Boarding Day

After waking several times overnight with my internal clock readjusting to European time I finally realized it was 7:30 and time to get started. We went down for the Mövenpick hotel’s “famous breakfast” to charge us up until it was time to board the Cara. It was not disappointing with the crisp fresh croissants and the blueberry juice to refresh and omelettes and sausages to satisfy. And, of course, plenty of coffee. With checkout at noon for the hotel and checkin at 4:00 for the cruise we had a time gap to adjust for. I called the front desk for a late checkout and was politely told it was not possible. I called the boat to ask if an early checkin was possible and got and answering message in German. About this point Dusty asked if I remembered to bring my swim trunks for our hot tub in Iceland. Well, I guess we needed to find me some swim trunks before we get there. Since no answer was forthcoming from the ship and delaying our checkout was ruled out we needed to get our options worked out. There are shops in the Amsterdam Central Station just past where we could see the Cara docked. We decided we would stop by the ship on the way to the shops and ask if they would allow us to bring our luggage aboard early. Our recognizance of the route ruled out any stairs for our two suitcases, two carryons, and Cpap. The brick pavers next to the bike path were reserved for pedestrians. Many of whom were pulling suitcases as we soon would. The bridge over the river also accommodated cars and train tracks. This is, by the way, Amsterdam. The twenty minute walk in the cool grey morning brought us to the dock for four riverboats. Each was about 100-meters in length and being cleaned and polished for the guests they were about to greet for their Dutch river adventure. Up the freshly washed gangway I walked quickly into the reception area of the ship. I was greeted with a smile and assurance that bringing luggage aboard early was welcome. With the knowledge that our options were open we continued to the shops in the mall that was immediately beneath the Central Train Station. It seems that women’s clothing is much easier to find than men’s. Having failed our quest in the mall we exited the station into the old city. The structure of the station was a remarkable piece of architecture, as were many of the buildings in Amsterdam. In searching out photographic opportunities I spied the bell tower of a church about 400-meters away and set off into the narrow streets in that general direction.

Soon we were passing “Coffee Shops” with the cannabis logo in their window to indicate what they were serving. There were candy stores with wall to wall displays of brightly colored treats of all kinds and cheese shops with stacks of wheels of cheese you could see from the street. The smell of flowers drew us into a small flower shop in an old old building with well worn stairs leading up to the living quarters above that told of generations that had trod up and down daily.

A brief chat led me to ask about the flower market I knew was nearby. Following her directions brought us out onto a major road where we saw a “TK Max” store and we resumed our search for a swimsuit for me. While no one in the mall had a clue where men’s swimsuits could be found I started to wonder if Europe had given up on them I found that the security dude at the entrance to TK Max just said, “Third floor”. Very much like a TJ Max the place had clothes at a discount that made buying a basic piece of clothing on vacation make sense. After seeing too many speedos we found a basic pair of trunks that fit the bill. Bought them. Got pinged by my credit card had been used. And stuffed them into my camera case. (There was room because I was using my camera) We worked our way past Mannekenpis where nearly a hundred people waited in line for the”Number one Holland Fries” in Amsterdam. The restaurant Pankakes Amsterdam had nearly as many lined up outside their doors.

A light rain began to fall as we neared the hotel. We gathered up our luggage and checked the local radar for the weather. After waiting for a break in the rain we set out to wheel our belongings over the bridge to the ship. In about twenty minutes we were dragging our gear aboard and invited to rest until we checked in. I took a quick walk about the ship before it got busy with crew and guests. The ship is only one year old and all is pristine. Our room spacious and clean with a small balcony to watch the European landscape pass by. The dining room elegant and sparkling. The upper deck was set to relax either in the sun or under moonlight whenever we wanted to immerse ourselves in our surroundings.

After the obligatory safety speech and welcome cocktails we enjoyed a first class dinner with table mates we would share the week with. Following dinner with extended conversation with Bob, a travel expert from Dublin, and an extra glass of wine we we went up to listen to the Shanty singers brought onboard for our entertainment. If any were under seventy I would be surprised. The Dutch songs were not something we could really get into and it felt like we may not be the target audience.

It didn’t take long to go up to the sun deck to see our movement through the Amsterdam waterways in the dark of night. I practiced my night photography and was pleased with the results.

On going back to our cabin we found the entire ship deserted of guests with only the crew visible anywhere. I guess the silent halls were an indication of the demographics of our cruise passengers.

In the morning we would make our fist stop with our first outing scheduled at the Kroller-Muller museum. More on that tomorrow.