When I looked outside our cabin this morning, I knew we were in the Netherlands when I saw this windmill. Everything was so green, sheep were grazing, and a mom was pedaling on her bicycle with her two young sons on a bike path along the river.
Shortly after 9:00, our ship docked in Amsterdam; and we boarded a canal boat for some sightseeing. We passed house boats and homes of the very wealthy. Some of the homes date back to the 1600’s.
You can see the series of bridges that line the canal.
This was one of my favorite house boats on our tour. Many boats leave their shades open so we could see inside. Most are valued at over $1,000,000 because of their location.
Bicycles are everywhere! Pedestrians need to keep a watchful eye when crossing the street because the bikes will take the right of way. I loved this 3 passenger bicycle with the crate in the front.
After our canal ride, we took a walking tour to the Dam Square. Below is the Magna Plaza, a shopping mall. The former Amsterdam Main Post Office was built in 1895–1899 in Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance style
The Royal Palace was built as a city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. The building became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon and later of the Dutch Royal House.
Amsterdam is known for its red light district, which is located next door to the 800 year old Oude Kerk (old church), a Calvinist church since 1578. On the church grounds there is a bronze statue of Belle installed in 2007 which has a plaque that reads “Respect sex workers all over the world.”
In the afternoon, we went for a tour of the Anne Frank House. Bonnie had snagged tickets for the museum two months ago. It was a very emotional experience to walk through the rooms, listen to the videos, and read excerpts of Anne Frank’s words.
Tonight, we said goodbye to our program director, Bob. He has done a wonderful job leading us through cities and towns in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.
Tomorrow morning, we disembark our ship and board our motor coach for our three day extension to Burges, Belgium.
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