Wow can you believe it this is our last day on the Rhine and last night on the boat.
Today we spent sailing up the Rhine toward Kinderdijk, Netherlands to see windmills! We are seeing snow as we cruise and the countryside is flat and not a lot to see because a lot is hidden behind the dikes because it is below sea level.
After breakfast we attended our disembarkation talk…someone took a nap 😴
Some pictures while we were sailing. Too cold to go outside for pictures so there is a bit of a glare from the windows.
It was lunchtime while we were still sailing. Is anyone surprised we are eating again. 😆
After lunch we headed to our rooms to pack our suitcases so we would be ready to leave the boat in the morning. It didn’t take long we had stayed organized so we could be ready for this moment. 😉
Michael and I went back up to the lounge to watch as we docked in Kinderdijk. I am amazed at the docking process and how skilled the crew are when they get us into ports and take us out of ports.
Finally it was time for our walking tour….did I mention that it was gusting winds and cold oh it was cold. So we decided we didn’t need to walk for 2 hours and be educated on windmills etc we backed out and off to the little store for some shopping and some fun! Much warmer adventure for sure. 😉.
We did see some windmills too.
On the way back to the boat we saw some sheep!
Also some of us have a good “friend” that was walking too fast and didn’t think about pictures of them with the windmills so they had to take their own! Total Judi fail. 🤦♀️
Our boat in the background with some masked man posing.
Kinderdijk first originated in its name in 1421 from a legend where a wave was said to have washed ashore a cradle that contained a sleeping baby. More below 👇🏻
A little folktale about Kinderdijk!
The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Children dike". During the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waard flooded, but the Alblasserwaard polder stayed unflooded. It is often said that when the horrendous storm had subsided, a villager went to the dike between these two areas to inspect what could be salvaged. In the distance he saw a wooden cradlefloating on the water. As it came nearer, some movement was noted, and upon closer investigation, a cat was found, trying to keep it in balance by leaping back and forth in such a manner that water couldn't flood the cradle. As the cradle eventually came close enough to the dike for a bystander to pick up the cradle, he saw that a baby was quietly sleeping inside it, nice and dry. The cat had kept the cradle balanced and afloat. This folktale and legend has been published as "The Cat and the Cradle" in English.
Off to the lounge for some hot chocolate to warm up and have our final farewell with the captain.
Some interesting info he shared tonight:
This was our boats first voyage of the season!
79 guests on board this sailing they are expecting 104 guests to board when we depart.
44 crew members-still not sure about that number 🤷♀️
2739 meals prepared this week
91 gal of soup prepared this week
8825 plates washed
1432 beds made
2786 towels washed
1139 questions asked at customer service
11 locks passed through
560 miles traveled
Our farewell dinner was as good as any other night.
During dinner we saw some more windmills as we were sailing towards Amsterdam.
A church along the River
The crew aims to be sure you have a great time and they are there to see that you have everything you need.
From taking your picture.
To making sure you have one of them too!
We have had a wonderful time. We head to the airport at 9:30 am after we….can you guess what…eat breakfast one last time.
Next week may be tough when no one is bringing dinner to the table and I realize “oh that’s on me now” and oops I need to make the beds and do the dishes too!
Our last sunset aboard the Viking Tialfi ❤️
