Ozbrecht 2017 - Europe's Rhine & Danube Rivers
Yorba Linda, CA to
Dallas, TX to
Philadelphia, PA
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Days 1-3 - June 23-25
Stuck inside of Dallas, with the Dallas blues again. We ended up losing a full 24 hours due to American Airlines mechanical problems (thought I would mention the carrier). Only Andy is expressing our true feelings here
Amsterdam Airport. It’s early Sunday morning. We were supposed to arrive early Saturday morning. Hurry, we only have 1 ½ days to see everything!
It’s the same all over Europe - the transportation system is fantastic. We took this light rail tram everywhere in Amsterdam
Typical Amsterdam residential architecture.
Notice the bicycles - you will see more of them
Heineken is based here. We didn’t go in
26% of the land in The Netherlands is below sea level; more than half the country is re-claimed land. Amsterdam has a series of concentric, semi-circular canals. They were originally used for navigation and commerce; now, tour boats are included
Our canal tour boat! So interesting - however, we were so tired from our two-day trek to get here, we had to prop our eyelids open
A multi-level bicycle parking structure. On most streets, the sidewalks have two lanes - one for pedestrians, one for bikes. You really need to look before crossing!
Floating canal houses
A view of Amsterdam from our hotel room. Canal in foreground
The Anne Frank House. This is where Anne’s father had his business. Upstairs - third level, I think - is where Anne and her family hid from the Nazis
[I will note the pictures I retrieved off the Internet. Usually, as in the case of this picture, it will be because taking pictures was prohibited.] This is the secret staircase to the living quarters, behind the swinging bookshelf.
One of the bedrooms
[Internet picture]
Another bedroom [Internet picture]
Anne’s diary. The diary was retrieved and hidden by a friend when the Franks were arrested, then given to Anne’s father Otto, who was the only family member to survive the concentration camp.
Days 1-3 - June 23-25
Yorba Linda, CA to Amsterdam, Netherlands via Dallas, TX & Philadelphia, PA
Our trip begins. We left home at 3 am for a flight from Los Angeles to Dallas. Made it to Dallas just fine. Then, we spent 12 hours at the Dallas airport (about 3 hours on the tarmac) before American Airlines cancelled the flight and gave us vouchers for a nearby hotel. We quickly booked a flight for the following day from Dallas-Philadelphia-Amsterdam. It was a good thing we had a couple of days as buffer before the cruise would start!
We arrived in Amsterdam exactly 24 hours behind schedule. Exhausted, we checked into our hotel and hurried out to see the city. We took a canal boat ride, which gave a wonderful view of the entire city, and its amazing system of canals.
Following that, we headed over to the Anne Frank House. We had purchased tickets a few months ago for Saturday - the day we missed. We showed the folks at Anne Frank our tickets and they graciously gave us new tickets for the last slot in the evening. Back to the hotel we went for a catnap.
The Anne Frank House was very moving. It is incredible what this dear family had to endure in the face of evil bigotry. It was also heartening to hear how many non-Jewish friends helped them live in secrecy for so long. Ultimately, though, the family was discovered, “arrested,” and sent to concentration camps. Only father Otto would survive. He was given Anne’s diary, which has now been published in over 60 languages. You can’t keep goodness down.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 4 - June 26
“There’s a rock show at the Concert-Gebouw.” Anyone know that song? This is Amsterdam’s concert hall. Behind us is a large grassy area surrounded by Amsterdam’s museums
Our first stop - the Van Gogh Museum. My favorite artist.
I have really been looking forward to this!
Did I say I was looking forward to this?
That’s Sheila, Andy and Kathy - second in line!
And now for a series of Van Gogh originals we saw here. By the way, his most famous painting, “The Starry Night,” is housed in New York. This is “A Still Life of Fruit - Quinces Lemons, Pears and Grapes”
[Internet picture]
"Almond Blossom"
[Internet picture]
“Garden with Courting Couples”
[Internet picture]
A painting by Gaugin - “Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers”
[Internet picture]
“Gaugin’s Chair”
[Internet picture]
“The Potato Eaters”
[Internet picture]
“Self Portrait” - one of many
[Internet picture]
“Agostina Segatori”
[Internet picture]
“Skull of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette”
[Internet picture]
“Sunflowers”
[Internet picture]
“The Bedroom”
[Internet picture]
“The Harvest”
[Internet picture]
“The Yellow House”
[Internet picture]
“Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds”
[Internet picture]
“Wheatfield with a Reaper”
[Internet picture]
“Wheatfield with Crows”
[Internet picture]
Picture board in the lobby of the Van Gogh Museum
(video)
The massive Rijksmuseum.
Active objects on display number over 1 million
The park Museumplein, with Rijksmuseum in the background. The Van Gogh Museum is to our right
Jan Asselijn - “The Threatened Swan”
[Internet picture)
Frans Hals - “The Merry Drinker”
[Internet picture]
Rembrandt - “The Nightwatch”
Very large - 14' by 11'
[Internet picture]
Rembrandt - “Landscape with a Stone Bridge”
[Internet picture]
Johan Vermeer - “The Milkmaid”
[Internet picture]
Rembrandt Portrait - notice the detail in the lace.
Rembrandt - another portrait
Holland is famous for its flowers, especially tulips.
This was a very long block of floating flower marts
So colorful!
And even a little cannabis if you so desire
Tulips! We bought a couple packages of bulbs. We’ll see how they do!
My mom’s name was Zonne (nickname for Suzanne). Had to take a picture of the Zonnebloem! As you might guess, zonnebloem is Dutch for sunflower
Big shoes!
We have arrived - the Viking Modi, our home for the next 15 days! You see here the back 2/3 of the ship. Our rooms are on the top floor of balconies you see
Our evening departure from Amsterdam.
View from the ship’s top deck, the “Sun Deck"
Beautiful Amsterdam evening. We begin our voyage heading upstream on the Rhine River
Dessert for our first meal on board. Let the feasting begin!
Day 4 - June 26
Amsterdam, Netherlands & Boarding the Viking Modi
Monday morning. We have until 3 pm or so before we will board our river cruise ship.
The morning was filled with museums. My favorite artist is the Dutchman Vincent Van Gogh; Amsterdam has a museum dedicated to his work. They have an excellent audio system we used to guide us through the museum, following Van Gogh’s troubled life. An incredible experience - so much color and emotion in Van Gogh’s paintings!
Next, right across the lawn, was Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s largest collection of art. We didn’t spend as much time here, tracking down the Rembrandt wing and one of his most famous paintings, The Nightwatch. It is huge - 11′ x 14′ - and takes up an entire wall.
The early afternoon was spent roaming the streets of Amsterdam, in particular the Floating Flower Mart. Beautiful! Even though we lost a day in Amsterdam, we think we have visited all the places we were looking forward to.
At 3 pm we headed towards the docks and met our home for the next 15 days, the Viking Modi. A magnificent ship, 450 feet long with rooms to hold about 200 travelers. It is truly a luxury ship - everything is first class. Our room is glorious - king size bed, nice bathroom, cute little balcony. Lounge area, outdoor bow seating, Sun Deck, and dining area - all top shelf. We love it!
We spent the afternoon at the ship’s bow with drinks and appetizers. Dinner was 5-star, as every evening will be. After dinner, we made our way to the Sun Deck to watch the ship leave Amsterdam to make its way up the Rhine River. We are on the deck until midnight.
Our adventure begins!