Europe 2022- May 25 Travel Home from Amsterdam

Bill and Deb left the hotel to find a room at the airport hotel for their quarantine since they couldn't stay at Chasse'.  We took Uber to the airport at 8:30 but should have taken a taxi- it was $147 due to the time of day and distance.  Wish we could have shared it with Deb and Bill.  Kathy and Andy had left earlier as their flight was at 11:00. We got to the airport at 9:00, got through check-in and security by 10:30.  We even ran into Larry and Marilyn while waiting in line.  What a zoo- tons of people everywhere, but the lines were well organized. Luckily we didn't have to stand in the blocks-long lines outside the terminal!  Our plane left on time at 1:00. It was a smooth flight- we had dinner and a snack. Got to Minneapolis at 4:30 CST.  We met Kathy and Andy at the gate, and went to grab a bite to eat. Our 7:30 flight got to CWA and our car wouldn't unlock, so Kathy and Andy let us use theirs to come home. We got home about 10:15- very tired after 20 hours of travel, but we unpacked suitcases anyway.  The next day we went back to the airport to get my car with the second key and took Kathy's back. What a trip! So glad we were finally able to go after we had to cancel and rebook it three times due to co-vid.  Viking was phenomenal- would definitely take another cruise with them.

Europe 2022- Amsterdam May 24

We all had the buffet breakfast at the Chasse' Hotel, which was not worth the $15 each in our opinion.   We took the tram and met Marilyn and Larry and their Dutch friends Harrie and Hannie at the Rijksmuseum at 9:30 a.m.  Entrance fee was $20 each.  This is such a large museum but we did our best to see as much as we could in three hours. We all split up and looked at what interested us most.  It contains very large paintings from Dutch artists of life and culture in Holland, some as old as the 1600's.  We also saw very old and valuable household goods and military items from the 1600-1700's. 

The architect put himself in the building

Holland's most famous painting by Rembrandt

We left at noon, took the M train (underground) to the Co-vid testing center across town.  It was set up in an empty office space. There was no wait- we all got in right away and then had lunch at a Thai restaurant nearby- good food and service.

We took the tram to Dam Square to meet Marilyn (Larry had gone on a bike ride with friends). We took part of Rick Steves' walking tour of Jordaan neighborhood but gave up and ended up sitting outside a cafe' on Prinsenacht canal to drink beer and watch people almost run each other over on bikes and vehicles on the very narrow streets. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than residents! 

A customary Dutch gift- doobies!

We met Larry and Harrie and Hannie at the Hansel and Gretel cafe near the museum at 5:30 for dinner- it was very crowded so the 10 of us were squeezed into two small tables by the door. The food was so-so.  I had schnitzel, Kirk had sole.  After Harrie and Hannie left we went outside on the patio to have one last drink with Marilyn and Larry before saying good-bye.  We took the tram back to the hotel, and our co-vid test results came back.  Bill's was positive so they spent the rest of the night trying to make arrangements for staying an extra week. What a bummer ending to a perfect trip! A week later the government suspended the testing requirement for returning to the states.

Europe 2022- May 23 Arrival in Amsterdam

Here are some random pics of our time on the Viking Gymir.  Such a nice ship, crew, food, and service! What a wonderful time and we would definitely recommend this trip! Although it may be best to book the Rhine Getaway tour in the spring like we did, as in August of 2022 the Rhine river levels were so low that our friends had to take a bus tour instead of being on the ship for the first three days.

Approaching a lock

German dinner onboard

Viewing 20 castles from ship in one day

We had to put our luggage outside our room by 8 a.m. so then we went to eat our last wonderful breakfast onboard. Then we waited in the lounge until 9:30 when our huge Mercedes van taxi arrived. We arrived at the Chasse' Hotel in Amsterdam about 10:00, dropped off our luggage and walked 1/2 mile to the tram stop.  The hotel was in a converted church- we had rooms on the second floor overlooking a courtyard. Very nice and quiet neighborhood. 

Chasse' Hotel entrance

Took the tram to the central train station where we got off and took a one hour canal boat tour ($10 each) which was great, then ate lunch at the cafe next door under the info center. The sandwiches and service were mediocre- we were so spoiled by Viking!

After lunch we walked through the Red Light District, and ran into Marilyn and Larry. Very unique sights in a very small area of the city- women sitting in windows who were "selling" themselves. No picture taking allowed! Also, many shops selling pot and drug stuff.  

Afterwards we took the tram back to the hotel to check in.  Marilyn and Larry are staying at Okura Hotel as part of their post cruise tour.  We went online to schedule our co-vid tests for tomorrow- what a pain!  It started to rain and we walked to a pizza place near the hotel that was closed, so we found Cafe' Thuys which was really a little corner pub where we all had great cheeseburgers and a drink.  Got back to hotel at 7:30 and went to our rooms. We skipped the evening canal tour with Marilyn and Larry and their Dutch friends- just too tired to go out again!