A Viking Voyage-The Netherlands

The last country Hubby Tony and I visited on our Viking cruise was The Netherlands (informally called Holland).

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday's port was Kinderdijk, a UNESCO Heritage site known for its preserved 18th-century windmills. Holland is flat and and has a low elevation. Between a quarter and a third of the area is below sea level, reclaimed via a series of dikes to hold back the water and windmills to pump accumulated water out to canals to carry it away.

The ship wasn't scheduled to arrive in Kinderdijk until 4 pm. In the morning the program director asked passengers to meet in the lounge to hear details about the day's excursions and the next day's disembarkation. That segued into a presentation about The Netherlands as a country.

After lunch, even though the day was cloudy and blustery, I decided to take a walk on the ship's upper deck. The path was short, but I enjoyed watching the scenery go by as I racked up the laps.

Shortly after the ship docked Tony and I joined the rest of our tour group in the lounge, charged-up audio devices around our necks.

It looked like rain as we left for the walking tour, so I picked up one of the provided umbrellas. I was hoping that my action would mean that the rain would stay away, but a steady drizzle started when we were halfway to the first stop on the tour. There our guide explained the history of the area and how the windmills worked. I learned that except for the museum we would be visiting all the rest of the windmills were still in use. People live in them (after passing a certification test) and there is a waiting list.

We left the workstation to walk to the museum windmill. The rain was coming down harder, and a stiff breeze made it hard for me to keep the umbrella up straight. In an effort not to poke anyone with an umbrella rib I got in the rear of the tour group, but (maybe because of the weather?) my audio device wasn't working well and the guide's voice kept fading in and out. Holding the umbrella also made it hard to take photographs.

Inside the windmill it was very cramped. The guide said that for many years very large families lived there (sometimes with as many as 12 children). I couldn't imagine. After navigating one set of steep steps up to the second floor and another back down it was time to move on to the third section of the tour. However, the rain increased so much that the tour was cut short, ending at the gift shop for those that were inclined.

The rest of the group headed back to the ship. I hadn't planned on changing for dinner, but I couldn't wait to take off my and wet pants and shoes.

THURSDAY

Shortly before dinner the ship left for Amsterdam, our disembarkation port. It was docked there when I woke up. After packing up the last of our things Tony and I went for one more breakfast in the restaurant. Instead of lingering over coffee we finished up quickly so we could set our suitcases outside the room to be picked up.

We had allowed Viking to arrange both our flights home and transportation to the airport. The whole process was seamless. At the appointed time we found the gathering place for our shuttle, and when asked to move outside verified that our luggage was loaded on the bus before boarding.

The first part of the drive to the airport was on city streets. I knew that bicycle culture was a big part of Amsterdam, but I was still amazed to watch hundreds of cyclists going about their business.

Eventually the bus got on the highway, navigated a little rush hour traffic, then dropped us off at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which was the fourth busiest in Europe in 2025 according to Wikipedia. There, a guide led us through the huge facility, dropping each group off at the correct check-in desk.

Our traveling group had two flights to get home...first from Amsterdam to Montreal, and then after a long layover another one to St. Louis. Total time including layovers was about 17 hours, and to reset my internal clock back on home time I tried to sleep as little as I could. My own familiar bed never felt so good.  

Five years ago: Monetary Motivation