Sep 27 - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Time to come home!   Last evening we got a message from Air Canada that our flight would be leaving 3 hours late!  And by the time we got up we had another message saying it would be delayed 4 hours!

It was too late to change our transfer time, apparently. This is the one complaint I have with Viking - they could have put us on a transfer to the airport at 11 AM instead of 7:30 AM and we could have waited more comfortably on the ship. But they would not do that!?!

So off we went to the airport for the long wait.  We did get a food voucher from Air Canada, and we sought out the Viking rep who helped us get the Special Assistance we had arranged.

By mid afternoon another hour delay had been announced!  And finally the last announcement of a further delay… and we were boarding at 6 PM!  Ten hours at an airport is not really fun! 

It was a very long day, but now we are home, still on Europe time, and laundry ready to go.

Thanks for coming along with us on our Grand European River Cruise!

The Happy Wanderers

 Sep 26 - Kinderdijk, Netherlands

                           Kinderdijk ( pronounced kIN-der-dike)

OUR LAST DAY!

We had a leisurely start to the day, giving us time to enjoy breakfast and then come back to the cabin to pack.  There will be a meeting about the disembarkation process at 10:30 which we will attend.

Following that meeting Tessa gave a presentation on Water Management in The Netherlands.  It was a perfect introduction to our afternoon excursion, Kinderdijk by Vintage Barge.

Sadly it is a ☔️ rainy ☔️ day for our last excursion, but that didn’t hinder us from seeing a real operating dike! These dikes are a work of genius that has allowed Holland to reclaim land for many uses such as agriculture and even Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam!

We walked from the ship in the pouring rain to a dike where we boarded a barge that took us to the oldest dike in Kinderdijk. When we arrived we were given a tour of the area around the dike by one of the members of the Kinderdijk Foundation ( that operates these 19 dikes) keeping the area safe from flooding.

It was amazing to learn how the windmills pump water from the low lying fields into the rivers and canals. Without them, the land would be under water.

             The fields in the background drain towards the windmills.

                        The top of the ‘building’ can be rotated 360° 

                        in order to catch the wind from any direction.

                            It is turned by the ‘wheel’ on the right

                     Using wind power, the pump moves the water 

               from the lower polders out  to the higher river or canal

It is truly an engineering marvel that  has been used for hundreds of years!

We also had a look inside the windmill at artifacts that had been used by the last family that lived in this windmill.

And the ‘Farm’ that surrounded the windmill

It was a fascinating tour and a great way to end our excursions!

It’s been a wonderful trip.. but it will all come to an end very soon!   Disembarkation tomorrow!

Hope you enjoyed touring with us!  We’ll be in touch when we are home and settled.  

The Happy Wanderers

Sep 25 -  Cologne, Germany

Here we are in Cologne.  We are docked about 30 minutes from the city at Viking’s Winterhafen.  This is the place that Viking brings many of their longships when the season is finished.  The photo below is an aerial shot of what it must look like with all the ships tied up for the season!

We are here to load provisions, and once that is complete we’ll move to a dock nearer the city.

I finally gave up!  I have decided to stay on the ship today as I think the tours involve a lot of walking and standing and my back is telling me ‘No!’ Mary has gone on the 2 hour city walking tour this morning; here is the description from the website… 

Learn about Cologne's heritage and view its iconic cathedral, towering over the city in all its Gothic splendor. Step into a rich past, following some of the city's preserved historic street patterns and hearing about its Roman and medieval history along the way. As you stroll, your guide will regale you with tales of local folklore figures, Tünnes and Schääl, and the city's flourishing Jewish community. In Old Cologne, pass the elegant silhouette of St.Martin's church and stop to view Coloqne's magnificent Gothic cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Construction of this towering structure began in 1248 and continued in several stages over the next seven centuries. The largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, this magnificent church boasts two soaring spires and beautiful stained glass windows, and largely escaped the damage that ravaged the city and the rest of Germany during World War Il.

I would have liked to see the Cathedral, but because it is Sunday there will be Mass in the church and I may not have been able to go inside. So given the amount of walking I decided to stay on the ship.

This afternoon the tour is Brühl UNESCO Palaces.  Hopefully by taking a break today I will be able to do our last excursion in Amsterdam tomorrow. Mary is going on the Palace tour this afternoon…

Peer into the life of royalty at an estate built for the prince-archbishops of Cologne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will meet your guide at the dock and drive to Schlosspark, at the edge of the Naturpark Kottenforst-Ville nature reserve. Here, Augustusburg Castle sits at the center of beautifully landscaped grounds, a vast and splendid example of Germany's early rococo architecture. During a tour, admire the grand staircase and some of its many extravagantly decorated rooms and chambers. Take a stroll through the park's spacious gardens lined withhedgerows and trees before returning to your ship.

I’m sure it will be similar to the other palaces we’ve seen on our journey so my back will be saying ‘Thank you!’ once again!

Now we just have one more port and I am looking forward to seeing a windmill in Kinderdjik!

Check back tomorrow for a full report!

Love,

One Lame Dame and a Trouper

❤️❤️❤️

 Sep 24 - Koblenz, Germany

Today we have reached the Rhine River, the most scenic river on our journey.  We spent a good part of the day ‘scenic cruising’.  Vineyards cover the hills on either side, castles sit perched on the hilltops, and small towns are nestled at the bottom of the hills with easy access to the roads and train tracks.

                  Rüdesheim an Rhein

                         Niederwalddenkmal Monument

                           

Katz Castle in Sankt Goar

 Liebfrauenkirchen

Shortly after our arrival in Koblenz we headed out for our excursion to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. set high on a hill with magnificent views of Koblenz, at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers. Ehrenbreitstein Fortress has long enjoyed a strategic locale, built on the site of a previous fortress whose history stretched back to 1100. The citadel was constructed in the early 19th century to protect against the French. 

We took a gondola to the hilltop for our  fun and informative tour with our costumed and colorful actor/guide who took on the persona of John Humfrey, a lieutenant colonel in the British Corps of Royal Engineers. He guided us through this excellent example of Prussian military fortifications.

 

The gondola ride back to the ship gave us a bird’s eye view of the city and our ship, docked beside the Viking Sigyn.  The ships sometimes dock side by side and we have to walk through the one closest to the dock to get in and out.  In the photo below, we are on the outside and had to go through the Sigyn parked alongside the dock.

It was an interesting afternoon.

Time is running out!  We’ve had great guides and great tours.

Until next time…

The Tired Travellers

 Sep 23 - Wertheim, Germany

Here we are in Wertheim!  A small town with similar buildings and reconstruction as previous places - Regensburg, Passau. A choo - choo train got us from the ship to Wertheim!

We did the ‘gentle’ walking tour and the guide kept a leisurely pace and provided a thorough commentary!  He pointed out many of the same things as other guides had mentioned previously.

Wertheim is constantly plagued by floods, so many of the buildings have watermarks on their doorways.  In this case the watermark is shown by the difference in colour of the wood a little more than halfway up.

In the next two photos, the year that the water reached each mark is recorded on the left side.

Buildings were identified by the initials of the owner, the year, and a coat of arms.

There were many half- timbered buildings - the more wood, the wealthier the owner.

The blue paint is very expensive, and therefore hardly seen in Germany.

This is the smallest house in Wertheim - only 10’ wide at street level.

There was a fairly large Jewish population in Wertheim and to honour them the black bricks outline the beginning of the Jewish area.  

The little blocks are laid in the street to indicate the names of the Jewish families who once lived in that building.

After the tour we had free time to wander the streets and alleyways.

The leaning tower of Wertheim!  

Because it was built on sand, and the area was always flooding, the 

tower began to lean until it was stablized!

As we did in Bamberg, the ship left us in the town and then continued on the river in order to clear several locks.  It then met us in Miltenberg where we observed the embarkation process again, this time on a docking platform.

                                    Viking Rolf arriving to pick us up in Miltenberg

                           Pulling alongside the docking platform

                               The crane lifts the gangplank…

And begins to lower it 

into place for us to embark

This evening we had a special German meal!  The wait staff wore red and white checkered shirts to match the tablecloths and napkins.  They served  beer and wine, soft pretzels, cheeses and cold cuts as appetizers followed by German Wedding Soup. The main course was a sampling of chicken, braised beef, two kinds of sausage, sauerkraut, red cabbage, bread dumplings and warm potato salad! And of course, dessert!!!  A sampling of 4 cakes, pancake and ice cream!!

These two stuffed dames then waddled back to our room and called it a night!

🐷🐷