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20140424 Thursday Rotterdam Scroll Down.....

Vantage: Today you'll take your choice of quintessentially Dutch included tours. Journey to nearby Delft and tour the Royal Delft Factory, where you’ll watch artisans painting Holland’s famous blue-and-white porcelain and learn about its history. Alternatively, take a tour of Gouda, famous for its namesake cheese, as well as candle making and smoking pipes. In Gouda, you’ll also admire the gorgeous stained glass windows inside St. John’s Church, the longest church in the Netherlands. Gather later for live entertainment on board.




Actual: So it’s Thursday and we’re in Rotterdam. PhotoLink-O PhotoLink-D

We woke, got ready and went to a very nice breakfast. The bus for Gouda (pronounce kinda like khowda) left just before 0900. While waiting for it, we came upon Louisa Timmer, our Program Manager for our green group last year in France. She called me by name, which surprised me no end. We had a nice chat. She’s doing local tours this week but will go out as Cruise Director on River Splendor next week.

We got onto the bus and found Tinneke, who was a Program Manager on our 2007 Rhine Christmas Markts cruise, but not our program manager. She guided us through Gouda except for the person who escorted us through Saint John’s Church (Sint Janskerk), which is the longest in the Netherlands. Many pictures. Much of the history of Holland is in the stained glass windows - only two of them are strictly religious. Some date from 1560. They were stored away during WW2 and then restored and put back afterward. The place is stone, of course, very high, but there are no decorations nor gilded items other than the windows. It’s very impressive.

We were then turned loose on the local population for 45 minutes of free time around the town square. There, they are preparing for King’s Day, the celebration of the King’s birthday. It happens this Saturday, but we’ll be in Belgium and won’t see the people celebrate it. Tinneke told us they eat and eat and eat, then drink and drink and drink. She lives here and loves Rotterdam.

The city was bombed severely in 1940. After the war, it was decided to totally re-do the town. Canals were filled in to create space. The streets were made more like a grid. Someone though to put up a statue of a person looking up with a hole through it, signifying that Rotterdam is a town that no longer has a heart. But it’s a bustling place with a tremendous amount of water traffic.

We returned for a free afternoon. We ate lunch in our dining room, then D settled for a nap. I took off to find a replacement battery for my camera. I hiked across the museum of old ships in the small basin near us, then in a large semi-circle to the west. I found the battery finally and walked back up the length of the museum of small ships, some of which are homes now. Very interesting to an old sailor.

So, I’ll type these notes now (1600) and go have a beer. Maybe I’ll find more energy after that... later... I was in the lounge with my beer when D came along. Her back hurts now from the soft bed, but she’s coming along. We went out on the dock and walked to a local “eetcafe” and had a glass of wine. Then we hiked back past the boat to a vantage point that eliminated the bridge that is always in view if you take pictures from the ship. We ran across some funny “art” that must represent the bombing of the bridges in 1940 and talked with a young couple about it.

Back at the boat, we attended the crew introduction and then the Cruise Director’s notes. Tomorrow, we will go to Schoonhaven and Kinderdijk, which were on the itinerary for today; docking problems kept us away so we will go back to them tomorrow. Other things were discussed that don’t affect us. We sat with Mary Kay and Wally Hick from Palm Coast FL and chatted with them, then went to dinner with them.

Dinner was very nice, with two ladies from Iowa joining us. Lots of conversation and funny stories with the good food. Finally we couldn’t take any more (2100) and left to go to our room to relax and rest and sleep.