> Now that I finished the review...
>
> The answer is that I liked Tivoli Garden, but not as much as Nyhavn. I
> really loved the Nyhavn area of town. Maybe it's my heritage, or the
> artist in me, but I liked the canal area, the old boats, the reflections
> of the different colors in the water of the canal at Nyhavn, vs. the
> amusement park aspects of Tivoli.
> I've heard that Amsterdam is a lot like the Nyhavn area of Copenhagen, so
> I'm really looking forward to Amsterdam next year.
>
> --Tom
Well, it's a bummer your review has to come to an end, Tom. It was both
informative and entertaining! Thanks for taking us along for a vicarious
peek. You are a terrific writer, and it was fascinating to learn about such
a different part of the world.
Your remarks about dining on the Connie are very much in line with what we
experienced on the Millie in the Med last summer. I agree with your
conclusion, Euro food provisioning seems to have some impact on ingredients.
So, I felt you were equivocal about how *you* liked Tivoli Gardens, and now
I learn why! There was a healthy crowd the night we were there (July 26),
but I cannot imagine 100-200K? We found it totally delightful, and what a
beautiful setting, especially once it was dark and the twinkle lights worked
their magic. We rode the rides, people watched and made the rounds of the
various performances and live stages. We sat at the old cafe and restaurant
front left of the main stage to watch the late evening concert. There were a
lot of locals there for cocktails and the band, including many well-dressed
older people who were clearly out to make the most of a beautiful summer
evening. Did you catch the Thumbelina show? It just opened July 14, not sure
about the timing of your visit. The Queen was the artistic force behind the
production and designed the sets and costumes herself. You may have heard
some stories about the royal family. They are apparently very accessible,
involved in everyday affairs and well-liked. Speaking of artists, the Queen
loves to paint and admits to ignoring her official duties sometimes to sneak
in a few hours at the studio! Yes, I was rather taken with Tivoli, but I
confess to loving amusement parks.
Now, if you liked Nyhavn, then oh my, yes, you are going to love Amsterdam.
I have to think hard, though. I am not sure we've ever sat along a canal
quite like Nyhavn, with non-stop restaurants, entertainment and people out
having fun. That was, indeed, a very nice and somewhat unique experience. I
thought Copenhagen was nice enough, although ouch, incredibly pricey. The
supreme irony of that was, we were never so relieved when it was time to
move on to London. Of all the expensive cities in the world! But, we know
London, public transportation is cheap, you can order that beer without
thinking about how much it costs, LOL.
So, next summer, Century to the Baltics leaving out of Amsterdam? What a
great plan. All 4 in our bunch like Amsterdam a lot, plus we have friends
there, so we've visited as often as logical, including this trip, of course,
to cruise out of Rotterdam. Between Ams and Rott (only 1-1/2 hours away) are
The Hague, Delft and other neat places, so we had a lot of fun exploring
beyond the city this year. As if Amsterdam doesn't have enough good art,
there are some incredible collections in The Hague, including MC Escher's
work...fascinating! But in 2003, we sailed out of Amsterdam on the inaugural
voyage of the Serenade with Jeff C. and Howie & Eileen and the Zegarskis. I
remember we got up early the morning the ship came in port, rented bikes and
rode all over town, including over to see the ship. We returned to our
hotel, got our bags and a taxi, and on our way to embark, stopped at the
Flower Market for some gorgeous (and incredibly cheap) flowers for our
staterooms.
This reminds me, in Copenhagen, by the King's Square, did you walk through
that small flower market at the corner of the big department store? There
were some lilies of a color I'd never seen before. Also, at the top of the
square where it looks down at Nyhavn, did you stop and look at that replica
of a core plug from the earth with the descriptions of the different eras,
strata and artifacts? I thought that was such a creative display.
Good times.
Diana
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