At last the day and night are here

It is way too early to be up on the day of a flight that doesn't leave until dinnertime!  But maybe that is good and I will sleep on the plane tonight.  My flight leaves Atlanta at 6:05 PM barring any late afternoon thunderstorm delays.  I fly overnight to Frankfurt on Lufthansa.  A short layover there before flying on to Amsterdam to begin the Viking Cruise Line Grand European Tour. 

This is the second time a cruise has started in Amsterdam for me.  Last time we had a whole day to explore the city.  The Sail Amsterdam event was the same weekend that we were there.  Traffic stalled in every street as hundreds of thousands of people converged on the two harbors and Grand Canal to see the Tall Ships.  Some eight thousand sailing ships of all kinds and small motor boats clogged the waterways in celebration.

We did not risk missing our own sailing to see the sights of the city.  But what a fantastic front row seat we had on our balcony overlooking the end of the sailing route where every ship and boat turned to head back to the starting point. 

My hope is that this time Amsterdam will be relatively quiet and we will have time to visit the Anne Frank House at the very least.  Someday Amsterdam will have to be our destination, not just our jumping off point.