Rotterdam, The Netherlands... Part 1 of 2

No sail-in photos this morning as the ship arrived way too early and it was still dark.  There is a limit to how much sleep I’ll give up for a few photos.  We had a well-planned day…got off the ship at 7:15 am, took the Metro to the Rotterdam Central station, transferred to the train and off we went to Amsterdam.  We had previously arranged for a canal cruise later in the morning so we had time to look around the Central Station area to the Singel Canal and back to the dock.  Roaming along the canals flowing through central Amsterdam is like being let loose in an open-air museum. A feat of engineering from the Dutch Golden Age, lined by tilting, gabled canal houses and by quaint hump-back bridges, Amsterdam’s 400-year-old waterways are a UNESCO World Heritage site, with photo opportunities at every turn. After our walk about, we took a one-hour cruise on the Herengracht Canal returning to the Central Station…taking a canal cruise is one of the best ways to admire the city and get a quick overview of its famous picturesque canals, homes and canal houseboats.  The captain pointed out Amsterdam’s narrowest house at Oude Hoogstraat 22. The house is 2.02 meters wide and 5 meters deep and now operates as a tea room. Once back on land, we made our way to Amsterdam’s most famous square…Dam Square. The square is circled by the Royal Palace, Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), Madame Tussaud’s, the National Monument and the Dutch Department Store Bijenkorf.  On our way back to the train station we walked on Damrak Avenue. This is where we saw the famous dancing houses, a set of crooked canal houses just behind where lots of the canal tours depart.  We took an earlier train back to Rotterdam and then by Metro from Rotterdam Central to the cruise port.  I walked over the Erasmus Bridge to get some photos before returning to the ship.  It was a quick trip to Amsterdam but very enjoyable, again the weather was beautiful.  We had no protesters today to delay our departure so I was able to get a few sail away shots.  I always like to catch a shot of the SS Rotterdam as we sail away…  This is our last cruise on the Zuiderdam for this season as we start our journey home.  We are now off to Maloy, Norway, another new place…