Heading Back to the Prinsendam

After our 10 hour flight arrived in  the USA airspace we were in a queuing system over Miami because the airport was very busy.  The landing was awful - strong winds and the pilot braked hard so we were pushed forward.  Thank goodness for sturdy seat-belts.

We sat on the runway for the next 20 minutes to half an hour waiting for our turn to get to a gate but then the gate we were allocated was still occupied so another gate had to be found. As we waited in the aircraft, the wind outside was strong and you could feel the aeroplane rocking, and its wings being buffeted by the wind.

It was amazing how many people got up from their seats 😡 even though we had not reached the gate. The stewardess and purser had to firmly tell people to get back to their seats and buckle up until we arrived at our gate.

As we disembarked the flight the aeroplane was an absolute tip - rubbish strewn everywhere and everything in disarray.  I'm glad to say that at least Paul and I left our seating area clean and our blankets folded neatly on top of our pillows - one less piece of chaos for cleaners to deal with.

There were long queues at passport control.  First we had to go to a self-service terminal to get ourselves finger printed and our passports/selves identified and then see an official who examined the printout from the self-service terminal and our passports.  We were allowed to go straight out as everything was in order.  Many other passengers, though, were directed to immigration personnel desks.

We collected our luggage which had already been offloaded from the luggage belt (to make way for other flights' baggage coming in) and made our way outside the terminal where we find our taxi-driver waiting for us.

We had a good 45 minute drive to our hotel, fortunately most of it was via a toll road which wasn't as busy as the non-toll road.

It is hot and humid outside but it looks as if it is going to rain at some stage. Now to find something to eat, have a much needed shower and then hit the sack!

A Week in Terschelling, North Holland.

Having had a few hours to recover from our trip over to England, Paul and I unpacked and repacked for the week ahead:  Paul was on a course for the coming week, in the north of Holland.

We also loaded our folding bicycles in the car and set off towards the town of Harlingen where we parked up near the ferry terminal, offloaded our bicycles and luggage and caught a ferry across to the island, a 2 hour ferry trip between the Terschelling and the mainland.

The island is inhabited but it also has a large nature reserve.  There are plenty of walking trails and bicycle paths throughout the island so one doesn't have to get in a car to see it.  It's a matter of getting your boots on or getting on your bicycle - and getting out there.

Mock-up bridge and navigation instruments/panel during Paul's course.

It was dark when we arrived but fortunately we had bicycle lights.  Paul's was brighter than mine so I relied upon him, and his sat nav, to get us to where we were going.

The hotel we stayed in (Westcord Hotel Schylge) was nice and spacious; the hotel lobby/hallway was open from ground floor to the roof with all the bedrooms around the central courtyard/hallway.  Each room's door was named after a bird and had the photograph of a bird on it.  Lovely.

I rested quite a bit during the week while Paul was on his ice navigation course.


On one of the days I took a bicycle ride around the island to clear my head.
Unfortunately I have deleted photographs that I took during our stay on the island and so the photographs I have included are from the internet - to give you an idea of what the island looks like.

I ended up cycling around the whole island, keeping to the coast to my right all the time, and staying on hard paths - tar, brick and stone paths.  If a hard path stopped at a soft path I turned around and rode back until I found another hard path or road going off towards the coast.  Some of the paths that I cycled on, initially, were over dykes, other paths I took went through marshland, moorlands, sand dunes and forest.  Being autumn, trees in the forest were taking on a golden hue, lining the paths like a carpet.  It was beautiful.  I stopped to speak to three horses and made friends with the one which nuzzled me gently and allowed me to stroke him. The other two horses were shyer - happy to watch but not be touched.  My arse and legs ached before I got back to the hotel and so I cycled slower and slower.  I ended up taking some Ibuprofen and having a nice soak in a hot bath to ease the muscles.


On another day I took a bicycle ride into the village and had a wander around, then spent the rest of the day reading and doing some magazine puzzles.

On the last day of Paul's course we checked out of the hotel at breakfast time and I sat in the hotel lobby/lounge/reception area reading until Paul came back from his course.  It was quite a long day for me but I managed.

We cycled with our luggage into town and found a place to have a bite to eat before we caught the ferry to the mainland, offloaded our luggage and folded up our bicycles then headed to Rijsbergen.

Over the weekend it was a matter of repacking and doing some laundry.

The Rest of Our Week at Warp Speed.

Without too much ado, this is a very quick overview of the rest of this week - with not much rest in between!  

We drove to chunnel via Belgium and France at midday and caught our chunnel train (er... also called Eurotunnel) without any hassles.  Usually the Eurotunnel terminal is heaving, more so during term time but fortunately it was somewhat quieter when children are back at school.

We arrive in England and stayed at Meon Valley Hotel, Golf & Country Club.  On the way to the hotel we were hungry so we stopped to pick up a salad which we were able to eat in our hotel room.

Paul had business to attend to in Southampton on Thursday and left me in the hotel to continue catching up on my blogs.  I could have gone for a swim in the hotel swimming pool but decided not to.  

That evening we had dinner at Samuel's Rest, a pub/restaurant.  The meal was delicious - fish pie.  It was very filling though!

On Friday we drove up to Wales to pick up our post and stayed with our friends:  Sue, Ian and their daughter Lindsay.  It was really good to see them again - more so because they are an extension of our family by marriage.  

Unfortunately we couldn't stay any longer in the UK because Paul has a course to attend on Monday so we headed back to Rijsbergen via the chunnel on Saturday.  We arrived back at Paul's mum's place quite late in the evening but it was good to be back.  

Back in the Netherlands at Last!

Our taxi arrived at the airport on time to take us to the airport in Lisbon.  Without much hassle we checked in and went through security to wait for our flight on Ryanair.  With Ryanair's tight turnaround time we found ourselves waiting outside in the cold for about 10 to 15 minutes; waiting for the passengers on the arriving flight to disembark first before we boarded.  As soon as the last one was off we were allowed to board the aeroplane.

The three hour flight went smoothly and we landed at Eindhoven airport.  We had thought

of travelling by bus and train to Breda and then catching a bus to Rijsbergen but with quite a few changes, heavy suitcases along with the chilly wintry weather, Paul decided it would be best to catch a taxi direct to Rijsbergen despite the cost involved.  The drive from the airport to Rijsbergen was just under an hour, door to door.  

It was good to see Paul's mum, Betty, and Melvin - her cat.  He's trying to make up for lost time now, enjoying plenty of affection.

Today we have been unpacking, re-packing and relaxing.  Tomorrow we are heading to England.  We just seem to be on the go...  

Vlissingen, Netherlands, and then Antwerp, Belgium.

Vlissingen

We were in Vlissingen until lunch time today and then sailed on to Antwerp for an overnight stay then leave tomorrow lunch time. I've been resting and trying to get my bearings a bit.

The Prinsendam is an old ship but she floats! Internal staff passages are a nightmare and seem like a rabbit warren.

Paul has been down to the tailors shop to get a work uniform made as well as coveralls made -  his clothes, except for one pair of uniform trousers and shirt, are all in a trunk which is still on the Maasdam.  And we may not see the trunk for quite a while.  Paul also had to be measured for a formal evening suit but needs to find a formal shirt as there are none on board.  A bow tie has been found for him, fortunately.  He also needs a black tie - which I will try to get at the shops as and when we dock and if I have time to go shopping.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Vlissingen

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Life at Sea Begins.

MS Prinsendam

We are back from our holidays at last and I know that I need to catch up on my blogs - I am waaay behind....  At the moment I'm going to concentrate on what is currently going on.  At some stage I will catch up with the holiday.

It's been a hectic 3 days, unpacking and getting things done.  Apart from sorting out the caravan and putting it in storage, we have cleaned Betty's (Paul's mum) fish tank.  The fish are happy now too with plenty of fleas to soothe their shattered nerves.

Our cabin

Paul's leave is at an end and it's time to get back to work.  During our holiday Paul learnt that he had been assigned to the Prinsendam rather than going back to the Maasdam. 

We had a fairly late night last night, re-packing clothes for the next few weeks of our lives at sea and were up early.  Fortunately we didn't have to fly out to meet up with the Prinsendam.  She was in Amsterdam.  We drove Betty's car to Paul's sister in Zoetemeer where we picked up her son (Paul's nephew, Dani) and carried on to Amsterdam's cruise ship terminal.  The car needed a good run to get its battery charged.  Dani then drove the car back to Betty's place where his mum would meet up with him a bit later.

At security Paul discovered that I was not on any list to board the ship and he was adamant that he would not go to sea without me.  He ended up going to the ship to try and sort things out and I had to wait in the terminal.  Eventually security called and said I could go through.  Not a problem.  Only I took a wrong turn and instead of heading onto the ship - I headed into the huge terminal which was the disembarking guest terminal.  I wasn't allowed back up via the exit point so I had to walk all the way back to security in the embarkation terminal and have my luggage checked again before trying to find the gangway.  By this time Paul was getting worried and called me to find out where I was.  I explained what had happened.  Anyway, before I got lost again one of the ship's security staff found me and took me to the ship's gangway.  Paul was quite relieved.  

After going through what seemed like a maze of passages, we arrived at our cabin where Paul had to leave me in order to start work - he had to have a hand-over with his counterpart.  

So, I've been unpacking and finding my way around the cabin.  It is quite a different layout compared to the cabin on the Maasdam.  This time the cabin (although still on deck 10) is directly below the Bridge.  And has a window looking out onto a forward facing balcony.  Fortunately the balcony is only accessible to crew so we won't have guests trying to peer in through the window!  I had been looking forward to having a bath but unfortunately the bath has been replaced with a shower since Paul was last on the Prinsendam.

After lifeboat drill the Prinsendam set sail, heading towards Vlissingen, 

Paul is happy to be back with the Prinsendam as it will be the last time she will be sailing with her over the coming weeks and months.  The Prinsendam has been sold and will be going to new owners (Phoenix Reisen, a German Company) in July 2019.  She is one of the smallest in Holland America Line's fleet and will be sadly missed.  Guests and staff are very fond of her.  

By way of a bit of history, the Prinsendam:  She was launched by the Royal Viking Line in 1988 with the name of "Royal Viking Sun".  Between 1994 and 1998 she was operated by the Cunard Line before being transferred to Seabourn Cruise Line in 1999 and re-named "Seabourn Sun".  In 2002 the ship was transferred to  Holland America Line and re-named the "Prinsendam".

The Prinsendam's itinerary for this cruise is as follows:

Date / Time                 Port
16 Sep                         Departing Amsterdam, Holland   

17 Sep 08:00 - 15:00     Vlissingen, Holland   

17 Sep 20:00 - 17 Sep Antwerp, Belgium   

19 Sep 18:00 - 19 Sep Rouen, France   

22 Sep 08:00 - 18:00    La Rochelle, France   

23 Sep 08:00 - 23 Sep   Bordeaux, France   

26 Sep 08:00 - 18:00     Lisbon, Portugal   

27 Sep 13:00 - 18:00     Gibraltar, UK   

28 Sep 08:00 - 17:00     Cartagena, Spain   

30 Sep                         Arriving in Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy  

Efteling Theme Park

No rest for the wicked!

We went to Efteling, a 'fairytale' theme park.  It was already busy by the time we got arrived even though children were at school.  It turned out that quite a few schools were taking kids for a day out - they all had identifying t-shirts or badges.  Fortunately they were well behaved.


For most rides we had to wait in queues but it was worth it. Towards closing time the queues were much shorter and we were able to go on the nice rides a few times in a row.  The wooden roller coaster was fab. The python had us reeling; another ride plunged us seemingly into the depths of the earth, heart stopping.  As with any theme or amusement park - there is so much to see and do, not just going on rides.  So we were kept busy and entertained.

At the end of the day, as we were about to leave, we walked past a lake where there was a water fountain show set to music.  It was lovely.  Two moorhen nests in the water were just in reach of the water spouts and a moorhen got splashed!  She shook herself down and settled on the nest as if nothing happened.  That's what you get when you choose to set up house!

We were tired and footsore but elated when we got home.  It's nice to let 'the big kid in us' out every now and then. 😉

PHOTOGRAPHS

 

 

Sleeping Beauty's castle

 

 

Little Red Riding Hood