Left our Air BnB around 10 to find our way to the boarding terminal for our ship, the Viking Eir.
Gracious hospitality from the beginning from the Viking crew. Our room wasn't ready, but the cappuccino was! And pretty soon, a beautiful buffet lunch was served. We were shown to our rooms (there are only 184 guests on this ship) and rested for a while.
Amsterdam's seedy history - and present - were evident on an afternoon tour which included the red light district. And that is all I will say about that. Interesting architecture there from centuries ago include buildings that were constructed with the top appearing to lean forward; this made possible the
hoisting of large furniture up through the windows, using a large metal hook built into the top of the facade. Very narrow staircases prohibit taking furniture up through the interior. The buildings that are side-leaning have wooden piling foundation issues that are resolved through reinforcement of concrete.
The canals have many houseboats, and there are also locks along some of them.
These pictures are of the train station, Amsterdam Central Station, which is also a shopping mall, and the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, Amsterdam's largest Catholic Church.
Dinner was delicious, as expected. We tried going to bed at a reasonable hour and got a good night's rest!
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Lovely scenery and thanks for the history and architecture lessons🏡🏫!!
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