Tag: Amsterdam

Scotland & Northern England Highlights Day 1 & 2

Wednesday, March 19th, 2025

This was our first international trip of 2025. We traveled with the Hilliard Chamber of Commerce. We have traveled on other trips with them and have found their itineraries to be well planned and the price better than if we put this trip together on our own.

On Wednesday we left Columbus for Atlanta on time. We were all in our zone lines for our second leg, KLM flight to Amsterdam, when the flight was delayed 10 minutes, then 50 minutes and then three hours. We were finally in the air four hours later than scheduled. That meant we would miss our connecting flight to Glasgow. Due to the late departure we were served one dinner, no breakfast because the flight attendants needed a regulatory rest. Also, because the flight was delayed so long our plane was not completely full. We sat in a row of three and had an empty seat between us. Even though we had an empty seat it was difficult to get any sleep. The plane was warm and the seats weren’t comfortable.

The early morning sky out the plane window.
From pinks to blues with the white clouds.

When we landed in Amsterdam, our tour company had rebooked our group on a noon flight to Glasgow so we only lost half a day. Unfortunately all of our checked luggage did not follow us onto the plane. Thank goodness we always pack 2 days of clothing in our carryon!

Thursday, March 20th, 2025

When we arrived in Glasgow we were met by our tour guide, Laura. She introduced herself as we traveled from the Glasgow airport to our hotel. We checked in, freshened up and some of us went walking around the area.

St. George’s-Tron Church
George Square and the City Hall of Glasgow
A shopping mall near our hotel.

We stopped in for a drink at a great bar for Happy Hour. It was really busy.

The Counting House- we sat in a back room.

This evening we had a group dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel called The Spiritualist. It was a great dinner of fish & chips.

The Spiritualist Restaurant
Inside the restaurant
Irn-Bru is a Scottish orange colored carbonated soft drink that is very popular and just behind whisky!

After dinner we walked back to our hotel, Ibis Styles Glasgow George Square, and went to sleep pretty quickly!

The Hotel sign by the front door.

Rhine River Cruise Day 10 & 11

Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9, 2019

Our last day in Amsterdam and it was a full free day.  A group of us took the tram to the Rijksmuseum.

IMG_8474
The Rijksmuseum

We got there not long after the museum opened.  Our first stop  was the
“Night Watch” by Rembrandt.  It was painted in 1642.  It was fascinating how they are using computers/technology to scan the painting and work on the restoration process which I believe will take a year!

The workers doing the scanning of the Night Watch
The Night Watch by Rembrandt
Do you see the eye in the background of Rembrandt?

Below is a copy of the Night Watch.  They feel it depicts the original size and it will be studied to gain information.

The copy of the Night Watch.

We spent several hours exploring the rest of the museum.

Unique dolls’ houses
Department of Navy set up a model room.
The Rijksmuseum Research Library
Collection of Delft Blue Pottery
The Battle of Waterloo by Jan Pieneman

It was fun watching the school groups explore and learn about the museum.

The Hard Rock Cafe is close by so we went in and got a pin!

IMG_8507

As we were heading to the floating flower market on this cloudless day.  What a difference a day makes in the weather from yesterday!

One of the places we visited was the floating flower garden (since 1862) which is known locally as the Bloemenmarkt and had lunch across from it.  You can purchase all kinds of tulip bulbs, fresh flowers, Dutch souvenirs, and Christmas decorations.  It was fun visiting all of the shops!

Part of our group hadn’t been to the Red Light District so we walked through the area.  In Amsterdam there are bicycles everywhere.  As a pedestrian you really have to pay attention to the bicyclists so you don’t get run over!

 

IMG_8540

We stopped in and saw the inside of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas.

IMG_8546
Basilica of Saint Nicholas

Another landmark is the Central Train Station in the heart of the city that opened in 1889.

IMG_8550
The Amsterdam Central Train Station

We still had our tram passes so we took it until the line ended and then back.

In doing this we got out of the city center and saw other parts of Amsterdam.

Our view from our hotel on our last evening in Amsterdam!IMG_9009

Our wake up call Saturday morning was very early so we could board our bus for the ride to the airport!  We flew Air France from Amsterdam in the morning and arrived in the United States in Atlanta and then had a flight on Delta Airlines home.

Both flights were close to on time and we were home by 5:00 PM on Saturday.  Our Hilliard Chamber of Commerce group was so fun to travel with and Aventura World made sure everything went smoothly.  We made new friends, new memories and explored new cities!  We can’t wait for 2020’s adventures!

Rhine River Cruise Day 9

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Today was a rainy day in Amsterdam.  Our first stop was the Van Gogh Museum.  It opened in 1973 and contains the largest collection of his work.  Our guide pointed out the highlights of the artist’s life and works.  No pictures are allowed in the museum but in the entryway you can take photos.

This is a replica that you can photograph and touch!

Then we visited and toured the Anne Frank House.  Anne Frank kept a diary and she is one of the well-known Jewish victims of the Holocaust.  She became famous after her death when her diary was published.  The house we visited was her hiding place that she documented in her diary.   Of course it was crowded and mostly single file.  We each had an audio guide as we went through the house.

After the Anne Frank house we had a walking tour of the city and end up at our hotel for our last two nights.  She pointed out some of the important sites as we walked.  It was raining and our guide said she’d take our tour on the shortest path to get to our hotel but it still was an hour walk and talk!

When we checked into the hotel we had a late lunch in the hotel cafe, then went to our room to change and then walked on our own into town because the rain was stopping.  We walked around the Red Light district!

Our view as we walked into town.
15th Century building called the Waag. It originally was a city gate.
This is not your typical Coffee Shop! 🙂
Walking in the Red Light district.

We stopped into a supermarket and bought cheese and crackers for “dinner”! We weren’t that hungry because of having a late lunch.  It was nice to relax in our room.

Rhine River Cruise Day 8

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Today we arrived at Hoorn, met our guide and took a bus to a quaint Dutch village called Volendam.  It is located 30 minutes from Amsterdam.

Approaching Hoorn

IMG_8295
The Hoofdtoren is a tower used for defense. The tower was built in 1532 and the clock on it was added in 1651!

IMG_8315
Oosterpoort is the city gate tower. It was built in 1578 and the house on top was built in 1601.

As we walked through Hoorn’s scenic streets toward our bus that would take us to Volendam, we noticed many homes and buildings were leaning forward!IMG_8304

Our guide explained to us that these homes were built with a forward incline to help prevent items from hitting the building facade the owners pulled these items up!

IMG_8317
The park we passed where our bus was parked.

Our next stop after our bus ride was Volendam.  It was a colorful village to walk through and see the old fishing boats in its harbor.  The town had a lot of charm. After walking through this fishing village we had some free time to explore.

The windows of the homes in Volendam are spotless and always being cleaned.
The men hang out in here and gossip!
The beautiful streets in Volendam.

Our next stop was a cheese farm.  They demonstrated how they make the cheese and our favorite part was sampling the various cheeses that they offer.  We did bring some home with us.

After our visit at the cheese farm, our bus took us into Amsterdam for a city tour and a canal cruise.IMG_8370

We cruised along many of the city’s points of interest.  Experiencing Amsterdam by a canal cruise at night was beautiful.

After our cruise we went back to our boat for our last night on the M/S Amadeus Silver III.  We will miss the fabulous food, friendly staff, and luxurious accommodations!