This was from a letter my mom wrote in 1965:
We expected to have several hours in Rotterdam for a visit with K.. but instead of taking us 50 minutes to get to Rotterdam..it took us about 1 1/2 hours. There were three places where we had one-way traffic due to road construction, and the lines were LONG and full of SLOW trucks. I began to be worried about even making the boat..And then everyone said there were signs pointing to the boat -- we saw nary a one..
It turned out we were being directed to the city office, and NOT to the boat, because we found ourselves in the center of town, which is completely torn up, they are building a metro system. NOW if Holland can have a metro system with the soft squishy ground, it seems to me that Baltimore ought to be able to have one -- at least our ground isn't THAT wet!
We milled around until we found the Hertz office, and we collapsed into it. I can drive all over Europe with the least nerve wracking feeling until I hit the cities in Holland -- they drive with no concern for the "tegenliggers" and scare me to death!
Mr K told us that we didn't have to be on the boat until 3, but we had just been in the main office, and they told us again (told us this in Wiesbaden and Utrecht) that we HAD to be on by 2 or there would be no guarantee --and having had such a close call of only 5 min to spare in NY, we were a little nervous about it -- and very annoyed that we couldn't go on and leave our stuff and then get off -- after all what could we take off that visitors couldn't. NEXT time, I'm going to get visitor's cards for us, and use those to get on the boat, and not use our boarding cards until we want to get on! But we were much too excited and confused to think straight at that time.
Mr K told us he would meet us on board, and the Hertz man said he would take us to the boat. Mr K was really a dear. He had a bouquet of the most beautiful pink roses. After he left we cut the stems and released them from their bonds, and they are beautifully fresh this a.m. I think our steward was VERY impressed at our distinguished Dutch visitor and brought us a vase of water to put them in and had been VERY attentive and helpful ever since.
We went up on deck and looked around a little and he had a map of the harbor for us, which was very interesting...
Picture of my parents - not on the ship
We do not have the palatial (in comparison) room on this trip we had on the way over. It is about as big, or just a little bigger, than our bathroom! It has bunks, and a 'john' shower and sink. Very small and dark
Our room on the way over was really for 3 people, so we had plenty of space. Considering we had so much work to do on that trip, it is fortunate that it worked out that way. We are going to 'read over' again the galleys [for a book]..but we hope to do that on deck.
We were at a table for 6 last night, but very dull. A German girl who had been visiting relatives in W. Berlin, but works with an import firm in N.Y. and she had been taking seasick pills which had her practically anesthetized (the water is smooth as glass), and a pickled woman with Dutch background and she had been visiting the Netherlands and had been ALL over the country, but when I asked her about Zeeland (picture on menu) she remarked that she hadn't been there!
And a HANDSOME man with dark hair and eyes -- the kind you see drawn on Egyptian masonry -- where you see the eye, the whole eye, tho you are looking at a profile. When asked, he said he was from the Netherlands but "was living in Switzerland now" -- that was the last word he spoke, no, he commented on the queer taste of the water and guessed it was he was not used to it. He was very odd, he acted all through the meal as if he were ready to take flight at any second, and looked around and acted as if he were 'hunted' -- Of course, since he was so handsome, maybe he was afraid of being 'hunted for' by the youngish German girl -- she remarked after he fled that he had terrible manners, ate his meat with his bread and butter knife. The 6th seat was vacant.
So today we asked if we could change tables. We were put at a table with another couple, don't know how that will be, because they were leaving as we arrived, and they look considerably older. We may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. We had a good table coming over, so it encouraged me to ask for another large table -- I think after this, if this doesn't work out, we will stick to tables for 2. We do enjoy each other's company!..
We have had the roughest trip of any of our crossings. We couldn't figure out why, after we left Southampton, the boat began to roll some, but there wasn't a whitecap to be seen. There was no wind, nothing to indicate a storm. That was Wednesday. Then on Thursday, Daddy began taking dramamine, which I have no faith in. Every time he has taken it, he has been sick, and I haven't taken it and have been fine. [Dad was always seasick, and my mom never was. Fortunately I've inherited her genes] He seems O.K. now, and the sea is much calmer, although it is very foggy out. He found the dead center of the boat and spends the time there in the lounge. It is amazing how much less motion you feel there too!
We shifted from the original table, as I said, and are at one for four. The man is very nice and pleasant, but I don't know how he puts up with his wife. She has a very 'sour' expression - very dissatisfied with everything - is a perfect example of a pessimist.
The first meal we were evidently sitting on the side of the table they had sat - we were there first at that meal and didn't know. She said before she sat down "We have always sat there". I didn't say anything or indicate we had heard, but afterwards Daddy said, "Always - snort - all of two meals". It makes no difference to us, so the next meal we hurried to be first, and sat in the other seats so there would be no complaints. She is pleasant now to us since I have a connection with N.C.
It is much smoother today, but very foggy so we haven't been able to use our deck chairs really since we left England. I hope it will be better soon.
Dining Room Experience
Daddy got up and went out on deck early, then came back and we proof read some before breakfast. That was a mistake, we should have gone out. The sun was shining and our table partners said they saw whales and they were spouting. That I have never seen, and would love to!
She is really the most pessimistic person! The bacon isn't cooked enuf, there are onions in the other thing, that person in back of her is disgusting. She just isn't interested in anyone on the boat, and feels so fortunate that they had some congenial people at the table with them! I can't be my usual Pollyanna self or it will look too critical of her. I feel there are probably plenty of nice people on board, tho I haven't had time to talk to them.
When we bought the bus tickets for going to the RR station, at the purser's office, Daddy was looking at the liquor info and saw that we could bring in 5 bottles of Old Forrester for 15.00, which is about half price. I said I didn't know what we would do with it, and the man behind the counter said he did. Daddy said he thought we really had enuf for egg nog at Xmas and we didn't want a surplus - and I said as far as I was concerned, one bottle would be a surplus, and I thought the man behind the counter would have a fit.
We decided it would be too heavy to carry and there was no one we cared that much about to give anything like that to that was worth the trouble to get it. I did get a very pretty ring on board. A garnet ring, which will take the place of a ruby one for my birthstone. It isn't a priceless ring, but it is very nice.
There is a dance team on board who gave an exhibition last night on Spanish dancing. This is a very nice boat, the service is lots better in the DR than on the Statendam.
We went to the "Hat Show" last night - hats were made out of all kinds of things. 1st prize was won by "big bad john" - and it was a white hat made like a toilet seat, with a shiny round aluminum foil covered "pipe", probably roller from towels, and then a "box" with flowers on it like a coffin (the toilet box) and then a wire holding a dangling string for the pull cord. That was really clever. They also had a windmill with tulips, and a ladybug (a very good one) on a woman and a tall stovepipe hat with a cowboy boot picture pasted on the front. They were "ladybird and the tall Texan".
We also saw a very good documentary film called "Mediterranean Holiday". It was a picture of the Swedish sailing vessel of young boys and their voyage around the Med. And the ShangriLa of the 6th fleet was also in it.
We are 5 hours late, due to the rough weather I guess. I didn't know we were scheduled to be in at 8 am. I guess this just about wraps up our trip.
We expected to have several hours in Rotterdam for a visit with K.. but instead of taking us 50 minutes to get to Rotterdam..it took us about 1 1/2 hours. There were three places where we had one-way traffic due to road construction, and the lines were LONG and full of SLOW trucks. I began to be worried about even making the boat..And then everyone said there were signs pointing to the boat -- we saw nary a one..
It turned out we were being directed to the city office, and NOT to the boat, because we found ourselves in the center of town, which is completely torn up, they are building a metro system. NOW if Holland can have a metro system with the soft squishy ground, it seems to me that Baltimore ought to be able to have one -- at least our ground isn't THAT wet!
We milled around until we found the Hertz office, and we collapsed into it. I can drive all over Europe with the least nerve wracking feeling until I hit the cities in Holland -- they drive with no concern for the "tegenliggers" and scare me to death!
Mr K told us that we didn't have to be on the boat until 3, but we had just been in the main office, and they told us again (told us this in Wiesbaden and Utrecht) that we HAD to be on by 2 or there would be no guarantee --and having had such a close call of only 5 min to spare in NY, we were a little nervous about it -- and very annoyed that we couldn't go on and leave our stuff and then get off -- after all what could we take off that visitors couldn't. NEXT time, I'm going to get visitor's cards for us, and use those to get on the boat, and not use our boarding cards until we want to get on! But we were much too excited and confused to think straight at that time.
Mr K told us he would meet us on board, and the Hertz man said he would take us to the boat. Mr K was really a dear. He had a bouquet of the most beautiful pink roses. After he left we cut the stems and released them from their bonds, and they are beautifully fresh this a.m. I think our steward was VERY impressed at our distinguished Dutch visitor and brought us a vase of water to put them in and had been VERY attentive and helpful ever since.
We went up on deck and looked around a little and he had a map of the harbor for us, which was very interesting...
Picture of my parents - not on the ship
We do not have the palatial (in comparison) room on this trip we had on the way over. It is about as big, or just a little bigger, than our bathroom! It has bunks, and a 'john' shower and sink. Very small and dark
Our room on the way over was really for 3 people, so we had plenty of space. Considering we had so much work to do on that trip, it is fortunate that it worked out that way. We are going to 'read over' again the galleys [for a book]..but we hope to do that on deck.
We were at a table for 6 last night, but very dull. A German girl who had been visiting relatives in W. Berlin, but works with an import firm in N.Y. and she had been taking seasick pills which had her practically anesthetized (the water is smooth as glass), and a pickled woman with Dutch background and she had been visiting the Netherlands and had been ALL over the country, but when I asked her about Zeeland (picture on menu) she remarked that she hadn't been there!
And a HANDSOME man with dark hair and eyes -- the kind you see drawn on Egyptian masonry -- where you see the eye, the whole eye, tho you are looking at a profile. When asked, he said he was from the Netherlands but "was living in Switzerland now" -- that was the last word he spoke, no, he commented on the queer taste of the water and guessed it was he was not used to it. He was very odd, he acted all through the meal as if he were ready to take flight at any second, and looked around and acted as if he were 'hunted' -- Of course, since he was so handsome, maybe he was afraid of being 'hunted for' by the youngish German girl -- she remarked after he fled that he had terrible manners, ate his meat with his bread and butter knife. The 6th seat was vacant.
So today we asked if we could change tables. We were put at a table with another couple, don't know how that will be, because they were leaving as we arrived, and they look considerably older. We may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. We had a good table coming over, so it encouraged me to ask for another large table -- I think after this, if this doesn't work out, we will stick to tables for 2. We do enjoy each other's company!..
We have had the roughest trip of any of our crossings. We couldn't figure out why, after we left Southampton, the boat began to roll some, but there wasn't a whitecap to be seen. There was no wind, nothing to indicate a storm. That was Wednesday. Then on Thursday, Daddy began taking dramamine, which I have no faith in. Every time he has taken it, he has been sick, and I haven't taken it and have been fine. [Dad was always seasick, and my mom never was. Fortunately I've inherited her genes] He seems O.K. now, and the sea is much calmer, although it is very foggy out. He found the dead center of the boat and spends the time there in the lounge. It is amazing how much less motion you feel there too!
We shifted from the original table, as I said, and are at one for four. The man is very nice and pleasant, but I don't know how he puts up with his wife. She has a very 'sour' expression - very dissatisfied with everything - is a perfect example of a pessimist.
The first meal we were evidently sitting on the side of the table they had sat - we were there first at that meal and didn't know. She said before she sat down "We have always sat there". I didn't say anything or indicate we had heard, but afterwards Daddy said, "Always - snort - all of two meals". It makes no difference to us, so the next meal we hurried to be first, and sat in the other seats so there would be no complaints. She is pleasant now to us since I have a connection with N.C.
It is much smoother today, but very foggy so we haven't been able to use our deck chairs really since we left England. I hope it will be better soon.
Dining Room Experience
Daddy got up and went out on deck early, then came back and we proof read some before breakfast. That was a mistake, we should have gone out. The sun was shining and our table partners said they saw whales and they were spouting. That I have never seen, and would love to!
She is really the most pessimistic person! The bacon isn't cooked enuf, there are onions in the other thing, that person in back of her is disgusting. She just isn't interested in anyone on the boat, and feels so fortunate that they had some congenial people at the table with them! I can't be my usual Pollyanna self or it will look too critical of her. I feel there are probably plenty of nice people on board, tho I haven't had time to talk to them.
When we bought the bus tickets for going to the RR station, at the purser's office, Daddy was looking at the liquor info and saw that we could bring in 5 bottles of Old Forrester for 15.00, which is about half price. I said I didn't know what we would do with it, and the man behind the counter said he did. Daddy said he thought we really had enuf for egg nog at Xmas and we didn't want a surplus - and I said as far as I was concerned, one bottle would be a surplus, and I thought the man behind the counter would have a fit.
We decided it would be too heavy to carry and there was no one we cared that much about to give anything like that to that was worth the trouble to get it. I did get a very pretty ring on board. A garnet ring, which will take the place of a ruby one for my birthstone. It isn't a priceless ring, but it is very nice.
There is a dance team on board who gave an exhibition last night on Spanish dancing. This is a very nice boat, the service is lots better in the DR than on the Statendam.
We went to the "Hat Show" last night - hats were made out of all kinds of things. 1st prize was won by "big bad john" - and it was a white hat made like a toilet seat, with a shiny round aluminum foil covered "pipe", probably roller from towels, and then a "box" with flowers on it like a coffin (the toilet box) and then a wire holding a dangling string for the pull cord. That was really clever. They also had a windmill with tulips, and a ladybug (a very good one) on a woman and a tall stovepipe hat with a cowboy boot picture pasted on the front. They were "ladybird and the tall Texan".
We also saw a very good documentary film called "Mediterranean Holiday". It was a picture of the Swedish sailing vessel of young boys and their voyage around the Med. And the ShangriLa of the 6th fleet was also in it.
We are 5 hours late, due to the rough weather I guess. I didn't know we were scheduled to be in at 8 am. I guess this just about wraps up our trip.
- Next entry in the series 'Go to Amsterdam First (1950, 1965, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2022)': Landing in Rotterdam in 2009
- Previous entry in the series 'Go to Amsterdam First (1950, 1965, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2022)': 1950 - Amsterdam to Alkmaar
