May 16, 2024
Our first morning aboard
We slept well our first night of the cruise although the bed was a bit firmer than the one in the Amsterdam hotel. We did discover that the duvet which covered the bed was heavier and warmer than we wanted. Our solution for subsequent nights was to remove the duvet (which we folded and put aside) and use the two blankets (intended for use when sitting on the veranda) instead. Our stateroom attendant noticed that we had moved the duvet and asked if we wanted her to take it from the room. We said yes – problem solved.
For our first breakfast onboard. the four of us met in the Restaurant. (Alternatives were the breakfast buffet in the Aquavit or pastries and coffee at the coffee station.)
In the Restaurant choices were presented from a large, circular buffet area in the center of the room that included oatmeal with toppings, yogurt, cheeses and meats. There was also an omelet station, or you could order pancakes, French toast or eggs cooked to your taste from your waiter.
Where are we now?
We set sail from Amsterdam late last night so where are we? This morning we were docked near Kinderdijk.
Kinderdijk is a village community in the Alblasserwaard province. This corner of South Holland, part of the scenic Waal and Merwede regions, has long been shaped by Rhine Delta waters. Kinderdijk is most known for its 19 remarkably preserved 18th-century windmills. The charming hamlet is located amid low-lying polders, tracts of land reclaimed from the sea by the power of the windmills and enclosed by embankments, or dikes. This legendary place calls to mind the 1865 novel Hans Brinker, in which a heroic boy plugs his finger into a ruptured dike.
Kinderdijk means “children’s dike,” and it refers to a legend surrounding St. Elizabeth’s Flood of 1421, which took many lives. After the storm, a local boy went to inspect the damage at a dike that separated the Alblasserwaard and Grote Hollandse Waard. He was astonished to see a wooden cradle rocking on the water – and even more so to see a cat jumping back and forth on it, trying to keep it from tipping over. Inside was a sleeping baby girl, safe and dry. Another version places the story in pre-Christian times, when an old family matriarch might forbid a poor daughter-in-law from feeding a female newborn as a means of preserving scare resources. This version holds that a kindly midwife allowed a drop of honey to fall onto the lips of the starving baby, because tribal law held that once a child had tasted food it could be saved. She then hid the little girl and called her Honigje, or “little Honey.” The child was often watched by a loving cat named Dubbeltje, and it was this cat who jumped into the cradle as the floodwaters rose, saving Honigie by rocking the cradle in the waves. The cat survived through all of her nine lives and finally expired along with her beloved and now elderly Honigje. They were buried together, and every year on St. Nicholas Day (December 6), Dutch children give their pet kitties new collars in honor of Dubbeltje.
Viking
Time for our first excursion
Following breakfast we made a brief stop at our stateroom to grab our rain jackets, umbrella, our tour tickets (delivered each night by our stateroom steward along with the next day’s program) and our QuietVox(es).
These battery operated receivers and headphones were provided in every stateroom for use on nearly all shore excursions. The QuietVox receiver allowed us to wander away from the group to see what we wanted to see while still listening to the guide’s commentary. At the beginning of each excursion, the guide would tell us which channel to select for the tour.
Kinderdijk Windmill Tour
For today we had signed up for the included Kinderdijk Windmill Walking Tour.
Description: See the picturesque Dutch countryside and the original technological marvels of historic Kinderdijk. You will walk with your guide into the serene polder lands of South Holland. As you cross the dike to the windmills, you will notice that they in fact are at a lower elevation than your ship, as much of this part of The Netherlands is below sea level. Built in the mid-18th century, these 19 windmills, the largest concentration in The Netherlands, stand like sentinels on a hushed landscape. You will learn why they were built and see firsthand how they work, even stepping into a working windmill to observe its mechanics and living quarters. Families who live in these mills are required to keep them in working order. This excursion provides a revealing look at these marvelous buildings that helped shape the legendary Dutch landscape.
We gathered in the lobby until it was time to go ashore where our Program Director Carl divided us into our respective groups. (Our excursion tickets indicated which tour number we were assigned.)
Soon we were off following our local guide as we made our way across the bridge over the canal into the windmill collection. Unfortunately as you can see in the photos below it was a rainy, cool, and dreary day. Only occasionally did the sun break through a bit.
Our first stop was the Windmill Museum where a local expert told us about the history of the region, the life of a miller, the parts of a windmill, and how they were used to grind grain and pump water. His explanations were very informative and detailed with periodic brief quizzes to make sure we were paying attention. Rather than attempting to summarize his presentation, I decided to include a diagram below that I found on the internet. You should be able to click on it to see more detail.
Following the presentation, we were given time to tour the Nederwaard Museum Mill on our own.
For generations, this mill was occupied and operated by members of the Hoek family. This famous miller’s family set foot on Kinderdijk soil back in 1744, personified by Jacob Hoek. Just imagine that these mills were home to families with a dozen kids cramped for space! Inside, you’ll gaze at black-and-white photos from back in the days, straight from the Hoek family albums. As the sails spin by outside, and the internal mechanism creaks and groans all around you, you’ll experience how a real miller must have felt. Try one of the bedsteads for yourself, and then imagine what is must have been like to share the tiny living room with ten of your brothers and sisters running all over the place….
Kinderdijk
After our allotted time for exploring the windmill, our guide walked us back to the Visitor’s Center where she bid us adieu. In the gift shop we found our refrigerator magnets (something Bill and I, and Linda as well collect from each destination) and some cute coffee mugs. Then it was back to the ship to dry off, warm up, and relax before lunch.
As soon as everyone was back on board, the ship set sail for Cologne, Germany. You might wonder how they knew when you were back on board. Every passenger had a stateroom keycard that not only opened their stateroom but also identified them and recorded their shipboard purchases. You swiped your keycard on a card reader by the entrance/exit every time you left or returned to the ship.
At 12:30 p.m. the Restaurant opened for lunch. Like dinner, the Restaurant lunch menu had two sides. One side featured the always available items – salad, hamburger, veggie burger, and hot dog. The other side changed daily. We already had a preferred table and waitstaff – Joe and Katarina – who soon knew our names and preferences.
Wheelhouse Tour
Later that afternoon Bill joined the Wheelhouse Tour. The Wheelhouse or ship’s bridge sits on the sundeck and can be lowered or raised using hydraulics. The Egdir is a relatively new ship with the latest electronic controls. However, note the red low-tech carpenter level used to monitor the side-to-side level of the ship as onboard passengers and cargo move.
Evening Activities
Every evening, usually from 5 to 6:45, everyone was invited to the Lounge for a casual get-together with drinks and live music. There was an on board musician, Dimitar, who played the piano and sang most evenings. This evening we met the officers and were treated to a welcome aboard toast.
- Captain – Jasper Schuttevaar
- Hotel Manager – Eugen Pongracz
- Program Director – Carl West
- Housekeeper – Chris Ibarra Cha
- Maitre D – Alvin Lopena
- Executive Chef – Thomas Szekszardi
Following the toast, Program Director Carl briefed us on the following day’s excursions and activities. This was a nightly event usually held around 6:45. Chef Thomas then highlighted his specials on the dinner menu and invited us to make our way to the Restaurant or Aquavit.
There were activities after dinner that evening – a picture presentation on the Dutch Masters and then music and dancing. Bill and I elected to forgo those and call it a day.
We’ll see you tomorrow.
