We were loaded on to buses for a tour of Amsterdam generally, on our way to see the Rijksmuseum (National Gallery) where some of the most famous Dutch paintings are housed. Among others, we saw paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, and most notable of all – Rembrandt Harmensz Van Rijn (Rembrandt). We saw Rembrandt's very large and probably most famous work, The Night Watch, which was awesome. Everything we saw was quite wonderful and we could have spent more time there. Our bus took us back to the boat with our guide pointing out interesting buildings and facts about Amsterdam as we went. This is a city of bicycles as I've said before and they all seem to be quite old. Our guide told us that they are stolen regularly, sort of unofficial “swapping” and they remove between 28,000 and 32,000 bicycles annually from the canals!!!! It was good to learn more about Amsterdam.
Our boat left Amsterdam shortly after 12.30 pm and moved down to the Rhine. The ride is very smooth. So far we've passed through two of the 66 locks we will pass through between Amsterdam and Vienna. This evening was “dress-up” for the official Captain's welcome, introduction to the crew, and the Captain's Dinner – a five course meal! Tonight we will pass into Germany before docking at Cologne about lunch time.
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