April 18th, 2023 Day 105 of 128

Amsterdam, The Netherlands Day 1 of 2

Hello from the Netherlands. Home to Holland America. And appropriately so as today is the company’s 150th birthday celebration! We woke up early this morning and I pushed myself to participate in today’s activities. We put a lot of time and energy into planning our time here in Amsterdam and despite how I am feeling, I will not allow illness to slow me down. We had breakfast in the Lido and then headed to the Main Stage to meet our excursion group at 9:15am. The Lido Pool Deck area is currently closed to passengers in anticipation of delivery and set up of staging, tables, chairs, etc, for this evening’s Gala event. We were off the ship and onto a scenic drive around part of Amsterdam today. We visited the Van Gogh Museum today and learned that the Van Gogh family actually donated the collection to the state but the caveat was that the state had to build a museum to display the works. So the museum was built in 1972 and it has been here ever since. The museum is undergoing a restoration currently but we still got to see several of his famous pieces and learn about his education in art and about his eccentricities. It was a wonderful museum to visit and a unique opportunity to view his works. At this point we said farewell to our excursion group, after we told the tour guide, as they were just heading back to the ship. We had other plans today and we walked from the Van Gough Museum to the Anne Frank House. We had booked a 30 minute narrated introduction to the museum followed by an audio guided tour of the House. I have been here before, but have recently re-read the book and Night, and Megan is a avid WWII history buff, so it was quite an experience for both of us. It’s a somber look at the reality of that time in the world’s history. And a testament the atrocities that took place. It was definitely a moving experience and I was glad to have another opportunity to visit this hallowed home. The photo of the diary below is not the original one. There are no photos allowed in the museum so this is the only one I was allowed to take. After we left the Anne Frank House we decided to take the walk back to the ship. We popped into a few shops along the walk back. Found a fantastic bakery that I had visited on my previous travels here, thank you Jackie for the photo and the reminder of where it was! Grabbed a sandwich at a deli for Megan. Oh and I had two Cappuccinos today cause that what it took for me to rally myself. I don’t normally drink caffeine so I am concerned how that will affect me later but we shall see. We got back to the ship around 3:30pm. We had a few housekeeping things to take of. At the top of my list was getting our new room keys made. Megan and I are now officially Five Star Mariners with Holland America. It is the top tier (kinda) to their loyalty program and it get us benefits whenever we travel on Holland America. We received a new pin and now our room key reflects our new mariner status. Then it was time to get ready for tonight’s Gala’s event. There was a special dinner in the Main Dining room. Then we returned to our cabin to find a nice gift from Holland America of a duffle bag, to pack all the extra souvenirs “you” bought on the cruise. The 150th Birthday Event started at 8:00pm and we went up early so we could secure a table for the event. WE spent a lovely evening sharing a table with our with our friends Freddy and Bob. There was complimentary cocktails and appetizers served. There were tulips everywhere elegantly decorating the space. They brought on a live band and set up a stage on the pool deck. At 9:45 pm the president of Holland America made a speech in accompaniment of the captain. They thanked us for our dedication to the company and for all our loyalty through the difficult years of COVID. We had a champagne toast to the future of Holland America and then we were done. I can’t even believe I stayed out this late. It was nice to get dressed up and enjoy the evening, but I am still fighting the ick and tomorrow is a very early excursion. I will probably be napping by noon tomorrow. I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, enjoy the photos from our adventures today. We walked over 14k steps today!! Sending you lots of love from across the miles.