Last night the Viking River Cruise Ingvi left Cologne (Koln), Germany heading north towards Kinderdijk, Holland (The Netherlands). I watched this on the TV in my stateroom. There is a camera a fixed to the bow of the boat. After 1 week on the boat I still do not know the bow.
The Ingvi was cruising up the Rhine in the morning. When we woke up the landscape had changed. There were no mountains. The land was flat. There were cows in the river. You know you are in Holland when the cows are standing on the banks of the Rhine River. There were beautiful green land along the way. It was amazing. We did see a naked man standing in a boat. (A picture was taken, but it will not be posted.)
As the boat rounded a bend in the river there was a sight to behold. Noah's Ark - Life size. It is half the size of the Titanic. A man, Johan, had a dream that Holland would flood, so he built the ark. Amazing!!! The ark had life-size plastic animals. Today there are 2 restaurants and a movie theater. Something you would never think you would see in Holland. Noak's Ark
I remember the story of Noah's Ark. There was a movie in the 1976 "In Search of Noah's Ark". It was great movie about the discovery of the remains of the ark at atop of a mountain. This movie was a big hit in the movie theater. In Search of Noah's Ark
The UNESCO Holland Windmills were amazing. The 19 windmills were built in 1738. One designer built the structures using brick. Another designer had built the windmills in wood with eight sided. The mill family consisted of parents and up to 16 children living in a working mill. The parents and children under 2 slept in the living room which is on the bottom floor. The daughters would sleep on the 2nd floor and the sons on the 3rd floor. Kinderdijk Windmills
The mills are used to maintain the water levels of Holland. Holland is below sea level. The windmills are used to lower the water level to have land for living. The people were ingenious. During World War II the windmills were saved from Allies and Nazis by Queen of The Netherlands.
When you think of Holland or The Netherlands what do you think of? If your first thought was Wooden Shoes, well there were many to chose at the store by the windmills. Guess who bought a pair??? Of course it was Manny. I bought slippers in the shape wooden shoes. I had asked why wooden shoes in Holland. In the early years, there was a lot of wood. Leather was very expensive, so the common people made footwear for the family. Today walking around the neighbor in Kinderdijk the shoes are on the outside of the homes with flowers. It is beautiful.
We left Kinderdijk heading towards Amsterdam for disembarkation. This was our last night being treated as royalty. The 52 crew members of the Ingvi were amazing. We got dressed up for the cocktail hour in the lounge. There were champagne drinks and shrimp wrapped in spaghetti noodles and egg rolls. It was delicious. The captain and Nick made toasts. Now it was time for the 7 course meal.
Bill, Genine, Tim, Angie, Manny and I sat at our regular table. Eric and Cherie Lyn, our wait staff, were amazing. They knew us so well. The order for the 2nd and main courses were taken for the table. The wine was never ending. This was standard for lunch and dinner every night. The food was amazing. It was bittersweet. Bill and Genine were great companions to travel with.
Genine arranged this Viking Cruise for Bill (her father) and herself. They started in Lucern, Switzerland with Manny and I. The six of us were always together. We had a great time together. Genine flew from Honolulu, Hawaii to New York to pick up Bill, then to Lucern.
We had pictures taken at the table. Once dinner was finished, we headed to the top deck to relax and talked. We decided to play shuffleboard. I wanted to try it on the cruise. Isn't shuffleboard everyone should try on a boat or ship? Well it was the guys verses the gals. The gals did not do well. Bill was amazing. He told all of us that he never played before, but he did a great job. None of us wanted the day to end. It was 10pm the sun finally setting and the moon was high in the sky. It was almost full. The moon had a halo around it. You could see the man on the moon. He was looking down on us and smiling. In one week the friendships that developed. I kept telling Bill we live 4 hours away and we could be on his doorstep by lunch time.
Well it is time to get ready to catch the bus to the Amsterdam Airport.
I will post pictures and my final thoughts about this adventure.
The Ingvi was cruising up the Rhine in the morning. When we woke up the landscape had changed. There were no mountains. The land was flat. There were cows in the river. You know you are in Holland when the cows are standing on the banks of the Rhine River. There were beautiful green land along the way. It was amazing. We did see a naked man standing in a boat. (A picture was taken, but it will not be posted.)
As the boat rounded a bend in the river there was a sight to behold. Noah's Ark - Life size. It is half the size of the Titanic. A man, Johan, had a dream that Holland would flood, so he built the ark. Amazing!!! The ark had life-size plastic animals. Today there are 2 restaurants and a movie theater. Something you would never think you would see in Holland. Noak's Ark
I remember the story of Noah's Ark. There was a movie in the 1976 "In Search of Noah's Ark". It was great movie about the discovery of the remains of the ark at atop of a mountain. This movie was a big hit in the movie theater. In Search of Noah's Ark
The UNESCO Holland Windmills were amazing. The 19 windmills were built in 1738. One designer built the structures using brick. Another designer had built the windmills in wood with eight sided. The mill family consisted of parents and up to 16 children living in a working mill. The parents and children under 2 slept in the living room which is on the bottom floor. The daughters would sleep on the 2nd floor and the sons on the 3rd floor. Kinderdijk Windmills
The mills are used to maintain the water levels of Holland. Holland is below sea level. The windmills are used to lower the water level to have land for living. The people were ingenious. During World War II the windmills were saved from Allies and Nazis by Queen of The Netherlands.
When you think of Holland or The Netherlands what do you think of? If your first thought was Wooden Shoes, well there were many to chose at the store by the windmills. Guess who bought a pair??? Of course it was Manny. I bought slippers in the shape wooden shoes. I had asked why wooden shoes in Holland. In the early years, there was a lot of wood. Leather was very expensive, so the common people made footwear for the family. Today walking around the neighbor in Kinderdijk the shoes are on the outside of the homes with flowers. It is beautiful.
We left Kinderdijk heading towards Amsterdam for disembarkation. This was our last night being treated as royalty. The 52 crew members of the Ingvi were amazing. We got dressed up for the cocktail hour in the lounge. There were champagne drinks and shrimp wrapped in spaghetti noodles and egg rolls. It was delicious. The captain and Nick made toasts. Now it was time for the 7 course meal.
Bill, Genine, Tim, Angie, Manny and I sat at our regular table. Eric and Cherie Lyn, our wait staff, were amazing. They knew us so well. The order for the 2nd and main courses were taken for the table. The wine was never ending. This was standard for lunch and dinner every night. The food was amazing. It was bittersweet. Bill and Genine were great companions to travel with.
Genine arranged this Viking Cruise for Bill (her father) and herself. They started in Lucern, Switzerland with Manny and I. The six of us were always together. We had a great time together. Genine flew from Honolulu, Hawaii to New York to pick up Bill, then to Lucern.
We had pictures taken at the table. Once dinner was finished, we headed to the top deck to relax and talked. We decided to play shuffleboard. I wanted to try it on the cruise. Isn't shuffleboard everyone should try on a boat or ship? Well it was the guys verses the gals. The gals did not do well. Bill was amazing. He told all of us that he never played before, but he did a great job. None of us wanted the day to end. It was 10pm the sun finally setting and the moon was high in the sky. It was almost full. The moon had a halo around it. You could see the man on the moon. He was looking down on us and smiling. In one week the friendships that developed. I kept telling Bill we live 4 hours away and we could be on his doorstep by lunch time.
Well it is time to get ready to catch the bus to the Amsterdam Airport.
I will post pictures and my final thoughts about this adventure.
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