On The Rhine

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We are cruising somewhere along the Rhine, having entered Germany a couple of hours ago. All of a sudden I've got wifi, so can make a brief post. We spent the past few days in the Netherlands, visiting interesting towns and, of course, many churches and cathedrals. The Netherlands has got some long-term problems with water -- or, more precisely, too much water. Basically the Netherlands is somewhat akin to the Mississippi Delta where the river enters into the Gulf. A lot of silt builds up islands which eventually somewhat join together. Many year ago the Dutch people started pumping water from the land to let it dry out and form a somewhat land mass. All silt -- no rocks or solid foundation. They have built dikes to keep the ocean out as 70% of the Netherlands is below sea level. What is happening as they pump water from the land to dry it out it keeps sinking. At the same time the ocean levels are rising. They are caught between a rock and a hard place.



There are many dikes and other fortifications to try and keep the ocean away from flooding the land. As we cruise along we see barge after barge heading from Germany to the Netherlands carrying rocks. Yes, there are no rocks in the Netherlands so they need these rocks for stabilization of buildings and bridges as they build. The Dutch people are quite friendly, and we've enjoyed visiting the many areas. Soon we should start seeing castles and such as we cruise along the Rhine.



The small ship we are on -- The MS Melody -- is very nice and the food has been wonderful. This is such a pleasant way to travel. The biggest concern is gaining too much weight as we munch our way along. They crew puts on a program each night, and tonight is learning some German. Zee is attending the session while I blog a bit as while I have some wifi.....Jim

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