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Friday, May 31
I woke up about my normal time (clock wise). There's a huge ship outside the window, where the Navigator was yesterday. During the wee hours this morning, a Royal Caribbean ship docked there! We watched them unload suitcases for a while, then got ready for the day. We both are much more rested. We should be into this time zone fully by tomorrow morning.
Time for breakfast! Which was delicious. We took our time and enjoyed it. It's included with the room here at the hotel.
Then we spent some time talking with the concierge, and wound up with tickets for a canal cruise (touristy thing) and the Maritime Museum.
So, we walked up the street past Centraal Station to where the canal cruise started (Carl called it a Dutch version of the velociraptors of Venice). It was very crowded. It was an interesting trip, however, and covered a slightly different route than the one I took two years ago. I wasn't in a place where I could take pictures, however.
Then we walked over to the Maritime Museum. Along the way, we crossed over this canal (left). The canal boat driver had told us a tale about the tower on the right side of this canal. It was originally part of the fortification walls around the city. When the walls were removed, the clock was added to the top of the tower with bells to mark the hours. Well, unfortunately, the bells were never synchronized with the clock and would ring at odd intervals, so the locals called it the Silly Clock. That's the story, anyway.
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The photo on the left shows the NEMO Museum (in the background, looking like a sinking ship) and the Maritime Museum (on the right). The NEMO Museum is a science and technology museum. The Maritime Museum used to be the Navy supply depot back in the day. The photo on the right shows the glass ceiling they installed over the courtyard of the Maritime Museum.
The Maritime Museum was interesting, but not worth a special trip. The sailing ship replica at their dock was okay, but needed more signs and more feel for what it was actually like way back when. Instead, it felt like it was built for school outings.
The three photos above show the sailing ship replica that was on display at the Maritime Museum. The photo on the left shows Carl near the bowsprit. The center photo shows the ship from the dock. The photo on the right is looking up the mainmast towards the sky.
The photo on the left is the view across the harbor towards the historic part of town from the replica trading vessel.
The photo on the right is the prow of the queen's barge.
The queen's barge was interesting – it dates from the early 1800s and was still used until four years ago, when it was placed in a climate controlled boathouse. The rest was a very dry museum. Old paintings and sculptures. The audio guides we picked up never did work, so we were stuck with the hard to read signage... White letters on glass with no contrast behind them. And no map, so we had no idea what all there even was to see there. I guess they depended on the free audio guides working to provide everything you needed.
There were only a few signs - Toilets, Gift Shop, Snack Bar, and Exit.....
So, we walked back to hotel. Along the way, we spotted this view along a canal with houseboats on one side and our hotel in the distance (tall building in the center of the photo).
We put in a couple of miles walking today. It's time to hit the bar... So, we had a beer at the hotel bar.
We talked with the concierge again about a dinner recommendation. He suggested Loutje, near Centraal Station. So, we walked back over that direction. There was a long line.... But we stayed.
We wound up talking with a nice Dutch couple near the bar and they recommended the house specialty – beef tenderloins in gravy. So, that's what we had – with some frites (fries) on the side. Very filling. Very tasty. Good recommendations. I think we were the oldest people there, however. And the noise volume was a bit much. The service was spotty, too. We had to ask twice for the check....
Then it was back to the hotel. Along the way, we passed our ship (the Avalon Vista) at dock. The photo on the left shows the ship at dock through a forest of bicycle handlebars.
It's after 9 pm and still very light outside. We're definitely further north here than Denver. Time for a shower and bed. Tomorrow, we transfer to the ship.