Netherlands

14/4 - Amsterdam
Awake just after 5am to find we were in the brand new sea lock, opened late 2022, it’s not very deep and didn’t take long before we were sailing up the North Sea Canal towards the city, didn’t dock until 0815 so it was quite a long way to go. Then we were lining up to join just a dozen others on a tour to Delft, nice to have the small number and another good guide. The bus driver, Pavel, was Polish and said he worked about three weeks and then went home to Poland for a week.

It took about 45 minutes firstly through the city, then new suburbs which the guide said were only up to about five years old and built on land covered with sand over the swampy peat base. Current population is around 800,000 and I’m sure she said there are about 180 different nationalities, but maybe it was 118. A lot anyway, especially with refugees and immigrants though it’s hard to provide for them all properly. We saw a few bulb fields but not a lot of colour other than a big hyacinth paddock in full bloom, very pretty.

Our main visit was to the Royal Delft Company’s factory and museum (and shop!!) the company dates back to 1653 and I couldn’t resist this, fairly appropriate, wooden chest from Zeeland and dated 1653. We really enjoyed this visit, the company guide was informative and interesting without being too wordy, there was a lot to look at, we went through the museum then the factory where we saw the process and painting, I was forced to buy a pair of Delft cat earrings, some had time for coffee at their nice little café.

They had a section showing copies of pottery screens, doorways, stoves etc that had been put into buildings, mostly in the Netherlands, I’d have loved a couple at home but…..too big! There were samples of Dutch pottery before they used the finer porcelain – similar designs but so much finer. There were examples of the 2017 design of a dinner service for the royal family, most recently used at a state dinner for French President Macron. There was a life size replica of the famous ‘Night Watch’ painting which took two men a year to make. We heard that the ‘Night Watch’ was so called because it was so dark and looked like night time, but when it was cleaned it was daytime and not at all sinister.

The guide showed us how the basic pots were made and dried, and we saw Laurence, a master painter, almost finished two days work on a large pot, you can see the big screen so visitors could see how it was done. Then it was into the shop, lots of nice things such as tiles and plates, but of course I had to buy CAT EARRINGS, what else?

Back on the bus and almost into the town centre, though buses aren’t allowed there now so we had a few minutes walk over a couple of bridges and had to keep an eye out for fast cyclists – they rule the roads anywhere. Apparently the government had a big campaign several years ago and put thousands of bikes around the cities to encourage people to give up cars, but they just got stolen and sold on so it was back to square one, and incentives for bike use which has worked a bit better.

Four of the group stayed in the town square but the rest of us followed the guide for a walk around a couple more squares and streets, plenty to see and it’s so old, and the buildings seem to be beautifully kept with painted shutters and other woodwork, clean stonework. We saw where William of Orange was stabbed to death, the 16th century meat market, all sorts of lovely buildings including one with a golden mermaid on top, and a leaning tower dominating one street. There were cafes in the square and several tourist groups, and even a troop of Morris dancers visiting from England and giving a demonstration. We were told that in some cities tour groups are restricted to 15 and there’s a real shortage of guides because of this. They need more guides, but there are also more tourists coming from other parts of Europe, not going to England now since Brexit, so it’s a busy time for them.

Back in Amsterdam just after 1.30 so we walked from our ship into the old town smack bang into the red light district which we both felt was bigger and more sleazy than when we were in the city in 2004. There were countless cannabis ‘museums’ and shops (definitely not that obvious previously), more grimy pubs with their attendant lager louts, rough-looking bouncers and sex shop minders, and it was pretty crowded but mostly with sightseers I guess. It’s all a fact of life but really we were pleased to get through to a quieter part and just wander along the canals, pretty buildings, a few flowers and boats, including one with a couple of Scottish bagpipers sailing down the canal. And we were hungry so paid for only our second meal in a fortnight, having eaten on the ship every meal except the Cornish pasty earlier in the week.

Fun facts: The old city houses were built on about 11 million piles sunk 15 – 20m into the silt and soil down to bedrock; the average house stands on 9 or 10, the railway station on 9000, the royal palace on 14,000. The tall narrow houses mostly lean slightly forwards so anything being craned upwards won’t damage the façade, and some lean slightly sideways because of subsidence. The tulip, despite all the tulip craze and crash centuries ago, isn’t native to the Netherlands but is native to Turkey. The Netherlands is the second biggest brewer of beer in the world, 14%, next to Mexico which produces about 30%. And each year around 15,000 bicycles are hauled out of the canals……….along with about 50 cars. Speed limit on the expressways is mostly 100kph, after 7pm it goes up to 120 kph.

Sailing out from Amsterdam, having left a bit late around 6.30 because there was one passenger missing; a call went out over the intercom asking for a certain person to report. Then 20 minutes later, according to the lady in the next balcony to us (she and Pete were talking), a woman ran really fast up the gangplank, it was quickly detached, and the ship was on its way a couple of minutes later. She was THAT person!! Ooops.

We sat in our room watching the world go by, so much to see: people waving from the little cross-canal ferries and tourist boats close to the city; lots of people out walking and some walking dogs along the very well-marked tarsealed canal path; there were a few cyclists; we could see into back yards and marinas, there were allotments and gardens too; lots of businesses of course and some empty land as we got further towards the lock. There were lots of giant windmills, and for a long way the sides of the canal were built up with ladders and moorings, especially by the container port (that was Port Nelson on steroids). Further out into the countryside there was just flat land, green, brown, reed-lined ponds, a road and cycle path parallel to the main canal, nice two-storey houses in a fairly traditional design, a bit more industry, lots of trees all bare of leaves, it will be pretty in a few weeks when they’re all green.

We watched the ship go into the lock then had dinner, and on to the show which tonight was Cruise Director Richard in a one-man show, a bit of humour, a bit of singing, another good evening on board Viking Jupiter.

Have a look at the next entry (or previous - depending on how it works) for some more photos.Read more