Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Days 1 & 2)

I'm taking a Smithsonian Journeys trip with Mom on a riverboat!

Wednesday, May 2: BOS > DUB

After we each worked in the morning, Mom and I headed for the airport at 2:30pm for our 5:45pm flight from Boston to Dublin. Thanks to some luck and/or timing, we had been able to purchase Business Class tickets on Aer Lingus for about half of the price of any other airline, so we were able to wait in the lounge at Logan to enjoy some snacks and drinks before boarding the plane and getting settled into our comfy lie-flat seats.

Mom ordered the “Express” meal and was served promptly so that then she could lie down and try to snooze. I had the regular menu, which included a starter of three canapes followed by a salmon entrée and small cheese plate. All of this was accompanied by wine, of course!

The flight was just under 5.5 hours, and I ended up watching two movies (“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”), so I only got to snooze for about an hour before landing at 4:30am. Oops. Bad timing. We were again able to access the Aer Lingus lounge during our short layover prior to our connecting flight from Dublin to Brussels.

Thursday, May 3: DUB > BRU

When we arrived in Brussels, we moved through passport control super-fast (no line at all!) and then reclaimed our bags and found our meeting spot at the Java Café. Since we were a bit early for our 11am group transfer, Mom found a place to sit while I wandered around and purchased some cards and three 2-pack Lion bars. Yay!

We then walked quite a distance to the coach, which took us on a short tour of Brussels, including at stop at the fabulous Atomium.

Then we continued on to Antwerp, where we met up with our riverboat, the Amadeus Silver. Fortunately, our rooms were ready, so I waited to collect my own bag from the coach in order to be able to unpack right away and then go out for a run while Mom went to lunch. I really wasn’t hungry, and I’ve learned over time that the best way for me to recover from international flights is to do a workout to help adjust to the time difference and lack of sleep!

Our cabins are right across the hall from each other on the Strauss Deck, and it’s definitely wonderful that we have our own space, since these cabins are smaller than the cabin we shared on Le Boréal during our Scottish Isles & Norwegian Fjords cruise. The room is quite lovely with a decent amount of storage, and the floor-to-ceiling windows provide a wonderful view of the canal that we’re sailing on.

Upon our arrival at the boat, another riverboat was docked next to us, which is not uncommon and will likely happen several times during the tour. This reminded me of the riverboats that Mr. E and I had seen during our trip to Bordeaux, when we stayed in an apartment near the riverfront and frequently walked along that area.

We had a mandatory safety drill and presentation at 3pm, where we also met some of the tour group staff and members of the crew. The afternoon activity at 4pm was a walking tour of Antwerp. Mom decided to stay on the boat and rest, but I joined a group to do the tour and learn more about the city’s development and history. Lots of cobblestone streets. Lots of bicycles and bike lanes – so cool!

The tour lasted about 1.5 hours, so we were back on board in time for the 6pm presentation in the Panorama Lounge on the history and culture of Belgium. The talk was informative and fun but a bit long, not finishing until after 7pm. We then had a brief overview of the next day’s schedule and were finally able to head to the Panorama Restaurant for dinner and then to our rooms where I completed my daily yoga practice before going to bed.

There are about 140 passengers on the boat spread across 80 cabins on 3 decks. Our Smithsonian Journeys group is relatively small, at about 15, and the largest group is with the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Other groups include alumni from USC, Michigan State University, Texas A&M, and Cal-Berkeley.