Tricia’s Travelogue

Sunday was a full day, with a morning excursion to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, then a narrated tour on the ship as we passed many castles in the middle Rhine region. Our ship docked at Koblenz briefly en route to Rudeshein for various excursions.  Our group filled one bus, and we rode about 30 minutes up a steep hill to the fortress.  The fortress is huge and well-fortified. Here’s an aerial view (thanks, Wikipedia).  It was built between 1817 and 1828 by Prussia to guard an area repeatedly attacked by the French.  The fortress was so imposing that it was never attacked. An actor in period costume conducted the tour for us, and he was entertaining and informative.    Our tour included a gondola ride down from the fortress and across the river to our ship! Very fun! After lunch on the ship, most people went to the top deck to view the castles of the Middle Rhine while our program director narrated. I’ll just post a few of the castles here. The weather was perfect! That evening we docked i

Our ship traveled the 150 or so miles from Kinderdijk to Cologne from early yesterday afternoon until sometime before noon.  Most of us were dropped off at a tiny, rustic-looking (and rusty) dock, seemingly in the middle of nowhere for a 30-minute bus ride into Cologne. There we met our guide Sarah on “the wrong side” of Cologne. That area afforded the best views of the cathedral, I suppose. Here you can see the cathedral and the Hohenzollern bridge. The bridge is designed only for pedestrians and trains. Our guide told us 1300 trains serve Cologne daily. Our group walked across the bridge, as Sarah pointed out the four million or so “love locks” attached to the bridge. Each lock is inscribed with the names of couples and the date, and the tradition is to throw the keys into the river to ensure everlasting love.   Sarah explained a lot about the cathedral’s history, including the fact that it was virtually the only building left standing after World War II. Some of the stained glass wi

Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to its historic windmills.  The town itself is tiny, with fewer than 800 people. Once docked, we met our tour guide, Hermi, a local volunteer. She led us off the ship, over the dike, and down a long path to see a workshop. There she explained the workings of windmills and showed us wooden cogs and sprockets involved in the process.   Along the way she pointed out a sculpture of a cat on a cradle, which commemorates an old story about a flood in which a baby in a cradle floated away.  The family cat stayed with the cradle for hours, keeping it upright.  The windmills soon came into view. I especially admired the miller’s garden. So tidy!  We were able to tour the very tight interior of the windmill, though only Rob and Eleanor braved the steep ladders between floors to see the children’s room and the windmill works. We saw their living area and parent’ room, with a tiny bunk across the foot of their bed for a baby to sleep in. Very practic

We left our hotel mid-morning yesterday and took an Uber to the passenger terminal for cruise ships. Unfortunately, our driver wasn’t sure where to drop us off, and Viking hadn’t sent ANY information about our arrival. I think most people have Viking handle all their travel arrangements, then Viking delivers them from the airport or the hotel on buses.   We ended up having to schlep our bags over cobblestones a long way, around the giant terminal to the back where our ship was docked. Once we survived that and handed over our bags, the rest of the day was very pleasant! Our cabin wasn’t ready immediately, but they were serving a buffet lunch in the dining room, so we all convened there. Our cabins were ready after lunch, so we unpacked.  The senior Kimbros are next door, and the juniors are downstairs in a Swan Room, which has a high window just above water level.  Our cabin is very tight, with a tiny bathroom. Adequate, but not a place to spend much time. Then most of us reconvened in

On Tuesday, we all had a great lunch at LuminAir, atop the nearby Doubletree hotel, with wonderful views. I had the best (and prettiest, decorated with edible flowers!) tuna melt. Then we rode a tram to the area around the Anne Frank House for our tour.   They regulate the number of visitors per hour, but it was very crowded and claustrophobic at times. There were at least three very narrow and steep stairways up to the floor where the Frank family and a few others were hidden for over two years.  I marveled at the 89-year old who mounted the stairs just ahead of me!  The tour was very moving, of course. Visitors get guided audio tours in the language of their choice that explain each part of the house along with excerpts from Anne’s diary.  Imagining the length of time they were hidden in four small rooms, unable to make any noise when the warehouse below was operating, really drove home their experience. Mercifully, there were modern staircases to return to street level. That evening

Yesterday morning we planned to meet the Kimbros for a canal boat ride at 11:00.  It looked like a long walk, so to spare Charlie’s knee, he set up an Uber ride. The app instructed us to walk to a pickup spot about five minutes away, which we grudgingly obeyed. Our car didn’t show up, and Charlie’s phone chose right then to lose all connection. Finally, the driver called him, and she was right outside our hotel.  She drove to get us, but was a very gruff 50-ish Dutch woman who was not amused at the glitch.  Stay tuned for more Uber issues. The canal boat ride was delightful! Rachel booked it with Those Dam Boat Guys , and we were happy to have a boat all to ourselves. This is the Jackson 2, of the Jackson Five. In the background is one of the many houseboats permanently moored along the canals. I failed to take a pic of our delightful guide, Mark, an adorable Irishman with accent to match.  He told us he’d moved to Amsterdam several years ago “for a job and a girl,” but no longer had e