On Tuesday the alarm went off and I got up, but BJ had had a poor night’s sleep and so I didn’t wake her for another hour.  As a result, we were late to breakfast and so we never got to the modern art museum as we had planned to do.  Also, what a surprise, it was raining in Amsterdam. So we hung out at the hotel and waited for our ride to the ship.  After arriving at the ship, there was a short, guided walk around Amsterdam which I (Alan) went on. Just enough to stretch my legs. We got back in time for me to go back out and look for some pain cream for BJ’s shoulder.  Then back for a lecture about the cruise and tours and an excellent dinner.  After dinner I walked down the pier a hundred yards to one of the most famous Jazz clubs in Amsterdam, Bimhuis.  There was a master class at 8 PM where several groups played for a seasoned musician and he critiqued them. Some of the music was interesting.

Then a very good quartet came on and played in the café.  I got to stay for a half hour and then returned to the ship before we cast off.  We went right to bed.

  The next morning, when we woke up, we were at Kinderdijk with the 17 windmills.  We had been there two years before, but today was a better day for pictures.

After the walk to the windmill and back, we got on the bus to go to our optional excursion to a cheese making farm about 15 miles away through the countryside.  The ship left during our excursion, but the bus would take us to a town upstream from Kinderdijk so that we could rejoin the ship at 1PM.  At the cheese farm, we sampled three different types of Gouda cheese (named for the area).  The first was a 3 month cows cheese.  The second was an older cow’s cheese with Mediterranean spices and the third was a goat cheese that even BJ liked.  Then we toured the cheesemaking area.  We got to watch them harvest the curds from the whey, transfer them into round plastic tubs and then squeeze the residual whey out.

Then after 24 hours of compression, the cheeses are transferred into a brine tank for a time that is dependent on how large the cheese will be, up to several days.  Then the cheese is taken to the drying room where eventually a coating which protects the cheese but allows further evaporation of water is applied.

After several coats, they are transferred to the aging room where the cheese will be allowed to further dry and age.

After a visit to the cheese shop, where we bought some of the Gouda to eat in Budapest, we went back to the bus for a quick ride to the town where we would meet the ship.  The streets were old and narrow, so we had to walk about a quarter mile to get to the ship, so we got a little look at the town, Goringchem.

Then we were on our way up river.  We did get lunch after returning to the ship.  Then the mandatory ships emergency drill and then a leisurely afternoon watching the countryside go by.

Every day at dinner, you can order the regional specialty, the chef’s recommendation or from some standards that are available daily.  I tend to get the regional specialties which tonight were Dutch split pea soup with sausage, beef stew, and a chocolate mousse.  BJ had steak tartare, broiled shrimp, and a very dark chocolate lava cake. Thoroughly stuffed, we’re going to bed now.  Cologne (Koln) tomorrow.