Let's Finish with rain

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Saturday, May 24 Koblenz







We spent all of the morning cruising the Rhine and taking photos. This I castle country with every other hilltop having a castle and each had a great legend, tale or fact about it. Now if the sun had been out instead of light rain and brisk wind it would have been perfect. The farther we went along the river the better the weather though. By the time we arrived in Koblenz we were down to summer layers. Here we did a Marksburg castle tour. Our guide was a very knowledgeable, firm. no-nosense German. The castle was completely intact and definitely let you feel what life would be like in medieval times. Being wealthy back then didn’t necessarily mean you would be warm and nutritionally well-fed although this castle did have a nice veg and herbal garden. The garden was helped along by being under the latrine which was a small side room jutting out from the castle walls – no piping just drop and dribble into the garden. I think I’d decline those onions that were growing there. Back at our ship and then time for a walk along the river promenade where the spring garage sale was going on. There were hundreds of vendors throughout the park selling every possible thing you could think of. Too bad for the granddaughters that I couldn’t get that stuff in my suitcase. I did buy a sherry glass though and a million mark bill. Wonder if they’ll take that for gratuity payment here onboard. Dinner on the ship was amazing. The staff set up a German meal in 3 stations and you wandered buffet style to choose your food and one of the stations was the galley. Walked all through it meeting all the cooks and dishwashers who proudly served up knuckles, sauerkraut, dumplings, pork lard, cheeses, and other goodies. Now add to all this an oompapa accordion guy and his wife playing a box instrument like an organ grinder plus the schnapps station and it was a noisy melee of food and fun. The schnapps station was well used by our group plus the staff who drank right along with the guests. 7000+ steps (battery is dead on my pedometer)







Sunday, May 25 Cologne







Morning cruising which was very good since most people were walking around carefully and consuming large quantities of coffee. Beautiful day – sun and warm. Makes everyone forget the chilly days or rain. A way of life for Vancouverites. Somehow the morning passed very quickly just moving from relaxing place to place on the ship. In Cologne we did a tour of the exterior of the Gothic cathedral which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was built between 1248 and 1880 – pretty impressive and if we’d been doing the tour from Amsterdam to Budapest I would have been completely awed but I’m getting to my church, cathedral, spire, Gothic, Baroque limit now. I just wanted to get to the chocolate museum. After lunch was walked the riverfront which was packed with vendor tents selling leather goods, scarves, jewellery and vodka punches. Huge glass bowls of fruit and juice were colourfully on display and at first I thought it was fruit juices and admired the German love of fruit as the line-up was fairly long to be served. When I stopped for the photo and read some of the German it wasn’t fruit juice - it was vodka. We made it to the chocolate museum and I concentrated on the shop – Adr said it was a very good museum. Tonight was the Captain’s Dinner. Extravagant meal with way too much excellent food. Our group had to rush out as dessert came since we were all on the beer tour. Our guide took us to 4 brauhaus for their particular Kolsch. At each place we were given samples. A couple of the guys in our small group got rather lucky as 4 of us don’t drink beer so there was plenty to go around. It was a wonderful warm evening and it was nice to walk around the area without the tourist crowds. As soon as we got onboard the gangplank was pulled up and we did a u-turn in the middle of the river and are now heading for our last stop. 10000+ steps (I could tell by the aching feet)







Monday, May 26 Kinderdijk







Up at 8 and the dining room was almost empty. Everyone really slept in. Spent the morning just cruising by the flatlands of the Netherlands. Passed by Noah’s Ark – apparently someone took the time to build a replica on the riverfront. Looking at it all I could think of was the cleaning problem after 40 days of no toilets. I shouldn’t have had such thoughts as we may have been cursed with the rains in the afternoon. We stopped at Kinderdijk for a visit to the windmills. And the rain started halfway through our tour. Thank goodness Viking has those king sized golf umbrellas. No battery for my pedometer so have no idea of the steps just that they were wet. After dinner it was packing time. Not too bad as I didn’t have to worry about weight since we just had to get to the Amsterdam hotel in the morning not get on a flight. I was able to easily close it after giving Ross a couple of my space bag condensed clothes. Last sleep on the ship.







Tuesday, May 27 Amsterdam







Woke up and we were dockside very close to the Centraal Station in Amsterdam. Viking is great – they didn’t care when we got off as long as we were out of our rooms by 9 and as long as we were off the ship before they set sail. Quite a few of us went out and walked to Centraal to get our Holland Passes (good museum rates etc). Then we strolled around town a bit and back to the ship for lunch, last of the free beer and wine, and after we took our luggage. With M&R we got on the tram and then rolled our suitcases to a little street near the museums. It was very difficult finding our hotel since the numberingsystem was a bit off and the signage for our place was all of 1 inch high under the doorbell. Didn’t look like a hotel. Luckily for us they had a luggage elevator since there were a lot of high steep stairs and I was puffing just trying to get me up the stairs. Rooms were large, high ceilinged, big windows and I think it must have been a classroom before. Looks like someone revamped an old high school into apartments and rooms to let. Proprietor was very helpful and the place was clean. We went out to find some quilt shops (way too expensive), got a battery, and took a canal ride in the rain. We met B&B for dinner and the 6 of us went to a very good restaurant called Haesje Clase. Excellent soup and carpaccio and the others really liked their more traditional food. Just trying to keep the calories lower. Registered 6000 steps for half a day but my feet knew we went much farther.







Wednesday, May 28 Amsterdam







After a very costly organic breakfast (100%!f(MISSING)at Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries and carmelized mixed nuts – no calories there) we went to the Rijksmuseum for the morning. We kept running into so many of our friends from the trip since most of them were spending a few days in Amsterdam before further travels. I go around European museums concentrating on taking photos of ugly babies (why can’t they paint babies well) as well as my favourite impressionists. We had lunch in a small expensive café and then we went to the Van Gogh museum. Love his stuff – no photos allowed. Next we met A&D, R&C and J for dinner at Quinto. A very fun, loud time with good food and drink and a wonderful little chocolate surprise dessert. Back to the hotel in a good, steady rainfall to seriously pack for the flight next day. 14, 965 steps







Thursday, May 29 Flight home



Just a drizzle as we headed to the tram - forecast is for sun and warm as soon as we leave.



I always Liked Schipol Airport until this time. Line-ups, automated everything. But that wasn’t nearly so bad as having to reorganize our suitcases in the crowds. You would think 3 lbs over would not cost 75 euros. I was over by 3 and Ross was under by 3. No go – we have to change. I have wanted to buy one of those luggage scales everytime we travel but you know who figures he can tell the weight by lifting. Lost O&R in the airport but I did get an email from them the next day saying they got home. Our flight was direct and seemed to pass quickly since we were travelling with the sun. I never slept but Ross did.



It has taken 5 days to feel like I have some energy and to sleep at normal times. That’s good because in 4 days we fly to Kauai with the family for Mike’s wedding.







All in all a great trip, so many fun friends new and old (and some of us did get older).







NEXT TIME PACK LIGHTER!!!!

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Photos

schnapps night
I only had 2 - others had ....