Day 6 Amsterdam

Today our excursion was to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We chose to travel into the countryside and learn about windmills. Again, the countryside is lush and green. There are small channels of water bordering the roads and the fields. We toured a windmill that was used years ago to move water and gain farmable land. They needed to support the population. They now have more efficient ways to move water so have kept a few windmills as museums. People even lived in the first floor of the windmill. Small quarters with very small beds, at least that's what we saw. A video demonstrated how much human physical strength was needed to operate the windmills.
Next stop was a "fairy-like" village. We walked through the small community.
It appears that everyone owns a bicycle and a boat.
After our tour ended near Old Town Amsterdam Alicia and I took a one hour canal cruise through the city. I understand there are even people living in houseboats on the canals. Grand old homes line the canals which have now been turned into places of business. We got a good feel for the city.
Back on the ship for dinner we ate at one of our specialty restaurants, Los Lobos. It was good food and service.
The ship left port and had to proceed through locks to get to the sea. We braved the windy, cold to stand on deck watching the progress. Our large cruise ship got safely into the lock and the water leveled but then we didn't go anywhere. They announced that something went awry with the gates so it would be awhile before we could leave. We went back inside and found evening entertainment. We were still in the locks when we went to bed. Thankfully, by morning we were underway.
I've included a video of the Amsterdam port the morning we arrived.Read more