as several of us entered our rooms at the same time. I turned on the bow camera since it gave me a glimpse of outside and prepared for Kinderijk in the morning. The Viking Daily had been delivered while we were at dinner.

[H2Otstr]

Very nice photos, mimmy 52. I am really enjoying them.

[dln929]

Mimmy, you're making me homesick for my beautiful Viking Kara! Great report and so much fun to follow.

[jpalbny]

Mimmy, you're making me want to go back and give Amsterdam another try. We had half a (rainy, cold) day there and it looks like you had a lot more fun than we did. Oh well, next time.

 

Looks like the Red Light district was hopping when you were there. We wandered through briefly (it was Sunday morning) and I think all the girls must have been in church. Not much going on at that time! :rolleyes: I did notice that your "impish" reference was asterisked out. :)

 

Looking forward to the rest of the trip. It should only get even more scenic from here on out.

[mimmy52]

H20tstr, thanks for the photo compliment.

dln929, I'm making myself homesick for the Viking Vili. They are lovely ships with a great staff and crew.

jpalbny, love your impish reference. I've found it's much easier to enjoy sight seeing when you don't have to battle rain or chills.

[mimmy52]

Kinderdijk, August 6

 

Our visit to Kinderdijk is scheduled for 8:30 so I requested a wake-up call that came promptly. Viking offers a "café breakfast" from 6 to 11 am at the coffee station, a continental breakfast from 6:30-11 am on the Aquavit Terrace, and breakfast in the restaurant from 7-9:30 am. I always ate breakfast in the restaurant.

 

The bread station in the restaurant, the only photo I took in the restaurant that morning.

 

 

It had been announced during the introduction the night before that if you had friends that you wanted to stay with during the excursions, to let reception know and they would keep you together. The two sisters (since I was with them a lot, I'll start calling them Dee and El) asked if I wanted to tour with them and I was glad to say yes.

 

There was an optional tour called Dutch Cheese Maker if you didn't want the included windmill excursion. I saw the windmills two years ago on the Rhine Getaway but I also saw cheese making, so I went with the included tour. Our tour was 43D and we were the last to leave so we had the least amount of time to spend there.

 

Off the ship and ready for windmills. The ship is so long, I'm not sure I ever got the entire thing in a picture. The Viking Eir was docked next to us.

 

 

The morning started out foggy.

 

 

 

Walking along the road. Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

 

Our first stop was the workshop. Some of the groups started at the windmills. In the workshop we saw building plans and learned how windmills work and learned the various stages of pumping out water that Kinderdijk has gone through in its existence. We also saw wooden shoes in various stages of construction (for want of a better word).

 

 

When we left the workshop, the weather had cleared. This is one of the more modern pumping stations. I think it is still in use, but so much information was given to us that I have trouble remembering it.

 

[mimmy52]

Our second stop was the Visitors Center where guide Aly continued her explanation of how windmills and pumping stations work. It was quite crowded inside, so it was hard to hear what she was saying even with the Quiet Voxes. With 45 minutes left, we finally got to visit the windmills.

 

 

 

 

We were able to go inside the windmill that is a museum. Our guide told us that during WWII, every windmill hid a Jewish family in the area beneath it.

 

Me at the museum windmill

 

 

 

Inside the windmill

 

 

 

This family lived in the windmill at one time. The windmill has so little area for living space, I can't imagine how they could all fit in at one time. Of course, they didn't have large groups of tourists threading their way around.

 

 

Another level of the windmill

 

[mimmy52]

The wheel at work

 

 

 

Aly explains how to set the sails.

 

 

 

One last look before leaving.

 

 

 

Families live in each of the windmills, but I was surprised to see two girls swimming (along with some ducks) as we were on our way out. Most of us were still wearing our jackets, so that water had to be cold.

 

 

You can tell from the photos how often the sun was in and out that morning.

 

 

 

We had to be back on board at 10:45. I took these pictures from the window in my room. I think this was the only day any pictures from my window turned out since the longer we cruised, the dirtier the window got. The first one shows part of the window frame.

 

[mimmy52]

Also taken from the window in my room.

 

 

 

At 11:15, it was time for the safety drill. I was in group one and we reported to the sun deck by the wheel house. We were to bring our life jackets with us. Mine was stored under the bed.

 

 

 

Then it was time for lunch (at noon). I must have been really hungry whenever I went into the restaurant because I didn't take many pictures of it. I'd thought of eating on the Aquavit Terrace since it was such a lovely day, but I wanted the "Flying Dutchman" dessert and it was only offered in the restaurant.

 

 

 

There were always salad fixin's at lunch and usually soup. I had a small salad, beer & cheese soup, and the Flying Dutchman dessert, a stroopwaffle with two types of ice cream, pistachio and strawberry and whipped cream. It was very good. Naturally a glass of white wine too since it was included at mealtime.

 

For a couple of hours then, I watched the scenery go by from the top deck and then from the Aquavit Terrace where there were some rocking chairs right at the front. Then it was time to eat again. From 3:30 to 4:15 it was "Dutch Teatime" on the Aquavit Terrace. They had a lot of food that seem equivalent to English tea time. Scones, English trifle, little sandwiches of various kinds, and lots more goodies.

 

Tea time on the Aquavit Terrace

 

 

 

 

 

[mimmy52]

It was a beautiful day for cruising and sitting on the Aquavit Terrace.

 

 

 

I might have been stuffed from tea time, but at 6:30 I was in the lounge ready for a toast from the captain. The bar staff passed out a choice of champagne, mimosas, or kir royales. I chose the Kir. They also had some amuse bouche choices and I selected the sea bass.

 

 

 

Program director Sam introduced the Captain, the Captain turned it over to someone else who introduced the main crew, then the mic was given back to the Captain to propose a toast. The crew then passed through the lounge and glasses were clinked.

 

Second from right is Captain Vojtech Mellar

 

 

[mimmy52]

Dinner followed at 7:00. The smoked salmon appetizer was very good.

 

 

 

Chateaubriand was on the menu tonight, but I had the any time poached salmon. Dinner is a leisurely affair and it was always nice to have time to get to know our table companions. I sat with Dee and El for dinner every night, and after a couple of nights a certain couple usually joined us and a woman who was traveling with a meet-up group. There were six women who hadn't known one another before the trip. They'd met on a travel group on the 'net. Not sure I'd want to do that.

 

At 9:00 there was a presentation on Amsterdam, so we left the restaurant and went upstairs to the lounge. It's interesting how different people do the same presentation. As was the case two years ago, everyone was offered a taste of jenever and Dutch cheese but there was no explanation of jenever’s link to The Netherlands. I passed on both. Jenever is horrible and I was too stuffed for more cheese.

 

 

 

 

PD Sam was presenting a slide show and paused it for the tasting. He asked if anyone wanted more jenever and some did. Obviously there were people who liked it. For a while, there seemed to be an endless supply of jenever.

 

Sam presenting the slide show. There are screens in several locations in case you don't have a good view near the front.

 

 

 

 

Then concierge Nina gave a presentation of what it's like to live in Amsterdam, her home town. She had a lot of facts about Amsterdam.

 

Before going to bed, I went up on the sun deck for one last turn around. It was dark, so I didn't bring my camera since nothing would show up. Wouldn't you know, there was a spectacular fireworks display as we passed Wesel, a quarter moon bright in the sky, lights and loud music coming from the shore opposite the fireworks, and a bridge lit in blue but when we passed under it appeared purple. Dee got photos from their balcony, so if I get copies I'll share.

 

As I started to my room, there were fireworks again in the distance. I asked Sam what was being celebrated. He didn't know but claimed it was to welcome the Viking Vili.

[jersey2]

Love the pictures. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for the next chapter.

[mimmy52]

Thanks, jersey2. Time for the next chapter.

 

Cologne, August 7

 

The first night on the ship, PD Sam mentioned ages on board. The youngest person is 15 (with her grandmother) and the oldest is 90 (by himself).

 

I've had a little trouble sleeping the first two night on board. The pillows are so soft that once I lay my head down, I sink all the way to the mattress and the pillow kind of folds over my face like a self-smothering device. When I try bunching it up, I get a stiff neck. But Viking is accommodating. I asked if they had any firmer pillows so tonight maybe I'll sleep a little better.

 

The Vili doesn't arrive in Cologne until 10:30 this morning so we could sleep late and have a leisurely breakfast. The included walking tour is also scheduled for 10:30.

 

Some of the offerings for breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

While we were still talking over coffee, the Vili pulled into Cologne and we watched the docking process. We are docked between the Chocolate Museum and the Dom. It was a beautiful, sunny day. There was a German lesson in the lounge at 9:30 with concierge Nina, but I decided to get my boarding pass and walk around a little. I didn't go far, just enough to look around the riverfront area.

 

On the top deck, looking toward the Chocolate Museum, although you can't see it well in this photo.

 

 

 

And a view in the other direction.

 

 

 

 

 

Today there is a gentle walkers tour in addition to the others. Our tour guide was Marcus, a very tall man. My tour guide two years ago in Cologne was also named Marcus, but he had been quite short. At any rate, Marcus was an excellent guide, went a different path than Marcus #1, and talked about different things too, so I was glad I went on the tour.

 

Our first stop was at this tower. The color on the lower part is the high water mark although I've already forgotten what year that would have been.

 

[mimmy52]

On the walking tour

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marcus explained how the flood walls work while we were still in the riverfront area, then started leading us through the city.

 

 

 

Some neighbors who don't get along.