North Sea Serenade – Amsterdam

We began this day, which was also beautiful weather – other than Visby we have had spectacular weather and Tom and I are getting a tan if you can believe it – by a short bus tour through Amsterdam.  At first I will say that Dutch reminds me of Klingon.  If you don’t understand it – it sounds a lot like throat clearing.

We saw the Baroque-style Royal Palace which is built on approx. 14,000 pilings sunk into the marsh.  We saw the zoo and the Rijksmuseum where they have all the Rembrandts.  We saw Ann Frank’s house but it was at an odd position so we were unable to take a picture.  We saw the Westerkerk (or West Church) the Nieuwekerk (New Church) the Historical Museum and the Archaeologic Museum.

Then we drove out to Beemster Polder which is the oldest reclaimed land in the Netherlands.  We went to an original 17^th Century windmill.  A polder is a lake and they first build a dike and then build some windmills (the ring dike).  After those windmills have pulled out as much water as they can then they build another dyke lower down and some more windmills and keep going until they have drained the lake (the middle mills followed by the lower mills and draining mills).  The water is channeled into a canal and waterway system called a Beemster.  Even though they have drained the lake they have to lay down reeds to stabilize the ground and then they grow grass and then they plant some yellow flowers – this process takes years and then finally they can begin to use the land.  They like to use sheep to walk along the dikes because they tamp down the dirt.  Cows are too dirty.

Then we went to Broek in Waterland which is a town where the church was built in 1400, burned by the Spanish in 1573 and rebuilt in 1628.  This was one of the first churches of the Protestant revolution.  There were two separate areas of the church one for the women and children and one for the men because women and children had to be under armed guard in church. And of course – more cobblestones.

Then we went to a cheese factory where they make Dutch cheese and they let us try about 20 of them.  I chose a sheep’s cheese which was to Tom and I the most delicious. Then we drove back to Amsterdam and saw the Mint Tower.  I really am going to miss all these churches and their bells ringing the hour.  We also saw the Weeper’s Tower which legend has it was where wives stood to wave their husbands off to see – as the guide said if you weren’t very happily married they might be tears of joy.

We then went to the flower market – we have never seen so many flower bulbs.  Oh interesting matter of note – Holland only grows tulips once every seven years.  This was not one of those years.

So we came back to the ship, won trivia – no bingo tonight – and I cannot believe I am already typing this – tomorrow our last stop – Brugges.