greenroads

The Ascent

2012-01-30T21:32:00.000-08:00

You can click once on a picture to enlarge it and click just off it to continue in the blog.

We have been enjoying the sight of the Catalina Mountains from the desert valley that Tucson occupies for 2 seasons now. Yesterday we decided to take a drive up to the highest peak of these mountains that are just north of Tucson: Mount Lemmon. The altitude here is 9,157 feet. This area is part of the Coronado National Forest. The hour long journey ascending the "Sky Island Parkway"is one of the most beautiful scenic drives. Along the way are many "vistas" where you can stop and drink in the fabulous scenery. The temperature in the valley was mid 70's F but by the time we reached the summit it was mid 40's with substantial snow patches. Enough for the ski hill to be open!

Tucson from the first Vista. When you look up from Tucson the Catalinas look barren and shallow. But once up here It is amazing how much vegetation there is and how it changes as you climb. There are many more canyons than you would think.

The first part of the drive was through the low scrub vegetation and Saguaros typical of the desert around Tucson. But once you reach a certain elevation the Saguaros disappear and pines become more dominant.

Giant Saguaros dominate the lower elevations

John is feeling brave!

John and Tom check out one of the many crevasses

Tom and Bernie: Oregonian friends we met here last season.

As we travelled and stopped it was fun to look up and back to see the winding road where we had been and where we would go! This road is used by serious cyclists to train. It is remarkable to see them making the climb and then whizzing down. Surely they must burn out their brakes. We even saw a jogger or two. Motorcyclists love this road as well.

Windy Point was one the most spectacular vistas. Huge boulders were perched precariously and as far as the eye can see are layers of mountain ranges, their depth and numbers more evident from up here than from Tucson below.

Don't back up!!

We saw several rock climbers enjoying the day but this was all I could handle. John is edgy about edges so he lets me pose while he takes the pictures!

Hoodoos!! Erosion and wind blow around making hoodoo formations.

The San Pedro River Valley is a spectacular sight from this vista. At this point I felt like I was in an airplane. We are nearing the top!

Yup! This is snow he's stepping on! As we drove through the pine forest near the summit we could see families with their children sledding where ever they could find large patches of snow!

The ski hill is at the top and I have to say it is very strange leaving the desert and arriving at a ski hill in about an hour! When the ski hill is closed tourists can take the chair lift to the top but they are open right now. I had no desire to boot up and go for the swish!!

Lots of snow in some spots. While looking out from this and similar vistas you get the strange feeling of sticking your head in a refrigerator. Cold air wafts your face while the heat of the desert sun warms your back.

Just below the ski hill is a town called Summerhaven. It is small but picturesque and I realize now that many of the cabins and chalets looked new because of a huge and destructive fire in 2003. This fire, named Aspen Fire destroyed 325 of the 450 structures in this town! Many of these homes are summer residences but there are a few people who live there permanently. It is a strange reversal of snowbirding! People here go north in the summer to escape the heat. (desertbirding?)

Whitewater Draw

2012-01-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

After leaving Bisbee we drove north on remote roads to the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area near Wilcox in Cochise County. After a bit of guess work we turned on a "primitive" road heading in the right direction. This is a large area of marsh land in the middle of a desert valley! The cranes feed in the surrounding grain fields and come back to roost.
The water is very low right now but thousands of birds roost here including sandhill cranes which we had grown so fond of in Florida. We were a little disappointed that the cranes here were smaller. Apparently they are "Lesser" sandhill cranes. Still it was an impressive sight to see them and to hear their prehistoric call!

We had learned that thousands of cranes were in this area and that it was a spectacular sight especially if you caught them flying in or out.

Although they were roosting and doing little flying while we were there it was still a great experience to see this large of a flock! As the sun lowered in the late afternoon some cranes began circling in small groups but we did not witness the spectacular arrival or take off of all of them. Maybe another time. Here is a youtube video of the event however that is worth watching. If it won't open here copy and paste it in your browser or google sandhill crane youtube in southeast arizona.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt6tnFqg53M

There were two wily coyotes pouncing in a nearby field maybe catching mice or other rodents? We also saw many types of ducks, moor hens and hawks. I couldn't help being reminded of Florida...minus the gators however!

Wally has his cousin with him these days to share the adventures. The views were spectacular from this vantage point. Sandhills as far as the eye could see and the ear could hear!

A few in flight.

What a peaceful venue.

You can check the website below for more information on this special place.

http://azgfd.net/artman/publish/NewsMedia/A-record-40-499-sandhill-cranes-counted-in-southern-Arizona.shtml

Bisbee

2012-01-22T18:46:00.000-08:00

(to enlarge a picture click on it once, then click outside it to return to the blog)

Sandy, Richard, John and I headed out early one morning to Bisbee. This town has been on our list to tour since last season. Bisbee is a little over an hour south east of Tuscon and there is not much between here and there except beautiful desert views, mountains and of course Tombstone. Our first view of Bisbee did not disappoint us. Colourful homes and businesses perch on the hillsides reminding me of California and Sandy of France, but with the quirks of Arizona. We stopped first at the old Copper Queen Mine to find out when the next tour would be since that was high on our list of things to do. Next tour; high noon...so we went for a walk to pass an hour.

As we walked uphill through what seemed to be the "main" street we were drawn to many interesting window displays. As with many Arizona mining towns the stores are filled with art and artifacts that I am realizing are unique. It is as though time stopped and then moved along on its own windy path in another respect.

Metal art and designs are common here in the southwest and Bisbee had it's fair share. Some of these cost as much as $500! But that is nothing compared to the prices we have seen in Tubac.

This colourful hotel is at the base of Castle Rock and is so named. We thought we might have lunch there later but ended up elsewhere.

This crazy menagerie in a shop window made me think of Alice in Wonderland, or perhaps a bizarre nightmare!

He is filled with excited anticipation!

After our stroll through town and a pitt stop at a quaint cafe (delicious coffee) we headed over to the old Copper Queen Mine. We got suited up with hardhat, flashlight and rain coat. When I asked if we were going to get wet I was told it was for protection in case we touched a wall or something! There was no water down below but it was cold. So the coat helped.

I was a bit nervous about the "in case we hit a wall" comment and became a little more so when I saw our train. We straddled this measly bench and headed through a narrow doorway to begin the descent 1500 ft. down into the mine, towed by a strange little engine with our guide driving. Once we got going my trepidation left and I really enjoyed the tour and all the information despite the dark and close quarters.

I can't tell you the name of our tour guide since I couldn't understand it. I should have asked him to repeat it. He was a retired mine worker who had worked this mine for 27 years. He had a great sense of humour and was extremely knowledgeable. There are over 2500 miles of tunnels in this mine and the deepest shaft goes down 3500 feet! Thank goodness we didn't traverse all of them. We spent an hour and a quarter down below and that was enough to make me realize what a hard life the miners had!

They took out 8 billion pounds of copper in the life of this mine. The Copper Queen is now open for tours only but significant copper is still mined all over Arizona in huge pitt operations. We toured the Pima Mine south of Tucson last year, a huge operational mine. Check back in the blog if you are interested.

In the early 1900's Bisbee was one of the richest mineral sites in the world. As a result the town grew to a population of over 20,000 and became a cultural centre and the county seat. The less savoury side of a mining town was evident as well in the notorious "Brewery Gulch" with it's saloons and "shady ladies." By the 1970's the mine had become unprofitable. "Artistic free spirits" moved into the town resulting in the galleries, restaurants and unique shops we see there today. The architecture of the mining town has been preserved and a museum documents the history of Bisbee.

If you look closely you will see that this is the commode! It was a two seater and was on rails. Our guide told us he didn't get the reason for the two seats since in his 27 years he never saw 2 people use it at once. No kidding!

After surfacing from the mine we were cold and hungry. We headed over to the Copper Queen Hotel for a brew and lunch. While we were enjoying the sun on the patio a persistent bee kept pestering us and of course my brain went off on a tangent wondering why BisBEE was so named. I have since learned that it was named for Judge DeWitt Bisbee, one of the financial backers of the Copper Queen Mine.
Now a driving tour of the areas we didn't see while on foot was in order.

A view from the Copper Queen

Evidence of Artistic Free Spirits!

Bisbee reminded me of Jerome, a mining town we visited in Northern AZ last year. Not only is it perched precariously on the mountain sides full of windy roads: it had also been taken over by artists in the 1970's after the mine closed. This phenomenon makes for very colourful scenery, not to mention colourful characters! Check out the website below for more on Bisbee.

http://www.discoverbisbee.com/about_hist.htm

BootHill Graveyard

2012-01-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

On the way to Bisbee we stopped at Tombstone for a quick look at BootHill Graveyard, the famous cemetery where nefarious characters from the gunslinger days are buried. We took a quick walk around the cemetery and saw some very interesting inscriptions on the stones. Someone had a sense of humour?

Apparently the original BootHill is in Kansas. When the Tombstone cemetery was "refurbished" it was renamed BootHill for dramatic effect. The Earps, Clantons and other famous cowboys are actually buried here however. That is not fiction. Many tombstones are dated 1882 which must have been an exciting year in the wild west! Mining towns in the west were not for the faint hearted.

Sandy loving AZ

Each tombstone actually stated the cause of death! As morbid as this seems it was actually quite funny.

What a lovely inscription!

Unlikely neighbours at De Anza

2011-12-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Amado, De Anza Trails campground, is a last stop for RVs heading to Mexico. It is only about 30 miles from the border. We were there 2 weeks and there was a steady stream of travellers heading south to cross at Nogales. Despite the violence reported especially at Mexican border towns many people still spend the winter in Mexico and feel safe.

We came home from shopping one day to find new and unusual neighbours! A sail boat parked next to us! Sadly we didn't talk to them since they left very early the next morning but my imagination tells me they were heading to Mexico and warmer climes.

The Wisdom of Wisdoms

2011-11-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

http://www.wisdomscafe.com/ Check out this fun cafe that we revisited the other night for dinner.

You will never guess!

It's fish and chips in a taco bowl! A Friday night special at Wisdoms Cafe in Tumacacori, just south of Tubac AZ.

Take a trip to the ladies restroom and enjoy the views.

A claim to fame of Wisdoms is the art, antiques and treasures collected by the the family over the years. They do suggest the women enjoy the art work in the ladies room as well!

Madera Canyon Arizona

2011-11-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

We did the 6 mile hike up to Josephine Saddle. Views are just as stunning as last year!

The highest peak at Madera in the Santa Rita Mountains...Mt. Wrightson...close to 9500 ft.

At the saddle. It took about an hour and a half to get to Josephine Saddle. Had lunch and began the descent.

Using the zoom....This is part of Whipple Observatory. We could see it from a different angle than usual on this hike.

Look closely at who is enjoying the sun!

Dozens of them!

Cute huh?

A zoom to the tailing pond of Pima Copper Mine from a lofty view.

Tubac Arizona

2011-11-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

We took a trip down to Tubac, a small and historical artisan town about 10 minutes south of here. (Here is De Anza Trails RV Park at Amado. )

This is a beautiful town full of galleries, shops and restaurants. I bought a dishcloth scrubber at the kitchen store. The only thing in town I could afford! Most things here are very expensive. I saw a painting today for $12000! Cowboy shoes, not boots, but the short version go for $500 and up! But it's worth a visit and fun to window shop.

Oiseau Rock Trail, Quebec (across from Pembroke Ontario)

2011-11-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

Near the end of October we went up to Pembroke, in the Ottawa Valley, to visit good friends Gisele and Grant. On Sunday we took a drive over to "the Quebec side" and headed to hike Oiseau Rock Trail. It was gorgeous! We drove up to the gate and paid to enter the "park trail". It was a bit rough...more like a logging road but the truck got a good work out. Even put it in 4-wheel a couple of times.

There was a log across the narrow road and to be sure we stayed on track Grant got out to be a guide.

Little Wally had to go!

Many leaves were down but splashes of colour remained.

Despite all the leaves the trail was not hard to follow.

Views of the Ottawa River teased us along the way.

The trail was a bit steep at times.

Large rocks enroute.

A still and reflective lake was near the end of the trail.

A warning!

Glacial activity recorded here.

Wow! What a vista!

Brave as always.

Filling our senses.

This picture is Oiseau Rock taken from the River. It is from the website listed here.

http://www.friendsofoiseaurock.ca/

Check out this website if you would like to learn more about this sacred place.

Inverhuron

2011-09-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

A walk through the dunes....

And into the woods and around in a circle! We were lost but ended up back at the car.

Back on track and walked the shore paths.

What a glorious day and this is in our own backyard!

This purple flower was brilliant among the shale.

Great Golf Day

2011-09-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

Never too Late!

Golf is a game of exquisite gratification or frustration depending on what kind of contact you can make with the ball on each shot. The beauty of golf is that you can take it up at anytime of your life and test your patience with the humiliating “whiff” followed by the “shot of the day!” Friendships have been formed and enriched out on the links.

I was delighted to experience enrichment with Mary Ann recently. For our yearly lunch get together we decided to combine it with golf and booked into Kincardine Golf Club for 9 holes. Mary Ann has taken up the game in earnest now that she has retired and it gave us a wonderful diversion and probably set a precedent for future meetings.

She hits a mean ball by the way.

Congratulations Mary Ann on all fronts!

Chicago

2011-08-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

CHICAGO here we come and Happy Birthday Linda. The surprise was not to be but what a great way to start off the wonderful fifties decade!

Tues. August 16

It was an excellent idea to take the train to Chicago. It is inexpensive and removes the burden of congested city driving not to mention expensive parking! The train leaves Port Huron every day at 6 a.m. and takes about 7 hours to get there with a few stops along the way. We went down to Port Huron the night before and stayed at the Fairfield Inn only a few minutes from the train station. We did some shopping and John and I got a new tent for our Killbear Adventure in a couple of weeks. We wanted a bigger one that can hold our very comfortable air mattress bed to give our old bones a break. Missing the RV!

We had dinner at Quay Brewery on the Port Huron water front. It was good food and a very pleasant atmosphere. Early bed for all of us since we had to be up by 5 a.m.

Wed August 17

When we got to the train station by 6 a.m. there weren't many parking spaces left! Looks like many people use this Amtrak. Parking was free and we just had to trust that Keith's vehicle would be there when we get back after midnight in a few days. We had comfortable seats and could put our feet up since it was not crowded on board at first anyway. More people got on at every stop. It was a warm and sunny day and I enjoyed the scenery and saw many deer!

We arrived by 1 p.m. Chicago time, an hour different from our zone. Many cabs were waiting and we picked a burgundy cab which was quite dilapidated! Once we got in the doors were stuck on the curb and had to be scraped to close. The cabbie didn't even blink but that is not surprising. He threw our luggage into his ripped up trunk in the most disorderly fashion and it took a few rams to shut it. The air conditioning for the back seat was unique with a black hose running from the front through the sliding window between the seats. Keith sat up front and chatted up the driver who had only been here from Nigeria for 9 months. He was very friendly and did know his way around. I was impressed with his zig zagging through bumper to bumper traffic and he wasn't afraid to lay on the horn. Actually we cabbed a few times and all were great and cheaper than home.

Ginos for deep dish pizza

Our room at the hotel

Neat city views from our room.

We landed safely at the Crowne Plaza on Huron St. and entered a modern lobby with very helpful staff. We stored our luggage until check in at 3 p.m. The concierge recommended
Ginos Pizza just around the corner. Deep Dish Chicago Pizza was on Linda's bucket list (all our lists really) and it was a quick walk. We were very hungry since we only had snacks on the train. We ordered the works: deep dish with tons of sausage. The crust was fabulous. Loved Ginos atmosphere and bustle. The graffiti on all the walls and even tables and seats was fascinating and pictures of famous patrons were everywhere. A good start to this Chicago adventure.

Now back to the hotel to check in. We loved our rooms; suites actually with a living area as well as a bedroom. The decor was modern and the views of the surrounding buildings very nice since we were on the 17th floor. John had gotten a good deal on these rooms. Much more economical than Toronto downtown for sure!

We did not have much time since we had reserved a space on a water tour boat. The concierge recommended the architectural tour and we had to be there by 4! We walked very fast to the River Front to get a good seat on the top deck. The guide described many of the amazing buildings and our necks were getting sore from looking around. It is quite unique to travel by boat through the city and see so many wonderful landmarks. It was a bit overwhelming really in the detail and descriptions of the architecture. But this did give us some perspective and doing it early in the trip was a good idea since over the next few days we saw many of these buildings and areas again but from a different view point. The river and canals winding through the city were a surprise to me. I knew Chicago would have an extensive water front but I didn't realize this aspect. It reminded me of Europe! And this city is very clean. They have made excellent use of the water fronts (river and lake) and it is friendly to the public in every way. Many restaurants and cafes have patios by the water. Bike paths and walkways are accessible to all. Wonderful!

When we got off the tour boat we realized how close we were to Navy Pier: a long and historic pier along the canal with amusements, shops, restaurants, a stained glass museum and many entertaining sights and sounds. We had a beer at Billy Goat Tavern but it was not the original one that Linda had on her bucket list. More on that later. We walked and enjoyed watching the boat traffic. I couldn't believe how many tour boats and sail boats were out enjoying this beautiful evening. It turned out there would be fireworks later, a twice weekly event at the pier!

We saw a huge glass structure that reminded me of the biosphere in Arizona so went up to see this lovely garden area. We found a Mexican restaurant and patio up there with exquisite views of the sky line, the water front, the fireworks...wow! So lovely here that we decided to stay and eat and watch the action. Excellent quessadillas! We walked back to the Crowne Plaza exhausted from a very full day!

THURS AUG 18

We were up early and it was a short walk for breakfast at the "Corner Bakery". What a great spot with lovely outdoor tables and excellent food. We ate here every morning. It was fun sitting at street level and enjoying the sights and sounds of city life. There were many medical buildings in this area. I found the street scape of Chicago lovely: with huge flowers and planters on the sidewalks and of course the gorgeous sky scrapers and architecture.

Buckingham Fountain

Shedd Aquarium

Many Marinas and Harbours along the Chicago Waterfront

It was a gorgeous day for bicycling. The rentals were very comfortable and had a nice little bag on the handle bars.

Blue Moon: A gorgeous yacht in this Harbour

Beach at 31st Street

Buckingham Fountain

We walked back to the river front and rented bicycles near where we took the boat cruise. WOW! Beautification abounds. We rode south along the lake shore past Shedd aquarium and other lovely buildings, parks and monuments. It is such a well thought out waterfront. The path was 18 miles but we went as far as 31st Street. We ran into construction, I think of another marina, so turned around. We saw lots of great harbours and marinas including a huge yacht called Blue Moon.(AMX).

We passed by Grant Park where we saw Buckingham Fountain a place Keith wants to see at night. So we plan to come back later.

American Gothic: a farmer and his daughter. I did not get a good picture of this one but many will recognize this famous painting by Grant Wood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gothic.

We also stopped at the Art Institute on the way back. It was on Linda's bucket list to see the painting called "American Gothic" so we went into this beautiful gallery and soaked up some culture. I loved seeing the works of some of the greats especially Renoir and Monet, 2 of my favourites. How they can capture light is something else!

Art Institute

Monet

Renoir

Lizzie McGuire's Irish Pub patio on the River

Our 4 hours were up so we returned the bikes and walked to lunch at Lizzie McGuire's Irish pub. This was another charming outdoor patio along the Chicago River. We enjoyed the "Fire Fighters Memorial" which is a huge water stream spraying out hourly from the nearby the fountain. From here we walked along the River to Michigan Avenue where we found the gigantic statue of Marilyn Monroe which resides for now in Chicago. Well...this is quite an attraction!

Fireman's Memorial

No explanation needed!

Michigan Avenue is also called "The Magnificent Mile" I suppose because of the amazing shopping. Over the next couple of days we did lots walking along the Magnificent Mile.

The weather has been gorgeous and very warm so we went back to the hotel for a swim. What a view! The pool is on the roof and there are glass views all around. We are beginning to realize how this city is laid out and what a great down town location we have.

Roof top Pool on our hotel

Now we need to spiff up for "The Million Dollar Quartet." We have tickets for this musical at the Apollo Theatre in Lincoln Park, a 10 minute cab ride from the hotel.

No pictures allowed during the performance but is you get a chance you should see this show!

We decided to eat close to the venue. The restaurants around here are very casual and we ended up in a local bar and chicken wing place. Interesting.

"The Million Dollar Quartet has been playing here for 3 years. The Apollo is a small theatre, with no bad seats. The show is based on a jam session which truly occurred in 1956 at Sun Record studios. Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis were well played by talented musicians who acted their parts extremely well. This was a highlight of this trip! The music was amazing not to mention the theatrics.

FRIDAY AUGUST 19

Michigan Ave. (Magnificent Mile)

Peek a Boo

The Bean

This morning after the usual breakfast at the Corner Bakery we walked to Millenium Park to see the attractions there. This is on "The Loop" which is part of the commercial centre of historic downtown Chicago. Many attractions can be seen here including the splashpad and unique fountains with faces and "the bean." I loved the bean as well as wonderful walkways and gardens.

Look closely, this is a stage and concert venue!

Splash pad and fountains with faces.

You should see this at night!

Don't know why these are painted but they were interesting!

We were all ready to head to the ball game at Wriggly Stadium so after enjoying Millenium Park we finally located the "red line" the section of the subway we needed to ride. This is also the EL because part of it is elevated. We were impressed with how easy it was to get around Chicago on foot or by cab but Wriggly was too far and we wanted to experience it with the masses. There is an attendant helping newbies like ourselves purchase our rides from automated machines using a credit card. Thank goodness. Just going through the turnstyle using the card needed explanation! We arrived in lots of time to grab a hot dog (bucket list) and beer before going into the stadium. Wriggly is in an old neighbourhood and the whole area was like a giant tail gate party. Very fun atmosphere! And what a gorgeous stadium it is with ivy all around, an antique score board and immaculate diamond. This is the second oldest stadium (next to Fenway in Boston) in the U.S. It looked like a post card.

Wriggly Stadium

Old score board in good working order.

We had great seats but in full sun so it was quite hot. The Cubs did not disappoint us! After being down 3 nothing to the Cardinals (St. Louis) they won in extra innings. What a great game!
Along with hoards of fans we enjoyed a beer on another lovely outdoor patio before catching the subway back down town.

After showers we headed out on foot again to "Devon" a wonderful seafood restaurant we had found on an earlier walk. It was fine dining with reasonable prices and we all enjoyed it very much. Now we decided to walk Buckingham Fountain which is supposed to be spectacular at night with lights and music. Here we go again on the "Magnificently Long Mile" to the fountain. You can imagine our disappointment when we saw the fountain was not on! I really don't know why but we were getting some exercise for sure.

SATURDAY AUGUST 20

After breakfast we headed down Huron St. to the water front to watch the air show but lightning and thunder chased us back and we waited out the worst of it in the hotel lobby. The air show was cancelled (boo hoo) and the rain continued after the wind subsided. It was getting close to lunch time so we grabbed a cab to go to Billy Goat Tavern for lunch.

Enter at your own risk!

This was also on Linda's bucket list. (http://www.billygoattavern.com/home.html) You really should check this out! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Goat_Tavern) What a strange place. You walk down under the street as if going to a subway and walk into a crazy crazy scenario. At first we didn't know what to think! It was hard to order since you didn't really get what you wanted. The fellow yells at you what you will have and today it was "double cheese, double cheese, double cheese." By the time we left we couldn't stop laughing. This is not just lunch, it is an experience. At one time a skit about this place was on Saturday Night Live. This just added to its fame. The curse of the Billy Goat still plagues the Cubs. They have not won the World Series since they were cursed by the Goat and Tavern owner for not allowing the goat sit next to him at a ball game. There were pictures of this goat wearing a ball cap and drinking beer!

Sated once again we headed back up to....you guessed it...the Magnificently Long Mile...and since it was still raining checked out some shops. No one really wanted to shop but now we were putting in time until it was time to go to Union Station to come home. This was the only bad weather so cannot complain too much!

The train left at 4 and arrived at Port Huron at midnight. We played cards most of the way so it went quickly. Yes! The car was still there and Keith got us safely home by 3 a.m.

I would love to go back to Chicago and go to the Museum of Natural History and Shedd Aquarium. Also we did not see any jazz or blues music...we just ran out of time!

Day 15 and 16 June 7th and 8th/11 Budapest and home

2011-07-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

Last night on board was great and we were a bit sad while packing to get ready for disembarking in the morning. Budapest at night is a sight to behold with all the buildings and bridges nicely lit. We had a cab come to pick us up at 9 a.m. on the 15th to take our luggage to the Art'otel Budapest on the Buda side.

Art'otel

This hotel was not far from the boat actually and had been recommended for us by Rik. "George" took us and offered to be our driver tomorrow as well to the airport. Excellent...all arrangements were made. Staying an extra night in Budapest was a good idea, not just because we got a less expensive flight but also to give us time to enjoy this great city.

Art'otel featured the art of one person throughout.

We stored our luggage at the hotel until later when the rooms would be ready and headed back to the Pedestrian Mall and Market to do some shopping and more sight seeing. We split up and arranged to meet for lunch. We ate at a lovely outdoor cafe of course.

Pedestrian Mall sights

Down and under a busy cross street. Violin music wafted eerily from below ground and we soon saw the gypsy player.

We are really going to miss this life style!

We went back to the hotel later in the afternoon and were happy for the air conditioning. It was very hot and humid. Our rooms looked out toward St. Matthias Cathedral where we had toured yesterday! Beautiful view. We soon found that Grant and Gisele's air conditioning was not working so they switched to a room with a balcony facing the river and gorgeous parliament buildings.

Lovely view from our window.

Very comfortable room.

View from Grant and Gisele's room. I can't get enough of this building. It cost enough to build a small city and took nearly 20 years to complete. (finished in 1904) Neo Gothic style.

That balcony was a nice spot to share a drink before heading a few buildings down the street to The Sailor Inn, which looked like an interesting place for dinner.

Wally loved it here!

And it did not disappoint! Even after the incredible meals served onboard the River Queen, we really enjoyed this. The presentation was something else.

John's duck.

Grant's rabbit with gravy in the martini glass.

Gisele's chicken.

My Hake (fish)

We sat outside and had a great view of the Danube but we could hardly keep our eyes off the crazy traffic pattern that was at this corner. We saw a couple of near accidents; a fellow almost hit by a street car and a very close call between 2 cars which ended in yelling and gesturing. You didn't need to speak the language to get the gist. This should have given us a clue of what we would experience ourselves tomorrow.

The view from our room later was stunning and enhanced by the moon rising over the cathedral.

We were up bright and early and George arrived on time to take us to the airport. Yesterday, our ride with him was short so we really didn't get a chance to appreciate his talent behind the wheel. All I can say is that the 3 of us in the back seat had to hang on to the handles (now I know what they are for, not just to hang clothes!) and poor John was in the front. When we squealed up to the terminal we all were a bit stunned. We asked John how he enjoyed the front seat and he said he thought he was on a @#$@$# roller coaster! And it was an hour long!

It was with a bit of trepidation that we tried to find the terminal for Polish Air. Guess what? No such thing! Oh no! But soon enough we realized the booths changed according to flight times and the LOT light came on. Everything okay. Or was it? Later, at Warsaw airport we heard our names being massacred over the P.A. and went over to the gate. We showed our passports and tried to head down the gangway only to be rudely told SIT! So sit we did and Grant and Gisele were called a second time. We never really did figure out what this was about. They were speaking english but we couldn't understand a word. Oh well, the rest of the flight was fabulous. A quick trip on a smaller plane to Warsaw and then onto a huge 767 with good service and not bad food. I would recommend LOT. They share terminals with Air Canada and others around the world. We left hot and humid Budapest and arrived many hours later in hot and humid Toronto. It took a week for the jet lag to wear off but it was worth it. This was a trip of a lifetime.

Day 14 Budapest June 6/11

2011-07-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Buda Hills on right

There was quite a feeling of excitement and wonder as we sailed into Budapest ("pesht" is how they pronounce the last part) the capital of Hungary. A visit to this city was off limits until 22 years ago with the fall of the iron curtain at the end of the cold war. To me this aspect makes a visit quite spectacular . It is a city with " a vibrant mix of East and West, Medieval and modern." I can't describe it any better myself. We sailed in at 8 a.m. on the morning of June 6th with Rik commentating and describing what we were seeing. It is made of two parts - Buda, the hills, and Pest, the flatlands and divided by the Danube.

Pest buildings on left

Incredible Parliament buildings

Buda has 2 distinct sections really, with the oldest being Obuda, built on the site of the Roman town Aquincum. Nero was the first to bathe in the local hot springs and even now you can enjoy the "liquid health" of 123 springs! We did not however, but I think on another visit it would be a good idea. Buda was built after the Mongol invasions of 1241. In the mid 1500s Turkish forces occupied the city and Hungary remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until the Hapsburg kings recaptured the area in 1686.
Pest is the largest area with a medieval centre which is still encircled by the wall built for defense against invaders. Today it is the commercial, financial and governmental centre.

Obuda section of Buda with Roman Ruins visible in the hills

Church in the Rock on the Buda side. " Buda takes its name from Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian." Bleda was the elder brother of Atilla and it is said that Atilla killed him because he named the conquered territory after himself. We heard that story from our city tour guide. If you look up the history of this era you will find many stories and who knows for sure what is real. The locals have their folklore. "Pest" is a word of Slavic origin that means oven. Buda was renamed Ofen at one time by the Germans and that means oven. There were many lime kilns there at one time.

We docked with 2 other Uniworld ships, The River Empress and The River Beatrice, on the Buda side.

Shortly after docking we boarded a bus with Andrea, another extremely entertaining and passionate guide with extensive knowledge. We drove across one of the bridges to the Pest side and Andrea pointed out significant landmarks and buildings. We drove up one of the most famous streets passing "The House of Horrors" which is a memorial to the atrocities of the war. Also in front is a memorial of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. We ended at Heroes Square which has awe-inspiring statues depicting the history of Hungary and Budapest. What a history it is too! Constantly occupied until recently.

I love Nivea cream and would have liked to visit this store!

This is Andrea warning us about pick pockets. We did not get this warning often.

Iron Curtain Memorial

Berlin Wall Memorial

This is supposed to be the world's fanciest Macdonald's Restaurant. The building is historically significant and if you google this you can see photos of the inside.

Sorry this is not a great picture but it gave me goosebumps to hear about this. It is a memorial to all that is left of people who disappeared from Budapest during the Nazi Regime; nothing but their shoes.

We crossed one of the beautiful bridges and headed to Castle Hill where we strolled through what has been called "the heart of the nation."It is another Unesco World Heritage site and has more than 170 buildings dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries.

Visible bullet holes from the allies shooting at the Nazi occupied military barrack.

Among the medieval buildings are some stark reminders of the tumultuous past of Budapest. Bullet holes remain as a memorial in what is left of a wartime building used by the Nazis. There are a few ugly buildings that remain from the Communist era. Money was not spent on such things as history and religion were unimportant to them.

Traditional Hungarian goods

Of course...more cobblestone!

Lovely cafes

Contrast in styles

Stark Communist style building

We arrived at the St. Matthias church just in time for a thunderstorm. What an amazing place to take refuge. This church displays an incredible blend of architectural styles and influences from its time as a converted mosque to the baroque and gothic styles of the Catholic Church. Amazingly, through many periods of occupation, Hungarians have clung tenaciously to their Catholic Faith. Evidence of this deep faith can be seen everywhere as well as pride in their culture. Even modern teenagers wear traditional Hungarian Costumes during celebrations with pride, according to Andrea. Later back on board we saw a Hungarian Operetta and Folklore in the lounge. Outside the Cathedral is a famous statue of St. Stephen, the founder of Hungary.

After the storm blew over we went out to the Fisherman's Bastion, built in the 19th century in honour of the fishermen who defended Buda from the Turks during the Middle Ages. The view from there is panoramic but we didn't linger since lots of lightning was still in the sky. Walking back I noticed a "secret bunker" site.

Now back to the River Queen for lunch and then we walked on our own to the "Pedestrian Shopping Mall" and Central Market Hall on the Pest side. Wow!

Walking over to Pest

Incredible Market

Oh of course...we found a biergarten! Well we had to get out of the rain.

Later on board...traditional Hungarian Folk Operetta

Pedestrian Mall...several blocks of nothing but shops and stalls and cafes with the huge market at the end.

You can see part of the old train building that now houses the amazing market.

We heard the eerie and romantic sounds of Gypsy violinists. This is a complex topic since the "Romas" have been persecuted throughout the ages. Currently all over Europe, Budapest being no exception, there are struggles going on with this race of people. Roma has nothing to do with Romania. Gypsy used to be a slur of a word but now many Gypsies use it with pride. If you are interested in this you can research the history of the Roma people. I find it fascinating.

Day 13 Sunday June 5/11 Biking along the canal and Captain's farewell dinner

2011-06-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

After the city tour we went back to the boat for lunch and decided to take the bikes for a spin. There were some on board for our use. Then we enjoyed River views as we set sail for Budapest. Then it was time for the Captain's Farewell Cocktail in the lounge followed by the Captain's Farewell Dinner. What a day!

This is not our ship! We were berthed 3 deep with 2 other Uniworld ships. It was fun to walk across their foyers to get to ours.

We biked along the canals for an hour or so.

It was hot!

So of course we had to find a biergarten too cool off before getting back on board.

Very cozy with one of our sister ships.

More relaxing!

Captain's Dinner

Captain's table had extreme service. "Capitaine" seated with black bowtie. A great evening!

Day 13 Sunday June 5/11 Vienna City Tour

2011-06-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

In the morning a coach met us pier side and toured us around the famous Ringstrasse, the broad thoroughfare which has the many imperial buildings and monuments that give Vienna the "wedding cake" appearance. I had heard Vienna described this way and couldn't imagine the metaphor but now of course I get it. There are many white buildings with incredibly ornate decorations. As we toured the Ringstrasse by bus, Ron, our guide was talking so fast and pointing out so many landmarks that our heads were spinning.

I was glad to get off the bus for the walking tour. We went to the Hofburg Palace complex, and complex is the only way to describe it. It goes on and on and it was very hard to tell in such a short time what was what. We toured the Austrian National Library which has been described as the most beautiful library in the world. It was something else! We saw the stables of the famous Lipizzan horses and even caught a glimpse. We could have opted out of the included tour and gone to a show. It is now on my bucket list to see them perform.

We passed the famous "Graben" (trench) a legendary street in the city centre dating back to Roman days. It is overwhelming really, the buildings and monuments of significance in Vienna. It needs more than a day!

Our guide giving us more information than we could process.

Lipizzaner

Library foyer

In the library. Beautifully Baroque.

They aren't born white!

Wedding cake buildings. Repairs are on going to keep these historic buildings at their best.

Roman ruins in the centre of the city.

Ooh la-la shopping! It was Sunday so the shops were closed. Could not have afforded one thing anyway. We saw a watch for the equivalent of $750,000 U.S. in a window at Cartier.

We enjoyed walking on our own. The beauty of this city is hard to imagine. You have to see it.

Don't really understand this but felt the need to be part of it!

This is the "Pestsaule" (Plague Column). It is stunning.

The famous Hapsburg chin is obvious here. History says that as they ran out of suitable marriage partners they started to marry within the family to maintain the line. Subsequently, defects surfaced. Strange indeed! This may require more research!

McDonalds

Lots of people were dressed in period costumes and handing out programs to concerts for the evening.

Inside St. Stephen's Cathedral. Mass was going on but we could stand at the back and take pictures. The colours were incredible.

John and I had an espresso at a cafe across form the cathedral and at the spot where you could rent horse carriage tours. It was a bit smelly but picturesque.

Pretty window boxes at the base of the cathedral.

Dancers in traditional costumes were entertaining. If you look closely at the facade of the Cathedral you may see the greyish sections that don't quite match. These are actually screens covering scaffolding. The Cathedral is under repair and the screens have photographs of the real facade. It was strange to see them wavering in the wind.

Too bad it was closed.

Vienna Evening (day12) Concert Sat. June 4th/11

2011-06-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

The ship pulled into Vienna in the early evening and those of us who chose to attend the Musical Performance had eaten an early dinner. We rode by bus to the Imperial Palace and one of the famous music halls. On the way Christian, our guide, told us about some of the beautifully lit buildings we were seeing. We were looking forward to seeing this by daylight tomorrow.

There was a thunderstorm but thankfully we did not get too wet walking to the hall. Even in the dark we could see the grandeur of the buildings and the palace we were entering. Christian was incredibly thoughtful and of course informative. He had grabbed many umbrellas from the ships (we were double docked with other Uniworld boats) before we left. He made sure we knew exactly where we were going, thank goodness, since it was a bit of a maze and there was a large crowed. Of course Rik was there herding us as well.

The music by Mozart and Strauss was wonderful and I was surprised at how familiar it was to me since I have not been listening to Classical music lately. But many of these songs have been filling the air waves all our lives, as background music in movies etc. There were also 4 operatic singers and mostly I couldn't make our their words but their antics said it all. The concert was not all serious. The percussionist was a comedian inserting whistles and tweets and even playing the hammers for one number. It was a fantastic evening and we were given a cd of it to take home!

Day 12 Sat. June 4/11 Melk, Austria

2011-06-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

When we woke up this morning we were in Melk Austria a town in the Wachau Valley, one of the most beautiful stretches of the Danube.

Melk, once a fortified Roman Post, is a charming little town with towers and cobblestone of course, but the main attraction is the grandest of all the Baroque Monuments, the Benedictine Abbey. We took a short bus ride to the Abbey for an early morning tour and as we went through the court yard and made our way inside, the grandeur of this place was astounding. I actually gasped when we entered the Cathedral and I thought I had seen it all!

In the 11th Century Leopold lll turned over his castle to the monks and they converted it into a fortified abbey. It is still in use and houses monks and a school. It is one of the few ecclesiastical institutions that reports directly to the Pope with no bishop as a middle-man. There is an amazing library with ancient books. There are 80,000 volumes with one room alone holding 17,000! There is an interesting museum that displays religious relics and uses the latest technology to enhance displays.

We saw several optical illusions often used in Baroque interior design such as an endless staircase and mirrors that give the illusion of endless height in various rooms. The Fresco room before the outdoor balcony seemed to have moving walls.

Wine making was a way that monastaries supported themselves and they still do. You could buy the wine in the gift shop. The early monks took on a life-style that was extremely harsh and lived only about 30 years. This is so contradictory to the opulance that we saw here!

Approaching the Abbey

One of the many courtyards on the way in.

Nice!

Entrance way.

Endless immaculate halls.

Just missing the Pope!

Amazing relics. Is this an illusion? I don't remember seeing the white cross here.

A replica of the Abbey. Good thing because it is so large you would need to be in an airplane to see it all.

Frescos and illusions making the heights seem more than it is. I think this may have been a dining room.

Room with a view.

Balcony overlooking Wachau Valley.

Some old books in the library.

This is heavy!

Frescos in the library.

An ancient manuscript. I can just imagine the scribe.

Gasp!

The gold alter.

The organ at the back.

Courtyard looking out to balcony.

Garden shed!

Roses galore.

Another illusion.

The back of the Garden House which is also a restaurant.

A view.

Mirrored tables would have made it interesting to eat here. You could look at the fresco while eating.

Steps to town on the way down from the Abbey.

You can see the top of the Abbey towering over the town.

We walked down from the Abbey on our own through the town. A brass festival was beginning and it was neat to see bands warming up along the pedestrian street. It would have been nice to spend more time but we had to be back at the River Queen since we were setting sail at noon.

The day was hot and we really wanted to take our lunch up on the top deck to enjoy more views of the Wachau Valley. There was a big wind but we managed to do it taking shelter behind the wheel house. This section of the Danube reminded me of the beauty of the Romantic Rhine but with less castles. The vineyards were horizontal rather than vertical as in Franconia. It was remarkable again to see grapes growing on the most impossible looking slopes!

Back to the River Queen.

Loved this River Boat!

Zooming into gorgeous buildings.

Lunch on deck.

Every town has one! A cathedral that is. Notice the horizontal vineyards in the background.

Lovely blue building.

Another tight squeeze in a lock.

Day 11 Friday June 3/11 Passau

2011-06-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Passau, our last stop in Germany, is noted as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I agree. As we go along I think it can't get any more beautiful but it does! And of course this city suffered minimal damage. That is why we are stopping at these places of course and so we can see "the Jewels" (architecture) and their history. As with many towns here it was first settled by the celts and then came the Romans. In the 10th century the Bishops of Passau became so powerful that they ruled for nearly 6 centuries! The power and wealth of the Church is something I knew about from history classes. But seeing the evidence in opulent churches and other buildings has made it more real.

Passau has an ornate Baroque Cathedral that was rebuilt after the town burned down in 1662 and 1680. Baroque "attempts to imitate heaven on earth," unlike Gothic which makes earth look dark and gloomy. You have to look up to see heaven. The reconstruction of the Cathedral involved Italian Artists and workers. (Our guide Dorothea is a Passau native going back generations and is of Italian descent.) This Cathedral houses the largest organ in the world with 17,300 pipes. Mozart played on it when he was 6 years old. After the walking tour we went back here for an organ concert! It was packed and the sound was amazing.

The bishops had an ornate palace by the church as well as a castle and fortress up on the hill. We walked up there after the tour. It was quite a view. You could see the confluence of the 3 rivers, the Danube, the Ilz and the Inn. Past this point the Danube is called the "Blue Danube" but it is not blue. There is speculation about this name. Some say it goes back to when many dead French Soldiers were thrown into the river during a conflict.

You can see in the background work is being done on the church. We have learned that this is ongoing on all churches to keep them in a good state. It never ends.

There was a large and beautiful market in the church square. I envy them their markets!

Inside the Cathedral...the ceiling frescos were amazing.

Huge and light.

We just happened to go in the Cathedral when a choir was practising. You can see how light it is in here. This is all from the windows.

Lovely cobbled and colourful streets in Passau.

A plague door.

The Blue Lady in the artisan section. She stands outside a gallery.

The other side of Passau.

A lovely square.

Look up at the buttresses. These give the buildings more support. They are often flooded as we have seen in many river towns.

Up on the hill you can see the Bishops' castle and fortress. We go up there later.

A bride.

Back to the Cathedral for the organ concert.

About to begin the long climb to the top.

Passau from above.

You can see the colours of the three rivers that meet here.

Could have stayed up here all day.

Looking back at Passau from the other side of the river.

Day 10 Thursday, June 2/11 Regensburg

2011-06-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Eating lunch in the dining room while going through a lock.

After negotiating more locks and enjoying lovely views along the Main - Danube Canal we sailed toward Regensburg. Last evening we reached the European Divide, the highest point along the Canal. We all went up to the top deck and enjoyed a toast. From there we worked our way down the locks to the Danube. This included a technical stop for part of the night. We arrived in Regensburg, on the Danube, just before 2 p.m.

Regensberg is now the fourth largest city in Bavaria but was once the capital of this area. It still has a medieval feel to it and is one of the best preserved historic cities due to suffering no major damage during World War II. It is known as the “city of churches” because there are so many places to worship. Christianity was spread from there during the 7th and 8th centuries.

Our guide, Christina, was quite surprised when we headed toward the town square and the bells started tolling. The sound of so many church bells was something to hear and we were surprised to watch an important church procession going into the Cathedral of St. Peter, one of the most dominant in the town. Christina was not sure what this was about but was quite excited that we got to see and hear it. Listen to the bells!

The town square where we watched the procession was full of locals and seemed very vibrant. Often while touring there was a mutual obversation going on between the tourists and the locals. Here I really felt it strongly. As it turned out it was a holiday and everyone was out enjoying their time off. Mostly in biergartens. One great thing I noticed about Europe is that they don't wait until Friday night to enjoy themselves and they do so in a very pleasant and civilized manner.

Before the tour John and I walked to the Stone Bridge which was considered an architectural wonder in its time.

You have to look closely to see the date. It was built between 1135 and 1146.

We enjoyed many beautiful views from the bridge and we were amazed at how fast the current was here. Don't fall in!

Check out the Roman Arch still holding up!

Churches so large you cannot get a shot of the whole facade.

Zooming in on amazing details on church towers.

As we walked the charming streets of Regensberg we saw some interesting shops with Bavarian wares.

Hats galore.

Love the window boxes on yellow background.

I spy...Grant and Gisele at the oldest Sausage house in Germany!

We chose a less famous but gorgeous church "biergarten. And this was not unusual for churches to have these.

I went in to use washrooms...very elegant!

Ooops...watch where you are going.

We were berthed on the other side of this River Boat, part of Scenic Tours. We had to walk through their lobby to get to shore. This happened a couple of times due to limited docking space.

Day 9 Wed. June 1/11 Nuremberg

2011-06-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

The weather could not have been more perfect for our visit to Nuremberg. This was an optional but included side tour that we could do rather than the city tour.

It was dull and hazy but "Alexander" was not. He was our guide and believe it or not he had such a passionate pride in his German heritage that he was able to honestly describe what happened in Nazi Germany and also make me feel an understanding and compassion I was not prepared for. We went
to the Museum of Documentation housed in the "Coliseum" style building that was never finished by Hitler. Here we had an in-depth interactive tour of every aspect of the third Reich.

One thing that amazed me is to learn how Germans are now dealing with this aspect of their past. After the war, tendencies may have been to "hide things and shove them under the carpet" according to Alexander. But now all is on display and school children, military and police all go to the documentation centre to learn the details so that they can prevent it from happening again. Transparency. The structures we saw here were not completed nor used entirely as intended during Hitler's reign, thank goodness, but they are being well used now and for much better purpose.

Alexander gave us some excellent analogies. One that really struck me was about the facade of the coliseum. On the outside it is a huge imperious granite facade. But is not really all granite. Underneath is plain old sandstone brick. Hitler wanted everything to be huge and imposing, hard and impressive.

The propaganda rallies happened here at the Zeppelin Field. The stadium had many huge towers that looked like they would hold snipers but were really washrooms for the huge crowds that were to assemble here. Just like the granite facade this too was not real. A wolf in sheep clothing.

Now we hopped on the bus to go to the courthouse where the War Crimes Trials took place. We sat in the audience seats and were told in detail what transpired. It was a powerful image.

Maybe I am lazy but I can't begin to explain the background of Nuremberg and its role in Nazi Germany. So here is a blurb from an online source.

Nuremberg held great significance during the Nazi Germany era. Because of the city's relevance to the Holy Roman Empire and its position in the centre of Germany, the Nazi Party chose the city to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions — the Nuremberg rallies. The rallies were held annually from 1927 to 1938 in Nuremberg. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933 the Nuremberg rallies became huge Nazi propaganda events, a centre of Nazi ideals. The 1934 rally was filmed by Leni Riefenstahl, and made into a propaganda film called Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will). At the 1935 rally, Hitler specifically ordered the Reichstag to convene at Nuremberg to pass the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws which revoked German citizenship for all Jews. A number of premises were constructed solely for these assemblies, some of which were not finished. Today many examples of Nazi architecture can still be seen in the city. The city was also the home of the Nazi propagandist Julius Streicher, the publisher of Der Stürmer.

During World War II, Nuremberg was the headquarters of Wehrkreis (military district) XIII, and an important site for military production, including aircraft, submarines, and tank engines. A subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here. Extensive use was made of slave labour.^[6] The city was severely damaged in Allied strategic bombing from 1943–45. On January 2, 1945, the medieval city centre was systematically bombed by the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces and about ninety percent of it was destroyed in only one hour, with 1,800 residents killed and roughly 100,000 displaced. In February 1945, additional attacks followed. In total, about 6,000 Nuremberg residents are estimated to have been killed in air raids. Despite this, the city was rebuilt after the war and was to some extent, restored to its pre-war appearance including the reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings.

These name tags on a railroad track fading into infinity are one of the most poignant images I have from this experience. They represent the people who were brutally murdered.

Day 8 Tues. May 31/11 To Bamberg

2011-06-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Before I forget I want to mention the difference between "berg" and "burg." Not that this will really clarify it but we were told that if it ends in burg it has a castle on a hill and if it ends in berg it is just a town a hill. Argue if you want to!

Now below you will see the picture of 2 good students. We sailed in the morning toward Bamberg and to be honest the break was nice after busy days of touring. But just to keep us entertained and informed we had the choice to go to a lecture in the lounge called "Germany in the 20th Century:from WWII to Cold War." We did not want to miss this since tomorrow we will going to Nuremberg.

Now Bamberg! By 1:30 after lunch we were on the bus for a short ride to the town centre with tour guide #4 Stefanie. First impressions told me we finally had a dud but I couldn't have been more wrong!

Stefanie and Rik helping with the "gadget." This was a voice box we used on all tours to hear our guide. It was wonderful!

At first I wasn't sure if I liked Stefanie's dramatic style and rrrrrrrollling r's but it did not take long to appreciate her. Off we went through charming city streets and a market to .... you guessed it... the cathedral and residence on the hill. I have not been able to determine exactly what is a castle, what is a palace, a residence or even a monastery. They are all huge and ornate and I would have to study this more carefully to get it all straight. A castle is a fortress and the other types of residences often have a castle with them for protection.

Stefanie is beginning to mesmerize the crowd.

Makes our market look puny.

I just liked it.

Typical bike parking.

A beggar with high aspirations?

This was a common technique. We saw this 3-d aspect in other frescos but you really had to look for them!

Half timbered.

Gorgeous Cathedral

Incredible alter

Residence Garden

How could I do this at home?

Now! Onto Bamberg Beer Experience! We signed up for this optional excursion after the walking tour. By this time we were pretty excited to hear that Stefanie was also doing this tour. And, I am not kidding. Bamberg is still in Franconia (now largely part of Bavaria) and it is famous for its excellent beers. One dark ale Rauchbier, also know as smoke beer or bacon beer sounded particularly intriguing. The adventure began with a stroll back down to the bridge to meet Rik with our "tasting" tickets and then off through back streets with Stefanie to Klosterbrau, a working micro-brewery.

Kind of a sad looking crew but really we were in serious anticipation of the "beer experience."

At last...our first testing site.

Proud helper holding a test sample.

Our guide explaining what we would be tasting.

These are our "samples"! No kidding and this was the last of 3. Full pints. This tour is not for wimps!

Stefanie is a serious beer lover. She grabbed her "muffin top" at one point and proudly pointed out that it was her "life preserver." It was hilarious. She had us convinced that she would never sink. Also, all the talk about red wine being good for you can hardly be matched with the benefits of beer. Beer actually expands your intestines making food easier to digest! Now that I believe!

After 3 pint tastings going from light to dark we headed to a pub to taste the famous "bacon" beer, Rauchbier. Little did we know it was going to come with a full helping of brats and kraut! Of course we decided to end this experience with a taste of "Willie Schnapps". Remember Willie from Heidelberg? His favourite. Now back to the boat for dinner. Are you kidding? Stefanie is also a Franconian and like Florian she does not fit the stereotype of sour and dour. Not even close! What a great day.

Day 7 Sunday May 30/11 Rothenburg

2011-06-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

Look at this beautiful morning in Wurzburg! Despite what looked like a beautiful day on the boat we chose the optional tour to Rothenburg. Today there was no included tour so we decided to pay for the optional day long tour to this famous Medieval town.

View of Wurzburg

Onion Domes...that is what this style of Baroque turret is called, also viewed from the Port in Wurzburg.

By 9:00 a.m. we boarded bus #2 with Florian (yesterday's wine connoiseur) as our guide! The 4 of us managed to get the front seats and we couldn't have picked a better day to do this. All the buses used on our tours were comfortable with large viewing windows but nothing beats the front. We travelled on one of the region's most beloved roads, called the Romantic Road. This took us through small and picturesque towns, farm land and vineyards with Florian commentating. He was very funny too. One of our fellow travellers asked him if he had considered doing stand up comedy in the off season. His sense of humour was dry and you would never know by the tone of his voice that he was a comedian. You really had to listen to get his subtle humour and I am sure I missed some of it. This mixed in with local knowledge and wordly knowledge made him one of my favourite guides. Not hard to look at either. It was interesting to learn that he made more money as a tour guide than as a teacher which was his original vocation.

One view of a town through bus window. Didn't take too many, just enjoyed the ride, the maypoles in every town and the talk.

We had been hearing about "Sleeping Beauty" for a few days and today Florian was filling us in even more. Rothenburg has been compared to the fairy tale because for a period of history nothing happened there and that included limited destruction. Maybe something to do with the plague as well. So in many ways it is now one of the best preserved examples of a town of the Middle Ages. This makes it a premium tourist destination but all the people were not a bother at all. To me it was a vibrant and active town as I am sure it was in its hey day in 1274 when it was declared a free Imperial City. The Thirty Years' War (1618-48) ended that and it declined into a provincial backwater. This war was fought mainly in what is now Germany and left a swath of destruction so the sparing of this town makes it even more amazing. This war was complex but largely a result of fighting between Protestants and Catholics. Rothenburgs' historic value was recognized again in the 19th century and its preservation was safeguarded. Florian really hates the fact that modern vehicles have access to the town but I liked the juxtaposition.

Florian took us to the Marktplatz to get oriented and then on a walking tour.

After his tour we went off on our own for lunch and had the rest of the afternoon to explore on our own. We were to meet up with Florian again at 4:30 to go back to the bus and then meet the River Queen at Gerlachshausen Port.

Here is a slide show of some street scenes in this most amazing town. This is a wonderful place to shop but I was more interested in the buildings and scenery than the wares being sold in them.

One typical Medieval feature of Rothenburg is the encircling fortress wall and watch towers. From the "back" wall the views of the town and valley below were magnificent.

This fancy bakery sold a specialty called Schneeball (snowball) made from dry dough wrapped around itself, deep fried, dusted with sugar and cinammon or dipped in chocolate or lemon icing. Flroian thinks they are horrid and should be banned. Apparently most people agree. I didn't try it but Gisele had a sample and kind of liked it. But the shop was lovely and all the shops in this town had charm.

Laughing so hard we were crying. It's a long story.

Florian's tour took us past the Christmas Store and Musuem, Doll and Toy Museum and Medieval Crime Museum. After lunch John and I decided to climb the town hall tower and walk on top of the wall perimeter so did not have time for these but Grant seemed to enjoy the Crime Museum. Figures. And Gisele enjoyed shopping.

Can't help but look up.

We had lunch on the patio across from the Cathedral at this lovely restaurant. The menu was a bit hard to decipher but you couldn't go wrong with typical Bavarian Fare. The waiter recommended this sausage sample plate.
Franconian Sausages are as good as their wine!

Yes! Another incredible Cathedral. This one houses a famous carving of the Last Supper. The size and detail was mind boggling. It is very old and carved out of lime wood.

After touring the Cathedral John and I went to the town hall and climbed the tower. The view of the town from here was well worth it.

From here we walked toward the town entrance to take the steps up to the parapet where you can walk for quite a long distance on the town wall. What a great way to get a perspective of this town!

From one section of the wall we got a good view of the tower we had climbed.

We left Rothenburg and took the Autobahn for a faster ride back to the ship and of course another wonderful dinner and enjoyable evening on board. On to Bamberg!

Day 6 Sunday, May 29/11 Wurzburg

2011-06-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

This morning we continued sailing down the Main and negotiating locks. The upper deck has not been raised and the wheel house goes up and down according to the height of the bridges. Rik gave an interesting talk in the lounge about the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. This canal was not finished until 1992 enabling River traffic to go all the way to the Black Sea. Attempts to build a canal date all the way back to Charlmagne in 793! To see the fascinating history of this waterway check out Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine%E2%80%93Main%E2%80%93Danube_Canal

Deck surfing was a favourite passtime when cruising the Rivers.

A marina. We have been seeing more recreational boats on the Main.

Tenting and fishing.

We arrived at the port of Karlstadt around 1pm during lunch. From here we would board a bus to Wurzburg and then the ship would sail there to meet us later. You could have stayed on board but then you would miss the tour of Wurzburg. Port talk was early today since we would be back on board just in time for dinner.

It was a short bus ride to the UNESCO World Heritage sight of the Wurzburg Residence. It was built under the patronage of the Prince-Bishops Lothar Franz and Friedrich Carl von Schonborn. It was built and decorated in the 18th century by a team of famous architects and painters. This Palace was unlike anything I had ever seen in terms of opulance with artistic frescos and unbelievably ornate decorations. The size was overwhelming. What wealth and power these people had!

This is Wilma another well informed and entertaining tour guide. She is a PHD archeology student. Parts of this Palace actually house students as part of the University Campus. Unfortunately, the portion we toured would not allow us to take photos inside some of the rooms so the interior pictures I have found online.

Detail of part of the entrance fresco.

This is a photo from Wikipedia showing the incredible entry and part of the fresco on the ceiling. I really wanted to lie on my back and study this. It was amazing and told a story.

Unbelievable!!

After touring inside we went down to the wine cellar for a tasting. Now this was an experience! Wilma had told us that even though we were in Bavaria, one of the better known states in Germany, we should not call it that or we would risk insulting the locals. We were actually in Franconia a renowned wine growing area. Franconians are very interesting. Think of the Franks, of Charlmagne, to be frank - honest and somewhat non-emotional.

Four hundred candles lit the way to long tables in one of the world's largest and most famous wine cellars. Apparently Napoleon tasted wine here during his invasions. The cellars are in working order and though they once belonged to the church they became state owned during secularization. We tasted 3 Franconian wines with Florian as our wine tour guide. He was not a typical Franconian since he liked to smile and to get smiles and had a great sense of humour. "Zum Wohl"! This is a more refined toast to your health when drinking wine. Luckily Florian would be our guide tomorrow at Rothenburg. Thank goodness since the more time spent with him the better!

The wine festival was huge with many places to eat and drink wine,

These brides were walking down toward the famous bridge. They were modelling wedding dresses.

We could see the River Queen from the famous Wurzburg Bridge

The old and beautiful bridge of Wurzburg.

A nice little biergarten on the way to the boat.

After leaving the wine tasting we walked up town and enjoyed the sights and sounds of a wine festival in progress. Instead of taking the bus back to the boat, which had moved to Wurzburg while we were touring; we walked. Along the way we found a nice biergarten. When we got to the boat we had another amazing dinner and then a dance in the lounge. The band only played for 1 hour so we had to dance the whole time to take advantage of it! Great day and evening.

Day 5 May 28/11 Cruising the Main and Wertheim

2011-06-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning meandering up the scenic Main toward our next destination; Wertheim. The captain and crew skillfully steered the boat in and out of locks as we enjoyed the views. Quaint villages with the inevitable cathedral tower, Caravan parks and castle ruins dotted the verdant landscape. What a gorgeous morning.

As we approached Wertheim our interest was peaked by the colourful half timbered buildings of this well preserved Medieval town and the remains of a huge castle perched above it.

We disembarked and waited for tour guide # 3 to show us around town. Yes, we can add Elka to the ever growing list of impressive guides that we met.

Wertheim dates back to 1183! Some of the buildings are incorporated into the old town walls. Looking up we could see joining buttresses between some buildings and at the bottom stores or storage but no living quarters. As it turns out yearly flooding has caused the inhabitants to be in constant readiness to move up. Current flood levels are not as bad as they used to be but still serious. Wooden walkways at the upper level and boats are used to get around during the floods.

Elka took us to a beautifully decorated home with all kinds of symbols on the facade. This last standing Jewish home was dedicated by the mayor of the town in the 1970s. It is now a monument to remind people of the past and not to repeat the horrors. Elka gave us an extremely moving talk about the extermination of the Jews. She called this artistic house a monument with meaningful symbols honouring Christians and Jews and the German love for life. This talk was so passionate that many of us had goose bumps or tears in our eyes. This was the first time but not the last that we would learn from our guides about this dark era in German history. In many towns a "monument" is not necessarily a statue. It is often a building or some other symbolic reminder of the past.

Wertheim is at the confluence of the Tauber and Main Rivers and Elka showed us the flood level of the Tauber as well. This was stunning to see! I couldn't imagine how the town dealt with it year after year! Beautiful gardens and a pottery market were just some of the sights we saw while wandering the streets of this gorgeous town. This morning a glass blower had come on board to give us a demonstration and we passed one of his shops while in town. Wertheim is famous for this.

One of the oldest buildings in town with the unique colour restored to the original.

Look at the castle up in the background.

Incredible flood levels of the Tauber River

Two Thorns?

Pottery Market

We went back to the boat for lunch and then made our way up to the castle for more amazing views of an idyllic medieval town with red roofs. This castle is also made of red sandstone and it covered a huge area. Like many ruins and historic sites the venue is used for modern purposes. In this case a restaurant and beer garden made the climb worthwhile.

On the way up we met this interesting fellow. He looks like a forester don't you think. He is holding one of his falcons. Falcons are endangered in Germany due to being bought up by Arabs he said. I asked why and he became quite angry and passionate about it. They do not care about life on earth because all they want is to move on to the next world. So they don't respect life on earth. They don't care for the creatures of the forest and buy falcons and keep them for show of wealth and power. The falcons end up dying in the hot Arabian climate. This gentleman is a National Geographic photographer and for 2 Euros we bought one of his most amazing photographs. He uses the money for falcon preservation.

Gun mount?

Huge vault maybe for canon?

That teeny person is Gisele.

Ahhh...how civilized...a biergarten!

The restaurant.

Red Sandstone Ruins seem typical of this area.

I think I see the River Queen. Tonight on board we had another lovely dinner At 4 a.m. we set sail for our next port at Karlstadt and to tour the town of Wurzburg from there.

Day 4 Friday May 27/11 Heidelberg

2011-06-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Willie's favourite facade because you can see the inner structure . If the castle was intact you would not see this cross section.

In the morning after our stay at the NH hotel in Frankfurt we headed by bus to Heidelberg. This was the touring destination for the day as scheduled. We met Willie, guide # 3, and ours for the day. What a character. To me he was the quintessential European. Willie was a wealth of knowledge of course and we learned that he taught music, played the flute with a group in public venues and was an historian by hobby. His passion was contagious and his sense of humour kept us entertained.

Heidelberg Castle ruin is perched up on the hill overlooking this Baroque town. What an impressive ruin! The size of it was hard to believe so I could hardly imagine what it must have been like in its hey day.

Ornate and detailed statues remain intact.

Once Willie pointed out the mason marks we started seeing them everywhere.

Willie imagined sitting in this window listening to music and having a glass of wine. Sounds lovely!

Ornate facades still remain.

I like the knee decorations of this interesting gentleman.

From the ramparts was a great view of the town making you realize what a strategic place this was to build the castle. This castle has a reddish hue due to the natural colour of local sandstone from which it was made. Heidelberg is a University town boasting the oldest University in Germany. The red roofs became a common sight for us as we climbed up to castles and fortifications in other towns and looked down on the beautiful sights below. But could you imagine scalding oil being thrown down you if you were an attacker?

Below is the wine barrel with a dance floor on top! When court was in session here there was no danger of running out of wine. In those days it was safer to drink wine than water and we were told by several guides that the average medieval person drank up to 5 litres a day! I feel like a saint. The quality deteriorated the lower down you were in the class system and the alcohol content was lower than it is now. Even children drank wine. Beer became the liquid of choice at some point in some areas but I think that was later.

Inside the ruin is the world's largest wine barrel in the world. You can see the steps up to the dance floor. How convenient!!

Willie, in the centre holding "lollipop" #3.

This tower was bombarded heavily by the French during an invasion but could not be totally destroyed. How thick are the walls??

Centre Square down in the town.

One of the many gorgeous windows that captured my attention in Europe.

Once Willie dropped us off we had time to wander the streets of beautiful Heidelberg. I caught a glimpse of Willie at a cafe having a beer and a smoke adding to my image of his European style.

We were treated by Uniworld to a lovely lunch and drink at this huge restaurant called "Beer Culture". I couldn't even begin to pronounce the German name. In the centre is a Maypole. We saw Maypoles in every town but not often inside a building like this. The pink represents strawberries, the white and green represent asparagus. Both were in season when we were in Germany. German's prefer white asparagus and I will definitely be trying it out at home despite the expense. We had white asparagus soup, beef goulash served on green linguini and strawberries and cream for dessert. Yummy!

"Beer Culture" was in a very old building with fascinating architecture and decor.

Round yellow candles added to the spring festival atmosphere.

Buses took us the short distance to the port of Offenbach exactly back on schedule and where we should be. Can you imagine how happy we were to get back onboard the River Queen? Even though we were gone only one night it was a great feeling. It was a strange sight to see the top viewing deck flattened. We still had lots of deck left to sit on but this had to be done to accommodate the low bridges of the Main River which we were now navigating. The Main water level seemed to be higher than the Rhine. It is also a narrower River with less barge cargo traffic and more recreational traffic. Lots of Locks coming up as well.

We had a great dinner onboard in Ivan's (Ee-von) section. He was the only Serb on the boat. What a complicated life some people have to deal with. I asked Ivan if he had seen the news today. (Mladic had been captured after 16 years in hiding and would be facing trial eventually.) Ivan answered with such passion and vehemence. It made me realize that things are not black and white at all and not always what they seem. It seemed like a simple question but no more political talk for me! I loved being in Ivan's section always however.

Day 3 Koblenz, Rudesheim, Frankfurt

2011-06-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Is that the MS River Queen sailing away as I look out from the bus window??

Bright and early Tuesday morning we were on a bus with overnight bags packed! It's true...the River Queen had an oil leak and it had to be repaired. Optimistically we would only be in a hotel for one night but we packed enough clothes for 2. We used our carry-ons but I saw some pessimists with larger bags.

We toured today as usual but instead of going to the ship for the night we went to Frankfurt and spent the night in a hotel near the airport. Of course all of it was complimentary and we didn't even have to handle our bags. I have to admit dinner wasn't quite as delicious as on board. We did get to travel on the Autobahn which is as reputed...very fast! Buses have a speed limit but cars do not and I enjoyed watching the mercedes, audis, BMWs, etc. fly by.

As it turns out the ship needed a minor repair. One of the bearing seals had broken and was quickly fixed so we only had to spend one night off the boat. Well, considering this is a huge vessel and it had to be dragged right out of the water, that was fast! Thank goodness because already it felt like home away from home onboard even though we had only slept there 2 nights. We were very happy to get back on board and were warmly welcomed by captain and crew. Truthfully we were hardly bothered by this mishap since we did the same tours as planned and even had a few extras added. In the meantime what follows is what was a very fun but busy day!

Baroque style. Much lighter than gothic.

Michel took us on a walking tour of Koblenz a town at the junction of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers. It's history goes back to Roman times and Charlemagne but you have to know where to look to see evidence. As with many European towns, years of war, invasions, fires and all kinds of tragedies took their toll. I was amazed everywhere at how beautifully restored the towns were.

We had a lovely lunch at Weindorf (Winehouse) Restaurant in Koblenz before heading to the beautiful waterfront to wait for the bus for Boppard, a small town where we would board a touring boat to "cruise the romantic Rhine." We would have done this tour on the River Queen but the the Loreley-Linie tour boat stepped up nicely and it was a fabulous trip.

This scenic section of the Rhine River Valley was something to behold! We navigated 65 km (40 miles) of stunning landscape that has inspired poets, composers and painters. We passed famous monuments and castles and our heads were spinning as stunning views were presented at every turn.

Rik took to the microphone and described the castles, scenery and folk lore of the area. The upper deck was quite windy but it was warm and the views from there were remarkable. Drinks on the house!

We were amazed at the vineyards in the most unlikely places. The terrace walls looked ancient and maybe they are.

I couldn't believe how the clouds were framing this castle! It looks contrived and I couldn't help but think of a fairy tale.

You can see vineyards in the background. A touring boat reminded me of Ireland.

Just another castle! They seemed to be everywhere and each one has a story of course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei

This "titular" woman distracted sailors as they tried to navigate this most narrow and dangerous section of the Rhine. There is a great deal of folklore surrounding this section of the river. The echo off the rocky cliffs causes the fast water to "murmur" and many accidents have happened here in the past especially. I have to admit, as we headed through these narrows I was a little nervous. Check out the history of this if you want.

The water looks too shallow for a ship our size! Rik informed us that at times River Cruises are disrupted by low water, broken locks or other mishaps. So our situation with the leaking bearing seal seemed not too bad.

John and I felt a little jealous as we passed by many "caravan" parks. We saw many of them in our travels.

Happy.

Toll booth from the old days. Every section of the river was controlled by someone.

Rudesheim! We pulled into this gorgeous little town. We were supposed to go on a gondola ride to the top of the cliffs but it was cancelled due to wind. Instead we went to the Music Box Museum. No kidding! It was entertaining to say the least and we saw things I had no idea existed. I might have preferred the gondola but honestly I feel like I am in elite company after visiting this place.

Now Rudesheim! What a quaint little place and our first real experience in an authentic"medieval" town with narrow streets and half timbered houses.

After leaving the Music Box Museum we had time to walk around on our own. This often was the case after a tour. There were included tours every day.

Drosselgasse is a famous avenue in Rudesheim with shops and wine bars. This town is in the Rheingau wine growing region.

Just a beautiful window.

Local entertainment at the Rudesheimer Schloss Restaurant

We had the famous Kaffee made with local brandy. You would not believe how good this was. It was complimentary as part of our compensation for spending a night off the boat.

Roses between the vines attracts pests away from the grapes. What a gorgeous idea!

Rik was a good sport to pose with us! And he was #1 for sure. He was an amazing cruise director who was unflappable. No question was too small. He is incredibly knowledgable and speaks many languages.

From Rudesheim we took the bus to Frankfurt and spent the night at a hotel near the airport. It was not a hardship at all. We were thrilled when Rik announced we would catch up with the boat tomorrow and head to the port of Offenbach. Now we were back on track and tomorrow we would tour Heidelberg from there.

Day 2 Cologne May 25/11

2011-06-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

After a lovely breakfast we met in the lounge with Rik from the Netherlands, our cruise director and life line in all matters. He gave us an overview of the cruise at this time and we learned that we shouldn't worry: "it will all be taken care of." And he was right. We were a bit overwhelmed with all the information but each day we got a port talk by Rik about the next day's possibilities and also a printed itinerary in our rooms in the evening. And you could watch Rik's talk on TV in your room if you didn't make it to the lounge. A daily tour excursion was included and a few optionals were available so there was lots of information to digest, especially at first.

As we sailed along the Rhine it hit us that we were really in Europe! Amsterdam was nice but a bit of a blur so on this new day feeling refreshed and excited we savoured every moment. Castles were sited as well as nude sunbathers along the shores! The Rhine was low and the heat was attracting the tan crazy Germans. No, I won't include a photo!

The Rhine is an important artery for transportation in Germany and we saw many cargo barges delivering and picking up their loads at plants along the river. This huge Ford Plant is near Dusseldorf.

Some sun and sights helped acclimatize us and get rid of the cobwebs! See the industrial towers in the background.

This is only the beginning of over 400 magnificent bridges in immaculate condition that John and Grant soon began rating on a scale of 1 to 10. Most were 10s!!

We arrived at the city of Cologne mid afternoon and went on our first walking excursion with Francesco, a guide with incredible knowledge and command of our language. This was only the beginning of a series of guides who impressed us beyond belief not only with their wealth of information but with their sense of humour, passion and skill at walking and talking at the same time on cobblestone. We used "gadgets" while on these tours...a head set so that we could hear the guide without having to be right near him. Wonderful way to do things. He doesn't have to shout and we can look around more freely.

This picture above might look like a ruin to you and it is. Under most of Medieval Europe is ancient rome. Some excavations are a work in progress and some are on display in town squares, buildings, churches and museums. Fascinating! It only adds to the sense of never ending history that you feel in Europe. We are so young!

As we approached Cologne on the Rhine the twin towers of this Cathedral dominated the view. It looked humungous from a distance and up close was awe inspiring. I couldn't get far enough away to show the tops of the 515 foot towers in this picture! It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in Europe, just the beginning of many "jewels" that we would see. It is a Unesco World Heritage sight and it is believed that the Three Kings of the Magi are laid to rest there. Stepping inside took my breath away.

Gargoyles. The ever present protectors are intricate in design and sinister looking.

You can't help but look up. It draws your eyes. Gothic is a bit dark and reflects the seriousness that the church meant to portray.

Now let there be light even it does have a reddish hue from the sea of red umbrellas. This huge "biergarten" was a fun spot to people watch and enjoy the famous "Kolsch" tap beer which is light and served in small glasses.

Now back to the ship for the Captain's welcome in the lounge before dinner. Good thing they fortified us with champagne. We were shocked to hear the ship had sprung a leak and had to be dry docked! Stay tuned.

Day 1 Amsterdam Tues. May 24/11

2011-06-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the River Queen from Amsterdam airport by 10 a.m. on a River Queen bus transfer. We could board and leave our luggage but not check into our rooms yet. Having been up for 36 hours we were feeling a bit strange. After a bite to eat in the lounge we set off to explore town on foot. As always, town maps were provided and we needed to put in time until 2 p.m. when our cabins would be ready. I am not sure of the significance of these cows but of course felt the urge to photograph them!

It wasn't long before Little Wally found a pub. We thought this might help with jet lag. I was surprised at how many canals and boats were right in the city.

There were sight seeing boats such as this one that could turn on a dime.

We quickly discovered that cycling is the main means of transportation all over Europe. The cost of fuel is very high, yes more than ours! I envy them their bike path system. Everywhere we went bicyclers were accommodated with 2 way paths, parking areas and lots of space in general. Amsterdam was no exception.

Amsterdam has a reputation for its tolerance of marijuana use and prostitution. We saw evidence of both and felt very safe.

Tulip season was not evident...likely over...but you could buy lots of seeds!

A visit to Amsterdam could not be complete without seeing the famous "Red Light" district. We only had a couple of hours but it was right there in the middle of everything. Even in the bright sun light of the early afternoon the ladies were showing their wares in windows. Live mannequins. No pictures please! Gisele found that out the hard way. You will have to use your imagination.

As we sailed out of Amsterdam we saw this amazing sight in the distance on one of the buildings. Spiderman training centre?

As you can see we did not see much of Amsterdam but it was enough to get a taste of it.

Still feeling a little off kilter we ventured into the dining room at 7 after freshening up. What a marvellous feast they had in store for us and this was only the beginning. The restaurant staff and service added immensely to the joy of this trip. Very personable and entertaining waiters, maitre d and chefs were at our beck and call. The wine flowed. Lovely!