Monday, June 11, 2012 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Partly Cloudy morning and afternoon; rain early evening - 60s

Another nice day in Amsterdam

Breakfast at the hotel runs from 8 – 10 AM (late and short).  We must have been pretty tired, since we slept to 8:30 AM.  Breakfast: Raisin Bran with milk; bread and cheese; coffee.  Minimal but OK.

Our goal today to to visit more of Amsterdam working in both Dam Square and the Anne Frank House. 

To successfully navigate the compact city of Amsterdam, you need to worry about both cars and bicycles, the latter vastly outnumbering the number of cars in the City Center.  Bikes have their own lanes, people have their own walking lanes, and cars own the streets.  Bikes have their own signal lights, as well.  Stay in your own lane and obey your own signals and you won’t get run over.

Not all bikes are on the road (although it seems like it) – some are parked and locked (below).

 

Dam Square, the center of town, is fairly close to our Hotel.  On the way we come across a statue of Benjamin Spinoza, the Jewish Philosopher who wrote “Ethics”.  I don’t know what the birds are doing on his coat.

 

Benjamin Spinoza Statue

Another monument, made of polished black marble, is dedicated to the Jewish Resistance Fighters (Communists that opposed the Nazis) as well as those who perished during the war.  It is very impressive.  It is so shiny that you can see our reflection on its surface.

 

Jewish Resistance Fighters Memorial

Many residents do not live in the tightly packed buildings in the City Center.  Some live right on the beautiful canals in houseboats.

Houseboats on the Canals

Dam Square is the center of the city.  It contains the Royal Palace (the original Town Hall dating back to 1655), the National Monument, and the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). 

The Royal Palace was converted from the Town Hall by Louis Bonaparte (1806).  The New Church was built around 1500 and is the  venue for the coronation of the Dutch Monarchy.  It is also used for concerts.

The Royal Palace (Left) and New Church

Dam Square is not immune from bicycles.  Look both ways!!

The Royal Palace

The National Monument was built in 1956 and commemorates the role the Dutch played in World War II.   On this day, there is machinery and fencing around the Memorial (maybe some repairs).

The National Monument

The building below may look very regal or governmental (and it may well have been at one time) but now it is a Shopping Mall.

Magna Plaza Shopping Mall

The Anne Frank House is located in the Jordaan Section of the City.  Before arriving there, we visited the Westerkerk (Western Church).  The building – built in 1619 - is the tallest structure in Amsterdam (273 feet) and is the burial place of Rembrandt.

The West Church

The Anne Frank house can easily be found by the queues waiting to enter the house and museum.  We opted not to enter but did get a picture of the structure (now certainly modernized).  There is a restaurant next door.

Anne Frank House

We headed back through the Red Light District (much tamer now, especially during the day).  Marijuana, however, is legal in Amsterdam so “Head Shops” are plentiful.  I think the Alien Shop below most like belongs in that category.

Alien Head Shop

We met Janet and Rebecca for dinner and wound up in an Italian Restaurant near the Anne Frank House.  They wanted to charge for tap water (imagine) but changed their mind once we objected.  Once you get your order, you will never see the wait staff again.  About two hours later, we asked for our check (dinner was very pleasant).

The long walk home was made that much longer by the constant rain falling for the past hour or so.  We made it back to the hotel a little wetter than we started.

Tomorrow we are headed to the countryside to see some windmills.

Pedometer: 15,270 steps; 7.24 miles; 747 calories

Sunday, June 10, 2012 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Partly Cloudy – 70s

Edinburgh, Scotland to Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 351 Nautical Miles

Total Voyage: 1740 Nautical Miles

Disembarkation from the Azamara Journey was quick and efficient.  We did “walk off” not at the recommended 7:15 AM time but later in the morning.  No issue…we even kept our Sea Pass this time.  Passport Control was also quick. 

Welcome from the PTA (Passenger Terminal Amsterdam)

We decided to walk to the hotel this morning because the weather was perfect and it was supposed to be a 10 minute walk.

Our hotel, the Hotel Parklane, is located in the Plantage District of Amsterdam.  It would have been a 10 minute walk but the canals and streets are difficult to read on the map and advice from a local put us a bit off track.  We did see some nice canals along the way.

 

On our way to the hotel

After a few twists and turns, we used some local sites to find the hotel. 

 

Hotel Parklane

The Hotel Parklane is located near the Artis Zoo and Amsterdam Botanical Gardens in what was at one time the Jodenbuurt (Jewish District) of Amsterdam.  It is a three story converted home run by a family (I believe).  It has no lift and our room, Number 5, is on the second floor.  While that doesn’t like sound like a big deal, there are many stairs and they are steep.

Stairs to the Second Floor of the hotel

I lugged our suitcases up to our room.  The room (no picture) was pretty nice.  It had a lot of room and very high ceilings – there was no AC (only a fan) and no screens on the windows.  The bathroom was pretty spacious with a nice shower.  Toiletries were midget size and there was no conditioner.  The bed was low to the ground and lumpy but good size.  We had neighbors on all sides so we are hoping that it will be quiet.  We do have a nice view of the Wertheimpark across the street.

Since the day was young, we decided to start exploring the city.  Amsterdam is pretty compact and our hotel was a good jumping off point for all of the city.  We got some advice from the hotel clerk and we were off and walking.

The first stop was Wertheimpark. 

Ellen and Wertheim Park

It is literally across the street.  The entrance to the park is adorned with two imposing statues created by Dutch sculptor, Jan Wolkers.  In the center of the park, there is a Holocaust Memorial, Nooit Meer Auschwitz (“Never again Auschwitz”), consisting of six large broken mirrors.  The memorial is dedicated to the tens of thousands of Dutch Jews deported then murdered.  At the far end of Wertheim Park, there is a street – Anne Frankstraat – named after Anne Frank.

 

Holocaust Memorial

From the Park we next went to the Portuguese Synagogue. The Portuguese Synagogue was constructed by Sephardic Jews in 1615.  This synagogue, along with three other synagogues, served 100,000 Jews, the largest Jewish population in Europe.

Portuguese Synagogue

We purchased a pass that would let us go through the Synagogue as well as the Jewish Museum, a block away.  The interior of the Synagogue was expansive and spectacular.

Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue

The Synagogue is based somewhat on the Temple in Jerusalem.  It has exterior walls surrounding the synagogue as well as a ring of connected buildings.  In addition to offices for the Rabbis (“The Rabbinate”), there was a chapel (below) and the Board Room (far below)

As we left the Synagogue to our next destination, we heard a familiar voice. Yes, Janet and Rebecca, cousins from Chicago, were just about to enter the Synagogue.  The two of them were in Amsterdam on a short vacation and by sheer luck we ran into each other.  Had we left a few minutes earlier, we would have missed each other.  It was nice to see familiar faces in a new city.  We spent a little time chatting and made plans to meet tomorrow for dinner.  We would communicate via e-mail.

Family Reunion in Amsterdam

Using our pass, we went to the Jewish History Museum – basically across the street.  This was part of the complex of Synagogues in Amsterdam.  It consisted of the New Synagogue , the Old Synagogue, and the Children’s Museum.  The Museum also had free WiFi, which was a bonus.

 

The New Synagogue

Famous Jews together for one Photo

Our walk continued to the Moses and Aaron Church (Mozes en Aaronkerk).  This was a secret church for Catholics during the Calvinist period.

Moses and Aaron Church

We continued down Jodenbreestraat (“Jewish Broad Street”) which was the center of Jewish Life in Amsterdam.  Off this street, we arrived at the Rembrandt Square – a busy square with restaurants and shops.  It also has the Rembrandthuis Museum (Rembrandt lived in this part of Amsterdam) which incorporates his original house.  The monument across the street (foreground below) has a reference to Jerusalem but I could not make out the Dutch.

 

Rembrandt Square and Monument

The Canals, bikes, and Ellen

Nicolaaskerk is located at the end of one of the canals in the picture below.

For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant recommended by the Hotel staff.  It was behind the Park and over the canal, nestled in a group of restaurants.  The pizza (7 Euros) and Veggie Lasagna (8 Euros) were OK especially the pizza (very small lasagna portion).  The Coke Lite was truly “lite” (6 oz maybe).  Too much smoking interfered with the dinner.

Pedometer: 11,636 steps; 5.52 miles; 570 calories

Saturday, June 9, 2012 – At Sea – North Sea – Mostly Cloudy – low 60s

A so so day at sea…not too cold but cloudy for the most part.

It’s a day for reading and playing games (new obsession: “Solitaire” on our phones.

The North Sea is a bit choppy today so you know you’re on a ship.  The North Sea is also where you can see plenty of oil rigs pumping that plentiful oil.

One of many Oil Platforms in the North Sea

My Final Talk: “Identifying the Famous and Infamous” pulls 50 plus attendees (2:30 PM in Cabaret Lounge).  Afterward, I spent some time chatting with Eric. 

I was able to get a very colorful sunset from the deck this evening.  This will be a rare event on our next cruise, when there will be no sunsets at all (above the Arctic Circle in the land of the Midnight Sun).  Enjoy it now.

  

Sunset at Sea

Showtime tonight included a tribute to ABBA, with Eric and the gang in their 70s gear singing some of the groups best songs.  Eric, a former figure skater, did some rollerblading during the numbers – seeing a 6 ft 7 in skater on a small stage is certainly a sight.  It was a fun show.

ABBA Tribute at Showtime

Tomorrow we are leaving the Journey.  Ellen has us packed and we plan to walk off as soon as we are ready.

Thursday/Friday – June 7-8, 2012 – Edinburgh (Leith), Scotland – Drizzly – Low 50s

Invergordon, Scotland to Edinburgh, Scotland: 217 Nautical Miles

Day 1 - June 7, 2012

The Azamara Journey is docked in Leith, the port city of Edinburgh and about 10 minutes from the city center.  The ship will provide constantly running shuttle busses between Leith and the city.

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city (behind Glasgow) – located on the end of the Firth of Forth;  Scotland occupies about one third of the Island of Great Britain.  Scotland also consists of 790 islands some of which we have visited on this cruise.  The city was built on the site of extinct volcanoes and today has a population of about 500,000 people.  It was an independent kingdom until 1707 when it was joined with England to become the United Kingdom.

I am escorting a tour this afternoon to the St. Andrews Royal and Ancient Golf Club but this morning, we are going to explore Edinburgh by foot.  The shuttle bus dropped us off at the start of Princes Street at the Old Calton Cemetery.  This was a great location to start our tour of the city.

Before heading over to the city center, we took a quick look at the Old Calton Cemetery.

Ellen at Calton Cemetery

 

The Varied Headstones at Calton Cemetery

Although we were in Scotland, we recognized a familiar figure among the monuments and statues.

Memorial to Scottish-American Soldiers

It was a statue of Abraham Lincoln and it was a memorial to Scottish American Soldiers.  The cemetery also had an impressive obelisk, that was in memory of five men who worked for parliamentary reform in 1844.

Obelisk in Calton Cemetery 

To get to the city center and the famous Royal Mile, you have to cross over the Old North Bridge.  Old North Bridge was built in 1763 and widened in 1876; it was taken down 20 years later and eventually rebuilt.  The Bridge does not cross over any river today; instead a new shopping center or mall is being built under the bridge.

At the corner of the Bridge and Princes Street was an impressive building which turned out to be the Balmoral Hotel (below).

Facing the Bridge Road was an impressive building with a statue of Duke of Wellington in front.

Duke of Wellington Statue

Looking back at Old North Bridge

From Old North Bridge you can get a great view of the Old Calton Cemetery and its towers.

Old Calton Cemetery from Old North Bridge

The Royal Mile (which I think is more than a mile) reaches from the Edinburgh Castle at one end to Holyrood House at the other.  Along the way, there are a number of key city sites.

Royal Mile looking toward the Edinburgh Castle

Royal Mile looking toward Holyrood House

The Edinburgh Hub (HQ for the Edinburgh Festival) was formerly the Tollbooth Kirk.  It has the tallest spire in Edinburgh. 

The Hub

The architecture along the Royal Mile was very interesting including the Woolen Mill Building (second below).

      

Architecture along Royal Mile

The Royal Mile also had a large number of “Closes” with names attached to them.  They were narrow alleyways – sometimes with businesses lining them - leading either to streets below the main street or into courtyards with restaurants and flats.  

There are two other major structures on the Royal Mile as we proceeded toward the Castle.

The first is St. Giles Cathedral

St. Giles Cathedral and Statue of Adam Smith

The church was originally the Edinburgh Parish Church.  It became a cathedral in 1633 and its present structure dates from 1829.  The Spire is old and dates back to 1495.  A church has occupied the site of the cathedral since 854.

Parliament Square is also on the route to the castle. Can you find Ellen in the picture below?

Located across the street from Parliament Square is the Edinburgh City Council Chambers.  What made this building interesting is the statue of Alexander the Great and his Horse. 

Alexander the Great and his Horse

Edinburgh Castle is located on a hill that has been fortified since the 5th century.  The location on the hill makes three of its sides unreachable.  The artifacts of the Scottish Monarch (jewels, crowns) are on display in the Castle.  The castle sits on black volcanic rock and the hill between the castle and Holyrood House was carved from ice during the last ice age.  Along the entrance to the Castle are bleacher seats, which must be used for events such as concerts. 

 

  Ellen at entrance to Edinburgh Castle 

We walked up as far as we could without paying to get in the Castle.  This still gave us a good feel for the age and structure of the Castle.

Knight guarding Castle Entrance

Behind the Castle Walls

 

Views of Edinburgh from Castle

I have an afternoon tour so we headed back to ship for lunch.   On our way down the Royal Mile, I spotted this archway, which dates back to 1815.  It looked so much like a Roman or Greek ruin that I needed a picture (below).

The bus ride back to Leith was very short.  In the center of town, there is a statue of Queen Victoria.

 

Leith is a pretty big town with lots of shops but it is just a little too far to walk from the pier.  

Besides the Journey, another ship is berthed in Leith – the Royal Yacht Britannia.  The yacht is now a museum/tourist attraction. 

The Britannia

After lunch, I met my tour group on the pier.  We are going to go the birthplace of golf – The Royal and Ancient St. Andrews Golf Club.  Our guide seems to know a bit about golf so that should be helpful.

Heading out from the city – through nasty traffic (it took more than 30 minutes to clear Leith and hit the highway) – we were able to see the Edinburgh Castle dominating the city skyline.

The ride to St. Andrews was about an hour and 40 minutes.  Most of the countryside on the way consisted of sloping hills covered by low clouds and fog (below).

   

We finally got to the quaint little town of St. Andrews (BTW St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland).  The town has a number of hotels (catering to the golfers who do the pilgrimage) and golf shops, some of which are locally famous such as Ouchterlonies Ladies Locker Room  (I am not sure that the R&A allows women on the course).  There are more golf shops than bars and coffee shops, at least by my estimation. 

Ouchterlonies Ladies Locker Room

The bus tried to turn down the street alongside the 18th green but construction blocked the way (“Oh, Fit”, exclaimed our guide).  The bus backed out of the street and took the side streets in an effort to get around the construction.  On the detour, we got a peak at the Bishops Castle (end of the street below).

Because of the detour, we visited the St. Andrews Cathedral.  The Cathedral, once imposing, was now reduced to ruins.  There were several buildings in varying states of ruin along with rock structures on the ground, which may have been either supports for building or monuments.

Entrance to St. Andrews Cathedral

 

St. Andrews Cathedral and Cemetery (two above)

 Stone Structures on Ground (what are they?)

Our alternate route was successful and we skirted the construction to arrive at the end of 18th hole at the Old Course.  There was a museum (with a pay loo) and golf shops up and down the street.  The right side of the fairway was a narrow street with traffic and line with hotels.  The left side of the fairway was a pedestrian path.  The fairway was also bisected by a cement walkway guarded by Marshalls at either end.  They probably kept an eye on crossing people as well as golfers hacking up the landscape.  My first goal was finding facilities.

One of the hotels along the 18th filled the bill but when I inquired about WiFi, I was told that they did not have any available.  I would try the coffee shops.  Until then, I rejoined our splintered group at the end of the 18th for our little walking tour of the final hole at St. Andrews.  I should mention that it was windy and drizzling at this point - “par for the course” at St. Andrews. 

I always thought that the course was a little like playing golf in a pasture but the course is in terrific condition – perfect fairways and well manicured greens.

Our first stop was the practice putting green

Practice Putting Green

The guide then led us down the path on the right side of the fairway and then across the path on the fairway.  From there, we could see the foursomes as they headed up the fairway.  To my surprise, the golfers were using pull carts (no caddies).  The guide told us that there are times in the day that you can use pull carts.  Otherwise, a day at St. Andrews can cost you about 180 Pounds (including a wise Scottish caddie).

 

 

Sizing up their putts on 18

Almost all of the golfers we saw wore black (requirement or coincidence?).  The guys we saw could also play – I did not see a duffed shot during the time I watched the foursomes play the hole.

   

The guide told us it would be OK to hop the fence and walk onto the fairway at 18 so we could have a photo op at the famous Swilcan bridge on 18.  This is the spot that Jack Nicklaus stood and waved at this last Open.  Although it seemed to be against the rules, our group took picture after picture while the guys waited on the tee (no doubt muttering).

    

The Swilcan bridge on 18 at the Old Course at St. Andrews 

The fairways are pretty wide and we had to duck one slice tee shot.

In the remaining time we had at St. Andrews, I searched high and low for WiFi with no success (password protected or places I would not purchase a coffee to use their WiFi).  As I turned to go down to meet the bus, I switch on my WiFi and picked up an open signal at the Dunvegan Hotel.  It was a tiny hotel with no lobby so I could not sit there so I sat outside on a bench in the drizzle (protecting my phone) and caught up on my e-mail.  I just made it to the bus and soon we were on our way back (I was not the last person to get to the bus).

The ride home was a bit shorter but I was still all wet and tired.  But I can say I visited the ultimate Golf Shrine. 

Showtime tonight consisted of songs from the movies (mostly the 60s and 70s).  We sat close again and got some nice pictures (below).

Pedometer: 12,067 steps; 5.72 miles; 591 calories

Day 2 – Edinburgh, Scotland

Our plan today is to go the other way on the Royal Mile and see Holyrood House.

Holyrood House is at the bottom of Royal Mile.  It is Scotland’s premier Royal Palace and the official residence of Queen Elisabeth II when she visits Scotland. The castle has been burned several times and was rebuilt in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell and rebuilt again in 1660 by Charles II (Louis XIV Style).

Our journey again started at the Old Calton Cemetery.  While the trip to the Edinburgh Castle was uphill then downhill, the trip to Holyrood was just the opposite.

My other goal of the day is to find a St. Andrews Golf Cap – the caps at Course were incredibly pricey so I going to check out the souvenir stores along the Royal Mile. 

There is much to see along the Royal Mile.

The Church below was given to Thomas Moodie by the King of Scotland as a church and tomb back in 1688.  I am not sure who Thomas Moodie was but he had pull with the Monarchy.

 

Ellen and a inanimate local 

A very old structure, the Canongate Mercat Cross, dates back to 1128.  It is pretty good shape considering the weather conditions in Edinburgh.

Canongate Mercat Cross

We ducked into one of the “Closes” along the way.  In this case, it opened up into an apartment complex of quaint cottages.  Considering their location, I am betting they cost a bundle to buy or rent.

At the bottom of the hill lies Holyrood House.  It is across the street from a Government Building so ugly that no photos were taken.  The Castle, however,is magnificent and, indeed, French in appearance.

Holyrood House

We started our walk back up the hill toward Old North Bridge.  I did pick up a cap (complete with magnetic ball marker).  We also saw some terrific architecture including a building (below) with an unusual balcony.

House with Balcony

 

Tollbooth Tavern (on Royal Mile)

After returning to the ship and refueling, we went to the nearby Ocean Terminal Mall in Leith (just a few minutes walk from the ship).  It was raining and windy so the walk was more miserable that it should have been.  Also, Ellen cancelled her St. Andrews excursion and we heard later that the people who went on it got drenched.

The mall is humongous and they have a Starbucks with open WiFi.  It worked well for Ellen yesterday but today, the connection was not stable.  We got some e-mails off but not much else.

My talk tonight – made possible by passenger requests – is “Christopher Columbus: Man of Mystery”.  It was a new talk in that it was broken off from my “Mysteries of the Seas” talk.  It went fine with an audience of about 40.

In the evening, we attended Showtime with Cheryl Sinclair (Vocalist).  She was terrific.

Pedometer: 8865 steps; 4.2 miles; 434 calories