Day 3: Amsterdam to Basel on the SS Antoinette

Another interesting thing about Amsterdam. It gets dark around 10:15 p.m. AFTER I hit the hay on Day 2 for sure. Thank goodness for heavy drapes to block the sunlight.

No sunlight on Day 3. It was raining and maybe 60 degrees. We decided it was a good thing we both had rain jackets and Sue had an umbrella. 

Sue and I got up early to enjoy the breakfast buffet the Movenpick Hotel is famous for. Food was so beautifully presented. All kinds of breads and pastries, eggs to your liking, a whole spread of fresh fruits and veggies (raw), a large area with cheeses and deli-type meats, dried fruits and nuts galore, yogurts of all kinds and flavors, granolas and cereals, juices, sausage and bacon, even fish, and I can't even remember what else. It was the best variety I had ever seen, maybe due to the variety of nationalities and diets that visit Amsterdam. I ate toast, fruit, yogurt and granola, then Sue and I shared an omelet made especially for us.

All of our friends we had met at the Uniworld meeting the night before gathered at 9:00 a.m. for our first tour of Amsterdam. We loaded a bus and took a rainy tour through the streets of Amsterdam. What a charming, bustling city we were in! Narrow brick roads and cobblestone walks, right beside modern buildings and freeways. Passenger trains buzzing. Bicycles everywhere.

From the bus and through the rain, an old windmill was enchanting.

Life in Amsterdam on a rainy Saturday morning.

The bus took us to the location where our first tour, a canal cruise, would begin. Luckily the boat was glassed in on the top and sides, so we were out of the weather. It was a little difficult to see everything with all the condensation everywhere, but we got a fairly good glimpse of life in Amsterdam from the canal's point of view, which was neat. Roland met us after our canal ride and continued our tour by bus. He was really beginning to grow on us, this Roland. He was so knowledgeable about his city and the history of the area. I began to challenge myself to be more like Roland and ask myself questions about my home town and my country from time to time that a tour guide might get asked (and should know).

John and Sameera

This trip was going to change my life, I knew that, but who knew I would come back wanting to know so much more about my own neck of the woods? 

It was so wet and cool, we decided to eat soup and sandwiches for lunch at the hotel restaurant. Sue went with John and Sameera to the Van Gogh museum and I went with a Uniworld group on a walking tour of the secret gardens and other interesting sites. It's hard to explain how it is to see such ancient architecture in one place and what that means to someone who is from Oklahoma, where we might have a few 100 year old buildings, not 500-600 years old like we saw all day in Amsterdam. Roland took us through Jewish neighborhoods, religious areas, the flower market, then we were treated to Dutch Apple Pie at a local place. Yum on a cold and wet day!

A secret garden behind a private home/turned museum.

Bicycles have the right-of-way, no matter what.

Lovely, lush hydrangeas.

Flower Market

Some buildings lean due to foundation troubles.

Here's that pie I was talking about.

Pam and our tour guide, Roland. We had a sunshiny moment once or twice that day.

It was time for our tour to end, but we decided to visit the Anne Frank museum while downtown. Roland explained to us how to get back to the hotel and went home for the day.

What an experience at the Anne Frank museum. Stepping up and over a wall, through a swinging bookcase, up a skinny, dark stairway to the place where Anne's family was hiding for such a long time, the diary seemed to come to life. It was a self-driven, quiet tour. I really appreciated the respect all the visitors had for the story of Anne's life. I loved seeing what I thought was the real diary, but later was told the one in the special case was an exact replica and the original is in another location for safekeeping.

No cameras were allowed in the museum, but I found this photo online.

Read more about the museum at http://www.annefrank.org/.

About five of us ended the museum tour at the same time, so we decided to walk back toward the hotel and possibly get something to eat, maybe buzz through the Red Light District on the way. No sooner had Pam mentioned how she'd like to try Dutch Pancakes, did we see a sign and an inviting, local restaurant that was full. We took it as a sign that full meant good, and we weren't wrong. Dutch Pancakes are like thin pizzas or crepes. We ordered two for the group of us and split them. One was bacon and apple, the other was more like an omelet but I can't think of the exact ingredients. They were so delicious. Good company too. We had already met Jaap and Minnie, from South Africa, at the meeting the night before, but to sit and enjoy a meal with them was a real treat. Come to find out, Jaap retired from the military, but now has a cabinet shop. Minnie loves to JUNK. Hmm. Soul mates! We ended our meal with poffergies, tiny donut-like pancakes, with strawberries and chocolate. Wo.

Our new friends, Jaap and Minnie Steyn

We made our way back with the help of Jaap and a map, but first we snuck through the Red Light District of Amsterdam. I'll just say, you have to see it to believe it. That's all.

The clean version of the Red Light District.

We had left the hotel around 1:00 p.m. and didn't make it back until after dark, so you know how late that is in Amsterdam. (Well, the Red Light District isn't the same in the daytime, probably.) Sue said she was giving me till 11:00 to get back, then she was calling 911. She was already worrying about how mad Vaughn was going to be because she lost me.

Day 2: Amsterdam to Basel on the SS Antoinette

I forgot to mention I accidentally ate duck on the airplane from Detroit to Amsterdam. What I thought was the steward's mistake (a swap for my ordered pasta to the other option, pork tenderloin) ended up being the roast duck appetizer. I never intended to eat duck in my whole life. So there we were, Sue and I, munching on what we thought was pork tenderloin, when we were served the next course, her tenderloin and my pasta. Oops. Poor little duckie. I only ate a few bites.

We met up with Sue's lifelong friend, Sameera, and her husband and some other friends in customs at the airport in Amsterdam. Very unlikely in such a massive airport, but such a nice surprise for Sue and me because we were thinking we might be lost. But in fact, we were found by friends. Their flight from Dallas was on time, but our flight was a little early. And we were in the right line and everything.

Long story short, but Sue and I got a ride to the hotel by a driver sent by Uniworld, our river cruise line, but the others did not. We arrived at the hotel around 1:30 p.m., I think. Some sort of a mix-up caused our friends to be delayed by several hours. While we waited at the Movenpick for our hotel room to be prepared, we were welcomed to Amsterdam by Roland, who I am now convinced is the world's best travel guide. He invited us to a meeting that evening to discuss the featured and optional tours we would be taking in the next two days.

The very chic Movenpick Hotel, Amsterdam.

 By now it was around 3:00 p.m., and all we could think about was SLEEP, but we resisted the urge since Sue's son, Brad, had told us NOT to or we'd never get adjusted to their time. Instead, we stretched out on our beds and took in the beautiful surroundings. We had a lovely room and a gorgeous view of contemporary and historic buildings, a large canal that would later connect us to the Rhine, and a mega cruise ship that was docked right by our hotel. We got to watch it set sail for Belgium with some teachers on it (who we had met downstairs in the lobby). Teachers sometimes travel together, apparently. Ha.

This is the view from our hotel room in the Movenpick Hotel, Amsterdam.

I drank my first European Coca-Cola Light while NOT sleeping and wasn't impressed, but now I know that particular can was old or something. (I ended up enjoying quite a few more during the trip. Although not the same as American Diet Coke (think TAB), I so needed the caffeine and could once in awhile taste a little hint of a familiar flavor. Oh, and most of the time a very slender, glass bottle of soda was around 2 euros, 50, but once we paid 3 euros, 80 when a lack-of-caffeine headache made itself known. Wow! That's like $5. I'd have to kick the habit if I lived there.)

Tastes like Tab. I know, because I used to drink Tab. It definitely has a wang to it.

We freshened up and went to the meeting downstairs, where we met up with Sameera and our friends, but where we also were introduced to some very nice people from all over who would be staying in Amsterdam and then going on the river cruise with us. I loved listening to Dutch-speaking Roland speak English. (This ended up being one of my favorite things about the trip, enjoying people who speak several languages and how interesting English sounds when words are pronounced with the accent on a different syllable or two. I especially loved hearing the word asparagus pronounced uh-spar-a-goose by a French tour guide later in the week.) We made plans for Saturday, which would be a full day in Amsterdam. Roland also explained the procedure for the transfer from our hotel to the SS Antoinette on Sunday.

A group of us decided to go eat at a restaurant Roland suggested, which was near the hotel. What a lovely meal Sue and I enjoyed along with John and Sameera, Janelle and Pam. There we were, four jet-lagged Texans and two Oklahomans eating in Amsterdam, giddy for the days ahead.

This was taken in front of our hotel in Amsterdam. Note the green jacket. You'll see it in lots of photos.

 That night I had halibut. Not my first time to eat halibut, but the way it was prepared was extra delicious. It was served with an oyster, which I decided not to consume (I mean, I'd already eaten DUCK.), but I managed to share a portion of Lemon Panna Cotta, which was new to me. It's an Italian dessert made by simmering cream, milk and sugar, then mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. The Panna Cotta was served with pomegranate seeds on top. That was my favorite. But then I managed to try a portion of some smooth and luscious chocolate mousse too. We walked back to the hotel in the cool air and I missed my half-a-world-away lovies, but sure felt blessed to be seeing such a lovely city with so much to show me before Sunday.

Day 1: Amsterdam to Basel on the SS Antoinette

It was the trip of this girl's lifetime.

Up until the day my bosom buddy, Sue, and I left, it had been only a dream, but beginning on July 12th, it became very real (although I kept pinching myself throughout).

My son Parker took us to the airport in Oklahoma City. He knows a lot about airports, especially Will Rogers World Airport, so when he decided to pull in the parking garage and find a spot, Sue mentioned to him that there was an easier way. She suggested he could have parked up at the top (where we usually park, actually). I was confused by his parking in the garage too, but later we both realized what he was trying to do, or not do.

You see, BrieAnn and the little grandgirls were trying desperately to get to the airport to surprise us as we left and Parker was concerned the surprise would be spoiled if he parked on top and BrieAnn did too.

Two darling little granddaughters came up with their ever-so-thoughtful mama, carrying a glittered over-the-top cute banner that read "Bon Voyage Gram & Sue!" We snapped a couple of pictures and did some kissing and hugging, then went on our way. What a blessed way to begin our trip.

Is this not the cutest thing? Magnolia was still sleepy from her afternoon nap, but Cora was pumped about the surprise.

Looking back at my waving family, I couldn't help but think I was the luckiest girl in the world. Such love.

Our flight from OKC took off a little late, so we narrowly made our connection in Detroit (1 minute to board). That was too close! No restroom break even! We were served a big meal (10:00 p.m. by now) and attempted to sleep while flying. So many people around us were totally zonked. We decided they must have been medicated.

I tried not to let the turbulence over the ocean and the fact that it was Friday the 13th by now get to me. We landed around 11:30 a.m. (their time...7 hours ahead of Oklahoma time) and headed through customs. The guy at the desk asked us why we were in Amsterdam...we told him a river cruise...he said to have a good time. That was all of the interrogation Amsterdam could muster, I guess. I had heard Amsterdam was a pretty do-whatever-you-like place and so far it was proving to be just that.