Day 1
Embarkation on MS Johann Strauss in Amsterdam. The same evening, the ship casts off.
Day 2
After arrival in Kampen in the morning, you will discover the pretty port city on a *walking tour. Kampen has had city rights since 1236, and proves itself to be a lively university city that has not lost any of its historical allure despite all its modern features. Subsequently, there will be a coach excursion to the well worth visiting canal village of *Giethoorn, the “Venice of the North”. On a boat trip through the canals, the idyllic Giethoorn shows all its charms. Re-embarkation will take place in Urk. After lunch on board, you will go on a *walking tour through the old fishing village of Urk, which has a well-preserved, compact centre with a pleasant fishing harbour and many old houses. The same evening, the ship continues its journey.
Day 3
Through the dense network of waterways in the north of the Netherlands, MS Johann Strauss will have reached the former Hanseatic city of Groningen. Here, you will go on a *walking tour of the historical centre through this lively university city in the morning. In the afternoon, an excursion to *Fort Bourtange near the German border is planned. Here, several star-shaped ramparts and moats protect the original village, still inhabited today, where you will feel as though you’ve travelled back to the 18th century. In the evening, you will travel onwards from Groningen over the border into German Emsland.
Day 4
Papenburg is the name of the next port of call, where the ship remains for the whole day. The morning can be used for an excursion to *Meyer Werft, the modern shipyard nearby, where huge, luxurious cruise liners are built, among others. After lunch on board, you will go on a short *walking tour to get an impression of Papenburg yourself, which is permeated by numerous canals. In the evening, the trip is continued down the Ems.
Day 5
During the night, the ship will have arrived in Emden, near the mouth of the Ems at the Dollart, a bay in the Wadden Sea. A *walking tour will lead you among other buildings to the heart of the town, the Ratsdelft canal, where the town hall towers can be found. At noon, the ship casts off again and travels through the North Sea bay, to make a stop at the coastal city of Delfzijl in the afternoon, before it sets off towards the IJsselmeer in the evening.
Day 6
In the morning, you will arrive in the lively fishing town of Lemmer. This morning, a *walking tour of Lemmer itself is combined with a coach excursion to picturesque *Hindeloopen. Old houses, small wooden bridges and the peaceful canals give this village a charming character. In the afternoon, MS Johann Strauss crosses the IJsselmeer and reaches Enkhuizen in the late afternoon. Enkhuizen, like Hindeloopen, also had its heyday in the 17th century as a seaport of the Dutch East India Company. A *walking tour takes you to the historical buildings that bear witness to this time. Everyone is back on board in time for dinner and the ship heads for Amsterdam.
Day 7
Disembarkation in Amsterdam after breakfast.
