Sunday – August 20, 2017
It was a rough ride last night on the ship as it cruised south from Norway to Rotterdam. The wind was blowing 45 knots and the inky sea churned with large waves topped with whitecaps. The outside decks were closed to passengers for their safety. Our stateroom creaked and shook as it rolled side to side. Walking was a challenge and we had to hold on to railings or walls in order to move around the ship.
Sometime during the night, the Rotterdam left the wild ocean behind and turned into the calm Maas River. Everything became quiet and serene. It took several hours for the ship to slowly move up the river to its namesake city: Rotterdam. This is the half-way point of our cruise. We have traveled 4487 nautical miles from Boston. Tomorrow afternoon the ship will leave Rotterdam and begin our journey westward back to Boston.
I awoke at 5:50AM and was surprised that the ship wasn’t swaying. I had set an alarm for six because we had to catch a 7:30 bus to Amsterdam. We were ready in plenty of time to board our bus for the hour-long ride to one of our favorite cities. We had been to Amsterdam twice before and we knew there was a lot to see and do.
On our last visit, the Rijksmuseum was closed. It had been closed for major renovation for several years and reopened last year. The Rijksmuseum is a world class museum on a level with the Louvre or the Metropolitan in NY and I was eager to see it.
The building looks like a giant castle with ornate turrets and interesting features. Inside and down one level, there was a central glass covered reception area. The cafe overlooked this area and the gift shop was below.
We wandered around for a while admiring the collection then went to the Dutch Masters’ galleries. The museum had a wonderful collection of Rembrandt’s paintings. It also owns several Vermeers which were on exhibit.
After we walked around for a couple of hours we were tired and took a coffee break in the cafe. We realized the weather was sunny and warm so we decided to leave the museum and enjoy the outside. We took the exit on the other side of the museum to see one of the wonderful Amsterdam canals. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people on bicycles were out riding around on a lovely summer day. There was a busy arts & crafts fair and international food market around a pool.
We had fun looking around, snacking, and walking through the market. There were lots of local people and tourists.
As it approached two o’clock, we went back to the bus stop for the ride back to Rotterdam. It was a pleasant ride through the countryside. After resting in the bus, we wanted to see some of Rotterdam, so we walked across the Erasmus Bridge to see what was on the other side. There were beautiful views of the city and the M. S. Rotterdam, our ship.
We walked a little way and discovered the outside section of the Rotterdam Maritime Museum. They had a wonderful collection of antique commercial ships in the harbor which were in excellent restored condition. The wide variety of ships and boats was amazing!
Across the harbor there were many large old boats tied to the piers which people lived on. Further on there was a restored Lightship which was used as a restaurant.
We discovered a “water taxi” stand and joined a short line of people who were waiting for the next taxi to go to the “New York Hotel.” We knew this was near our ship so we hopped on. The young woman driver collected our fare of five Euros each and we sped off down the river. We learned later that a Water Taxis was the fastest way to get around Rotterdam.
The DHG Water Taxi depot was near the original restored Holland America Line building which is now the New York Hotel. The new Cruise Terminal was built up the street from the old building. The Holland American ships still dock at the same place near their old headquarters. There was more than a little bit of nostalgia attached to the original building.
It was a short walk for us to our ship. We rested up for a while, had dinner, and walked on the top deck to take night pictures. What a fantastic city Rotterdam is!
