The Rhine Valley

 We spent a relaxing afternoon  laying in lounge chairs watching castles go by. Then we were treated with an afternoon tea and Rudesheimer Kaffee made with a brandy from the area

Koblenz

 

Der schrankel. The rascal. In the summer he will spit at passing tourists. Too cold this day although it was 60

I loved seeing all the trees in blossom. It is almost a month later in Michigan and still no blossoms!  It was early morning here and looking into the sun was tricky

Koblenz sits on the ‘ecke’ corner of the Rhine and the Moselle, two very important trade routes. The Romans were here very early.  this is a statue of William the Prussian who kicked out the French and unified the German states.  his head was blown off during WW2 and the people were divided about repairing it as they weren’t fans of the Prussians either (Catholics versus Protestants for starters)

Sunset on our boats deck

Although our official tour was in the historical center, we had some time to explore the newer parts. My favorite was a nail salon featuring ‘American Manicures’

Loved this building 

I took this photo thrilled to see forsythia which is finally in bloom back in our frozen tundra 

Numerous sandstone sculptures all over. This is the peppermint lady

Always a cathedral 

This modern statue shows the various layers of Koblenz history. Roman wine boat on the bottom Bombs near the top

These Eiscafes were in every town. My favorite was the spaghetti eis. 

Román wineboat closeup

The dwarves are giving you the finger

Cherry blossoms 

Every 15 minutes the figure under the clock rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out. Yep the city of pranksters 

Cologne

 Cologne is considered by some to be the San Francisco of Germany; very liberal, inclusive of minorities and gay rights, thriving art community. Ford has miles of plants there. Josh was sent 12 years ago to work for a month on an engineering project. It was his first European adventure. he got to stay in the city center and loved it

There were many things I planned to see there. Unfortunately we were not allowed to go back in the afternoon. I was disappointed and angry with Viking. There had been a drought causing very low water levels which somehow meant we were way behind schedule. As it was, we stopped in Düsseldorf to be bused into Cologne while the boat very slowly made its way We returned to some small village on the way. But there was no room for us in the main docking area in Cologne and we were docked in some industrial park with no egress. The other ship got the berth ( and later on in two other ports, the best berths) why were were second all the time?

On the Dom square a gelato place Josh said he would go to every night 

Art museum 

Old Roman gate

When the Allies thoroughly bombed Cologne underneath the wreckage they discovered a Roman village. this floor is 2000

Years old

A mix of modern and old

A city building topped with a ‘flying Ford’

Back of the cathedral and pretty shops

The Dom or cathedral. As it was Sunday morning we couldn’t go in. I planned on going later but that didn’t happen

I guess My Sharonna was played here too

Pretty buildings. In general Cathedrals weren’t bombed as pilots needed them to sight but the Cologne cathedral is right next to the train station, a favored bombing target so it was damaged

Windmills

Windmill barge and drawbridge 

We had a lot of time that day on the river that day so I exercised by walking as fast as I could on a small track. my speed is measured by gps so it is really measuring the speed of the boat. I also started my walk below sea level

Operating a windmill was a huge responsibility. You couldn’t leave further than a hundred feet away when it was operating as winds can suddenly change the mechanism could be broken. This sad looking family lived here. As it was close quarters, the kids had their heads shaven to reduce lice. much of the Netherlands is below sea level thus all the windmills. There are now mechanical pumps too which were explained to us in too much boring detail

Lots of windmills. A world heritage site

Wooden shoes made from willow were needed to slog through the muck. If they fell off, they float

Diving merganser 

We went through Róterdam early in the morning 
 Do windmills cause Cancer? A certain orange dictator wannabe said so. If he is right, I am in trouble because I was exposed to lots of them on this day. I had seen them before on my bike tour a few years back when I had to battle 30 mph headwinds. But on this trip it was perfectly calm

Amsterdam!

 We flew backwards to Chicago where we had a three hour layover. Fortunately all our flights were on time unlike some of our fellow cruisers. Airlines would arbitrarily cancel flights. We had the required negative Covid test and hard copies of a  five page Dutch entrance form that the Chicago airline scoured through even though the Dutch dropped all their requirements the day before. Neither of us slept much on the plane and the walking tour would be late in the day so I thought a canal tour was best. I had spent 4 days in Amsterdam a few years ago but Steve had never been. He had wanted to go back to the ship after the cruise but either we walked around now or never which woke him up. Meanwhile I was stressed because my phone carrier decided to give me an international plan and already charged me for two days. There was no way to opt out. I had turned off cellular data but it wasn’t until I was in airplane mode that charges stopped accumulating. We got them to reverse this when we got home

Inside O’Hare. The light tunnel

Approaching Ireland