There were a few bumps in the night, presumably as we went through the locks on the Amsterdam Rhine Canal, but we slept well and woke to find ourselves in the process of docking in Amsterdam, in prime position just behind the central railway station.

We had a civilised start to the day with our canal cruise not starting until 10.30. It was in an enclosed canal boat luckily, as Amsterdam is decidedly chilly this morning. That also explains the random lines in some of these photos.

At one point we went past a side canal with a number of arched bridges.

After lunch we had the afternoon free to amuse ourselves so, after recommendations from both the cruise director and Elaine and Norm, who have preceded us in Amsterdam by a week, we decided to take the train out to Zaanse Schans to see some windmills. The buying of the train tickets turned out to be a bit of a mission with apps to be downloaded and credit cards not cooperating but we got there in the end.

The village of Zaanse Schans is a reproduction of houses and windmills from the 18th century rather than originals but it is very well done and very photogenic.

Several of the windmills are working mills with the opportunity to get close up to the workings.

Having spent many years in the timber industry, I was particularly interested in the working model of a wind-driven sawmill.

We also enjoyed touring the clock museum, with many clocks, including grandfather clocks, dating back to the 1700s.

There was also a clog manufacturing display and shop.

And in the midst of all this, there was the opportunity to view the local wildlife.

Towards the end of our visit it started raining so we headed back to the railway station. The rain got more torrential as we went. Eventually we made it to the station where we just missed a train and discovered that the next two were cancelled due to, if my translation of the Dutch is correct, "a previous disturbance". This gave us the opportunity to buy Hot Chocolates from the station cafe and they were delicious!

Back at the ship, we discovered that the local wildlife existed in the middle of Amsterdam as well.

Then we had our last dinner on the ship. We sat with Tony and Colleen from Tauranga and Mark and Marcie from Perth, who we had dined with most nights. It was sad to say goodbye to them and a few others that we had got to know over the last week.