Viking - Tulips and Windmills - Day 5 Kinderdyk

Day 5 - Sunday 31 March 2024

Easter Sunday and breakfast tables were decorated.

And when we returned to our cabin we found a large Lindt chocolate bunny. 

We arrived at Kinderdijk at lunchtime. I had the Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich. The menu said it came on a Kaiser Roll, which is did on the 2023 Rhine-Mosel cruise but they were either out of them or the chef had no idea what a Kaiser Roll was and used two small bread rolls.

It's not the first time we've been to Kinderdijk; last time we just went for a walk along the waterfront, and this time Joan stayed on the boat. But it wasn't raining so I joined an excursion in the afternoon. 

The windmills built in the early 1700s are pumps to keep the reclaimed land dry. We can go in one from 1738 and while I am there I see the miller, wearing clogs, turn the mill with the large wheel so it faces the new wind direction and anchor it in the position with chains.

We have a talk about the windmills form the guide and a quick visit to a steam pump room that also houses a gift shop, then it's back to the boat as it leaves for Rotterdam at 15:30.

An hour later we moor in Rotterdam. There's an optional walking tour but, unusually, no included excursion.

And as we ate dinner the Viking Ve cruised on to Antwerp.

Viking - Tulips and Windmills - Day 4 Nijmegen

 Day 4 - Saturday 30 March 2024

We moored in Nijmegen. At 09:00 we boarded our coach for the brief drive to Arnhem for our included excursion Operation Market Garden which first stopped at Arnhem bridge - the 'Bridge too Far'. 

This is a post-war rebuild to exactly the same style as the bridge  destroyed in October 1944. Some of the bases survived, including the concrete stairs and supports on the north bank. The new bridge is named after John Frost, British Forces commander.

We went to the Airborne Cemetery at Oosterbeek where some 18,000 allied soldiers are buried.

Guide David had written two books about the battle and was in a group of archaeologists that uncovered remains of missing soldiers. He took us to some graves of those he'd found and told us their stories.

He told us that after the war  local school children 'adopted' each grave, and they'd contact the families. Soon other war cemeteries were also adopted by school children and when they grew-up and leave school another younger child takes over. Each year, on the same day, each grave has a lit candle to show the soldiers that they
are not forgotten. This unofficial tradition continues to this day. I don't think anyone there didn't have tears.

Next stop was the nearby Airborne Museum. During the Arnhem Battle as the British troops were defending a decreasing area while facing increasing German forces. Hotel Hartenstein was taken over as HQ and now houses the museum.

Then a drive around the area where the guide pointed out terrain features that affected the battle and Kate ter Hors' house in which she nursed wounded and dying soldiers.

A quiet coach returned to the boat for lunch.

We had a short walk in the afternoon and caught up on reading. Before dinner was an enthralling talk on the Liberation of the Netherlands by historian Edwin Popken. The Dutch thought the war was over when the allies arrived in Market Garden. The German troops had left, for Germany it was thought, and crowds were blocking the streets to cheer on the troops.

 

Viking - Tulips and Windmills - Day 3 Enkhuizen

Day 3 - Friday 29 March 2024

Viking Ve left Amsterdam at 01:00 to sail across Ijsselmeer (once known as the Zuiderzee) now the largest lake in Europe, and the view from the boat when I woke on Day 3 was unexpected for a river cruise as it looked like we were at sea.

We moored at Enkhuizen and joined a walking tour at 09:00. A few moments from the boat we were invited to eat herring. The proper way is to take the whole herring by its tail, tilt your head back and slide the fish down your gullet. For those who didn't want the full experience there were slices of fish on cocktail sticks.

Then a tray of battered fish nuggets was passed around. It was said to be cod, but the man behind the counter said that it used to be cod but they now used pollock.

It was bitterly cold as a strong wind blew from the Ijsselmeer. I sheltered in the warmth of the small shop. 

Then the walk continued, stopping to see the city gatehouse, our guide said we were lucky because today we would be able to see the Half Moon ship leave the harbour. 

Half Moon is a replica of Halve Maen, the  ship that Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in 1609. The replica was constructed between 1988 and 1989 at the Snow Dock in Albany, New York.

Assisted by an inflatable and launch Half Moon was turned and passed under the now opened bridge towards Ijsselmeer.

Lunch was A Taste of Holland with the waiters in what I suppose was local costume but I didn't see Dutch Caps on the waitresses...

Food was a self-serve buffet

and there was a chocolate fountain.

In the afternoon we strolled around pretty Enkhuizen.

Back on board there was the VES Cocktail Party. I remember on our first trip wondering who the half dozen people quaffing drinks in a Aquavit Lounge were. This cruise 116 people (out of 184 guests), having cruised before with Viking, were Viking Explorer Society members and so the event in the lounge was open to everyone.

Dinner menus had two pages. On the left was the Always Available dishes, plus wine suggestions for that night's menu (with the price for those who didn't have the drinks package) and the red and white wines they were pouring for everyone. The white was a (rather nice, crisp) Riesling. 

By the way, Riesling is pronounced 'reezling', note the 'ie' like in 'field'. I heard one guest 'correcting' her waitress who pronounced it as reezling by telling her that she should call it ryezling.

On the right are the dishes for that night.

There's a different menu every day, both lunch and dinner, plus the 'always available' dishes. The dinner menu will have three local dishes, then a choice of international starters, mains and desserts. You can pick from each menu as you like and make substitutions -  I loathe mashed potato so I swapped that with fries from the 'always available' menu.

Some people have two starters instead of a starter and main. Some people have two mains and quite a few have two desserts. As if........

Click on the menu images to get them full size. 

Viking - Tulips and Windmills - Day 2 Amsterdam

 Day 2 - Thursday 28 March 2024

We assembled on the dockside for an 09:00 Canal Cruise. As we waited for the last guests to join us it started drizzling and by the time we'd got to the nearby canal boat it was pouring. On either side of the boat there were three seats facing each other across a small table.

The boat was covered with glass panels so you could see above and around, but the glass was covered with rain on the outside and steamed up inside. Joan and I faced each other at the waterside. Wipers were handed out so we could remove condensation and it was suggested we open a gap in the sliding side windows but it made little difference as the windows steamed-up again almost immediately.

The Viking guide pointed out sights either side as we passed but we could see little, and when there were photo opportunities by the time we'd tussled the sliding window open we were usually too late.

Such as this picture, which the guide said was the most photographed sight on the canals because a picture taken through the middle of the bridge would see under a line of bridges down the side canal. I was a little too late, but those not at a window or on the left side would not have a chance.

The cruise ended at a diamond factory. If you don't want to visit it then Viking have a coach to take you back to the ship, but the canal boat was returning so we went on that.  And as we boarded Viking Ve it stopped raining and the sun shone.

Peter & Sue, who were on the cruise a day ahead of us, said the diamond factory was 'simply a buying opportunity'.

The excursion was billed as a Canal Cruise and Walking Tour but the only walk was from the Viking boat to the canal boat. 

After lunch we walked 15 minutes to the National Maritime Museum. It's in an old stone building surrounded by water with four wings around a glassed over quadrangle. 

Outside is moored a reconstruction of a Dutch East Indiaman which we boarded and explored. 

Also on the jetty is the Royal Barge, with a movie background of it is use.

A Canal Tour boat takes a close look at the East Indiaman

The museum closed at 17:00 so we walked into central Amsterdam and had a coffee in the Renaissance Hotel in Spuistraat. I used to stay there when it was the Sonesta Hotel when in Amsterdam on business.

The we crossed Spuistraat for dinner in Gauchos. This is the branch I used to eat every business trip as they were the only one to have a salad bar. That's gone now and Gauchos has spawned a multitude of competitors but Gauchos still has their trademark black and white cowhide seating

and the tenderist, most flavoursome Argentinian steaks cooked over an open fire, and served with complimentary Chimichurri sauce. And then a taxi back to the boat.

Viking - Tulips and Windmills - Day 1 Amsterdam

 Day 1 -  Wednesday 27 March 2024

Pick up from home was at 07:30 and although M25 was busy we kept moving so we were at the airport at about 08.40. Check in was now self-service, via a machine which printed luggage tags which you had to place on your bags and put bags on a conveyor belt. 

We got breakfast in the business class lounge and boarded on time. BA434 was scheduled to depart at 10.55 but by time we got in the air and they started serving drinks and we put our watches ahead an hour to European time, it was legitimately lunch time and while we didn't have the offered meal we did have a glass or two of Champagne and landed at 13:05.

The baggage carousel at Amsterdam stopped working after one of our cases came out and we waited about 55 minutes before an operative climbed onto it and it jerked to life and delivered the rest. A Viking person was outside and led us to a people carrier where we were joined by two others then driven  20 minutes to Viking Ve.

We dumped our hand baggage in our cabin and made it to the restaurant before it closed at 15:00. I had a Thai Green Curry from the embarkation buffet.

In the afternoon we took a walk to central Amsterdam. In the past Viking boats moored alongside the Centraal Station but now they moor at the old liner terminal. Centraal Station is visible from it, but it takes 25 - 30 minutes to walk to it.

We chatted to the manageress of Gauchos in Spuistraat and planned to return for dinner that night. 

We got back to the boat too late for the mandatory safety drill. Viking Gymir was moored ahead of us, so we went there hoping to see Peter & Sue who were doing the same trip on Gymir a day ahead of us, but they didn't reply to our text. 

Back on Viking Ve we decided we were too tired to return to Gauchos that night and so ate in Vikings restaurant instead.

 With dinner Joan chose a really excellent Wieninger Wiener Trilogie 2018, a blend of Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Jack's Second Birthday

 

To Aylesbury for Jack's second birthday. The theme was his favourite characters from In The Night Garden.

He opened many presents but seemed less impressed with clothing,

preferring toys.

Emma & Toby gave him a bike (and helmet).

We finished with a huge buffet and unveiling of Jack's birthday cake.

Book of Mormon at Prince of Wales

To London for Joan's birthday present: The Book of Mormon matinee at The Prince of Wales theatre.

It was a musical with a large cast of energetic dancers but not as amusing as I expected. Rather obvious and I was glad when it ended.

Dinner afterwards at Aspava

Thriplow Daffodils

 Ever year the village of Thriplow, Cambridgeshire, holds daffodil weekends in March. We went the weekend before with Alberto and Jacqui to avoid the crowds.

We couldn't book a table at the Green Man pub in Thriplow, but we had a very good lunch at the friendly Checkers in nearby Fowlmere.

50,000 daffodil bulbs had been plated since last years festival but there's a big area to cover and we didn't see the expected huge swathes of  yellow flowers.

Many different varieties had been planted and they were marked by a name board.