Voyage Overview
Destination Highlight
Cosmopolitan Amsterdam is most famous for its narrow, gabled houses lining the canals. Interesting attractions include the medieval weighhouse, Royal Palace on Dam Square, and New Church. Its most glamorous industry is the diamond trade. Not too far from Amsterdam are the flower centers of Aalsmeer, the picturesque fishing villages of Volendam and Marken, cheese markets at Edam and Gouda, and historic Haarlem, the main center of the bulb-growing industry. Enjoy the city’s sights from a glass-topped sightseeing boat which passes characteristic gabled houses and negotiates picturesque arched bridges. Facing Dam Square, the Royal Palace was built in 1648 and is still officially the royal residence, although the royal family resides in The Hague. The marbled Citizens Hall with inlaid maps of the world is worth seeing. One of Amsterdam’s most visited sites is historic Anne Frank House. Rijksmuseum, the city’s most prestigious museum, houses the largest collection of Dutch paintings in the world. Van Gogh Museum houses a striking collection.
About the Ship
Baldur was everyone’s favorite, loved by both gods and mortals. Baldur was believed to be indestructible. So impervious to injury was he that, at banquets, guests used to amuse themselves by hurling objects at him. Nothing, it seemed, could harm him. Yet the malicious trickster Loki discovered that the one thing that could kill Baldur was mistletoe. He tricked Hodur into throwing a sprig of mistletoe at the beautiful and good Baldur, fatally wounding him.