October 26 - Zurich

It’s hard to believe but our trip is winding down.  Tomorrow we leave for Toronto.  Today we moved on to Zurich.  Zurich is the financial centre of Switzerland.  It is home to the famous Swiss banks, where the super rich hide their money because of the secrecy of around these banks. 

The Occupy Wall Street movement has a camp here in one the city’s public park. I guess that if the movement is going to have any impact on society, this would a good place to start.

On our way into the city we stopped at the Lindt candy factory.  The candy was delicious.

Zurich is one of the most expensive cities we have visited on this trip.  There doesn’t appear to be regular shops in the old city, but there are plenty Louis Vutton and Gucci shops.  Meals cost about double what they would back home.

We are staying at the Marriot Hotel.  This is like every other North American hotel.  It is nice but nothing special or unique.

I guess I’ve got old city burnout, as this city strikes me as being pretty much the same as many of the other places we’ve visited in the past three weeks.  There are lots of old churches and narrow streets with medieval architecture.   I’m sure I’m going to miss it in about 24 hours.

Pictures from Zurich

October 25 - Luzern

Today was a very ‘interesting’ day.  It started when we left Interlaken and travelled to Brienz.  Brienz is a woodworking centre in Switzerland.  As we got off the bus we were greeted by an army convoy going down the road and six fighter jets staging a dog fight over the lake.  This just two days after their general election.  It turned out that this is their annual militia training exercise.  The jets roared over the lake and through the mountain passes for about 30 minutes at sub-sonic speeds. 

A little while later we arrived at Luzern.  Luzern is famous for its two covered bridges with religious artwork imbedded in the ceiling of the bridge.  It is situated at the end of Lake Luzern, where the world rowing championships regularly take place.  The lake is so clear that you can see about 6 feet or more down into the water with no trouble.  It is surrounded on three sides by the Alps.  Shortly after we arrived the jet fighters did their exercise over Luzern.

The Jesuits have a magnificent white marble cathedral in Luzern.  As Rocky would say, it was truly spectacular.

We then went to our hotel, the Place Hotel.  What a magnificent place.  We’ve never stayed any place this opulent.  The room is more of a suite than a hotel room.  It has a large balcony overlooking the lake, a sitting room that could easily accommodate 6 people, a large bedroom, a bathroom with a large soaking tub and separate shower and another room for the toilet.  It has a list price of $860/night.

It then started getting weird.  We went to a dinner show of Swiss folk performances.  They couldn’t make this anymore terrible if they tried.  Try to imagine a female “Lawrence Welk”   as the host of such acts as a singing saw, musical bottles used as drums, ringing cow bells accompanied by a female singer barking like a dog, and the grand finale a dancing cow that went around licking the audience.  No I’m not on drugs.

Pictures from Luzern

October 24 - Magic In The Alps

Once every few vacations you have an experience or visit a site whose memory will last a life time.  Today was one of those magical days.  We visited Mount Schilthorn in the northern Alps.  The spectacular view of the green pastures in the Lauterbrunnen valley and the majestic snow capped peaks of mountains known collectively as the Three Sisters will be permanently etched into our minds.  Marg said it surpassed her wildest expectations.

To get there from our hotel we had to take a bus to Lauterbrunnen and then take a cable car and narrow gauge railway to Murren.  From there you had to take two more cable cars to reach the summit of Mount Schilthorn.  The rotating  restaurant at the summit is known as Piz Gloria.  The James Bond movie “Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was filmed on location here.

Pictures from the Alps

Movies from the top of Schilthorn (1)

Movies from the top of Schilthorn (2)

Movies from the top of Schilthorn (3)

October 23 - Bern & Interlaken

Today we started our tour of the Alps.  After a hectic breakfast we said our goodbyes to those people we’ve meet that are heading home today.

We then got on a bus and left Basel to go to Bern.  Bern is the capital of Switzerland where today it was cloudy and cold.  Bern is a very old city where most of the buildings in the old section of the town are made from sandstone because many centuries ago, the city was destroyed by a fire and timber structures fell out of favour.  Like Basel, the pedestrian walkways have large fountains that tell the story of the city.  An interesting feature of these streets is that sidewalks have been replaced with covered pedestrian arcades.

The Swiss parliament building is a large gold plated dome.  In front of the building is a large square with dancing water fountains.  Security appears to be nonexistent.  I guess when you’ve been neutral for many centuries you don’t have to worry about terrorist attacks.  The Swiss banks have very large palatial buildings surrounding the parliament building.

The history of Bern is based on a brown bear.  As you enter the old city of Bern you will pass the Bern Bear Pit.  This is a small park on the river where four very large brown bears are kept.

After lunch we continued to Interlaken.  Interlaken is a very beautiful town situated between two large lakes and surrounding by snow capped mountains.  Marg is reminded of Banff Alberta.  We are staying in the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage which is an elegant old five start hotel.   Our room has a wonderful view of the canal that runs through the city with the mountains in the background.  I took a picture of Marg in the window and it looks like she is standing in front of a beautiful painting.

Tonight we went to the casino, where I was able to play blackjack for an hour and only lost 20 Swiss francs, which is about $23.  Marg was at a point up about $100 but came out down about the same as me.

Pictures of Bern

Pictures of Interlaken

October 20 - Marg's Birthday

Today was Marg’s birthday.  It tells you lots about Marg, when 3 different times during the day, she was serenaded with “Happy Birthday “ from the other passengers.  I suspect that at least 33% of the passengers and crew are on a first name basis with her after the past two weeks.

The day started off for Marg with a leisurely breakfast in bed, served by her own personal butler, Kristopher. She even admits she is getting spoiled.

When then took a trip into the Alsace region of France.  Our first stop was in Gertswiller to visit a gingerbread bakery.  I know it sounds hookey but the owner has set up a museum that shows traditions of the Alsace region.  Germany and France have fought many wars over this area.  It got so bad that during the Second World War, the Germans would send you to jail for speaking French and it was against the law to give you child a non-Germanic name.

After this we went to the town of Barr where we tasted the local wines.  The vineyard has been owned by the same family for over two hundred years and had 80 year old bottles of wine in their cellar. The speaker knew his wines and was very informative.

After this we spent the afternoon in Strassbourg. This is the home of the European parliament.  It also has one of the most important Roman Catholic cathedrals in all of Europe. We went into the cathedral, where we were treated to an organ recital. Up until the 20^th century this was the second tallest structure in the world.  The acoustics were as Rocky would say “spectacular”.  The whole church was awe inspiring.

For Marg’s birthday lunch we went to a special French restaurant, near the Cathedral.  We had Coco-Vin.  It was excellent but the only problem was we ordered Coquilles St. Jacques.  So much for my speaking French.   

For supper the boat provided Marg with a birthday cake.

Tonight was the crew’s amateur talent show.  It was hilarious.  They had several skits and I’m sure that it was funnier than a lot of TV shows.

The internet service on Scenic, which is an oxymoron if there ever was one, is still sporadic.  I’ve not been able to get to our email, local papers or any of usual sites going on 3 days now.  They still are giving us the same old BS about being on the French boarder.  It is getting very frustrating but I was able to negotiate a refund for the lost service.    It took over 90 minutes to post last night’s blog.  Although everything about Scenic has been first class, this is making me think about going to another company in the future.

Pictures of Alsace Region

Pictures of Strassbourg

Pictures of Kehl

Movie of Marg's birthday party

October 21 - Black Forest

We docked at Breisach Germany early this morning.  I was hopeful that being in a new location would have given us Internet access.  Unfortunately these clowns are hopeless and we are now into day 4 without service.  If you reading this, you’ll know that I got off the ship and was able to find an access point somewhere.  The belief that there are Internet cafes all over Europe is a myth as I’ve not been able to find one yet.

Rocky came down with a chest cold yesterday and he decided to spend the day onboard.  In respect to his condition, nothing spectacular happened today.

Today’s excursion took us to the Black Forest.  This is mountainous area that is heavily forested.  It got its name from the Romans, 2000 years ago, because they were afraid to go into the forests because of the wild animals and war like tribes that inhabited the area.

We started by going to Gutach, where they have the equivalent of Upper Canada Village.  What was interesting was the fact that the top story of the family’s house was usually the barn. I can only imagine that lead to some interesting aromas. While we were here we had a cooking demonstration where Black Forest Cake was prepared.  Later we had some Black Forest cake, but for my tastes it had too much cream.  

Next we went to a cuckoo clock factory.  There is a lot of expert woodworking that goes into these clocks.

We continued on to Triberg, were we had lunch in a 400 year old restaurant.  Lunch was included in our excursion and the guide told us that drinks were not included but that regular tap water would be available.  When people ordered water they got bottled water instead of tap water, which is the custom in Europe, and when the waiter came to collect all heck broke out. It was embarrassing to see these rich tourists, who probably would spend $50 in useless souvenirs, trying to stick the bill to the minimum wage waiter.  It probably would have only cost them about $2 / bottle.  Enough to make you want to vote NDP.

After lunch I climbed a hill to the top of the tallest water fall in Germany.  The water drops about 160m which is about 3 times the hill in Port Stanley.  A bit of a hike, but it was worth it.

Tonight we had the captain’s dinner.  The entire crew were introduced to the passengers to loud and enthusiastic cheers. The meal was special and it ended with a “Baked Alaska”.  The meal was extraordinary.  We spent the rest of the night dancing and talking to cruise director Rolf.  It is hard to believe that the cruise will end tomorrow night.

Pictures from the Black Forest

Movie from Black Forest

October 22 - Basel

It is hard to believe that our cruise portion of our trip is over.  Tonight we said our goodbyes to our new found best friends, especially Ellen and John from Australia and Dave and Susan from London Ontario. I know we’ll be able to keep in touch with Dave and Susan on a regular basis but to meet up with Ellen and John again will require a special effort on everyone’s part.  Tomorrow, we start our tour of the Alps.

The ship put on a special going away show for us after dinner.  A couple of Swiss folk entertainers played cow bells to a variety of musical styles.  I know it sounds like it should have been on the Ed Sullivan show during the 60s, but it was truly entertaining.  John ended up playing spoons with the combo and a good time was had by all.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V46xiz70sz0

Today we’ve been docked in Basel Switzerland.  It actually is situated in Switzerland, France and Germany.  Basel is an important sea port for Switzerland.  Ships can load up here, travel down the Rhine and reach the North Sea in a manner of days.  It is the headquarters for many major European chemical companies.  

Because Basel is on a series of hills most of the roads and pedestrian walkways in the city centre are on steep hills and difficult to negotiate.  It is also a very expensive city.  We had 2 hot chocolates and a plum pie and it cost about $20.

Basel has many water fountains.  The water from these fountains is clean enough to drink.  That is a claim not too many cities can make.

Outside of ship there has been a community of Gypsies having a BBQ pig.  It looked “spectacular” but we stayed on board and held our own private going away wine and cheese with Joan and Rocky and our other new best friends.  

We’ve also increased our Aussie vocabulary.

Budgie Smugglers - A man’s Speedo bathing suit

Maggot Bags – Small meat pies

Pictures of Basel

October 19 - Baden Baden

What a piece of crap Scenic Tours internet service is.  For the second time on this trip the internet has been unavailable for over a day.  It is taking 10 to 30 minutes or longer to get a page on the internet so there won’t be any pictures in today’s blog.  The cruise director tried to explain to me that is was because we are on the boarder of France and Germany, as if the French had erected a giant screen to stop internet traffic from going to Germany through their air space.  In truth they are using an outdated satellite connection that is inoperable when there are hills, of which there are none in this area, or when there are clouds which is the case today and tomorrow.  For few bucks they could invest in a 4G service and everyone would be happy.

We continued our trip up the Rhine to the port of Gambsheim.  This is right at a narrows in the river that separates France and Germany.  We got off the boat and took a trip into Baden-Baden.  The NATO base there was mainly occupied by Canadian troops after the Second World War, until the reunification of Germany in the 1990’s.

Baden-Baden is a wealthy city with over 900 millionaires in a population just slightly bigger than that of St. Thomas. It is noted for its mineral springs and classy casino.

The highlight was a trip to their casino.  We got the tour but the casino doesn’t open its tables until the middle of the afternoon, but which time we had already returned to the boat.  Marg was not too pleased as were some of the other passengers. But as it was pointed out later there is a very strict dress code.  I was expecting James Bond to appear in his tux at any moment.

This was not a particularly interesting trip.  Maybe because the weather was rainy and cold, the casino being closed or the fact our guide did not seem to be very enthusiastic but it seemed a chore instead of fun day out.

Tonight we celebrated Marg’s birthday with a special dinner at the boat’s Portobello restaurant.  It was a seven course Italian meal.  To use Rocky’s favourite expression, Marg looked spectacular.  The food was excellent.

After dinner we had drinks with our new found friends.  Dave Fahrner who is a former CFL player for the Ticats and Eskimos had us all in stitches.  His wife, Susan,  said that Rocky walked like her husband, to which Dave replied that he had the ankles of a thoroughbred and the body of a Clydesdale.

Pictures of Baden-Baden

October 18 - Heidelberg

We had breakfast this morning the Millie and Jose.  They are a couple of Australians, of Chinese descent who emigrated from Singapore after the second world war.  They remember the Japanese occupation as small children.  

This morning we docked in the city of Mannheim.  Mannheim is an industrial city and you can tell that it sustained heavy damage during the second world war.  Their are too many historical buildings left standing, other the royal palace.  Mannheim is most famous for the Benz family who developed the first car in Europe.  Their company later merger with Mercedes to form the familiar Mercedes Benz.

We then boarded a bus and went to Heidelberg.  Heidelberg has the oldest university in Germany.  On top of hill, that commands a “spectacular” view of the city,  is the palace used by the “prince electorate”  who were the  German nobility tasked with electing the ruler of their country.  Our guide was able to tell us the history of palace with humours stories.  She put on an outstanding performance that left us all in stitches.  For example to gather the group together she would let out this loud yodel.  As she explained it the palace was developed by each subsequent prince to meet the demands of the women in their lives.  One changed the moat into a garden and another built a wing on the palace to accommodate the 400+ mistresses he had.

In the afternoon we went shopping.  All the small stores seem to be getting ready for their famous European Christmas markets.  The stores are packed with Christmas decorations of every description.  I suspect with their Christmas lights on at each store, it would be magical.

We had some hot chocolate from a store which had 75 vanities of hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate mix came as a block of chocolate on a wooden spoon with additional flavours mixed on top of the chocolate.  You then got a cup of steamed milk and you dissolved the chocolate mix into your cup. It tasted great.

We had lunch with a pair of Brazilian doctors.  I was very surprised to learn that Brazil goes far enough south that in their mountains they will get frost and snow on a regular basis.  I always thought of Brazil as being tropical.

Pictures of Heidelberg 

October 17 - Rhine River Gorge

Today’s journey took us down the Rhine River Gorge.  The hills along the banks of the river provide a scenic and strategic environment.  Dotted along the banks are many castles.  Many of these defensive forts were destroyed in the Franco/Prussian wars of the 19^th century.  Some have been restored and turned into hotels but many just shells of their former glory.

We passed the Lorlie rock, at least that how I think it spelled.  This is a Germanic legend that sailors were lured to their death on the Rhine River but this beautiful river nymph at the most dangerous point in the river with a “S” bend and shallow water.

Later we docked at Rudesheim.  Rudesheim is an UNSECO world heritage site.  Marg decided to take it easy during the afternoon and I decided to visit the town and go to the top of the  Neiderwalden, which is a large hill near Rudesheim. There I took a long nature walk on one of the many trails.  The total distance there and back was about 8K.  While going down one the side trails I heard some animal snorting at me.  I turned around and got out of there.  A little while later I came across a sign that listed the wild animals in this area.  It turns out that it may have a been a wild boar.

Rocky and Joan visited the local church and you guess it, it was spectacular

Pictures of Rhine River

Pictures of Rudesheim

October 16 - Trier

This morning we are going to the ancient Roman town of Trier. When we woke the temperature was -2C and very foggy.  It did warm up and fog did burn off by mid-morning.   We took the bus from the dock and travelled along the Moselle river valley in the same direction as we took yesterday to go to Luxembourg. We stopped at wine store at one of  the local vineyards and saw their wine cellars and bought a bottle of their semi-dry Reselling that we had onboard last night.

We then got an autobahn, where there are no posted speed limits.  I must admit that I did not see anyone going an excessive speed, although Rocky and Joan were just about killed, on a small country road, by a speeding car while on a bike tour.  The vineyards go up and down the hills in very straight lines and leave the visual impression that the hills are covered in green corduroy.

During the height of the Roman Empire, Trier was one of the most important cities in northern Europe.  It was a major trading centre and supply post for the troops.  They have uncovered the city walls, baths coliseum and other large buildings.  The main gate in the city wall is a huge structure about 3 to 4 stories high.  It has been used over the centuries as part of a church and the city hall. The coliseum the gladiators fought animals and each other before crowds of 20,000 people.  It is still used for musical concerts today.  It is even bigger than the city’s current soccer stadium.    In one of the massive buildings that was used later as a church, they had installed a floor heating system with the use of running hot water.

During the medieval times they built a cathedral which still is in use today.  We were surprised to hear that in this area of Germany the population is 95% Catholic not Protestant. 

On our way back, we went through the small village of Neumegan.  This was also discovered to be a Roman supply depot on the Moselle river and has been inhabited for 2000+ years.

This afternoon we started back uo the Moselle  to return to the Rhine river.  During the evening Marg won some money betting on pretend horse races put on by the cruise.  It was lots of fun.

Pictures of Trier

October 15 - Moselle River Valley

This morning we docked in Bernkastle.  Bernkastle is on the Moselle river in Germany and is the world capital of Riesling wines.  Along the hills that line the river are vineyards going straight up very steep slopes.  We took a tour of the town and heard some of the local folk lore about the wines from this region.  This included the story of an 93 year old man who drinks a bottle of wine a day and says that is what keeps him in good health. After the walk a few of us went to a local bakery and had some of their tasty treats.  Tonight we had a wine lecture and tasting on board after supper.

In the afternoon we took a bus trip to Luxembourg.  Luxembourg is one of three administrative centres of the EU.  It is also headquarters for 150 European banks,  I suspect that given the current economic crisis in Europe there may be many stories come on the news from here.  Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe and has about 500,000 residents.  It is ruled by a democratically elected government but the head of state is the Grand Duke of Luxembourg .

The nightlife on boas is as Rocky would say spectacular.  Most nights Rocky, Joan,  Susan and Dave from London Ontario, John and Elle from Australia and ourselves close the bar down.  Last night a British magistrate and her friend joined us for the dancing.  Dave and another gentlemen picked her up by her legs and she did a pole dance to the amusement of us all.   Nobody drinks to excess and everyone lets their hair down and has a good time.

Pictures of Moselle River 

Pictures of Bernkastle
Pictures of Luxembourg

October 14 - Moselle River Valley

Today we are going down the Moselle river valley.  The river runs west of the Rhine and is noted for its white wines.  The river itself is narrow with small hills bordering on each side.  On the north slopes there  are many vineyards with Riesling grapes.

The morning cruise was covered in a thick fog.  Marg was first too notice the hay bales which we know to previously exist only in North Dakota and Ontario.  (Sorry a private joke for Ken, picture to follow)

When we reached the town of Cochem the fog had lifted and we had as Rocky would say “a spectacular view”.  Cochem is noted for the Reich Castle.  This castle was rebuilt in the 1800’s after having been  destroyed by the French armies many decades before that.  Although the town was mostly destroyed in the second world war, the castle was not extensively damaged.

Our guide was very funny and informative.  He started off by saying that difference between Canadians/Aussies and Europeans was that we considered 200 years a long time and Europeans consider 200km a long distance. He then regaled us with a funny joke or story mixed in with historical facts for the next 90 minutes.

We found out during the evening dance and drinks that Dave from London, see previous posts, was a CFL player for Hamilton and Edmonton during the early 70s.

Pictures of Moselle River 

Pictures of Cochem

October 13 - Lower Rhine

Sorry for the delay in posting to the blog, but the internet coverage is inconsistent and it is impossible to keep a connection here while in the Moselle valley.

Today we continued our trip up the Rhine towards the Moselle River.  For the first time in a couple of days the sun came out and it was very pleasant.

Our first stop was the city of Bonn.  Bonn was the capital of West Germany from 1947 until the early 1990’s.  Bonn lost it status as the capital with the reunification of the Germany, when Berlin became Germany’s capital city.   It has maintained a small federal presence with 6 government departments still headquartered here.   Beethoven was born here and we went to his childhood house.  It is still standing which  is a bit of a miracle given that most of the city was destroyed during  the second world war.

For lunch we stopped at a deli for some sandwiches and a drink.  The lady behind the counter did not speak any English and of course we know no German.  So I pointed to a sandwich and laughed.  She laughed in agreement and placed it on my plate.  It turned out to be “Spam” and onions.  Oh well better luck next time.

Continuing down the river we were able to view the massive government guest house, where foreign heads of state stayed.  It is high up in the hills and would be very secure.  A little while later we passed the town of Remagen, where the Allies captured the bridge and were finally able to establish a beachhead of the German side of the Rhine.  This was the beginning of the end for Nazis on the western front.

During dinner I’ve started to have the after dinner digestive drink of the day.  Today it was a liqueur called Underberg, which is blend of 57 herbs.  It tasted like Buckley’s cough syrup and smelled worse.  I also had a shot of Feigling which was tasty. 

During the evening we stopped in Koblenz.  This city is at the mouth of the Moselle river, where it runs into the Rhine.  After a stroll through the town centre, we went for some beers and wine at local bar.  To quote Rocky it was spectacular.

Hello, Marg here.  I’m  really enjoying this trip, it’s a trip of a lifetime.  Sorry I haven’t been involved in writing the blog, because Brian is doing it late at night and I’m always too tired from the day’s  activities. But last night Brian had one too many beers  and he fell asleep the minute his head hit the pillow. So this is the reason the blog is late.

I’m enjoying this river cruise because while traveling from one location to another there is always scenery to watch.  On an Ocean Cruise all there is  to watch is water between ports.  Because this boat has only 166 passengers,  I can meet a new best friend every day.  We have met lots of people and I am having lots of fun.  I met Harold Hughes at the museum in Amsterdam.  He introduced me to his wife Penny as his new friend.  He also invited us to look them up if we ever go back to Limington England.  

I loved  city of Amsterdam. Our hotel was in the middle of town so we could walk or take the streetcar everywhere.  Lots of people, bicycles, mopeds and cars.  I came close to being rundown by a moped.  The walk light turned green and I started to go when I heard Brian and some lady behind me gasped.  I took a look and stopped dead in my tracks. So I am still alive and enjoying our trip.

Pictures of the Rhine River

Pictures of Bonn

Pictures of Koblenz

October 12 - Nijmegan

We are having the time of our lives.  Everyone we’ve met has had an interesting or humours story to tell us.  Their lives are interesting and have been filled with many varied views to life.  We’ve learned more about the social life in Australia in the past few days,  than we could have obtained with a master degree.  John, who is celebrating his honeymoon gave an  outstanding  performance on the spoons to Alexander’s Rag Time Band and received a standing ovation tonight.  It was far better than could be heard in a Newfie kitchen party.  As Rocky said it was spectacular.  

Susan and Dave from London Ontario told us a story about Dave stepping out of his shower, only to find that Susan had opened the curtains, leaving Dave exposing himself to the dining room of the boat which had docked beside his cruise ship while he was in the shower.

The weather is still terrible.  Marg said it reminded her of Vancouver in the winter.  Lots of drizzle and cool temperatures. There isn't anything we can do about it, so we just enjoy what we can.

 This morning we docked in Nijmaegan.  Nijmagen is one of the oldest cities in Europe.  The Romans granted the village  a charter for trading in the first century AD.  During the middle ages, the city was a central city in the Holy Roman Empire.  Barbarossa built a cathedral here and some of it is still standing.  Now the area on top of the hill is a site modern art and musical festivals.

In February 1944 during the second world war the city was bombed  by mistake by the Americans and the town center was destroyed and several hundred civilians were killed.  In the fall of 1944 the bridge over the river Rhine at Nijmegan was one of the bridges that needed to be captured during Operation Market Garden.  This campaign, if successful, would ended the war by Christmas 1944.  Unfortunately the town was captured much too late to relieve the British troops in Arnhem and the campaign was only a partial success.   To see the area where the Allied  troops had to cross the Rhine in rafts using their rifle butts as oars under intense enemy fire is sobering.

The town has been rebuilt and one of features of the city is that it will not allow cars into the inner city after a certain time of the day.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Mel, her mom Pam, Ken, Jase, Cooper and the rest of the Haskell family  on this very sad day.  We wish we could be there to lend a hand.

Pictures of Nijmegan

October 11 - Our Last Day In Amsterdam

Tonight we'll finally start our cruise down the Rhine and Moselle rivers.  But today is another day of sight seeing in Amsterdam.

This morning we went on a tour of Anne Frank's house.  Being in the house of this young girl, not too much older than Liam, where each day was a struggle for her not to be caught and murdered by the Nazi barbarians leaves one with some very powerful emotion.  I just wish that those people who continue to send me anti immigration and anti Moslim emails could be forced to spend a couple of weeks in these small rooms without natural sun light and fresh air.  Maybe then they might realize where their bigotry has the potential to lead to.

Rocky and Joan went a bike tour and to quote Rocky "it was spectacular".

During the afternoon we went on a canal cruise.  We went down the Gentlemen's Canal into an area call the "Golden Curve".  Here houses go for an average of $15,000,000.  These are 4 story townhomes on the banks of the canal, but they must be huge inside.

We also found out the waiting list for a subsided apartment can be 10 years or more.  To get a normal bachelor apartment it can cost a person $2000 or more a month.  For some a houseboat on the canal is an attractive alternative.

We met some more of our fellow passengers.  If I had to guess, I would say 2/3 of the passengers are Australian and the most of the rest are Canadian.  We've meet very few any Brits or Americans.

Pictures of Amsterdam

October 10 - We Embark On Our Ship

Today we arrived on our ship the "Scenic Sapphire".  Once we got over the shock of how small the cabin was, we really enjoyed the facilities.  We had a wonderful dinner the Rocky and Joan and then went for a walk through the "Wallen" district of Amsterdam.  You guess it, it was the night club and red light district again.  During the evening we had the opportunity to meet our fellow passengers. There was a couple from Australia, who were on their honeymoon.  There was a couple from London Ontario, whose husband had us laughing continually.  And there was a couple from Ottawa, who celebrating their 35th anniversary.  She told us that she had spent her wedding night in the Prescott Hotel and was one of the first women to ventured into the men's tavern albeit in her wedding gown.  Her husband has been trying to make it up to her since.

During the morning we went shopping on a large outdoor pedestrian mall  where we ended up in the famous Amsterdam flower market.  They had lots of tulip bulbs for sale but of course you can't bring them back to Canada.  They have store here called H&M and I suspect that they had four or five stores in a six block radius.  A little bit of overkill, if you ask me.



Pictures of Amsterdam

Pictures of the Scenic Saphire

October 9 - Day 2 in Amsterdam

Today we took in the cultural attractions of Amsterdam and its sub-culture nightlife.

We started the day by going to the Rijksmuseum, the Diamond Museum and the Van Gogh Museum, which were all located in same general district and within easy walking distance of each other.

The Rijksmuseum contains many of the paintings by the Dutch old masters.  Marg loved the Rembrandts.  She loved the life like quality of the of portraits and the amazing attention to details and the depth of colour.   Some of them were so life like that you would swear that you were viewing them in real life.  My favorite was Jan Steen because his pictures seemed to portrait a story instead of the individuals.

After going across the street to the Diamond museum, we then went to the Van Gogh museum.  Neither of us were as impressed with these paintings as we were by the masters. I guess we're not great fans of modern art.  The style of course is unique and the use of colour is memorable, but it is just not our thing. While there Marg made a new best friend.  She meet a gentleman from Leamington England, which is where her material grandparents originated.

The personal history of both Rembrandt and Van Gogh is sad.  Rembrandt died a pauper and was buried in an unmarked grave and Van Gogh shot himself at age 37, due to depression over an illness.  Now their paintings are worth millions of dollars and they never got to experience the admiration that was their due.

We then went the Heineken factory, but they wanted $24 a person to take the tour.  We decide it would be more entertaining to use the money for drinks and lunch at a pub across the street. Marg, Joan and Rocky had a huge hamburger and I made Liam proud by having a healthy "Brie and pear" sandwich.

Tonight after enjoying a wonderful steak dinner at Toro Dorado, we went for a stroll through the "Red Light District".  You certainly get an eyeful what with the prostitutes in their lingerie waving to you from their front windows and the live sex shows all long the canal. The street was jam packed with tourists such as ourselves. It was funny to see the young boys trying to get enough courage to solicit one of the prostitutes.  We walked by one door where a young boy had just come out of, just in time to hear his friend say "that was quick"

Pictures of Amsterdam

October 8 - Arrived in Amsterdam

We left Toronto at 11pm last night and arrived in Amsterdam at noon.  By my calculation that would be a seven hour flight taking into consideration the 6 hour time difference.  The flight was interesting as we passed over Ottawa.  I was able to recognize some of the major roads from 4,000 meter in the sky.

As we passed over the coast of Holland, we saw a large number of wind turbines, that were located in the water several kilometers out. It was also easy to see why Holland has reason to be worried about rising sea levels due to global warming.  The dykes just didn't seem to be that big and the land is very flat and would flood easily.

We are staying at the "Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky".  It is a grand old hotel but the rooms have been updated and are very comfortable.  It is in the heart of the old city and very close to most attractions.  For dinner we went for a moderate hike to a brew pub called "De Bekeerde Suster".  The food was good and the local beer was delicious.

Some observations about Amsterdam from our first day here.

The city is a modern city planners dream.  The streets are narrow and priority is given to pedestrians and bikes and public transportation.  I've never seen so many bikes and the sidewalks are full of people.  You have to be very careful to avoid the bikes.

The cobblestone streets and sidewalks can be very dangerous when wet.

The smell of pot is very strong on the streets.

The architecture of the buildings is varied and very interesting.

Pictures of Amsterdam

October 7 - Pearson Airport

Getting ready to board our plane to Amsterdam.  What a day it has been.  We left Port Stanley about 3pm, hoping to meet up with Joan & Rocky for dinner.  What should have been a two hour trip took about 3.5 hours because of traffic.  It was stop and go from Kitchner to Toronto and most of the time we were either stopped or only moving about 40k..  It did allow us time to view the fall colours which are brilliant along the 401.

When we got to the airport it turns out that security was working to rule and the wait was estimated to be 4 hours.  To add to our frustration. KLM was understaffed and it took about 40 minutes to get our baggage checked.  Thank goodness by the time that was completed the security line was moving.  It only took about an hour.  So our dinner was an airport burger.  Yum yum!