This morning Josephine and I woke up and packed. We had breakfast together with everyone. During breakfast it rained and then the captain, Willy, said there was a rainbow outside. I left and went out to see a beautiful double rainbow in the sky over Amsterdam. I took a few photos and a video.
The sky continued dark because it was supposed to be a rainy day. We said goodbyes to all our new friends. I slowly loaded Silver. First I put on my 3 bags and then I took Josephine's heavy duffel bag and tied it over top of my back bags using the rain cover elastics in one direction and my pant belt in the other direction. We were going to wait until 10 am to go but at about 9 am there was a break in the weather and I suggested we leave. We said our goodbyes and then walked Silver with one of us on each side down the dock, over the bridge, past some stores, across some streets, behind Central Station, on to the ferry and off and up the ramp to the A'dams tower and under an awning just in time to beat the next cloudburst.
While Josephine watched Silver, I used my umbrella and found my way in to the This Is Holland building to ask where the entrance to the underground parking was. They pointed me outside to an entrance to the A'dam's Tower building. I went in and searched around and found that there was an elevator right by the door that led downstairs and to the parking. I went up and asked an attendant if I could bring my bicycle in to wait for Dick who would come into the garage and she said yes. So I went and got Josephine and we waited by the elevator, nice and dry, for about 45 minutes. There was a washroom close by and we talked. Just before 11, I called Carla and we made arrangements to meet in the garage downstairs. It was not busy in the garage and when they came we unloaded Silver. I had thought that I would be bicycling home because of lack of room in the car but they had another plan. Silver and Josephine and the bags would go home in the car and Carla and I would take the train to Hoofddorp station where Dick would meet us after he dropped off Josephine and Silver. Fantastic!
We then went up and across into the This Is Holland building. Carla had 2 free tickets through Albert Heijn. We looked around a little in the tourist shop.
Cookie boxes
I could use this beautiful white bicycle.
When you looked through your cell phone at this wall you could see different pictures.
Windmill
Tower
People in chairs
Sailboats
They take everyone's photo before they go in.
The show has 3 parts. In the first they explain a little history of the Netherlands. In the 2nd part they tell the safety rules and what feelings you might experience. Then the 3rd part is the actual show. It is 5 dimensional where you feel like you are flying like a bird over the country and swooping up and down feeling the wind and water from waves and smelling a fragrance over the tulip fields. It felt very real and was fantastic. I was sitting by Dick and he pointed out some places like the palace in Apeldoorn that I have not seen. Dick also took Abou here. Josephine really enjoyed it also. It would be great to see it twice in a row but it only holds about 20 at a time so there are lineups.
After the show we made our way to the top of the A'dams Tower to a coffee shop. I took photos in all the directions. We had a drink and a croissant.
Selfie
With Josephine
Group photo
Riekeld from Germany took our photo.
Carla waiting for the train.
Carla never takes the train because she has a car. It was a nice train ride and we only had to wait for a short while in Hoofddorp before Dick came with the SUV. I felt bad though because Carla told me how he had almost gone unconscious from a back spasm the other day and he had just taken Silver out of the car by himself before he picked us up.
I spent the afternoon unpacking and had a nice evening with Dick and Carla. We watched the movie, War Horse, which was sad but good. It was a typical late night.
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