Amsterdam

In Amsterdam, we boarded our ship, the Amadeus Brilliant, eager to begin our 14 night cruise along the Rhine and Danube rivers to Budapest.  150 passengers, mostly Australian, have come together to share this journey.  Mum is popular, with many of our fellow passengers simply calling her “Mum”.   The comments keep coming.  “How old is your Mum?”  78 years old.  “Gee, she’s in good nick!”

Last night we walked through Amsterdam’s red light district.  Well, Mum staggered, due more to the free flowing wine at dinner than the cobblestoned, poorly lit streets. Bars and alleys overflowed with enebriated Brits, the aromatic smell of gunja and sickly smell of urine overwhelming.  And of course, there were the girls in the windows, who charge 50 euros for 15 minutes, including washing.

After entering this store, the owner locked us in.  Our nervousness became interest as he explained to a couple of teenagers how much of the product they should take, how much water they should drink and what to do in case of severe hallucinations.

A local lady tells us the buildings are intentionally non-symmetrical so their beauty stands out, yet a local gentleman says it's because of the water underneath.  Whatever the explanation, they are certainly eye catching.

To buy one of the 2500 houseboats in Amsterdam costs just as much as an apartment.

No point buying any of this - we can't bring food or plants into Australia!

The 700,000 inhabitants of Amsterdam own 1 million bikes.

I'm off now to prepare for our gala welcome dinner. 

Adieu!