Boomsmas in Europe 4

Amsterdam turned on its rainy face so we spent the morning before boarding the ship in the hotel lobby cafe - a Starbucks and very popular today. 

It was still raining as we bussed for 2 minutes around the block to the docks where Scenic Jasper and 10 other cruise ships were waiting. Scenic Jasper looks the newest and spiffiest, all gleaming chrome and white paint. They call it a Spaceship because there is so much space - certainly our cabin is bigger than others we've had. The shower looks overwhelming but turned out to be quite easy to operate:

Lots of lovely L'Occitane toiletries. 

Scenic is an Australian company and 90% of the passengers are Australian, interspersed with a few Brits, Americans and Canadians. I met Angie from Millicent whom I played bridge against at Robe recently so we will try for a game - if there is time in the busy itinerary. 

We spent the night at Amsterdam docks and next morning set off in bus trip to Edam and the heritage windmills of Zahnse Schans. 

At 8.30 am Edam (as in cheese) is a sleepy village with only a few people on bikes and a worker sweeping the canal. 

We saw the church:

the magnificent church cat:

and a lovely illicit glimpse into a private home:

Then we took the scenic route across what used to be Lake Beemster, 4 metres below sea level and ringed with dikes, which has been drained and turned into arable land for sheep, cattle, horses, fruit orchards and vegetables. Our guide waxed lyrical about the hortensias, which turned out to be hydrangeas of a brilliant red-pink colour:

We joined hundreds of tourists at the windmill park - a small group of restored windmills representing the hundreds that The Netherlands used to have. 

We've been given nifty little gadgets to hang around our necks with an earpiece through which we can hear commentary from a guide but David and I nicked off ahead and were rewarded by finding the last windmill is a reconstructed working sawmill - alas not working today due to no wind. 

David was in seventh heaven, questioning the guide and even tut! tut! going behind the ropes to look closer. 

The bus returned us to Amsterdam docks and Scenic Jasper in time for noon sailing and lunch, followed by a leisurely afternoon sailing between flat green meadows dotted with cattle and horses, sitting on our balcony with our Dutch cheese and gin and tonic, followed by the obligatory safety drill: