My husband K got up at 6:50 and kindly left the cabin. I was able to sleep until 8:15. Before I left for breakfast at 8:40, I took a look outside. Google kindly told me we where in the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal. I decided Rijn had to be their version of Rhein. I noted that we were just north of the Nederrijn. Quite a lot of water around here.
As she has been doing on days when we don't have to get off the boat early, J had an omelet. While she was back at the station ordering it, she picked up a donut for me. I ordered blueberry French toast, but it was rather heavy in red berries. K got salmon on a bagel.
Even though I'd bought a couple of things in the shop on the boat and we'd had those sodas when sick, there was still money to burn in our shipboard credit. I showed K the AmaWaterways backpack that would eat up a good chunk of it. We didn't really need another backpack, but this was the most expensive thing that we could vaguely use. We figured, we'd just shove it in the suitcase and it didn't weigh enough to put us in danger of the suitcase being too heavy.
Our gratuities had been prepaid, but J's weren't. She actually had a higher shipboard credit than we did. She decided to use it to cover her gratuities. The only gratuities that we had to deal with were for Rolf for the pre-cruise portion of the trip. After paying for the backpack, I filled out a form to give the remaining 16,30 Euros to him.
That done, we went to our cabins to put on coats and such. We went up to walk the upper deck at 9:45. It was 56°, but felt like 52°. It was windy, when walking forward, but it wasn't so bad heading to the rear of the boat.
We were making our way through the canal system that linked the Rhein to the port in Amsterdam. The Netherlands farmland was quite lovely. We also saw some farm buildings, including this huge complex. The tall building in the back is the van der Valk Hotel Houten.
There were barges, including the first one we'd seen hauling logs. We also saw scenes like this one of a guy peacefully fishing at the spot he'd obviously driven to.
Having had enough of the wind, J and I put our coats back in our cabins and repaired to the lounge. at 10:20. I did some needlework until I realized that I was having trouble staying conscious. I went to my cabin at 11:15 for a nap.
We all met at noon for lunch. K was the only one to eat the Marinated Dutch Herring from the appetizer already on the table. We couldn't really figure out what to do with the guacamole that was there. The Asian duck breast was tasty and so was the tomato-mozzarella mixture. K also had the vegetables consommé with mozzarella Monte Cristo and vegetables julienne. For his main course, he had Fisherman Pot ( saffron & tomato broth)/ black mussel, assorted fish, calamari, root vegetable, garlic baquette/ sauce rouille.
J and I split our meals, of course. One was romaine polenta halfmoon / parmesan/ broccoli/ tomato sauce. The other was turkey Saltimbocca/ rosemary jus/ Mediterranean vegetables/ olive pilaf rice. Both were very good.
None of us could resist the dessert of bread & butter pudding/ vanilla custard. So, we each got to enjoy our own.
We finished lunch at 1:15 and went to our cabins to prepare for our afternoon walking tour. On the way, I stopped to photograph the scenery and the chandelier and elevator that I hadn't thought to do before now.
When we were all in Amsterdam for our Baltic cruise, we did the traditional boat tour. The Jordaan Walking Tour would take to a section of town that we did not stroll through the last time we were here.
We still hadn't docked. So, we had some time to view Amsterdam from the water. We saw the Eye Film Museum and the Mövenpick Hotel where we'd stayed before and after the Baltic cruise.
We saw what had been the building of Royal Dutch Shell before they ran off to London in 2022 to avoid Dutch taxes and changed their name to just Shell plc.
At 2, we were surprised to find that we were the only ones on the gentle tour. I thought this would be good, because we could ask questions at will. But, I wasn't happy, when he started smoking and later used some unnecessarily coarse language.
In any case, we walked up the long concrete ramp that was the IJ dock. Ahead of us were some pretty modern buildings. I think that the area was Zuidas, the financial center of Amsterdam.
When we got around to the other side of the buildings, we could see that they were indeed modern and had a nice marina next to them.
We headed off to the right of the street next to the IJ dock, we passed some nice flowers, which is always pleasant in a city.
The easiest thing to do at this point is to give info about the area from Wikipedia:
The Jordaan ... is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the west; the Prinsengracht to the east; the Brouwersgracht to the north and the Leidesgracht to the south. The former canal Rozengracht (now filled in) is the main traffic artery through the neighbourhood.
Originally a working-class neighbourhood, the Jordaan has become one of the most expensive, upscale locations in the Netherlands. It is home to many art galleries, particularly for modern art, and is also dotted with speciality shops and restaurants. Markets are held regularly at Noordermarkt , the Westerstraat (the Lapjesmarkt textile market) and Lindengracht.
Rembrandt spent the last years of his life in the Jordaan, on the Rozengracht canal.The Jordaan has a high concentration of hofjes (inner courtyards), many of them with restored houses and peaceful gardens. These courtyards were built by rich people for elderly women, as a kind of charity. By the 1970s most of these courtyards were in very bad shape, like the rest of the neighbourhood. Since then, many have been restored and are now inhabited mainly by artists, students and some elderly people. During the summer some of these yards are opened on Sundays during free concerts known as hofjesconcerten.
Many houses in the Jordaan have a stone tablet on their facade, a stone sign displaying the profession or family sign of the inhabitants. For instance a butcher displayed a pig and a tailor a pair of scissors, carved in stone above the entry. The first such stone tablets were made in the 16th century, when citizens were ordered to use these tablets instead of big wooden gables that obstructed the traffic in the narrow streets.
Construction of the Jordaan began in 1612, when it was called Het Nieuwe Werck (The New Work). The streets and canals were built according to the old ditches and paths, which explains its unusual orientation compared to the rest of the city. In the 19th century, six of the Jordaan's canals were filled in, including the Rozengracht.
The neighbourhood was traditionally a leftwing stronghold, with a stormy history. Heavy riots broke out in 1835, 1886, 1917 and 1934. The February strike of 1941 started with meetings on Noordermarkt square...
Starting in the 1960s, many of the neighbourhood's original
working-class residents moved out of the city to more affordable
locations...
In addition to this, he told us about the Catholic church being outlawed for a time and people having Mass in their homes. He even pointed out the house he was baptized in.
Now, we can just enjoy the scenery.
My phone tells me I was standing at "4 grote steden excl. Noordzeebadplaatsen" when I took this lovely picture of typical Amsterdam canal houses.
And behind me, was this really charming front.
This was the corner of Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht canals.
We then went on the Papiermolensluis or Brug 57, which is a bridge over the Prinsengracht. This afforded the opportunity to take shots of the canal and houseboats over the flower planter, which of course, is a must shot.
Walking down the street, we correctly guessed that this type of opening used to be for coal to be delivered to the building. Up above, he point out the lifts at the tops of buildings. These were used to lift furniture up to the upper floor apartments. I suspect that they still are.
He lead us to the market set up next to the Noorderkerk. Sadly, folks seemed to be closing up shop and we didn't have time to shop any way. The "northern church" is a 17th century church used by the Dutch Reformed Church for services and concerts are given there.
We roamed down streets taking in the sights. Old buildings and new ones built to blend in. A little library in an old phone booth. A nice day for it, too.
Soon, we found ourselves outside of one of the aforementioned hofjes. I soon realized that the word was related to the German word "Hof", which also means courtyard. This was Karthuizer Hofje atKarthuizersstraat 21-131. This is the biggest one in Amsterdam, evidently. When it opened, there were 110 women, some of whom were widows with children. I found this:
The Karthuizerhofje is a courtyard which is officially called Weduwenhofe Sitting Huys.
This was built in 1650 on the site of a former convent. The building was
commissioned by the Huiszittenmeesters, prominent merchants who
supported poor, independently living people with peat, food and
sometimes accommodation. In the courtyard, above the entrance, we see
the Amsterdam cog, the largest commercial vehicle of the Middle Ages.
As you can see, the real name of the courtyard is above the entrance. We got to go into the pretty, peaceful courtyard.
Very soon, we were back out on the street. I found this pretty doorway and then this nice view down Tichelstraat. I like how the obviously older second building on the left leans forward as if to look down the strret.
We crossed Westerstraat, which was made by filling in the Anjeliersgracht canal. Evidently, when the canals were not needed as much for water management and defense, some were filled in to make more space for traffic and to improve hygiene.
AlongAnjelierstraat, there were some nice balconies that folks had decorated in a variety of ways. One, on a house that used to house street organs, even had figures reminiscent of those instruments.
Egelantiersgracht was tree-shaded and had no houseboats.
Name two products that the Netherlands is famous for. Did you pick cheese and tulips? Well, they have museums to them.
I know that everyone visits the Anne Frank House, but we didn't. As I understand it, the building, which is to the left of the tree, has stairs that are very narrow and very steep. I just can't handle those.
Here's one of those shots you look for in Amsterdam: a canal across a flower box. This is Prinsengracht.
I'm a miniaturist. So, I'm constantly looking at architectural features. I just loved the various roof lines that I knew were duplicated in various European cities and known as "Dutch".
One of the parts of the description for this tour was that we'd be going to a café for a traditional apple cake. We reached Café Sonneveld at 3:23, and discovered the regular group was already there, even though the guide had said we'd beat them. We were directed to a table for four in the crowded loud place, which seemed to be more of a pub. K was able to ask for a coffee, but J and I weren't able to get anything to drink. Luckily, we had water with us. The cake was delicious. The decor of the place was rather music-centered and we even saw a clarinet.
By 3:43, we were on our way. We came across another filled in canal, the Lindengracht, and went down a quiet side street that had made sure no one would park there by putting up pylons. Unfortunately, K was walking behind me at one point and didn't see the pylon I'd skirted, because my shadow obscured it. He fell, but, thankfully, was not injured.
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We came across this plaque on a wall:
The NV Construction Company 'Jordaan' was one of the 17 housing associations that were founded by private initiative in the second half of the nineteenth century. The boards of these associations realized that the living conditions of workers in Amsterdam needed improvement, especially in the slums of the city center. The owners of the workers' homes were often small entrepreneurs who had invested their savings in houses, but were financially unable to do anything about home improvements. Lenders and directors of the housing associations came from wealthy circles who wanted to lift the people out of their housing misery on a business basis....
A
block of 131 homes (103 of which were occupied) was chosen between the
Tweede and Derde Goudsbloemdwarsstraat: Goudsbloemstraat 125-149 and
Lindengracht 206-246 (see detail of map no. 59 QQ neighborhood from JC
Loman Jr., Atlas of the municipality of Amsterdam In 101 cards,
Amsterdam 1876 between pages 3 and 4). At
the end of 1895, the buildings purchased after difficult negotiations
by HC van den Honert, member of the Preparatory Committee, were
demolished and construction of the new buildings began. On September 26, 1896, the new homes could be moved into (Goudsbloemstraat 125-139 and Lindengracht 206-220). Of
the 103 families (438 people) in the old homes, only 9 were accepted as
tenants of the 92 new homes out of a total of 92 families (521 people).
Most could not pay the rent (from 1.70 guilders per week) (more than 50% of the old homes rented less than 1.70 guilders). The
members of the Preparatory Committee believed that the new homes should
be managed by the construction company through a housing supervisor
whose experiences would benefit the further treatment of the housing
issue.
The stuff you learn by noticing signs! Plus, how sad that only 9 of the previously 103 families were accepted to live in the new homes. Doesn't seem fair.
Continuing on, I was impressed by the folks who got rhododendron and dalmatian bellflower to grow in front of their homes.
We passed canal houses that had been obviously modernized, but still stayed true to the style.
Our guide did explain why there are more bikes than people. People often own more than one. He, for example, left one in town for his use, when he visited. If the police decided a bike was abandoned, they'd haul it to a dump out of town. You could go try to reclaim it, but there were so many out there, it was easier to buy a new one. You'd think someone would go out and get some of them to fix up to sell or give to the lower income folks.
As we got closer to the boat, we had a view of the A'DAM building through the buildings nearby and remembered seeing it, when we'd sailed out on our Baltic cruise. And, while I really enjoyed the old architecture of the Jordaan, I really appreciated the modern look of the IJ Dock.
We reached the boat at 4:30 and gave the guide 6 Euros, mainly out of guilt for being the only ones on the tour.
Onboard, we deposited our tour tickets in the drop off box. I was surprised to find several others still in my purse. I deposited those as well.
J went off to her cabin to pack, as did I. K decided to put his packing off until after dinner.
At 6:30, everyone gathered in the lounge for a farewell toast. K and I drank the offered champagne, but, of course, J chose not to drink hers and passed it on to us. The captain and Rolf each made speeches. The officers were introduced and all of the kitchen, dining, and cleaning staff came up from below the lounge to wave good-bye. It was reminiscent of the final dinners on Holland America cruises, where the kitchen and dining staff put in an appearance.
Dinner was at 7 and we wound up in one of our usual tables, the one by the window with two chairs and a bench seat. K and I took the chairs and J took the bench.
K chose the appetizer that was grilled tiger prawn, lime risotto, tomato salsa and cress. He and I both had white asparagus cream soup, thyme foam, and parma ham cookie, while J had the honey melon ginger ale lassi.
J also decided to try the raspberry and sparkling wine sorbet. She enjoyed it.
The main courses were as elaborate as ever. J and I had the "Beef Rossini Style"- slow roasted beef tenderloin, slices of beef fillet, pate de canard, truffle jus, glazed vegetable, and pumpkin mashed. Luckily, I could not tell what was the pate. The rest was good.
K, no surpise, chose the pan fried halibut fillet, caviar sauce, summer vegetables and rice macaire.
We were finished eating,when we suddenly heard the wait staff singing "Happy Birthday". They made their way around, stopping at various tables as if that was their destination. I do not think it totally threw her off, but J did seem a bit surprised when they stopped at our table with this beautiful cake.
They took it away to cut and in the meantime, Nina brought the desserts we'd ordered. I couldn't resisit ordering the chocolate mousse with cinnamon ice cream and pineapple confit. K and J had each ordered the Ice Coupe "Farewell"- straciatella ice cream, peach compote, chocolate crumbles, and whipped cream. The sliced cake was brought out soon thereafter in 3 slices. I think we only got the part of the cake with the decorations. I was never charged for the cake. So, it didn't matter.
As if all of that wasn't enough, Nina brought a plate of sweets.
As always on this cruise, you were encouraged to enjoy the meal and not rush. So, it wasn't until 9 that we were back in our cabins.
K attacked his packing and we found that we did need the Ama backpack afterall. Chocolate was its main cargo.
My phone showed I'd walked 10,603 steps for 3.5 miles and had climbed one floor on this, our final day on the boat.
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