Great Rivers of Europe - 1

Hi, Ruthe and I spent 2 weeks between Amsterdam and Vienna on a cruise of the Rhine River, the Rhine - Main - Danube Canal and the Danube River during the first two weeks of May. This is the first post of some of Ruthe's and my photos from the trip.

After boarding the ship in Amsterdam we were informed that a free shuttle would operate that afternoon if we wanted to go downtown.  We elected to do that.  

We spent a couple of hours that afternoon walking around (above and 10 below).

Boats like the one on the left are used to  provide tours of the canals.

We were told that May 1, the day this first group of photos was taken, was some sort of holiday so people were everywhere.

Dam Square (above and below) was a gathering point.

From Dam Square we walked back to meet the shuttle bus taking a convoluted route so we could photograph the always interesting canals (above and below).

When I saw these couples just hanging out I asked if I could take a photo.

The Basilica of St. Nicholas rises behind a basin used to board canal boat tours.

Central station has a magnificent  facade.

The next day we took a canal boat tour in the morning (above and two below).

After the tour Ruthe returned to the ship where she photographed this mariner statue (above and below),

the new Palace of Justice,

The Film Institute, and

a boat (above) with a dad taking his young child for a sail (below).

While Ruthe returned to the ship by boat I walked back (above and five below).  The display above is in the window of a house boat.

The Westerkerk is a church from the 1600s.

This clock tower was built in 1516 and extended to its current height in 1606.  It was originally built to help defend the city.

Thanks for looking.