2019 - Amsterdam

Known for their unique front gables, narrow rowhouses line the canals in Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THIS WAS our first visit to Amsterdam. There would be a couple more that would be more in-depth, but in this case, it was the termination point of the cruise, and we only scheduled the day we arrived (flying out of Amsterdam's Schipol early the next morning). No tours or excursions, but we made the most of it, walking around much of the quite "walkable" city. Originally settled by various germanic tribes, the area that encompasses today's Netherlands didn't really come about until the 1800's following The Reformation. Previously part of the Roman Empire, the combined lands of what are now Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemborg, after the defeat of Napolean in about 1815, became The United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The entire area is heavily influenced by substantial coastal land along the North Sea and down the coast on the English Channel. Many of Central Europe's major rivers (and later canals and waterways) ultimately flow into the ocean there, making the entire geographic region strategically important - particularly for trade. Around 1830, Belgium, which remained primarily Catholic, split away from the region which ultimately became three different sovereign nations: The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemborg.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
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THE NETHERLANDS remained neutral during WWI and tried valiantly to remain so during WWII, but were disingenously invaded by the Nazis, who occupied Rotterdam and Amsterdam during the war. Pre-war, however, the area, and in particular Amsterdam, became one of the world's most important and dominant trade and financial centers. Many of the later "new world" explorations originated out of (privately-owned) Dutch corporations like Dutch East Indies Company (South Africa) and the Dutch West India Company (U.S. and the Caribbean), who in the beginning, dominated these regions. There are still a number of Dutch - controlled, popular Caribbean islands, like St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. For a time, the Dutch also dominated the seas around the world.

Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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AMSTERDAM'S ARCHITECTURE is an interesting mix. The old city center along the canals and the Amstel River are lined with 17th Century "Canal Houses;" narrow houses built in neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival buildings noted for their unique gabled roofs, separating one from another in terms of their looks. Note that most of them have a hook near the top that was used to lift cargo up into the upper stories. These homes were often a combination of residence and commerce. The world famous Rijksmuseum is a wonderful example of Rennaissance Revival/neo-Gothic architectue. As you move out from the city, you start to see more modern touches, including some Art Deco, "Amsterdam School Expressionist," and more modern archictecture. Much of the landscape is - of course - adorned by colorful flowers. Most of us know that the Netherlands (Holland) is especially noted for flowers, and in particular, tulips.

Landscaping around the Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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DURING THE Nazi occupation more Jewish persons were sent away to concentration camps than anywhere else in the world (roughly 105,000 of the roughly 140,000 residing there). The majority of them were murdered in concentration camps. In 2022, my wife and I spent several days in Amsterdam prior to our Celebrity Apex Baltic Cruise. We spent one of our days visiting the Anne Frank house and taking a very intense, interesting and heart-rending tour and histsory of Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
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BUT ON this trip, by the time we had disembarked The Reflection and gotten our luggage squared away in hour hotel, we really only had an afternoon. So we mostly walked around. Mostly in the old city around the canals.

DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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SEVERAL OF the prominent cities in the Netherlands end with "dam" (e.g., Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Zaandam). I am not sure I ever put that together before our second visit there, a couple years hence, during  one of our walking tours. But there is a (perhaps obvious) reason. Each of them originated at or near the point of a damn on a significant river (in the case of Amsterdam, the Amstel River). Nearby Rotterdam is on the Rotte River. Both the Amstel and The Rotte are relatively major rivers connecting parts of Europe to the North Sea, making them logical points to set up trading centers. By the late 19th Century, a`s commerce and shipping continued to grow and at the same time agricultural growth and population growth contributed to silting up of the rivers, The North Sea Canal was dug from the freshwater sea (IJMeer) immediately east of the Amsterdam Port all the way out to the North Sea - a distance of over 20 miles. Coming in on this cruise was my first time in the Canal, and it was during the dark of night, so I didn't see it. When we sailed out of Amsterdam in 2022, I was able to do better, making a few nice photos along the shore from our high up viewpoint. A year later, we sailed out of Rotterdam where they have built a similar canal, and spent most of the sailaway up on deck with my camera.

DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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YOU MAY have noted my near-interchangeable use of the terms "Netherlands," "Holland," and "Dutch." I wondered about that myself. As much as I am chary of using "AI" as a research tool, this explanation from Google's AI search engine seemed pretty apt: "The Netherlands is the official name of the country, consisting of 12 provinces, while Holland refers specifically to two provinces (North and South Holland). "Dutch" refers to the people, language, and culture of the entire country."

"Head Shop" - DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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We did get a brief opportunity to walk the famed De Wallen, Red Light District, and the adjacent area streets where the smell of some kind of "incense" was really strong 😇. I was told I could get it at a coffee shop, but it seemed to me like it was coming out of the bars and along the streets. I found it fascinating that "weed" is legal in Amsterdam and freely available - but technically not if you are not a Netherlands resident. I say "technically," because I know of numerous instances where U.S. visitors purchased it and nobody blinked and eye. I doubt it is something that is vigorously enforced.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019

WE ALSO stopped in for a drink in what is I believe the oldest bar in the Netherlands - and maybe in Europe. The size of the entire bar was only maybe 3 times what you see in the image above.

Bicycle parking - Downtown Amsterdam, Netherlands
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ONE THING that really hit home with me was how much a bicycle-culture there is in Amsterdam. The number of known bikes in Amsterdam exceeds it official population. By maybe 100,000 bicycles!

Bicyles parked in a residential alley - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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HAVING COMMENTED about the "canals" in general in my Bruges post, I should say something about them here. If there is another city in Europe that I personally would compare to Venice, it would be Amsterdam. But a little research tells me that in terms of sheer number of canals, the number of miles of canals, and the number of bridges over them, Venice is actually not at the top of that list. Hamburg, Germany (yet to visit) tops that list. But other cities, like Birmingham, UK, and Amsterdam have more canals and bridges than Venice. I still think Venice trumps them all. It is about the aesthetics, in my view. And the layout and density and variety of the canal. Venice is the only one of these cities that is completely on an isolated "island" and has only foot traffic. In each of the others, there are a few vehicular bridges, and streets and traffic often lining each side of the canal.

Amsterdam Canal - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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NONETHELESS, THE Amsterdam canals are impressive, with their "canal house" lined banks, and the beautiful landscaping that surrounds them. The other phenomena I have noted in virtually all the "other" European Canals is the presence of the private, liveaboard canal boats. I do not recall ever having seen them in Venice. Any that they do have are unusual.

Liveaboard Canal Boats - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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LIKE THEY all do, our cruise had to come to an end at some point. This short, busy day in Amsterdam was it for us for our 2019 cruise. Or so I thought. Stay tuned. It turns out that we decided to book another one just a couple months hence!

2019 - Bruges - Perhaps the Tiniest, but most Charming Stop in the English Channel

Markt - Bruges, Belgium
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OF ALL the cruise stops we have made in Europe, Bruges is probably the tiniest of all. The only other one that might come close is the Swedish town of Visby on the tiny Swedish island of Gottland). But an awful lot of beauty, architecture and history is packed into that little space.

Bruges City Hall  Bruges, Belgium
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LIKE SOME of the other port "stops," Bruges is not on the water. But unlike many of them, it is reasonably close (10 miles) and transportation to and from the cruise port it relatively easy, buy shuttle, taxi or uber. The port is Zeebrugge. In both instances (and in most cases I have seen on itineraries) Bruges was not even a full day stop. Amsterdam, long a primary cruise port for cruise ships and river cruises, is a short hop from there, and I think Bruges is one of those "lets make a quick stop there on the way" destination. But in my view it is every bit worth that stop. It takes 30 minutes to get to the main square (Markt) in Bruges, depending on the mode of travel. We have found it most expedient to go by cab or Uber. Once you enter the Markt, it becomes immediately apparent why Bruges is such an attraction.

Bruges Belfry - Bruges, Belgium
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THIRTEENTH CENTURY Belfort, a gothic Belfry, towers over the Markt at one end of the plaza, dominating Bruges' historic center. Ringing the rest of the plaza are colorful, mostly single story, buildings, all in gothic style. In the middle is an ornate statue. A block away, the very ornate, but again gothic, City Hall stands in front of its own plaza.

The canal behing Belfort - Bruges, Belgium
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BECAUSE IT is so small, Bruges is easily walkable from the Markt Plaza. On this day, our cab driver dropped us off on a small street directly behind one of the entrances to the Markt. Knowing our time frame was tight, we arranged with him to pick us up 4 hours later in the same spot (and thankfully, he was dependably waiting for us right on time).

Back canal - Bruges, Belgium
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I HAVE often read about Bruge being compared to Venice because of its "canals." In reality, there are a couple large canals on the outskirts of the town, and one very picturesque canal that cuts through the middle of the old historic district. It seems to me that whenever we encounter a city that has one or more canals, people want to compare it with Venice. Having spent some time in Venice over the years, I don't find those comparisons particularly apt. But I will say that any of them can be very beautiful for viewing and for picture-taking. One of the salient features of canals are their ability to create and present (often colorful) reflections. For such a small place, I found plenty of opportunity to exercise my picture-taking muscles. Line a canal with gothic architecture, plant some colorful flowers, let the sun create reflections, and you have a ready-made photo-artistic model.

Canal Boat Tour - Bruges, Belgium
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WE WALKED around a bit, stopped at one of the many cafes lining the Markt for a drink, and then boarded one of the canal boats for a leisurely float along the canal, with remarkable views and reflections along the way. The drink? For me it was - of course - one of the local Belgian Lagers!

Church of Our Lady - Bruges, Belgium
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LATER, WE walked along the canal in the middle of the historic district. At the end of the canal is the impressive and equally gothic Church of Our Lady. Also dating back to the 13th century, I was taken in by the old stone bridge spanning the canal in front of the approach to the church.

Canal - Bruges, Belgium
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THE END of our time in Bruges nearing, we headed back to the little Chocolate shop behind the Markt, where we had begun, to meet our driver. Sadly, the shop was not open. The two things most people think about sampling when they visit Belgium are their beer and chocolate. Fortunately, we did find some chocolate in another shop in the town. We re-boarded our ship, knowing it was our last night aboard. Tomorrow, we would terminate in Amsterdam.

Bruges, Belgium
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2019 - Le Havre ("For Paris?") - We Did It Again!

The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
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I WON'T get this exactly right, but they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and not learning from your mistakes. Once again, we found ourselves planning a cruise stop  at an inland location. Just like London, there is no seaport in Paris! Far from it. In fact the closest port is probably LeHavre, on the English Channel; well over 100 miles away. Of course, we had made all of our shore plans months before the cruise. And this one was different in a way that actually made sense. I would do it again if the circumstances were repeated.

Paris, France
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THIS CRUISE was different than any I had ever been on (or have been on since), in terms of port and port times. I have griped on here frequently about what I see as disingenuous advertising by the cruise lines about where you are really stopping in a Port. Paris, London, Rome, Florence, and Berlin, among many others are all a sustantial distance from the port stops. Yet it is clearly the plan (and the hype) that cruisers will plan to visit these places in lieu of what are otherwise essentially little know places for tourism. A few months back, I suggested here, that cruise lines approach their port stops differently, planning perhaps a smaller number of stops, but with more time in at least a few more of them than they already do. Perhaps more overnight stops. Perhaps even longer than overnight. I recently read some evidence that some of the Celebrity Cruise itineraries may be leaning that way.

Looking down the block where our Paris Hotel was located - Paris, France
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THE PORT stop here was different because it was the longest overnight stop we have ever had. And it did give us enough time in port to overnight in Paris and see a substantial amount of the city. We arrived quite early in LeHavre the next morning (from Dover). LaHavre was an overnight stop, with the ship docked until midnight the following day, giving us two complete days. I think that is enough time to justify the train rides to and from Paris (unlike the perhaps ill-advised train time for the round trip between Dover and London on the previous stop). We booked (ahead, of course) a motel in the heart of Paris, and a couple tours, including some walking tours. We were originally scheduled to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, among other things. Tragically, just 2 months before our arrival in Paris, fire raged through the old building, destroying many of the wooden parts, of the building and rendering unusable. They were well into the re-building process when we were there in June, but it wouldn't be until July of 2024 that it would be reopened again to the public. It is still on my bucket list to see both a more pristine exterior and surely the interior one day.

Construction and remnants of the April, 2019 Notre Dame Cathedral Fire - Paris, France
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I STILL think you are going to need to stay more than one overnight to really see all a city as huge of Paris. But our 2 days got us an awful lot of it. We arrived at our hotel right around noon (so really, 1 1/2 days). That afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the Hop-on, Hop-off bus to get a kind of "lay of the land." Because it wasn't hugely crowded, we were able to get off and back on a couple times this trip. On of the stops was the Place du Trocadéro (Trocadéro Square), which is probably the most accessible and dramatic view of the Eiffel Tower. I was able to make several nice photographs of the tower from the square.

Eiffel Tower from Place du Trocadero - Paris, France
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WE EVENTUALLY got around to the famed Champs-Elysee. The next day we made our way back over there, walked the avenue, and ended up at the Arc di Triomphe. But for this afternoon, we needed to get back over near the base of the Eiffel Tower, to be ready for our evening appointment. There is an elevator up most of the way. Access to the top requires climbing just a few stairs, and also requires that you pay for some type of "VIP" access. We had done that. Well, in fairness, my wife - the expert tour "arranger," did. For those who may be interested, there is a restaurant at the top of the elevator that is famous and said to be a very romantic dinner experience. We didn't do the restaurant. But we did get to watch a fabulous sunset over the city.

Sunset over Paris from the Top of the Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
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WE HAVE been to some high vantage points in cities around the world. Certainly not the highest, and perhaps not the most dramatic or sweeping views - but Paris - a not-so-small city - from the Eiffel is certainly among the most impressive views that I have (so far) ever seen.

The "Blue Hour" from the top of the Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
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ONCE WE were back at street level, we walked around the grounds and I had an opportunity to make a few pictures of the Tower from a more close-up perspective. When lit at night, the tower glows a beautiful gold. There is also a periodic, sparkling light show. While I made some still images of that, they didn't really do it justice. I rarely do video (and so rarely think about it). But this is one where a video would be more impressive than a still image during that light show. However, be aware. French law (copyright) protects the light show, and it is - technically - illegal to post, publish or otherwise use the images of the show. In reality, this is restricted to commercial use, and the operators have made clear that there is no problem photgraphing or videoing for personal use (including posting on your own social media for non-commercial purposes). I didn't give it a thought while I was walking around the grounds. But it is probably worth a "google" for photographers.

Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
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THE FOLLOWING morning, after breakfast in a charming little streetfront restaurant near (and associated with) our hotel, we headed back over to  The Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the Seine River in the center of Paris. The island is the historic birthplace of the city. Our tour was actually just across the Seine to the west in the historical district that is known as The Latin Quarter. One of the main treasures there is the early 13th Century St. Severin Catholic Church.

St. Severin Catholic Church - Paris, France
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BUILT IN what Wikipedia terms "flamboyant Gothic Style," the church, including flying buttresses, is a wonder to see, both inside and out.

St. Severin Church - Paris, France
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THE LATIN quarter is quite beauful and peaceful in its own right, with quiet, tree-lined streets and Gothic architecture. As we walked along, I noticed a sign depicting the residence of famous medieval philosopher, Heloise - the place where the tragically ended romance of Abelard and Heloise - for those who are students of European history (and especially the Medieval period and the Enlightenment as the world came out of the so-called "Dark Ages."

Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France
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WHEN OUR tour came to an end, we spent some time again over on  Île de la Cité, where we walked around the Notre Dame Cathedral, and eventually ended up in a small, quintessential Parisian sidewalk restaurant, in full view of the bell towers of the Cathedral. Our (very) French waiter who had only a halting command of English, small, skinny, and bald on top and probably well into his 60's, looked and acted (to me) as if he were right out of "central casting." It was a pretty cool experience and the food was decent. As the early image of the Cathedral draped in re-construction and repair scaffolding shows, it was very difficult to get a "beautiful" image of Notre Dame. But by some selective composition, I was able to get the iconic front. The blooming flowers added a little something to the shot.

Entrance Plaza to The Louv're Museum - Paris, France
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WE HAD seen The Louv're, ever so briefly, as we passed it on the Hop-on Hop-off bus earlier in our visit. We would see it again from a different viewpoint this afternoon, taking a riverboat "cruise" up and down the Seine within the City of Paris. Alas these were the closest we got to the Louv're, but it will remain on our "bucket list" to spend at least half a day there on a future visit to Paris. In the meantime, if you do visit I highly recommend that purchase tickets to the sightseeing "waterbus" boats. It is a really great way to see the center of Paris.

The Louv're - viewed from the Seine - Paris, France
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FOLLOWING THE river cruise, we headed back over to the Legendary Champs-Elysees, the showcase street of Paris and the avenue of the rich and famous, which ends at its western terminus at the Arc de Triomphe, yet another preeminent world monument. Called by some the most beautiful avenue in the world (I might disagree, but it is certainly right up there), the just over 1 mile boulevarded avenue is lined on both sides with theatres, restaurants, and luxury shopping stores.

Champs-Elysees - Paris, France
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CIRCLING THE arch, of course is also the world-known roundabout, today called Place Charles de Gaulle ( but formerly Place de l'Étoile). 12 lanes across, the roundabout is famously known for its chaotic flow of traffic and has been used both for comedic and dramatic cinema often in more recent history. I learned while writing this the vehicles entering the roundabout have the right of way. Whatever the rules, it was pretty amazing to watch the essentially collision-free flow of the traffic, moving at speed, in, out and around the circle. I never really go a vantage point where I could photograph it. It is possible to go to the top of the arch, but some event had it closed to the public that day. The arch, itself, though is impressive.

Arc de Triomphe - Paris, France
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NEARING THE end of another day, and the conclusion of our Paris Visit, our group of 4 split up for the afternoon, and were on our own for a late lunch/early supper, before meeting back up at the train station. My wife and I, not particularly hungry (we do a lot of eating on these trips 😋) headed back toward our hotel to collect our bags and make the short walk to the train station. We stopped for a "light" bit, splitting a Monte Cristo sandwich before departing for the station. The Monte Cristo seemed fitting for Paris, somehow.

Cruising the Seine - Paris, France
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WE HAD two more stops in front of us; the lovely Bruges, Belgium and our termination of the cruise at Amsterdam, where we would spend just part of one day. More on those coming up. Since I couldn't be in two places at once, and we were up in the top of the probable "symbol of France" - the Eiffel Tower - I could only image what a sunset might look like from the viewing plaza across the Seine. So I put my imagination to work with Photoshop. It was "goodbye for now," to Paris. As Arnold said (sort of): "we will be back!"

Eiffel Tower Reflection - Paris, France
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