Days 0 - 1

 Travel To & Arrive In Amsterdam

Kim and I left the house around 9:30 am on Monday morning for Fort Lauderdale International and boarded our first flight to Atlanta for a noon takeoff.  Arrived a little early and had nearly 3 1/2 hours before take off to Amsterdam.  Arrived about half an hour early in Amsterdam at about 8 am local time.  Unfortunately Kim slept very little on the flight, while I slept for several hours....seemed like a short flight TO ME!

Tickets & Passports in hand - ready to go!

Delta jumbo jet ready for our boarding

Our upgraded "Delta Premium Select" seats with plenty of room and amenities for a comfortable journey

"Dining" in the air with a mini-linen tablecloth, real silverware and a hot meal with wine

Arriving in Europe

Sunrise as we approach Amsterdam

We arrived at our ship the Viking Longship Einar and soon met with our good friends Claudia & Gary Wanlin who had arrived from Northern California.  We met these guys on a 2015 "Fall Leaves" cruise through New England and became great friends.  We re-joined them in February of 2017 when we visited the Napa Valley and then we traveled to Alaska together in 2019.  Our rooms weren't quite ready so we had lunch together and by then our veranda stateroom was ready for us.

The Viking Longship Einar

Group Photo from Alaska 2019

Veranda Stateroom #209

At 1:30 we met a local guide for an "Orientation Walk" around the area near the ship.  Was good to stretch our legs and get some fresh air.  It was not quite 50 degrees but was clear and sunny.

Used to be headquarters for Shell Corp, now it's an observation tower & restaurant.

Note blow-up (left):  (1) on the right side, the "poles" angled up - these are SWINGS that for five Euros you can swing over the open water while a selfie video camera captures your reactions!  (2) the "XXX" on the tower - it's the symbol of Amsterdam....not for the famous "Red Light District" (my first thought) but the three "X's" stand for three things the city overcame in the past - floods, fires, and pandemics (medieval, not the COVID-19!)

The train station - interior

The train station - experior

Later in the evening we met for Happy Hour, our Daily Program Director's meeting and dinner at 7pm.  It was a long day, and we were wiped out by day's end.  We begin the adventure in earnest tomorrow with a canal cruise through Amsterdam in the morning and then Kim & I are meeting my former Western High School student Jennifer (who lives here with her husband and two little ones) for dinner.  Oh and one last note.....for those of you wondering, about our luggage.  Well, it did NOT arrive when we did at 8 am.  But we were told it was on the next flight and would be here a little after 11 am.  It did arrive at 11:34 am and the Delta app with "where's my luggage" shows it sitting at Carousel 16.  But since arriving onboard the Delta/KLM airport personnel - admittedly short-staffed and apparently dealing with a LOT, I mean A LOT of late/missing luggage - cannot find it.  This despite the Viking staff telling them that our app shows it is at Carousel 16.  Maybe it arrives to the ship tomorrow - frustrating that the luggage DID come, but it is not with us.

The traditional cruise drink - a frozen mudslide