Bimmer 09 sails APEX to Iceland June 2023

[Bimmer09]

19 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

 

 

A nice building by the bridge on the way to the hotel

I wrote that but forgot the picture I referred to....

 

Norris, stickler for detail...

[Bimmer09]

16 hours ago, PrincessDano said:

Following along, nice to see another GSJ to read!  By the way, can I get you a Guinness 🍺

 

Diane

 

Diane- if it looks like this, then sure!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

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

[MustBCruzn]

Norris - Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews. This one in particular has me especially excited, as we board the Apex on July 19th for a Baltic cruise. We, too, have booked the Radisson Blu City Center for our pre-cruise stay--for better or worse, depending on how the rest of your hotel comments go. On your recommendation we made reservations at the Five Flies restaurant for our last night.

[Bimmer09]

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

[Bimmer09]

5 minutes ago, MustBCruzn said:

Norris - Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews. This one in particular has me especially excited, as we board the Apex on July 19th for a Baltic cruise. We, too, have booked the Radisson Blu City Center for our pre-cruise stay--for better or worse, depending on how the rest of your hotel comments go. On your recommendation we made reservations at the Five Flies restaurant for our last night.

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

[Swordfish1949]

Following.....and totally enjoying.

[yoshi]

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

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

...and we're hooked!

[FRMPEI]

Caught up ready for more... "patience young grasshopper"

 

Regards

Kevin Reid

 

 

[tcmagnum]

On 6/21/2023 at 6:47 AM, Bimmer09 said:

 

There will be a lot of APEX and the ports she sailed to.

 

There will be a lot of pics from AMSTERDAM (love at first sight)

 

 

 

 

Finally found it!!

Excited to read all about the Apex (my sister and I are hoping to be on her next Jan or Feb)!!

And Amsterdam....On my bucket list.

[Bimmer09]

                               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!

[scrapcreator]

Takin’ It to the Streets

 

Doobie  Brothers 1976

 

Looking forward to following along. Boarding the Apex next month.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by scrapcreator
D@#$ auto-correct

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for posting.   Really enjoying your verbiage and of course your wonderful pictures.

[Bimmer09]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for posting.   Really enjoying your verbiage and of course your wonderful pictures.

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

Norris

[Bimmer09]

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

 

 

[Bimmer09]

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

Edited June 22, 2023 by Bimmer09
spelling

[Walt fan]

I am here! Late to the party (already page 3)! I am enjoying the adventures as always. I would rather read Norris' GSJ than a book. Following along!

[vickykay]

So very much enjoying your review and Amsterdam photos.  We’ve been there several times and it’s our favorite small city.  Enjoy!

Edited June 22, 2023 by vickykay
Spelling

[CRLess]

Norris....reporting for duty!  Look forward to following along (although I have seen many of the pics via a certain social media site).  

[Bimmer09]

12 minutes ago, CRLess said:

Norris....reporting for duty!  Look forward to following along (although I have seen many of the pics via a certain social media site).  

Reporting for Duty? Ok Sailor-fall in! Attention!!

Welcome Chris.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

                               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!

[Bimmer09]

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!

[Bimmer09]

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!

[Octavias]

Genesis Fly on a windshield

[Bimmer09]

7 minutes ago, Octavias said:

Genesis Fly on a windshield

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