Our 2022 Amsterdam, Iceland, and Ireland Cruise
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30 June: Depart for Amsterdam
01 July: Arrive in Amsterdam 02 July: Board Jewel of the Seas 03 - 04 July: Cruising 05 - 06 July: Akureyri, Iceland 07 - 08 July: Reykjavek, Iceland 09 July: Cruising |
10 July: Belfast, Northern Ireland
11 July: Waterford, Ireland 12 July: Cork Ireland 13 July: Cruising 14 July: Return to Amsterdam 15 - 17 July: Amsterdam 18 July: Return home |
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17 July: Amsterdam
Today we started off with a visit to the Royal Palace located on the Dam Square (sorry, I just had to take the chance to say Dam Square). The palace was built in 1655 to be the Amsterdam Town Hall and became property of the Monarchy after the revolution in the early 1800s. After visiting the Palace, we went to the Anne Frank House. This was another great, albeit somber, tour. The tour included a brief overview of Anne’s story at the start. Headsets were provided to elaborate on the story as you went through the house. Photos are not allowed in the house out of respect for the family, so we did not take any pictures. We wrapped up the evening with a nice Italian dinner and a pleasant walk back to the hotel. While walking around today, we did see a few interesting sites as seen in the last few photos below. It’s hard to believe that the vacation is all but over. We will leave here with many wonderful memories
Outside the Grand Palace. Impressive, but it could definitely use a good pressure washing
Some of the hundreds of carvings in the Grand Palace. To give you a sense of perspective, the two main figures are about 6 feet tall. The main corridors and, Grand Hall, and a few other rooms are covered with massive carvings like these |
Inside the Grand Hall (aka Citizen's hall). When initially built, this was the main room of the City Hall. Today, this room is converted to a massive dining room for state dinners as well as used for other formal state functions . |
One of the bedrooms used by Heads of State when they visit. You can see part of the bed sticking out on the bottom left corner of the picture |
The Throne Room. This is where Louis Bonaparte (yep, Napoleon's brother) placed his throne when he was king of Holland in the early 1800s |
The "small" dining room used for more intimate dinners with visiting dignitaries. Have you noticed that they really like dark wallpaper here in the Palace? |
While walking back from the Royal Palace, we passed a church that had it's doors open for visitors. We popped in and took a look around |
The shopping malls in Amsterdam appear to be a little fancier than the ones back home |
Looks like another American was here before us. Hard to see from the glare, but this is an article about Bill Clinton visiting the bar. Amazing since this is a tiny little place with 2 tables downstairs, 1 upstairs, and a few outside |
It is estimated that there are over 880,000 bikes in Amsterdam. Most look like beaten up pieces of junk. However, a few are really special. Here's a nautical themed bike |
The sunflower bike. You can't see it from this angle, but there's a huge lady bug on the other side of the big sunflower on the handlebars |
Saw the name on the side of this building and I just had to ask what the ??? Just in case you can't see it in the photo, the name on the building is "DFUYK" |
16 July: Amsterdam
Today we couldn’t Remembrandt what we wanted to do so we decided to Van Gogh to the museums. Ok, that was a bad pun, even for me. But I just couldn’t resist. Today, we did go to the Rijks Museum (Home of many Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other Dutch master artists) and the Van Gogh Museum. We had a “private” tour that was limited to only 8 people. The tour guide was great. She gave us the background on the artists, the social and political ongoings at the time the paintings were made, and pointed out what to look for in various paintings. For example, for some paintings she had us get extremely close. You can get just inches away from these paintings! Sometimes you would see exquisite details not noticeable from a few feet away. Other times, it looked like a mess but came into focus a few feet away. For the Van Gogh paintings, you could tell his mental state (he was a lunatic by the way) by his brush strokes. Sometimes there were massive gobs of paint (a bad day) and other times there were fine details (a good Gogh day). At the end of the day, we enjoyed an 8 course meal with wine pairings at De Silveren Spiegel. This is a Michelin Star restaurant, and easily the most amazing meal I’ve ever had.
The Rijks Museum. The designer of the Rijks Museum wanted it to be a place of learning, so it has a huge library inside it
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Here's one corner of the library with a cool spiral staircase |
Vermeer's painting The Milkmaid. Vermeer is known for his use of lighting in his paintings |
Rembrandt self portrait. Is it just me or does he look like a kooky college professor |
Rembrandt's Portrait of a Woman |
The detail on the lace of the previous picture. This is an example of where the tour guide had us get inches away from the painting to admire the details |
Tim and Amy in front of one of Van Gogh's self portraits and Amy in front of Van Gogh's bedroom painting. Notice how close Amy is able to get to the painting!! |
One of the hundreds of Van Gogh self portraits. It's not that he was obsessed with himself, he just couldn't afford to hire models. He only sold one painting before he died. In this painting, he's a little mental (notice the big bold paint strokes), but not too bad as there is some vibrant colors in here. On some portraits, he's having a bad day and looks really scary |
De Silveren Spiegel. It was built in 1618 and looked like it could collapse at any time. Notice how crooked all of the walls are and how they are leaning over. Many buildings are like this here. We were told that they were safe, but we were still a bit leery though :-) |
Enjoying our dinner on the patio |
Four of the eight courses we had for dinner. Starting at the topo left and going clockwise: Cucumbers with frothy horseradish (very mild horse radish, it was great). Mussles. Dry aged steak. Vegetable mix. Each course was a work of art in addition to being delicious |
13-15 July: Amsterdam
We've spent two days sightseeing in Amsterdam and it has been amazing. It seems like every other street has a canal running through it. While it may not actually be every other street, I think it is pretty close. And the architecture here is amazing. In the city center, most houses are from the 1600's and 1700's. I'd bet one block here has more houses from the 1600s than you could find in all of the US. Finally, you cannot believe how many bicycles are here. Everyone travels by bike here. People are riding bikes everywhere, streets are lined with bicycles chained to racks, and in busy areas, they actually have 2 and 3 story bike racks that can hold thousands and thousands of bikes.
Water, water, water. Everywhere there is water. The view outside the hotel |
Houseboats line the edge of many canals. People grow gardens on the houseboats to give them a bit more curb appeal, or would that be pier appeal? |
Here's a shot capturing the three things you see everywhere in Amsterdam: Canals, old houses, and bikes |
A shot of a two story bike rack. This shot only captures a small portion of it. I tried to get a better shot, but I kept getting run over by bicycles |
Two of the thousands of houses from the 1600s. If you zoom in to the top right corner of the red brick building you can see the date 1649 and towards the top of the black building 1653 |
People used to pay taxes based on how wide their house was, not the square footage. So they built houses as narrow as possible (unless they were uber wealthy). The two black windows in the center is basically the width of one house. It is so narrow, you cannot fit a king size bed in it |
These houses have nothing separating them from the canal waters. People pull their boat up beside the house and climb a ladder up to the door. |
The Dutch merchant ship Amsterdam |
While on the wine and cheese canal boat tour, we dipped out into the harbor. There we saw the Jewel of the Seas that we had been on for the previous 12 days |
Boarding the boat for the wine and cheese canal tour |
We also took a Food of Europe walking tour that sampled a lot of delicious food. We sampled what may have been the best fried cod I've ever had as well as some herring |
A dutch classic on the walking tour... Apple pie. mmmmm |
11 July: Waterford and Kilkenny, Ireland
Today we pulled into a small village called Dunmore. From there, we took a bus to Waterford and visited the Waterford Crystal factory. It was amazing to see all of the crystal glasses, vases, and specialty pieces being hand blown, carved, and finished. No wonder Waterford costs so much. Each piece is fully hand made. Any minor blemish on a piece, and it gets broken and thrown into the scrap pile. We also saw a stone tower that was built by the Vikings in 1003. 1000 years and still standing strong. After that, we headed into Kilkenny to visit the Kilkenny Castle. The castle was built in 1195. It’s hard to imagine that the 800+ year old building we saw today was the “new” one, but it was. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go inside the castle for a tour, but we did get a few good pictures from outside the castle.
Amy and Tim in the Waterford Crystal factory showroom with the crystal bear and harp |
One of the craftsmen blowing glass. Notice the glowing furnace on the right side of the picture |
A craftsman cutting a glass. All the grooves in Waterford crystal glasses are cut by hand. Craftsmen get 8 years of training they can make production pieces |
The crystal clock at the entry to Waterford Crystal |
A crystal horse drawn carriage. This can be yours for only $40,000 pounds (about $48,000) |
A Waterford crystal guitar |
Amy and Tim outside Reginald’s Tower. Build in 1003 by the Vikings |
A cobblestone street alongside a building near Kilkenny Castle |
10 July: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Today we arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Our tour today started with a 90 minute drive up to the Giant’s Causeway. Along the way, we stopped to for a photo opportunity at the ruins of the Dunluce Castle. The castle was built in the 16th century. After about 200 years, it was abandoned and left to fall to ruin. From there we continued to the Giant’s Causeway. Legend has it that an ancient giant placed these stones in the sea to build a causeway over to Scotland. On our return, we did a bus tour through Belfast, including driving by the Titanic Museum (located near the shipyard where the Titanic was built) and stopped for some photos at City Hall.
The two of us with Dunluce Castle in the background |
A view of Dunluce Castle. It has a great view, but might be considered a bit of a fixer-upper |
A church in the Irish countryside |
Looking down at the Giant’s Causeway (the thin strip of black land in the middle of the photo) |
The path leading down to the causeway |
Looking out the causeway towards the sea |
A closeup of the stones that make up part of the Giant’s Causeway |
The two of us standing in front of the Belfast City Hall |
This is a statue of Thomas Andrews, the designer of the Titanic. Evidently, this pigeon wasn’t as impressed with the statue as we were |
Queens University |
The Titanic Museum |
We set sail for Waterford as the sun sets over Belfast |
09 July: Sailing from Reykjavik to Belfast
Note: On Saturday 09 July we'll be at sea all day sailing from Reykjavik to Belfast. It will probably be a day relaxing on the ship. Unless something exciting happens, we probably won't post any pictures for the 9th.
08 July. Reykjavik, Iceland
Today we spent the first half of the day in Reykjavik then set sail for Ireland. Before leaving though, we visited the Blue Lagoon. The lagoon is a thermal pool that has a milky hue to the water due to the minerals in it. Basically, rainwater and melting snow from the glaciers seeps into the ground. The ground is made of volcanic rock and is very porous. The water flows through the rock and picks up lots of minerals. By the time it gets to the Blue Lagoon, it is very milky looking. If you put your hand just an inch or two under water, it disappears due to the milky water. While at the Blue Lagoon, we got a silica facial mask. Sadly, we couldn’t take our phones or camera in the pool with us so no pictures of us with silica faces. After a relaxing morning in the Blue Lagoon, we enjoyed a scotch tasting on the ship.
Water as it flows into the Blue Lagoon |
The path from the parking lot to the Blue Lagoon is through a canyon in the lava field. |
Entrance to the Blue Lagoon facility |
Inside the Blue Lagoon pools |
Another view inside the pools |
The Blue Lagoon river. |
Tim and Amy standing next to the pond outside the Blue Lagoon |
Sailing out of Ryekjavik, Next stop, Belfast |
Scotch from the tasting onboard the ship. Warm mineral baths in the morning and scotch in the afternoon. It just doesn't get anymore relaxing than that |
07 July. Reykjavik, Iceland
This morning we arrived in Reykjavik. For our excursion today, we toured a geothermal power plant, Geysir Hot Springs, Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall), and Thingvellir (where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet). So today, we literally drove from Europe to North America and back as we crossed over the two tectonic plates. The morning started out very dreary. The temperature was in the low 50s, it was very foggy, there was a light rain, and it was very windy as you can see in the first couple of photos below. Well, you can see the clouds and rain but I guess it's kind of hard to see the temperature and wind :-). Luckily though, as we went out on our excursion the weather improved to be fairly nice (still in the 50’s, but no rain or wind) with the exception of when we were at Gullfoss. While there, the wind was really howling and it was quite cold (in the 40s).
The ship passed this small farm just as we pulled into Reykjavik |
As you can see, it was very dreary as we pulled into Reykjavik |
It’s hard to get a good picture of a geothermal power plant. It's just a big building with steam pipes. So, here’s a picture from inside the plant looking out across the lava fields |
Here’s the cute Litli Geysir (little Geyser). It continually boils and bubbles as the water comes out of the ground |
Here’s the more impressive Strokkur Geysir. It spouts off every 3 to 5 minutes. This is about a medium sized blast. We saw a big one, but didn’t have the camera ready |
The water here is a bit warm. 80 – 100 C converts to about 176 – 212 F. They actually pipe this 200 degree water all over Iceland to heat the houses. They even heat the driveways and sidewalks with it to melt the snow |
Gullfoss (Golden Falls). Supposedly on a sunny day, all of the spray creates rainbows. We just saw spray being blown on us by the high winds :-) |
The upper half of Gullfoss |
Bundled up to view the falls. Who would have guessed it was July 07 based on the way we were dressed? |
The rock wall on the right is the North American tectonic plate. Everything to the left is No Man’s Land, a stretch of land about 2.5 miles wide between the North American and Eurasian Tectonic plates. As the plates drift apart, the gap in between is filled in with lava |
A waterfall coming down the North American tectonic plate |
Amy and me standing in No Man’s Land. Haven’t we all found ourselves here at one time or another? |
06 July. Akureyri & Grimsey Island, Iceland
Today we took a flight from Akureyri to Grimsey Island. Grimsey is inside the arctic circle. They are known for the puffins, birds that look like a cross between a penguin and a toucan. We flew over there on a small propeller driven plane. There were some great views on the flight there and back. The pilot did not close the cockpit door on the way over, so we could watch as he flew the plane. A couple of times during the flight, the pilot reached back and asked for our camera. He then took some great shots out of the cockpit window and took a picture of us in the plane. Grimsey was a beautiful island. We couldn’t have asked for a better day for sightseeing. From the airport, we hiked a couple of miles to the Orb, a large concrete ball that marks the point designating where the magnetic arctic circle crosses the island. On the flight back, we saw a whale swimming in the fjord. Unfortunately, we did not have the camera ready and couldn’t get a photo. Oh well, can’t capture all the great shots.
Here’s a view of the airport that we flew out of for the Grimsey excursion. This shot was taken from our stateroom balcony |
Here’s the plane we took to Grimsey. The pilot had to wind up the propellers before we took off |
Here we are during takeoff. The cockpit had no door. We sat in the first row of seats so we could watch the pilot flying the plane |
While flying, the pilot asked for our phone and took this picture of us |
Look Ma, I’m flying the plane. Not really. The pilot took this picture looking out of the cockpit |
He also took this one of us approaching Grimsey |
Here’s the view we had out of our window. Notice the propellers in these shots |
Another window view looking at the partially snow covered mountains |
And another mountain shot |
Here are the famous puffins of Grimsey Island |
And a lot more puffins. A whole hillside of puffins |
The say you have to be ram tough to survive the winters here. I think this guy can handle it |
Here’s the hiking path that leads to the Orb – the marker for the magnetic Arctic Circle. The views during the hike were breathtaking |
Here’s a view of the Orb from the top of the hill (it was a big hill, especially on the walk back up) |
Me in front of the Orb |
Me and Kurt hiking the trail back from the Orb |
Here we are at the mile marker sign at Grimsey Island. Only 4,445 km to New York |
We received these certificates stating that we have been to the Arctic Circle |
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Here are some views along the trail. The mountain range going across the middle of first two pictures is mainland Iceland
A view of some farmland from the airplane |
A view of our ship, Jewel of the Seas |
Akureyri as seen from the airplane |
05 July. Akureyri, Iceland
Today we arrived in Akureyri, Iceland. Akureyri is on the northern coast of Iceland, just about 50 or 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. Akureyri is a beautiful area. Inland is all countryside with mountains, valleys and lots of streams. A fjord with gorgeous views leads the way into Arkureyri. As we found out today, the weather here can change drastically over a very short period of time. When the sun was out and the wind wasn’t blowing, it was very pleasant t-shirt weather. When it was cloudy and windy, it was VERY cold. That’s why you’ll see some pictures of us in short sleeves and some that look like we’re bundled up for the North Pole. Since we didn't post many pictures yesterday, we'll more than make up for it today.
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The first two photos here is the ride through the fjord into Akureyri. The one is the view from our stateroom. This trip up the fjord was so beautiful, that it was hard to narrow it down to just a few photos.
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The first photo here is the view of Akureyri as we approached it on the cruise ship. The second is a view of the town standing on our balcony and looking towards the front of the ship. The final shot is of our ship as we are heading out on our excursion
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Here are some pictures from the town of Husavik. The first is the two of us standing by the fjord near the thermal springs. The second is a picture of the thermal springs. Don’t worry, I’m not in that picture so you don’t have to worry about seeing me in my bathing suit. The final picture in this section is the village of Husavik where the whale watching tours depart. We didn’t have time for the whale watching, but hopefully we can make it back here someday to go.
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Here are some shots of me and Amy at Godafoss (Fall of the Gods) and Skjalfandafljot River as well as a few shots without us blocking the view. And no, that is not a typo on the name of the river
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A view of some of the farmland in Iceland. If you didn't know better, you might think you were in Greenland instead of Iceland. And yes, I think that the farm in the last picture is where they grow giant marshmallows
04 July. At sea, approaching Iceland
Today was another day at sea. Luckily the weather last night wasn't too bad. Some medium sized waves that made the ship roll gently. It made for some good sleeping... like a baby in a cradle. In fact, we almost overslept and missed breakfast because of it. It was a super windy day. Winds were blowing up to 50 miles per hour. And it was COLD. We went for a walk on the outer deck in the afternoon. At first, the wind was to our back and it wasn't too bad. However, after we rounded the back of the ship and headed back towards the front and the wind hit us in the face, we quickly decided that it was going to be a short walk. Not many pictures today as there wasn't a lot of activity. We enjoyed a day of rest and rested up for a couple of days of excursions ahead of us
They really shouldn't let us drive the ship. This probably won't end well |
Iceland off in the distance. This is the western side of Iceland. We're cruising around past here and going to the northern side to dock tomorrow. This picture was taken about 11:00 PM. Sunset isn't until about 12:20 AM tonight and sunrise is at 2:11 AM |
A little closer view of the Iceland coast. Notice the snow on the mountains. That white spot in the notch just to the right of the center of the photo is actually a glacier on the other side of the mountain |
A view from the 9th floor looking down to the 4th floor before and during the fourth of July baloon drop |
This ice cream looks a little too much like a certain emoji to me. I think I'll pass. |
I decided to have this instead. |
03 July. At sea, transiting from Amsterdam to Iceland
Today was a day at sea, transiting from Amsterdam up to Iceland. While we were off of the coast of Great Britain all day, we never saw any land. It was cool and windy out today. The captain warned us that we may have some rough seas ahead of us tonight. Fun. Today was also formal dinner night.
Today we saw nothing but water, water, water, and .... |
... windmills. Not sure why there are windmills in the middle of the ocean. Maybe they're providing power to Sponge Bob and his square pants in that coconut under the sea |
With the cool temperatures and lots of wind, there weren't many sunbathers out today |
Since the weather wasn't that great, Amy thought she might as well get a little work done |
I thought I should get a little work done too. Recharging my batteries is hard work, you know |
After all of that hard work, we went out for a fancy dinner. Since it was fancy dinner night, we got dressed up all fancy |
The captain said there would be stormy weather and rough seas up ahead |
That might explain why the put these out all over the ship |
Hopefully it's not too rough though. It sure would be a shame to waste this good dinner |
02 July. Boarding the Jewell of the Seas and setting Sail
After a hearty breakfast at the hotel this morning, we boarded the Jewel of the Seas and left Amsterdam. It's great to finally start our cruise. Departing Amsterdam involved about 3 or 4 hours of cruising through a canal to get out to the Ocean. As we cruised through the canal, the locals in the countryside came out to wave at the ship. What a nice country! Shortly after exiting the canal and entering the open waters, we were greeted with an amazing sunset.
The view looking out of our hotel window before going to bed last night. This picture was taken about 10:00 PM and it was still very light outside
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The view looking out of our hotel window this morning. Looks like our ship has finally come in |
Goodbye Amsterdam. See you again in a few days |
We're finally on the ship and ready to set sail |
Me supporting my new style Mohawk. It's just a little windy out here
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Kurt and Pearl Cruising through the canal
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Waiting for the lock to open so that we can go out to the ocean. Who knew they locked up the ocean?!?!
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Is there a sun in the sky and on the water? |
Just one sunset now. And it's a pretty one |
01 July. Arrival day in Amsterdam
Well, we've only had about 6 hours of sleep over the last two nights combined, but we are finally in Amsterdam. After dropping our bags off at the hotel, we set out for some sightseeing. We started the trip off by going to a Gouda cheese factory. No pun intended, but it was quite gooda. The factory was actually a small farm where they raise the cows, milk the cows, and make the cheese all onsite. After that, we headed out to some windmills (we even go to go inside one) and to a wooden shoe factory. The windmills and shoe factory were right next to a massive chocolate factory. The whole town smelled like chocolate. It was wonderful. After getting back to the hotel, we went for a brief walk in the old part of Amsterdam where we saw several canals, too many restaurants to count, and several other interesting sites. We'll definitely spend more time here when we return to Amsterdam in a few days.
Looks like we're not the only ones in a hurry to get to Amsterdam |
Just a few of the many, many windmills in the Netherlands |
Inside a windmill. Just another cog in the machine. |
Since we were in Amsterdam, we thought about going Dutch for dinner, but then decided that was a little cheesy |
Canals, canals, canals. Everywhere you look, canals |
Moulin Rouge, and you gussed it, another canal |
Some of the fun things we will be doing:
- 01 July Amsterdam: Touring windmills, a gouda cheese factory, and a wooden shoe factory
- 05 July Akureyri: Going to the Husavik geothermal springs and Godafoss waterfall
- 06 July Akureyri: Taking a flight to Grimsey Island inside the Arctic Circle
- 07 July Reykjavik: Visiting Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir hot springs
- 08 July Reykjavik: Relaxing in the Blue Lagoon
- 10 July Belfast: Visiting the Giant's Causeway
- 11 July Waterford: Visiting Kilkenny Castle and seeing where Waterford Crystal is made
- 12 July Cork: Going to Blarney Castle. Might even kiss the Blarney Stone
- 14 July Amsterdam: Taking a canal cruise
- 15 July Amsterdam: Taking a food tour. Yum!
- 16 July Amsterdam: Going to the Van Gogh and Rijks Museum
- 16 July Amsterdam: Having dinner at a Michelin Star restaurant (De Silveren Speigel). More YUM!
- 17 July Amsterdam: Visiting the Anne Frank Museum