First stop...Amsterdam!!!

Ever see a Viking River Cruise commercial and wonder what they're like???

Come along with me and I'll give you a glimpse!!!

Amsterdam to Budapest...

along the Rhine, the Maine, and the Danube....

Fabulous!!!

We arrived in Amsterdam in late May...

Still a bit gloomy...

I had to test my settings on my camera so took this one out the window of the hotel.

We extended a few days in Amsterdam before the cruise...

First things first...and prepping us for the actual river cruise...

we took a boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam!

Our boat was an open air boat...

The buildings of Amsterdam are amazing...

the houses are narrow and deep because of the tax structure...

Some lean forward...a sort of bragging right...

or in more practical terms to assist in pulling up goods...

The facades can be described as a bell shape, steps, a neck...

And soooo many bridges!!!

...and along the sides of the canals...houseboats!!!

of all shapes and sizes!!! 

Notice the hook?  

That's to pull goods up to the windows...

(and yes...we're talking hundreds of years ago)

Even the birds have houseboats!!!

Some of the houses have settled (a bit crooked) over time...

 

This was originally a warehouse...see the windows in the center of the building?

They were access to the warehouse...using that hook at the apex of the building...

It's so peaceful and lovely to cruise through the canals...