The Amsterdam Rhine canal

I’m sitting in a plush, very well appointed hotel room. It has a comfortable bed, we’ve unpacked our cases into the generous wardrobes and drawers, and the bathroom is spacious with one of those multi-head showers that shoot water at you from all directions. An entire wall of our room is made of glass panels that open onto a balcony where we can sit and admire the view. This is where things become a little strange, for the view is changing from left to right at a constant 10 km/hr. Not more than 10 metres away is a grassy bank lined with trees beside a road with cars, trucks and bicycles, and beyond there are houses. Oops, spoke too soon – now it’s open agricultural land with cattle grazing. Now it’s changed again - there’s a factory with a tall chimney. Now there’s a ten storey office block dominating the view. More houses. The occasional fisherman has a line dangled in the canal while he sits on the grass enjoying a pleasant sunny Thursday afternoon. He gives a friendly wave. Here comes another bridge, we’ve probably passed under twenty in the last two hours.

We’ve left central Amsterdam on board the Scenic Jade, which is essentially a floating hotel at 135 metres long and 11 metres wide. We are two of 169 guests on board, and there are 43 hotel staff (that’s one for every four guests) and 7 nautical crew members. The experience began yesterday afternoon immediately after stepping out of the taxi, when a staff member met us and took our suitcases before leading us onto the ship. We didn’t see the luggage for the next hour as we were welcomed on board by several smiling, friendly people and a glass of champagne. Sitting in a palatial lounge with full floor-to-ceiling windows, we instantly began meeting fellow guests from Australia, Great Britain, Canada and the United States. We eventually checked in and were escorted to our room where we found our luggage. This must be the most salubrious hotel we’ve ever stayed in.

Sailing down the Rhine Canal heading south, we’ve said goodbye to Amsterdam, which has left an indelible mark on us. There are many construction sites around the city signalling a prosperous economy, and we have not seen any homeless or vagrant people that usually occur in big cities. There are more bikes than people in the Netherlands because commuters own at least two – one to ride to the nearest train or bus station, and another to ride to work after getting off. Consequently public transport stations always have hundreds of bikes waiting for their owners. The Dutch must be experts at water management, as 40% of the Netherlands is reclaimed land and much of it is below sea level. The clever use of dykes, canals, dams and ditches have transformed former lakes and sea frontage into viable agricultural, residential and commercial land. It’s an extraordinary country.

Only 1,820 kilometres to Budapest, but that’s still 14 days and four countries away.