Amsterdam - Dam!

Some time during the night we left Germany and passed into Holland’s flat green countryside. When we looked out from our balcony we could see endless fields with cows and sheep that were not confined by fences – the small drainage canals served to stop any roaming animals. We also passed some pretty little farmhouses and some very unimaginative and repetitive apartments.

The boat arrived in Amsterdam where we moored at a parallel pontoon along side cruise boats from other companies. This river cruising is certainly a booming business and the hordes of tourists are choking all the places of interest and significance to such an extent I seriously wonder about the pleasure of tourism in the future. I remember our first trip in 1964 when places were not developed for tourism and were not spoilt by the glitz and money-making tourist gimmicks. We fondly remember walking among the ruins of Jedburgh Abbey and Stonehenge and sitting on loose stones close to the Acropolis in Greece.

We were asked to spend time filling out a passenger survey and like all such things it did not allow you to express any useful thoughts but was designed to make the company feel smug about all the 10 scores that we were told they like! We thought it a bad way to spend our last free cruising time.

Finally our beautiful weather failed us and as we set out by bus for a four hour excursion to a windmill museum of “saved” windmills and buildings it poured with rain and the wind roared across the flat fields and canals. First we were taken to a cheese maker not far from Edam and had a chance to walk along a dyke between a large lake and the farm where the cheese was made. I found that rather exciting, like the first time I climbed over a real stile – not the kinds of things you can ever do in Australia although you read about them as everyday things in books.

When we arrived at the Museum it was very busy with a whole parking area full of tourist buses, plus all the locals out for a Sunday dose of nostalgia. We watched a demonstration of wooden clog making and then spent about one and a half hours exploring the picturesque vistas with the old windmills set among long grasses blowing in the strong wind from across the water and the flat fields. We decided to take this excursion rather than have another guided walking tour or a canal cruise as we have visited Amsterdam several times before. It was a lovely afternoon, specially as the sweeping rain stopped as we arrived at the windmill museum.

We walked to the Central Station to check where our train leaves from in the morning and arrived back in time for our final dinner which we ate with the Scenic Guide who is taking a busload of the boat passengers on to Paris for three days in the morning. It was very interesting talking to him.