Home again, home again

 We’re home.

We had a great time on the cruise and we appreciate those who followed along.  I wanted to write about a few things that I really didn’t make time to write about while we were cruising. 

Our companions, Curt, Mary, Mike and Suzanne were wonderful.  We had virtually all of our meals together, shared most of our shore excursions together and spent plenty of happy hours together and we all got along splendidly.  

We are grateful that all the bad things that could have happened, didn’t.  Things like losing a passport, missing a bus, forgetting pills or rain gear, bodily injury, illnesses, delayed flights, getting lost, getting pick pocketed, losing a wallet or key or having a phone go dead.  Nothing bad happened and we are grateful.   

Our days were surely filled but never overwhelming.  Each day started out with a wonderful breakfast.  Think of a a very nice hotel-type breakfast.  There was a buffet but we could also order off the menu.  Each morning included a shore excursion.  Almost all the excursions included some free time to either shop, have a beer or coffee and time to look a round on our own.  Almost all of our excursions were included.  We chose 3 excursions that we had to pay for.  Lunch was sometimes followed by another excursion.  Each afternoon we were offered a coffee/tea and dessert time.  These were eventually followed by a one hour happy hour (drinks included in the price of the cruise).   After 15 minutes of announcements about upcoming events we had dinner.  Each night we were given menus which offered three choices each of appetizers, soups, main courses and deserts.  Wine flowed easily at dinner and again the wine was included in the price of the cruise.   After dinner there was entertainment in a large lounge type hall.  A tour of any kind is a great way to make sure you don’t miss any highlights of the city you’re in.  Being on a cruise we were also saved from repacking every day.   

While of course we were in tourist areas and normally with a local guide, language was never a problem.  Many people spoke English and many of them spoke it well.  The few times we had to ask a local person a question or get directions, we got by and they seemed to appreciate any effort we made to use their language.  One night our cruise director made this joke.  

A man from Switzerland came to the US.  He approached two young men and said in German “sprichst du deutsch?”  The American men looked at him with blank stares.  So the Swiss man tried French, “ parles français?”  All he got back from the Americans were more blank stares.  Next, the Swiss man tries Italian, “parli italiano?”   Finally he tries Dutch, “spreek je Engels?”  The Americans just looked at him.  The Swiss guy finally gives up and walked away.  

   As the Swiss fellow walked away one of the  Americans looked at his friend and says “maybe we should think about learning a second language.” His friend replies, “why, that guy knew four of them and it didn’t do him any good!’  Everybody laughed but sometimes I think there is some arrogance of showing up in someone else’s country without knowing anything about their language.  However, to be clear we could easily get by just using English.   

Thanks for reading. 

Ken and Cathy

Photo of our ship taken off the internet

Ken, Cathy, Mike, Suzanne, Curt and Mary

Our Ship

Amsterdam

 Today started off with a canal tour of Amsterdam.  Our guide was the first guide in whom we were disappointed. We did learn that there are 2900 houseboats parked semi-permanently in the canals.  When we got off the canal boat we had a choice to take a walking tour back to the ship.  That guide was very good.  

As we walked, we learned that this city of 920,000 people has over a million bikes.  Estimates say that 80,000 bikes are stolen every year.  10,000 are found each year in the canals.  During our walk we saw more “stumble Stones” the gold-ish little plaques in the side walks with the names of the Jews from Amsterdam lost in the Holocaust. We passed Rembrandt’s home and we learned about the East India Company and William of Orange.  Our guide pointed out to us how some of the multistory buildings are tipping.  We did pass two legal marijuana places and our guide pointed out where the red light district was but not much was made of these places.   

After lunch we took a trip to a living history type place.  The weather was laughably bad (pouring rain off and on and high winds).  The park was divided into four sections, a bakery, a cheesemaking area, a windmill area and wooden shoes making area.  Despite the rain and wind it was fun and educational.  

Rembrandt’s house

Stumble Stones

Bikes, Bikes and more Bikes

Leaning house

Windmill inner workings

Koblentz and Cologne

 We arrived in Koblentz in time for an independent walk around the city.  When we got off the boat the first thing we noticed was the huge fort above the city overlooking the river.  We walked a few blocks and went into the Basilica o St. Castor.  The present church was built in the 12th century.   A little further into our walk there are three panels of the Berlin Wall on display.   A short walk later brought us to a beer garden.   We also came upon the huge monument dedicated to the unification of Germany.  We got back on to the boat in time for happy hour, a wonderful dinner and dancing in the lounge.   

This morning we woke up in Cologne.  We had a one and a half hour walking tour of the city which of course was highlighted by the Cologne Cathedral. One of the things that make this Cathedral special is that it houses the relics of the Three wisemen.  Sadly when we reached the church, Mass was going on.  We went and had a coffee.  That Mass lasted one hour and 25 minutes.  There was a half hour before the next Mass and we could only get in if we were going to Mass.  So…. We lied.  An interesting thing about that Mass was that it was said by the Bishop.  One of the ushers referred to it as a high Mass.  Before Mass began the Cathedral bells rang for 20 minutes.   

We also learned today that 90% of the city was bombed during WWII but the Cathedral was spared.  She said the Allied planes spared it because the pilots used it as a navigational tool.  The City of Cologne is home to 1.1 Million people.

Koblentz

Berlin Wall

Fort is above us

Cathedral in Cologne

 

The Gero Cross

Blaneys, Moores and Winklers

Zoom in.  I think he looks like the Pope

Rudesheim

If today is Saturday we must be in Rudesheim, Germany.  We arrived here last night just before dinner.  The photo of the church below was typical of the views we were seeing from our ship last evening.  

Rudesheim is a small town of 10,000 people that sees two million visitors every year.  Our half day trip into town today was to see Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet.  It’s a mechanical music museum - think player piano on steroids.  I’ll try to post a video.   One of the instruments played six violins and a piano at the same time. 

After our tour we were treated to a special coffee.  In brief, it was a great tasting Irish coffee with Chocolate shavings on top.  It was a brief walk back to the ship.

We left port about 1:00 and we cruised through the Rhine Gorge.   Our guide said this area has the largest concentration of castles in Europe.  Even if that is not true, there were a lot of them and this portion of the cruise was by far the most scenic.  

 

 Clock on the street corner

View from the ship

Rudesheim

Cruising through the Rhine Gorge

Mainz

 Today while the Winklers chose to do a full day excursion, we stayed on board with Curt and Mary for a more leisurely morning and an afternoon excursion to Mainz.  I gotta say sleeping until 8:15 was rejuvenating.  I understand the concept of sucking every morsel off the bone of traveling but we are just now falling into a manageable sleep cycle.  Meaning, this morning of breakfast, coffee, shower, reading and scrolling was a very welcome change. 

   

Until today much of our scenery has been industrial.  Today, we are surrounded by greenery and small towns.   I’ve already lost count of the number of locks we have passed through but there have been a lot.  By the end of our journey we will have passed through 14 of them.   

As for Mainz today we were pleasantly surprised by St. Peter’s Catholic Church.   It was not a reason to tour the city but a nice surprise. It was nicely bright and beautiful.  But the prize of Mainz is the Gutenberg Museum.  Only 49 of the approximately 180 printed Gutenberg Bibles still exist including those in the museum.  The other city highlight was the Mainz Cathedral.   As we continued our tour of the city these little golden/brass sidewalk blocks were pointed out to us.  On each tiny plaque is the name of a person was taken from Mainz during the Holocaust.  It states their name, where they were sent and where they died.  Our tour guides said as information becomes available more are installed and that some were installed as recently as last week.   

St. Peter Church

Gutenberg Museum

Mainz Cathedral

Strasborg

 Greetings from Strasbourg, France.

Today we left the ship at 8:45 for an excursion to the city of Strasbourg.  The cornerstone of Strasbourg is the Strasbourg Cathedral.  Construction began in 1015.  At one time it was the highest building in the world.  Its highlights are the 465 foot spire and its stained glass windows. It also has in intricate astronomical clock.  

The city is home to a statue of Albert Schweitzer who was the organist in the church as well as another statue of Gutenberg of the Gutenberg bible and Gutenberg printing press fame.  In the same square as the Gutenberg statue is a double decker carousel.  

Our city tour included that portion of the old town called Le Petite France District with its own canal system.  After the tour ended we were left with plenty of time to find a great place for lunch and extra time to tour the city on our own.

Even though I have been told in great detail on multiple occasions how this portion of the world has belonged to France, Germany, France, Germany and currently France, I can’t remember them all.   

Germany, France & back to Germany

 Our little six person group split up today.  Curt and Mary went to the Black Forrest and Mike, Suzanne, Cathy and I chose to stay closer to the ship.   

We were up and off the ship by 8:00 this morning as we took a bus from our German mooring to the city of Colmar, in France. The excursion was called, Colmar, France’s Little Venice.  It was an attractive Old World German town complete with its own canal system.  

We returned to the ship for a quick but delicious lunch before heading to the German City of Freiburg.  This excursion was an exceptional surprise.  We hadn’t planned on going but were so happy we did.  The home town guide was personable, informative and knowledgable.  The cobble stone streets and sidewalks were truly unique.  They seem to be a quarter size of normal cobble stones.  Many of the streets have open water gutters of seemingly clear water running off from the mountain streams.  After a tour of the Cathedral with its wonderful stained glass windows and “airy” steeple, we enjoyed a fleet of beer samples and headed back to the ship.   

Colmar

Freiburg