Tuesday, July 28th - Amsterdam

We were up and packed and out of our cabin by 8:30 this morning, then had a relaxing breakfast and visit before leaving the ship at 10:30 by taxi to go to our hotel.  The two other couples we have been spending time with on the cruise are both staying in Amsterdam and our hotels are quite close so we are planning at least one more dinner together before people start flying home.

It's cloudy and cool again today with some rain but we must do some sight seeing.  our hotel actually had our room ready (or almost - the maid was just finishing up) when we arrived.  We dropped our bags and decided to walk  to the train station to buy our ticket to Hanover - just a stopover on our way to Leipzig, Germany.  Then we walked to the Doubletree Hotel to leave a message for the one couple from the cruise, which was a pretty silly conversation because we didn't know their last name so the reception clerk had to try and find a Frank and Jean who checked in today.  Eventually she did find one from Edmonton so we knew it was the right one.  The clerk didn't seem to upset about it though.  In fact she even gave us each a wonderful warm cookie.  We then went to the Starbucks in the lobby and had a quick lunch before continuing on.

We then walked to Damplein or Dam Square.  This is a big square with the National Monument to honour those who died in WWII on one side.  This is where they have their Remembrance Day ceremonies but not on November 11th.  I think it was something like February 5th but I'm not sure.  The monument is a 70 foot obelisk with carved figures on the side and very impressive.

Also at The Dam, as the locals call it, is the Koninklijk Paleis or Royal Palace.  This is a huge beautiful building from the 17th century that was built as the City Hall or Stadhus.  The whole building, inside and out, was so impressive that some king along the way decided that it really should be his home and it then became the Royal Palace.  Still today it is used by the King and Queen and visiting royalty.  However, when it is not being used by then, it is open to tourists as it was today.  It was very impressive on the inside but I have to say that it was a bit confusing going through the rooms and listening to the audio guide.  They told us about what each room was used for and sometimes the furnishings seemed to fit that purpose, but other times it was furnished quite differently.  There were some beautiful rooms though and some incredible hallways and statues throughout, and all of the statues were there for a purpose and had a meaning related to the functions of city hall.  Despite the confusion on room furnishings and purposes, I can certainly understand why it is still used by the royal family and visiting dignitaries - and I'm sure there was a lot that we didn't get to see.

Right beside the palace is the Nieuwe Kerk or New Church.  it was built around 1400 so it's not really new to us.  However, at the time it was newer than the old previous church and that's how it got it's name.  We arrived just as they were starting a concert so we were pretty happy about that.  However it turned out to be an organ concert that went on for over an hour.  It was great to listen to but there was nothing to see as the organist was back somewhere behind the big lpipe organ that was on the front wall.  We sat for about three numbers and then we got our audio guides and started touring around the Church.  We could still hear the music so that was nice.  It just saved time to be multi-tasking (and it was less boring!).  For over two centuries this church has been the coronation church for the Dutch monarchy.  King Willem-Alexander was married here and had his inauguration (as they now refer to it) here in 2013 when Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne.  The exhibits in the church included both the church history and royalty so it was a nice mix.

The church is large and in a cross shape.  The ceilings and arches are high and basically white.  At one point the church was more colourfully painted but when the protestants took over they immediately covered up the catholic adornments and took down a lot of the statues so it's a lot plainer now.  The organ is huge and beautiful.  It is supported by 12 cherub statues each playing musical instruments, and a statue of King David is on the top of the organ with more angels playing musical instruments around him.  I'm saying cherubs but technically they were putti.  I'm not sure if there is a difference and I don't have the time or the means to check right now.  

There are a lot of very plain windows in the church.  They are high and arched but just plain glass.  Then there are also some very detailed stained glass windows including one with the kings and queens on it and especially one commemorating the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898.  

The pulpit is quite unique and has some wonderful little carvings on it.  It is large and in a very dark wood and above the actual pulpit there are little people carved into the wood.  They were very cute but so small you really needed the binoculars they provided so you could see them.  The dome is held up by four small angels at the top of four columns and you need binoculars to see them too as they are so far up.  It was aa good thing we had the audio guide to tell us where to look.  There are also a lot of graves in the church.  Most of them are the rich and/or famous over the centuries but there are some unknowns as well.  I didn't recognize any of the names so they were all unknowns to me.  

From the Dam we decided to go to Anne Frank Museum.  The line-up to get in was several blocks long and was going to take at least two hours.  I decided not to go as I had already been there.  Randy and Gillian stayed to do the tour and I went back to the hotel.  It took me about 30 minutes to get back to the hotel  or close to it.  I stopped at the pub next door for dinner and ordered steak.  When it came it was more like roast beef but it was tender and juicy and absolutely delicious.  So was the beer, which was pretty funny because I don't normally drink beer but there I was on my own drinking beer - and I even had two it was so good.  

Back at the hotel I showered, did some laundry, wrote this blog, and cleared some e-mails.  Randy and Gillian returned about 10 p.m. rather wet and cold and having stood in line for over two hours but glad they had gone to the museum.  Our room is small with three single beds, two chairs, a couple of small tables, very little floor space and no storage areas.  I think we've figured out where to put our suitcases and how we're going to make things work but it is definitely going to be cozy for the next few days.