2017-04-02 Trip Day 7

Day 7, April 2

Amsterdam and boarding

Excitement today - we finally join our ship, Ama Verde (I find it hard to call this a ship after going ocean cruising a few years ago - seems something just 135 m long and 11.5 m wide should be a "boat").

Get a cab to St Nicolas' Church to wait for a shuttle bus.  There are some good examples here of the "dancing houses" that we heard about on yesterday's canal ride.  These are not subsiding, but are built leaning to match the older wooden framed buildings that are subsiding.  There are claims that building them leaning out stops the rain washing away the mortar, but some of them are built leaning in.

St Nicolas' Church

Environs video

Seen from the shuttle bus

 I always pictured dikes as large embankments topped by windmills,

 but here is a road along the top of a dike.  Perhaps it is really just the edge of a canal.

It is not very high, but very significant as it keeps the water off a lot of land.

The "windmills" are different from my mental image too.

On boarding around 11:00 am, we are very happy to hear that not only can we immediately go to our cabins, but also there will be lunch available (documentation said cabins would not be available until 3:00 pm and only meal today would be dinner).  We get some much needed rest in the very comfortable lounge and while there we are invited to dine in the Chef's Table restaurant tonight.  Our eyes pop at the description and I keep expecting to hear "There will be a fee of €29 each", but it never comes.  We accept and are feeling like kings and queens.  It's a seven course meal in the separate 24 place restaurant and we watch the chef prepare.

A couple of the exquisite courses, every one delicious.