Day 7 Tuesday October 24

Today was castle day. We're started our day in Koblenz taking another historical walking tour. This included the large statue of the soldier and horse guarding the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine rivers.
After lunch we set sail heading south on the Rhine. We went through a region of over 25 castles lining the river. We passed the statue of the Loreley which had a sailing story that goes with the singing mermaid. ( Sorry I don't know the story well enough to share. That will be a homework assignment for all of you followers). Our cruise director gave a commentary of the various castles as we traveled along. Hopefully I can attach some pictures. We cruise through the night and will dock in Frankfurt tomorrow.

Day 5 Sunday October 22

Today we set sail. In the morning we had a guided canal boat tour through the various canals of Amsterdam. We then spent time in the Rijksmuseum with a guided tour seeing the 17th century art masters. Probably the most famous is Rembrandt. He painted numerous very large works. One of them we saw today , the Night Watchman, had previously hung at another location. When they discovered there wasn't enough room for the picture they cut off parts of the two sides. Hmmmm creative solution? After lunch we headed out of Amsterdam and have now gone through two locks and have entered the Rhine river. Tonight was the captain's welcome dinner , a 6 course meal. Very enjoyable evening ending with creme brulee my favorite dessert.

Day 4 Saturday October 21

Today was my birthday and a "free" day to choose our activities. We started with a free Starbucks coffee and then went through the Rembrandt home. This was his actual home where he painted and taught new young artists. Next we enjoyed  some Dutch pancakes for lunch and a visit to Anne Frank's home. An amazing and sobering place. And as you can see the weather was much better today.
This afternoon, the remainder of our boat passengers arrived and we will begin our actual cruise tomorrow. At dinner tonight the river boat staff sang Happy Birthday to me and another gentleman who is turning 92. They brought cake and in our room was a small gift and some champagne. Quite a day. We are still trying to adjust to the travel and time change. Hopefully a good night's sleep tonight will do the trick.

Day 3 October 20 part B

After a lunch of a salami hoagie with famous Belgium fries for dessert, we joined a group for a ride out into the country. We went to a heritage village where locals reenacted old trades. We watched them make wooden shoes. ( The old way took about 5 hours per shoe, but the hand machine took about 5 minutes.) Then on to a working mill ( think windmills here) where they ground limestone to make chalk and ground other minerals to make pigments for the making of oils for artists' paints. This  was done while it was raining sideways; a real NW storm. Then onto to Edom ( like in cheese) and to enjoy some apple cake and coffee. By the way they don't make cheese in Edom. But they do have a former cheese auction house where now they just sell cheese. Again out in the rain. It was a great trip and adventurous.

Day 3 Friday October 20 part A

This morning we went on a city walk. Our wonderful guide, Niko, shared much about Amsterdam, the canals, the history, and the people. We  saw Dam Square, the Beguines *cloister, various city structures, canals, the floating flower market and a variety of shops.  On our way back we had to enjoy some Belgium fries.*The Beguines were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Northern Europe particularly in the 13th-16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take formal vows.

Day 2 Thursday October 19

Arrived in Amsterdam as the sun was rising. Once on the ground we started our trip with an extremely long taxi on the tarmac. We were transported to our boat, the Voyager and waited over an hour for our room to be ready. Sigh.... After a 3 hour nap we went exploring. Checking out possibilities for tomorrow afternoon. The pictures include a canal scene and typical bicycle parking. The building behind the bikes is the train station. We found the old church, the new church, and the catholic church. Also found a chocolate shop requiring more field research. In the spirit of exploration and not knowing our way around, we saw live lingerie models through store front windows...... Yes the famed red light district of Amsterdam. Been there, done that.

 

Day 1. October 18:

Can't believe we are waiting to board our plane. This is really happening.