Louise's Leiden

Better late than never, we sailed into the harbor at Amsterdam, right by the large Quonset-hut shaped central station and an immense bicycle parking lot. It's obvious that The Netherlands is flatter than, say, Switzerland (although we've seen a lot of bikes there too, come to think of it).

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The captain had to maneuver us into a parking spot by turning and backing into our designated "parking spot" (full speed astern?) behind the already-docked Celebrity Century, a ship we sailed on a few years ago.

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The officers on the bridge are going to keep an eye on everything until every last line is tied off.

Once parked, we're off on the ten-minute walk to the train station to catch a train to Leiden (Leyden in Dutch), the home town of Brian's stepmother Louise.

A train ride to Leiden, a cab ride to the apartment of Louise's relatives Jack and Corrie, and suddenly we're hugging Louise thousands of miles from her home in Victoria British Columbia. Jack and Corrie soon arrive. Sad to say, their cute little car won't hold five, so Corrie stays behind while Jack and Louise treat us to a tour of Leiden. One of the early stops is at a famous Leiden restaurant, Oudt Leyden, a pancake house since 1907.


Louise shows off her small platter...

Kathy and Brian manage to hide their disappointment at such small portions.

Jack shows self-restraint while Louise is reaching for her fork. A great and "authentic" Sunday meal.

The least we can do is try to walk off lunch, so it's time for a stroll around old Leiden.

Look, a windmill!

It's actually de Valk, a windmill museum. We didn't have time to go inside but it's the closest we've been to an authentic Dutch windmill.
Leiden is obviously a lovely spot...

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Like most Dutch towns, there are shops to cater to every need, from shoes to smokes.

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Louise even bumps into two former neighbors she hasn't seen for years, and she and Jack pose with them for our camera.

One of the highlights of our short tour was the chance to visit Louise's childhood neighborhood.
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And all too soon it was time to say au revoir to Louise and to our gracious host Jack, and enjoy the scenery from our train window as we return to Amsterdam.

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Back on board, it's not the Kiel Canal but we do have the chance to go through a lock on the way out of town, so to speak. We enjoy a great view from Tapas on The Terrace, the evening buffet.

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As we enjoy dinner on the final evening of our cruise, Regatta's charming evening adaptation of its buffet venue, the charming young Executive Chef, Alex Quaretti, drops by our table. Our compliments to the Chef!

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