Bimmer09

I had seen this quirky nutty sidewalk "garden" on a YouTube walk and we passed it on our way back through the Jewish area. There are all sorts of household items mingled in the greenery. No idea who's responsible for its origin or who maintains it but imagine its a group of residents. I find the walking videos helpful when planning to visit somewhere for a day or two. We usually stay in an embarkation port in Europe for two days prior to sailing and two days after. It helps to have a map open to figure out where the walker is. When I was researching places to eat I used TripAdvisor and made a shortlist-always looking for food and service quality then plugging the address into Google maps with our hotel address as the starting point. If it was in walking distance of 15 minutes or less then I'd send the directions to my phone where it appears in messages. By the time we flew I had a dozen or so addresses all in the one message and could pull them up at will. For the morning walk I did at the beginning of the day I used no maps but those YouTube walks helped give me the lay of the land. I also have a compass app. The videos by "Walking Man" I found the most helpful. No narration. No music. Just the sound of the streets and traffic. He has many walks in Amsterdam in all seasons. I hope this helps you if you are planning a trip to Amsterdam. Norris

BREAKING NEWS! THIS JUST IN TO OUR NEWS DESK People close to the matter say there is definitely a chance that Bimmer09 may indeed possibly get to the Celebrity APEX at sometime tomorrow. Fortunately this came in after the markets closed but may shake investors when the Market opens in the morning. We'll have full coverage if and when it maybe possibly happens.

It's lyrics. No rules and no penalty if wrong. The prizes are truly fantastic, if somewhat imaginary and likely to take a long time coming-but blame UPS or Fed Ex, not me. Currently I'm offering a set of 6 Japanese steak knives made in China. I love your screen name photo! Norris

Hmm....don't think I used one from Fly.... I was a Genesis fan when Peter Gabriel was in the band and saw them at Wembley Empire Pool in 1973/74? when they did "Lamb Lies down on Broadway" but not a fan since. I've only used one title that was missed "My aim is true"-Elvis Costello first album (obscure) Norris

It's not far past the Opera House . This is the bridge to the Opera. Carol knows who this statue is of. I've forgotten. Past the Opera House and through the Jewish section of town with it's Joods Museum that Carol hoped to visit at a later date. 100,000 Amsterdam Jews were taken to *** death camps, Anne Frank* among them. Our driver to the airport pointed out a wall with 100,000 bricks with their names engraved. * Carol wanted to visit the Anne Frank House but tickets can only be bought here https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets/choose-your-ticket/ A stroll through a park to another canal that borders the gardens. A nice house along the park Carol is green-fingered/thumbed and is knowledgeable and adept at keeping plants alive. I am pretty good with a watering can, I must say. The Gardens (Hortis) are 375 years old! Founded in 1638 as a herb garden for doctors, later a garden for trees flowers and plants. Carol got free admission with her purchase of the Amsterdam Card. Savvy Traveler! The concrete attachment over the water is a tiny hotel room for rent and two people were in it. We're in and free to roam Tropical plants but it's too hot to go into somewhere even hotter! The giant rhubarb is 7 feet tall... Giant palm with human for scale The canal I mentioned Sticks and bricks Birds of Paradise We were now ready to leave but first needed some refreshment. There's a nice little indoor/outdoor cafe near the entrance but to get a table you have to hover like a fly waiting for signs of an imminent departure. Then you strike with the speed of a cobra! You snooze-you lose! We bagged a table at the Orangerie Cafe (Orangerie photos iPhone. Garden photos Canon 6D MK II) Carol's apple pie (and lemonade) my carrot cake and beer Great visit- worth the walk!

We walked back to the hotel Our room was being cleaned so we just used the bathroom and let the maid finish in peace. On the way out I took a look the hotel bar and noticed they served until 11 pm tonight. We would get out of the Opera by 10.30 so took a look at the posted menu. I like this table by the fireplace... Now off to the Botanic Gardens!

Breakfast day 2 in Amsterdam I texted Carol at 10 and she was already in possession of a waterfront table in Cafe de Jaren. I could see her from across in Muntplein. The tables would soon fill up. My espresso, Carol's smoothie and latte with an extra shot. Followed by my ham and cheese croissant and Carol's shakshuka with pita bread. I would have a small 25cl beer to round out the meal. We sat until 11.30. Happy in the sun! The menu comes on a clipboard so it doesn't blow into the river. Off we go!

Reporting for Duty? Ok Sailor-fall in! Attention!! Welcome Chris. Norris

By now I've seen the Starbucks-just after the market and I hit them for a "tall Pike with an inch of room" (for my cream). The Barista put the cream in and handed me a full cup. I poured out the excess. Luckily she hadn't killed the coffee with too much or I would have handed it back to her and told her to "pull yourself together woman!". The shop only had a couple of tables outside and the ground wasn't level so I imagined setting down my hard-won coffee and having it slide off the table and going "Sploosh". I saw some benches on a bridge up ahead and dodged a tram to claim my seat. I had been walking for 90 minutes or so and that coffee brought me back from the brink of death. Carol can verify that in every city I roam I am soon approached by someone wanting to bum a smoke and sure enough... Hi, do you have a cigarette? Yep! (head nodding silently) Long pause Um, can I have one? Oh-sorry I thought you were just checking my stock He smiled and laughed and I was already offering him one as he seemed like a nice enough guy. (Inwardly I was just hoping he wouldn't tell me a story of why he was out of smokes) He told me a story. Luckily he could "read the room" and soon departed and I was able to enjoy a half hour in the pleasantness of the Singelgracht (gracht means canal and is awkward to pronounce-the G isn't pronounced and is replaced with a guttural H-the sound a cat makes when there is a hairball on the way is the best way I can subscribe it. Both Carol and I have practiced it and will fit in when we get more vocabulary under our belts. Dutch folks speak Dutch to each other. English is for tourists. They also speak German and many of their words come from the German and we both have some German in our repertoire as we go there so often. It's our favorite country with Italy in 2nd place. Austria 3rd. A look at my watch and time to head back towards de Jaren to meet Carol when it opens

Once I found those statues I knew exactly where Dam Square was... The Royal Palace more Dam Square The War Memorial The feet kept moving...past the 2 headed statue and onward towards Hotel de L'Europe Bicycles (Fiets) Dam Square is already out of sight Hotel de L'Europe with the Opera House in the distance As I stood here I saw a very narrow alley across the street and thought-wonder where that goes? It brought me here... I looked to my right and then my left where I saw a square I had seen on a YouTube walk... Lots of bars and cafes in this square. The Old Bell pub is open until 1 am, serves food until 12 The feet keep walking. I am hoping to come out near the flower market as I know (from the usual source) there is a Starbucks nearby. a funky shop My aim is True-The Floating Flower Market! Seed packets-the live flowers are all gone by the end of May. These seeds would therefore be from 2022. Artificial tulips

Jim and Iain I followed your several trips on Apex and week in Amsterdam to whet my appetite! Thank you both! Norris

Takin' it to the streets! What I am taking is a thirst for coffee and if need be will walk a mile to find it-which I did. Amsterdam is a late night town on the weekend and the place is a mess in the morning.. They have small trucks to pick up the trash and then ferry it to an empty barge on the canal. I walk down side streets and over tiny bridges heading west, following my homing pigeon instincts with a side of Spidey-sense, searching for a favorite statue seen on a YouTube walk... Lo and Behold! Here it is! Huzzah! and... More soon!

There's a very happy ending to our Radisson stay. I met the manager Roy on the street on our checkout morning. All will be revealed... Norris

Bed by 11 and a much needed sleep on a quiet canal. Here's what tomorrow will bring; Before 8 I'll be out on the streets with the camera. No map but I have a rough idea of the lay of the land from looking at our laminated folding map. I needed coffee and shops don't open early as the city wakes up slowly. My feet kept moving. I do enjoy the discovery of coming to a street and thinking-I wonder what's down there? Unplanned we will meet up at de Jaren for breakfast when it opens at 10. We had Verizon text for a fee. We'll visit the Botanic Gardens (decided that morning) We'll attend the Opera. We'll have a late dinner and put our Apex luggage tags on. A car will pick us up at 11 a.m to whisk us to Rotterdam where our check-in time is 12.30 Norris

Carol can correct me if I err, but I would say it took about a minute of sitting at a table at Cafe de Jaren (J is pronounced like Y in Dutch)in the sun by the sparkling Amstel river before we said "we have to come back here!" We repeated that Mantra as we left 5 Flies for the short walk "home" It's quiet and peaceful along the Singel canal as we stroll. Sunset isn't until 9.40 p.m. Amsterdam is 7 hours ahead of Chicago btw. Muntplein (plein =square) a good landmark for navigating the streets and canals. The floating flower market is at right. The stunning Hotel de L'Europe on the Amstel The bridge on our canal we cross to get to the opera Two minutes to home... Norris

Diane- if it looks like this, then sure! Norris

I wrote that but forgot the picture I referred to.... Norris, stickler for detail...

Bob your timing is perfect as I have plenty of Edge Class ship to show in the days and weeks ahead. I can't wait to show you the Apex-but of course I will as I am a slave to chronology... Norris

The Five Flies I know from experience that some restaurants can guarantee (at least) 5 flies hovering over your plate as you eat but this isn't one of them.It was Rick Steves recommendation and Carol has a Master's Degree in Rick Steves Studies which has served her well in the modern world-a lot more than my Degree in Mesopotamian sheep grazing. That hasn't opened many doors for me, just like the algebra, trigonometry and Latin I took in high school. Before we left Chicago we had our hotel, museum entrances, tram transport including a free canal cruise, opera tickets and a reservation in the 5 Flies for our first dinner of the vacation. We used Google maps on my iPhone (Carol can tell you which model as I apparently got it wrong-but it's one that fits on my belt and not so large it sticks up out of my back pocket) We arrived 5 minutes late after trying to figure out why location services had us walking up the middle of the Singel canal, on the water! The exterior It's 5, 400 year old houses linked together in a warren of rooms. I asked for a particular room. A sign on the black door asks you to enter through the alley... We stepped back in time. Just ahead of us were 5 gentlemen, one of whom had eaten here before and wanted to share the experience. Alas, the waiter couldn't seat them as a group as they didn't have a reservation. They left and four of the friends put that black trashcan in the photo above over their friend's head like a dunce's cap. All good fun. We did have our reservation and the pics online did it justice... We had a table for two by a window onto the street I love movies set in Medieval times-all that M'lady, Sir Knight, serving wenches, toothless hags and Kings eating whole chickens before a roaring fire. No I wouldn't want o have been born back then- the bathrooms were a joke compared to today and the hairdressers had no finesse- just stick a bowl on the customer's head and hack it with a knife. No fades, no layering, buzz-cuts out of the question. Strewth! and Gadzooks! Before the food I'll show you some of the other parts of the restaurant The waiter's station Here's some food My Dutch shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were tiny and not the giants I am used to-even smaller than cruise ship prawn cocktails. Tasted a bit of the "bottom of the harbor" which oysters remind me of. It had orange segments which helped with my vitamin C intake. Carol's Herring tartare was brought to the table by Rafael our waiter. Raised eyebrows from me. Carol gave me a forkful and it was pretty edible. She loved it and kudos to her for bravely ordering it. The salt and pepper and the table candle My beef tenderloin with roast potato and kohlrabi Carol's fish of the day- pan-seared North Sea perch of the gods, with white asparagus, a bed of mashed potato, fennel and fresh garden peas. A superb dish! OMG! My dessert. Arretjes cake with orange ganache and caramel icing and Carol's pretty plate with Advocaat panna cotta (the clog), ice cream, stroopwaffle and a chocolate fly. Yowsa! In celebratory vacation mood I enjoyed a glass of whiskey from my homeland- Jameson's. In Northern Ireland I've heard that parents have to assign their male children by age 3 to a particular brand. My parents chose wisely. My eternal thanks. A splendid dinner ! https://www.vijffvlieghen.nl/en/ Norris

Nancy, welcome! You have known the cyber me for all of my reviews so I feel that I can trust you with a little secret ("loose lips sink ships")- I took a nap after yesterday's lunch...and slept for 14 hours! Girl.....don't breathe a word! Anonymous

Back to the hotel . We have been in the city for 4 hours now and are yet to be run over by a bicycle. They help make the back streets and canals so quiet. So pleasant to walk through on a warm summer's day with a gentle breeze and the birdsong. We ask B. Spice if the room is ready... "Not yet- my supervisor is checking it out right now to make sure it is perfect. You can sit on the sofa in the lobby and I'll come let you know when he's done" We sat until 3. Meantime not a word from her and she'd left for the day. I went to the nice young man who took her place and as he booked us in I vented on the poor fellow like he had poked a wasp's nest. I let him know it wasn't him I was angry with and gave him a nice tip when he brought our bag up to our room a few minutes later.There was of course no supervisor checking our room. We took the carpeted tunnel, where by the way Viking cruises greet passengers just arrived for one of their cruises from Amsterdam. There's an elevator at each end. Our room. There was a 46 inch TV at the foot of the bed, not in shot A work desk There was a built-in wardrobe with good quality hangers (out of shot) on the way to the bathroom. Fluffy robes and slippers awaiting. The bathroom had a heated floor and a large shower enclosure with good pressure and heat control. Nice. Now that we have a room at 3 pm and a dinner booked at 8 we can safely allow ourselves a two hour nap, a shower and freshen up to reduce the jet-lag somewhat. We are walking to dinner using google maps. Norris

With some time still to kill before our 2.30 hotel return we strolled the few hundred yards to the Netherlands Opera and Ballet where we had primo tickets for tomorrow night's Opera Rusalka by Anton Dvorak with some good singers that we know from German opera houses. I loved the houseboat moored in front of it A nice building by the bridge on the way to the hotel

Where's the blooming' APEX guv'nor? I can hear some of you thinking. "I'll strangle me bloody wallaby if you don't show the ship soon, cobber" wrote one Australian reader -which is a bit extreme if you ask me. I write things in chronological order so we we get to Rotterdam in a couple of days you'll get 12 days of her. Even though I am not a "give me X or give me death" kinda guy at this time I do like the brand (with some peeves you'll hear about in time) and until the Apex the Silhouette was my favorite ship design of all the ships at sea. You'll hear plenty of good about the Apex from me. The bad and the ugly won't be far behind of course. Meantime we have been In Europe for just 3 hours... Tonight we dine in a 400 year old restaurant... Norris

Kevin-it's always a pleasure to see you reading along. Welcome aboard! Norris

Nice work Helen! One of my favorite voices singing a favorite song! The Broyhill Dinette set has a couple of wobbly legs but will be on it's way to you shortly-at least by Christmas. Norris