Amsterdam to Toronto

We have mixed emotions today. Sorry to leave such a wonderful river cruise, but happy to go home.

We said our good byes to the new friends we made. Everyone seemed to be going in different directions.

The Avalon transfer bus took us to the Room Mate (yes that is the name) hotel. We relaxed a bit, had tea for Joe and Dan, cappuccino for Jane and plain old coffee for Bonnie. Not the stuff you get at a "coffee house" but the stuff you get at a cafe.

The transfer bus picked us up and transported us to the Amsterdam airport. Up to the priority lounge for a bite to eat and a glass of beer or wine to await our flight to Toronto. About a half hour before boarding time, we went down to the departure gate as per the boarding pass.  Joe looked up at the screen and it said Bangkok!  We looked around and felt sure that flight was indeed headed for Bangkok, not Toronto.  After some searching we finally found out the correct gate and arrived in time to catch our flight.

Wonderful flight on KLM to Toronto in business class. Lots of room and seats recline all the way for sleeping. We spent the night at the Sheraton Hotel at terminal 3. Laurie and Rob came to meet us at 10:30 this morning and Dan and Jane caught a limo home to Orillia.

Another great experience!!!

Touring around Amsterdam

Today is our last full day on the cruise. We sailed into Amsterdam around 6:00 AM this morning.
At 8:45 AM we left for a tour of Amsterdam's many canals.
Lovely scenery as we travelled at a slow pace.
Pictures below are some of the areas that we ventured into on our canal boat.

There are 2,500 houseboats on the canals. Some look very good and others appear to be falling apart.

2,500 is the maximum allowed on the canals and thus the price has risen quite high. The older ones may sell for between 100,000 and 200,000 Euros. The newer ones, near the downtown area, sell for up to 600,000 Euros.

This next picture is a skinny house. The white window is pretty much the width of the house. Taxes are calculated on the house width, so this one pays the least amount of taxes.

We passed the Anne Frank house and I think the house beside the red awning is the correct one.

There is an afternoon tour of the Anne Frank house but we decided to rest up for the "red light district" tour this evening.

I think it is time for a couple more pictures of the canals as we continued our city tour.

As you no doubt know there are many marijuana shops in Amsterdam. While it is not really legal, it is tolerated. The places that are called coffee houses do not serve coffee, but you can certainly light up a "joint" in these shops. If you want coffee you head to a cafe.

What do you think this one is?

Amsterdam has dozens of excellent museums, about 7,000 classified building on 90 islands linked by 1,200 bridges spanning the canals on either side of the Amstel River.

Amsterdam has a vibrant, yet laid back atmosphere and apparently, an outrageous nightlife that we will experience tonight.

After lunch, Bonnie, Jane and Dan headed to the cabin to do some packing. Joe decided to walk to the old downtown area to get some more pictures.

The next 3 pictures are the main street in Amsterdam, which I believe is called Damrak.

In Amsterdam there are people all over the place walking around but mostly biking.

The people riding bicycles are all over the place. They do not stop for pedestrians, cars or red lights.

If you are walking, you need to be constantly on the lookout.

Because the bikes are so numerous, they are parked all over the place as you can see.

Tonight we head for that outrageous nightlife (aka the red light district). Some of the guys (no names) were asking the cruise director if there was a senior discount.

Off we went to the famous red light district. Our guide, Martin, who was excellent, warned us that anyone taking pictures of the ladies could be thrown in the canal.

Perhaps that is why our pictures are of the canal area in the red light district and not the ladies.

It was extremely interesting to see the windows with the ladies trying to persuade you to come in to her "parlour".

The pictures below are canal pictures in the red light district.

Off to bed as tomorrow is a big day. We head home at 6:00 PM Amsterdam time and arrive in Toronto at around 7:30 PM Toronto time.

Cologne and more sailing on the Rhine

We landed in Cologne (Koln to the Germans), this morning and after breakfast went on a walking tour ending at the mighty Cologne Cathedral. The walk was reasonably slow and we made it to the cathedral.

This cathedral is in Gothic style. Gothic style with its pointed arches, replaced the round forms of the Roman architecture.
Once up at the cathedral, we discovered a numerous shops, patios and most of all, people, as you can see in the street scene.

Bonnie managed to buy a pair of Harem pants, a blouse and a necklace, before we insisted she return to the ship, as lunch and wine were calling us.

As you all know, today is Canada Day. When we went to the dining room for lunch, the crew had set up a Canadian Flag at the entrance and baked a cake with the Canadian Flag outlined with strawberries.

We had a lazy afternoon on the ship and gathered in the lounge for the disembarkation briefing.
A sad time as the cruise has been so enjoyable that the time just flew by.

The farewell Gala Dinner was remarkable with lobster, beef and for dessert, Baked Alaska.
The next couple of pictures are with our waiter Mihai who looked after us for the entire voyage.

A couple of pictures in the lounge.

Off to bed, as we arrive in Amsterdam early, and leave on our canal trip at 8:45.