Category Archives: Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Kolncathedral

On to Amsterdam!

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Rudesheim was the last small town that the Ramblers visited on this cruise. Our last stop before Amsterdam was Koln, (Cologne) where we had stopped several times in the past. Thus we didn’t sign up for any tours. However we were suprised to find that the Princess docked in downtown Koln, as on our previous visits, our ship had docked outside the town and the cruisers had to be bussed to the historic center for touring and shopping. However, we were in walking distance of the historic district as we could see the twin towers of the cathedral from the dock. It holds a golden casket with the remains of the Three Kings, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, according to local beliefs.

The towers of the Kolner Dom are visible from the Rhine; no high rise buildings here.

This time we would only be in Koln for the morning so many of the people onboard opted for one of the two walking tours of Koln. Sadly, the senior Rambler was having trouble walking and a three hour tour was not in the cards even with the gentle walkers. But we did disembark from the Princess after all. The senior Rambler wanted to find an ATM as he was out of Euros and we woud likely need some before the end of the trip. We also wanted to stroll along the Rhine a bit, as it would probably be our last chance to do so.

One of the many squaes in Koln city center, our ATM was on the far side,

The purser showed us the location of the nearest ATM, it was almost visible from the Princess and not very far for an average walker. After some deliberation, the Ramblers felt it was doable and so we set out, slowly and carefully. It was a beautiful day, not too warm but sunny; a good day to take a stroll in Koln. We did find the ATM and even better, made it back to the Princess before she sailed for Amsterdam.

Along the way we reminisced about our first experience of the Rhine on a K&D day cruise some 25 years ago. The Rambler had an chance to spend 5 weeks in Metz FR teaching history in a study abroad program and she talked the senior Rambler into going along. Actually he had no choice whatsoever tho he didn’t realize it.

During the five weeks, both faculty and students had the weekends free to travel as they chose. In those days, the rail pass that came along with the program allowed travel from one end of Europe to another, for betweem 7 and 14 days, I don’t rememberf exactly. It was amazing to see how far some of my students actually went on a weekend thru careful planning. The Ramblers also took advantage of this opportunity and cruised the Rhine on the K & D line one week-end, and spent another in Salzburg. To get there we had a long overnight on the train but stayed in a 15th century Inn as a reward.

Much too soon,the Ramblers had to put their memories aside as it was time to board the Princess for the last days cruising on our way to Amsterdam. It was also the evening of the Gala Captain’s Farewell Reception and dinner. Although the food on the Princess was consistently excellent they really outdid themselve for this final meal. The Ramblers had a window table and we enjoyed watching the variety of boats that we passed until dark during out leisurely and delicious meal.

We started off the meal with some delicious mussels
And finished with Baked Alaska, not to mention paired wines…a fitting ending to a great cruise.

For some reason. when the Ramblers woke up the Princess was still cruising along at a good clip. Evidently there had some hold-ups at the locks during the night, as our ship should already have docked in Amsterdam yet we were still motoring along. Finally the Princess drew close to the mouth of the Rhine which meant we were close to our dock.

Ass you can see, we woke up to a very gloomy day in Amsterdam. The train station did not look very appealing from the water.

This time the Princess docked near the train station, which was again another new location for the Ramblers. Dock space for river cruisers is at a premium in Amsterdam, and on Viking owns their docks. Since they also have more ships than any other line, it is not often that they are available to the boats of other companies.

We were actually docked next to another Uniworld ship, tho we were not rafted but in individual slips. We were curious to see it as it was one of the two ships, the A and the B, which Uniworld had totally redone to appeal to a younger crowd. Unfortunately, their marketing strategy didn’t work exactly as they planned and they eventually lifted the age restrictions.

The senior Ramblerf discussed boaty topics with the Captain of the Princess.
The “B” would dock next to us in Amsterdam.

Our beautiful sunny weather reverted to a more typical Dutch rainy day when we woke up the next morning. On the schedule was a tour of the Amsterdam canals and then a visit to the famous Rijksmuseum. The senior Rambler was perfectly happy to stay on board but the Rambler gamely joined the tour group for the canal cruse. The tour company had sent only one boat for our group, it was pouring rain and slippery to board and the boat was absolutely packed to the gills. The Rambler was pretty sure it was filled beyond capacity but there was nothing she could do but hope it didn’t capsize. Obviously it didn’t as I am here to write this blog entry but I’m pretty sure quite a few other passengers were uncomfortable. To make matters worse, the windows all fogged up from the steam coming off a boat load of wet passengers. While is is usually a lot of fun to cruise the Amsterdam canals, the Rambler is pretty sure everyone was glad when this particular cruise was over.

As soon as we disembarked on the pier, we were encouraged to head towards out bus for a tour of the Rijksmusem. The Rambler had enjoyed it before so why not? Well, it too was a disappointment as where do you go on vacation when it is raining? Inside fo course, and so it was that the museum was extremely crowded with people who were waiting out the rain. Oh well, people watching was good!

The Rambler was very glad to get back to the Princess and the senior Rambler just about said “I told you so…” We spent the evening on board as it was time to say good-by to the many friends we had made during the cruise. Our Australian friends would be leaving early the next morning for their very long trip home while the Ramblers had decided to stay a few days in Amsterdam before flying back to Atlanta. Bags packed, we enjoyed our last night aboard, ready to disembark the next morning.

Amsterdam, Centraal Station, Sail Amsterdam, Schipol Airport

The Ramblers head to Amsterdam for another cruise on the Rhine.

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In Spring,  2017,  the rivers of Europe were calling again; of course,the Rambler heeded their call. This time, she told the senior Rambler, they were going to try something different. They would arrive in Amsterdam a few days early and spend some time exploring the city. The Ramblers had been to Amsterdam several times but only because Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport was a convenient place to fly into and out of, especially if you live in Atlanta.

A view of the traffic in the river during Sail Amsterdam

The last time we flew into Schipol, we didn’t see much of the city as it was the week of Sail Amsterdam. This is a tall ships sailboat festival held every 5 years.  Because it is such  a special event, it draws crowds from all over Europe.  After we boarded, our captain told us  that the river and canals were too crowded for our ship to dock in its usual spot. Looking at photos of the event later, it was pretty much wall to wall boats on the water, with rows of people lining the banks. Thus we didn’t get to see much of Amsterdam in 2015; this time it would be different.

The sun was just coming up over the canals and ocean that surrounded Schipol when our plane touched down. Even after disembarking and locating our luggage, nothing much was open. I had booked a shuttle that would take us to our hotel, but when we got to the office, it too was closed. Sometimes the early bird doesn’t get the worm.  The shuttle office finally opened, we got our passes and found that the stop was only a short walk. The tricky part was to find the correct shuttle as  all the shuttle busses in Amsterdam seemed to stop here.

The Grand Amrath on a cloudy day.

Finally the right mini-bus appeared and we were on our way to the Grand Hotel Amrath. When we booked our cruise, it included a AAA promotion of one free night in Amsterdam before the cruise. At the time, our stay was at the Grand Hotel Amrath, so I booked two additional nights  for our Amsterdam experience.  Later the free night was changed to the Marriott Renaissance Amsterdam; I could have changed the booking but didn’t so we would have to change hotels on our last night in Amsterdam. On the map, they seemed close to each other, so it wasn’t a big deal at the time.

The Amrath was truly grand in appearance but it had one failing as far as the Ramblers were concerned. Its somewhat slick front steps were steep and had no railing. Although the friendly Doorman was willing to lend a hand, I would have much preferred a railing. This entrance is the ONLY way to enter or exit the Amrath, so keep this in mind, before booking there  if you have balance issues.  Of course we had arrived well before check-in time and expected a wait but the front desk clerk said it was possible to check in early and led us to our room.

The Grand Amrath is a large hotel and the shipping house is one of the 100 most important Amsterdam landmarks.

Needless to say, we were tired and a bit jet-lagged and  happy to check into our room. We had stretched out on the comfortable beds and were just dozing off WHEN we were startled by the sound of construction right outside our window. To our dismay we saw that a large building was under construction adjacent to our room.  It was obvious that the work would go on all day, and probably start fairly early the next morning. We learned that it would be a 5 story addition to the Amrath.

The Rambler was not happy about this; she had booked a 5 star hotel, not a room near a construction site. Making her way back to the front desk, she asked kindly but firmly for a different room. Fortunately the front desk was willing to change our room to one on the other side of the hotel but we would have to wait until it was ready. We readily agreed and eventually found ourselves in a pleasant room with a canal view, far away from the construction noise. We recommend booking a room with a canal view in Amsterdam, as it is a lot of fun to watch boats of all shapes and sizes cruise past.

The canal view from our room, always something going on.

Too bad I missed several Trip Adviser posts about construction noise at the Amrath before we left home. I usually read the most recent posts and the posts about construction were dated a few months earlier.  If something like this happens to you, the Ramblers hope you are lucky enough to get your room changed. I think it helped that we checked in so early, latecomers might not be so lucky.

Despite the steps and the noise, the Amrath is a majestic place. It was built in 1916 for 6  shipping companies in an Art Noveau, but distinctly Amsterdam style, thus its Dutch name, the Scheepvaarthuis or shipping house. Much of its decor has  a nautical theme, and  carved oak and paneling line the halls.  When the shipping business declined, the massive building  was sold to the City of Amsterdam and for a time, housed the municipal transit company. During this period, it was modernized but not in a good way. In 1998, the City put the building up for sale. Fortunately it was rescued by a property developer who had a vision of turning it into a hotel. Architect Ray Kentie successfully turned this vision into reality and in 2007, the Grand Amrath opened to rave reviews. Many of the original decorations were refurbished and more were added as all signs of its post-war modernization were removed. Despite a few glitches, we would enjoy our stay in this historic landmark.

The always busy Centraal Station, a short walk from our hotel.

By late afternoon, the Ramblers decided it was time for something to eat.  We took a brief walk to explore our options and settled on a small restaurant serving traditional Dutch food and hamburgers. Although it was still cloudy , the weather was warm enough to enjoy our meal outside so we could watch the urban scene that unfolded before our eyes. You may guess who had the traditional pea soup and who had the hamburger…

The Ramblers at a traditional Dutch restaurant, me having Dutch pea soup (very good) and the senior Rambler, a burger.

Amsterdam is a city that pulses with life. There is constant traffic, on foot and  bicycle, as well by car and tram. We quickly learned to watch out for the ever-present bicyclists who seemed to stop for no-one, sometimes not even traffic lights. The Amrath was  close to the Grand Centraal Station which teemed with activity, it is a huge place with many shops and restaurants as well as trains. It was also a popular tram stop and meeting place.

Although Amsterdam is certainly a walk-able city, the Ramblers found getting around somewhat daunting mainly because of the large number of pedestrians and bicyclists, in particular as well as motor scooters. Not realizing how difficult it would be for us to get around in Amsterdam, I had scheduled two tours, on the two days before we boarded our ship. After much research, I had booked a Viator Tour to Bruges as we had enjoyed our tours in Provence and also got tickets for the Anne Frank house. Both of these excursions would not turn out quite as the Ramblers expected.