Daily Journal for Rhine River Holiday

Christmas '06

                                                                                    Tuesday, December 19, 2006

            Here we go again!  We are leaving today for Frankfurt to take our Rhine River boat trip for Christmas.  It has been a little different today as we’re flying direct to Frankfurt on Lufthansa so we didn’t need to rush to get to the airport early.  Left home at 1:30 p.m.  Got checked in by 2:30 p.m.  Had a Bloody Mary and a snack to kill some time.  We think we’ve id’ed the other GCT people on this flight, we’re probably way off!  Our flight leaves at 5:25 p.m., about the time Rosemary should get to the house.  She is staying with Maximus and Trajan again, such a relief.  We boarded the plane on time and took off.  The take off was very smooth.  I think my drink and pill kicked in well!  I’ve decided I do better on take-offs in the dark than during daylight.  Had a glass of champagne before dinner, Lloyd had a scotch.  Dinner was cheese tortellini, a salad, a roll, some cheese and a brownie.  They served an Australian Shiraz and we had a couple of glasses.  We didn’t have our own TV’s but there is a screen one row in front of us.  I didn’t watch either movie though, slept instead.  Woke up and it’s 9 a.m. German time so I must have slept quite a bit.  Again the plane is very warm as there are no individual temperature controls on this Airbus.  I started reading “Hannibal Rising”; think it’s going to be very good. 

                                                                                    Wednesday, December 20, 2006

            Woke up at 9 a.m. German time, which is 1 a.m. in Denver.  Only a little over 2 hours to go.  Slept pretty well.  The only issue with this trip has been a crying toddler the entire trip.  Yuck!!  Flight has been pretty smooth thus far.  Got my warm towelette, which is always so refreshing.  Had an omelet, roasted tomato, fruit and a roll for breakfast.  Arrived in Frankfurt at 11 a.m.  Got through customs with no trouble and met the GCT rep.  Boarded the bus and got to the MS River Concerto around 12:30 p.m. and checked into room 408.  Just like last years cabin but it seems to have a little more closet space.  Had lunch, soup and salad, at the buffet.  Then we walked to the Christmas market.  Wow!  Made the Christmas markets from last year look pretty pathetic.  There were stalls everywhere, selling everything imaginable.  It went on for blocks and provided sensory overload – tastes (Gluhwein and potato pancakes), sounds, smell (roasting nuts), and amazing colors to look at.  There was a beautiful merry-go-round and the biggest, most amazing Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.  The tree is in front of three pink buildings that are quite old and lucky to have survived the demolition of the city in WWII.  Spent quite a bit of time wandering about before returning to the ship.  The air has gotten much cooler; glad I brought my warm clothes.  Got back, had some coffee and visited with Kathy from Parker.  She said Denver was in a white-out blizzard with 12” of snow!  Ugh!  Had our welcoming drink and staff introductions.  We are on the yellow (sunshine!) team this year and our director is Karina.

            Went to dinner and sat with Harry and Kathy from Parker and Larry and Diane from Arizona.  Dinner was very good.  We had a shrimp and apple salad, a halibut salad and a very tart sorbet.  The main entrée was veal loin with potatoes shaped liked a pear and beans wrapped in bacon.  For desert we had a swan shaped cream puff with an orange cream filling and a hazelnut ice cream.  Yummy!  The red wine was weak but it’s what we get all week so I’d better get used to it.  We were also served a plate of chocolates that were really good.

            Started to feel very tired after dinner so went back to our room.  During dinner our beds had been pulled back and a chocolate left on our pillows.  You gotta love that!  Went to bed at 10 p.m.

                                                                                    Thursday, December 21. 2006

            Slept good, a little warm but I was so tired the rest felt great.  Got up at 6 a.m. and took a shower which felt wonderful.  Lloyd brought me a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll since we weren’t going to breakfast.  We watched a bit of “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Today looks like a really busy day if we opt to do all they have planned.

            Went on the Frankfurt city tour.  It was a waste of an hour.  Lloyd was smart to stay on the boat.  Drove around and saw some of the buildings, most are new because 80% of the city was bombed out during WWII.  Frankfurt is the banking capital of Germany with over 200 international banks in the city.  Got back to the ship around 10:15 a.m. and decided to skip the trip to Wertheim and the home- hosted lunch.  A nice relaxing day sounds much more appealing.  About 8 people stayed behind.  Sat and read for quite a while, Lloyd took a nap and read.  The ship made sandwiches for those of us who stayed on board.  Later in the afternoon we walked back to the Christmas market.  We visited the cathedral, St. Barthalamew’s.  The outside is beautiful, the inside quite plain.  Found an ATM and got cash.  Had a cup of Gluhwein and some potato pancakes with applesauce that were so good.  Walked back to the ship and the sun was setting and the sky was very pink and beautiful.  We sat in the lounge and had a cosmos before dinner.

            Folks got back around 6:20 p.m. from the day trip.  Glad I didn’t go, much too long of a day.  Everyone sounded like they had a very nice time however.  We had our port talk and then dinner.

            We sat with Harry, Kathy, Larry and Diane again and had a really nice time.  Dinner again was very good.  Started with prosciutto with melon then I had seafood risotto and Lloyd had minestrone soup.  The main entrée was lamb chops and a minced lamb served with polenta moons.  It was very good.  We all took a second helping of lamb chops.  Desert was a warm apple crepe that was absolutely delicious.

            After dinner we went to the lounge and watched Magic Chris.  It was hokey but amusing.  Lloyd had a cognac and I had a glass of port.  We went to bed at 10:30 p.m.

                                                                                    Friday, December 22, 2006

            Got up at 6 a.m. and we were moving down the Main River towards Mainz and the Rhine River.  Left Frankfurt about 4:30 a.m.  Had my coffee and roll.  Went through a lock which I watched on the bow camera in the room.  Lloyd was down in the lounge visiting with some of the men on the ship.  Denver has received 80cm (30”+ of snow!) and is pretty much shut down.  No bus, rail or air service.  Hope Rosemary made it to the house and the cats.  I may call later.

            Got into Mainz about 9 a.m.  Met our local guide and took a walking tour of the town.  Mainz is the second oldest city in Germany.  The Rhine River is the busiest river in the world.  It carries more ship traffic (cargo, passengers, etc.) than any other river.  At Mainz, in a 24-hour period 300 ships a day will pass!  That is amazing.  We walked to the Gutenberg Museum to see the moveable type printing press.  This invention changed the world and its inventor died a pauper.  We saw three original Gutenberg Bibles, which was very special.  We then continued our walk around the square and saw a lovely farmers market.  We visited the Cathedral at Mainz – it is quite large.  While we were there a children’s choir was practicing for the Christmas service and it was very beautiful.  Walked around some more, had some Gluhwein and got my first flat euros!  Yippee!

            Strolled around the Christmas market and enjoyed it very much.  Bought a bottle of Auslese for later this evening.  Also bought our 1-euro gifts for the Secret Santa exchange on the ship.  Returned to the boat and departed Mainz at 12:30 p.m.

            Had lunch with Harry and Kathy.  Lunch was very good.  We started with great mushroom soup and I had a nice salad.  Lloyd had schnitzel and said it was very good.  Then for desert we had a small piece of cake with cranberry ice cream.

            We had our fire drill and then sat in the lounge and listened to the commentary of interesting sights along the Rhine.  The small villages are beautiful and the castles are absolutely amazing.  So old and so beautiful.  Most are now privately owned or are bed and breakfasts.  Wouldn’t mind having one of my own.  We spent the afternoon floating down the river, enjoying the views, reading and relaxing until about 6 p.m.  It was a lovely afternoon.  Had a brandy coffee that was very nice.

            Had a whiskey sour in the lounge before dinner.  Dinner was a little different tonight.  It was a buffet of traditional German food.  We started with potato leek soup, which was very good.  Then we had veal, beef, lamb and suckling pig, as well as sausages, sauerkraut, bread dumplings, potato dumplings and salads including a yummy cucumber salad.  It was all so delicious but oh so much food.  For desert we had a soft cheese with brown bread, pickles and pears.  Weird but good.  After dinner, and after Steve and Irene left we opened the bottle of Auslese that we had bought at the market and shared it with Kathy and Harry.  It had been sitting on our balcony chilling!  It was absolutely delicious!  Sweet and yummy!  Should have bought a few more bottles.

            After dinner went to the lounge for the Liar’s Club game.  It was fairly amusing.  We docked in Cologne at 10 p.m.  A lot of people got off the ship and went exploring.  We went to bed at 11 p.m.

                                                                                    Saturday, December 23, 2006

            Got up at 6:30 a.m.  Slept terrible and feel very tired this morning.  Took a shower and had my coffee.

            We had a speaker come on board and give us a talk about Germany and the Cologne Cathedral.  She was very interesting and provided us a lot of facts on life in Germany.  She said the Cathedral is the largest French Gothic church in the world and it is the only one that is complete.  It wasn’t completed until the 1800’s but its spires are in place.  It must be something to see.

            We decided not to go on the walking tour and went out on our own.  We walked down to the medieval Christmas market and it wasn’t exactly what we thought.  It was more like a Renaissance festival so decided not to stay until it opened.  It was set up in the parking lot of the Lindt Chocolate Museum.  If it had been open, I think we would have gone in.  Walked into town, very quaint and crowded with shoppers.  Found a Christmas market (there are 6 in Cologne), had a Gluhwein and bought a cute chirping bird toy.  Walked to another market and then found the big one at the base of the Cathedral.  The markets are very crowded with people doing last minute shopping.  Everything will be closed tomorrow, December 24.  Went inside the Cathedral, it is very beautiful.  But it is most impressive from the outside, it is gigantic.  It’s hard to imagine how it was ever constructed.  It is almost overwhelming in size.  There were men outside of the Cathedral drawing pictures on the sidewalk.  They were quite good and it was fun to watch them.  We walked behind the Cathedral to the train station.  It is large, noisy and very busy.  There is a non-stop stream of trains into and out of the station.

            We walked around some more and stopped for lunch at a Beer-House.  Had a couple of beers and I had sausages with fried potatoes and a salad.  Lloyd had schnitzel with fries and a salad.  It was really good and hit the spot.  We decided to try and find another bottle of Auslese for dinner.  We walked and walked on our search for the wine.  We finally found another bottle of wine at a large department store called Kauf Hof.  It was a very nice store and crowded.  We bought the wine are returned to the ship.  Felt very tired so laid down for a nap that felt really good and refreshing.

            Went to the port talk and then dinner.  Ate with Kathy, Harry, Steve and Irene.  Dinner was good again.  Started with goat cheese with honey and walnuts.  Then we had a small piece of mushroom lasagna that was so good I could have made it my dinner.  The main entrée was sauerbraten that was out of this world.  Desert was chocolate mousse on a grilled pineapple slice served with chocolate chip ice cream.  We then split our bottle of Auslese with Harry and Kathy.  It was good but not as good as the one we got in Mainz.  We moved to the lounge where we had a port and visited with Kathy and Harry.  It was a very pleasant evening.

            Decided to go for a walk.  The fog was coming in and it was quite cool.  All the markets were closed and the Cathedral was shrouded in fog.  It was beautiful and eerie but utterly amazing.  And there were so few people out, a much different experience than walking around during the day.  We walked for about 45 minutes before returning to the ship.  We went to bed at midnight.

                                                                                    Sunday, December 24, 2006

            Got up at 7 a.m. and the fog is very heavy.  Decided to have breakfast this morning.  Had a nice breakfast.  Had champagne, bagels with lox and an omelet.  The boat set sail from Cologne at 8:45 a.m. and we are headed to Düsseldorf.  The fog is so heavy you can’t see anything in front of or to the sides of the ship.  A new and weird experience.  The captain gave a talk on nautical stuff that was interesting.  He talked about the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers.

            Arrived in Düsseldorf at 11:30 a.m., two hours ahead of schedule.  Had lunch, yes ate again, but it was light, soup and salad.  Spent a long time at lunch.  Lloyd stayed in the cabin and read, he skipped lunch.  At 1:45 p.m. we walked into the old town.  It was deserted because it is Christmas Eve and everything is closed.  The markets were being torn down and only a handful of bars and restaurants were open.  It looks like a nice place to visit if it were all open. 

            Had a Gluhwein, probably the last of the trip, and strolled around.  As we walked back to the ship it was noticeably cooler, breezier and foggier.  We stopped at a pretty Catholic Church on the way back that had an amazing life-size crucifixion scene on the outside.  It was quite impressive.  We went in the church and it was decorated very pretty for Christmas and they were setting up for their Christmas Eve service.  We walked back to the ship and I was really happy to get back because I was getting cold.  We went to the lounge and read and had a cosmos.

            We had another drink with Harry and Kathy.  Everyone seems very festive since it is Christmas Eve.  Some people are very dressed up for dinner tonight.  Went to dinner with Harry, Kathy, Diane and Larry.  We started with pate, and then we had seared scallops.  Our main entrée was venison with potatoes and brussel sprouts.  The venison was delicious.  Desert was ice cream served on Champagne cream – yummy!  We had a really nice time at dinner.

            We reconvened in the lounge where we ordered a port and then we all sang Christmas carols.  We then all go to pick a gift from the 1-euro gift pile.  I got a teddy bear ornament and Lloyd got a bookmark from the Gutenberg Museum and the change.  Then it was over.  Seemed somewhat anti-climatic but I guess that’s the way Christmas is.  Went to the room and was in bed by 10 p.m.

                                                                                    Monday, December 25, 2006

            Merry Christmas!  Got to sleep in a bit this morning, until 8 a.m.  It is another gray and foggy day, looks cold.  Today we leave Germany and enter the Netherlands.  This will be the first time we’ve ever been to the Netherlands so should be interesting.  Had coffee and listened to the talk on disembarkation and had a bloody mary.

            We arrived in Nijmegen at noon.  It is very gray and looks misty.  There is a big casino right by the ship.  I’m sure some folks will be happy about that.  Today is the only optional excursion of the trip, to the Liberation Museum.  We decided not to go, but later after talking to people who did, I wish I would have as it sounded fascinating.  For those of us not going there would be a walking tour of the city.  We planned on doing that but ended up changing our minds and staying on the ship.  My book, “In Cold Blood”, is so good I can’t put it down so we just stayed on the boat and read all afternoon.

            In the evening we had a farewell kir with the crew – the trip is over!  Visited with Kathy and Harry then went to dinner.  Ate with Kathy, Harry, Pat and Diane (a couple from Indiana).  Dinner was a bit disappointing, not quite as good as the last few nights.  Started with a shaved duck salad, then a seafood risotto.  Lloyd had beef tenderloin (which is what I should have got) and I had eggplant that was ok.  Desert was baked Alaska.  They always make such a big deal over baked Alaska when all it is just ice cream and meringue.  Oh well.

            We went to the lounge and had a Manhattan and watched the crew show.  The show was very funny and Petar and the captain seemed to be enjoying themselves very much.  The crew then handed out gifts to all the passengers.  The men got binoculars and the women got silk scarves.  It was very nice to get a Christmas present.

            We had another drink and then returned to our cabin.  I read for quite a while and finally went to bed at 12:45 a.m.  It was a nice quite, relaxing day, the perfect way to spend Christmas.

                                                                                    Tuesday, December 26, 2006

            Got up at 7 a.m.  Showered then decided to get breakfast.  Went down to the lounge first as we were going through a large lock.  Went back to the dining room and had a very nice breakfast.  We had omelets again from the omelet station.  Today is our last day and tomorrow we have a very early morning.  Bags out at 3:45 a.m.!  Leave for the airport at 4:45 a.m.  Ugh!  After breakfast we went back to our room and watched the countryside glide by.  It is very flat.  Felt sleepy and dozed on and off for a while.  Went to the lounge and read before docking in Amsterdam at noon.

            Had lunch, pea soup and a salad before going on our canal tour.  At 2:15 p.m. the yellow group walked over to the boat area and boarded our “canal bus”.  We went past the Concerto into the main channel, here called The Egg.  There were lots of other boats, tugs, ferries and barges.  This is the busiest harbor in the world.  We then entered the canal system that was interesting, almost Venice like.  The houses along the canals are very interesting, tall and think to keep taxes down.  There are also 2500 houseboats on the canals and they are very desirable places to live.  They talked about rents and how much it costs to buy a house – very expensive.  Saw the front of the Anne Frank house, there was a long line at the museum.  This is a very interesting city.

            We then stopped at a diamond factory – goodie.  Amsterdam is second only to Antwerp in the diamond industry.  Got a short explanation on how they cut diamonds, blah, blah, blah.  They tell you they do it by hand but that’s not true.  It’s all machine done.  They showed us some really big, really expensive diamonds.  I hate these shopping excursions!  Then had to wait around for about 40 minutes for a bus to take us back to the ship.  Got back to the ship about 5 p.m.  Did some preliminary packing and went to the lounge for a drink.

            Had dinner with Harry, Kathy, Diane and Larry and our favorite waiters, Petar and Radu, waited on us.  We had ham with a cheese “carnation”, beef consommé and, believe it or not, turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.  Weird!  Not exactly a traditional Dutch meal.  But it was good.  Lloyd had pumpkin pie for desert and I had a cheese plate.

            After dinner we walked to the red light district, which was very interesting.  There are storefronts with red lights in them and girls in lingerie advertising themselves for sell.  Very interesting concept as they get medical insurance, regular health check-ups, and are kept safe.  The incidence of rape in the Netherlands is very, very low.  Hmmmm.  Maybe this is the best way to handle prostitution.  It was odd seeing women hawk themselves.  You could also smell pot as you walked down the street coming from the “coffee shops”.

            We returned to the ship and had a farewell drink with Kathy and Harry and to say “see you later”.

            We went back to the cabin, packed and went to bed at 11:20 p.m.

                                                                                    Wednesday, December 27, 2006

            Got up at 2:20 a.m.!  Going to be a long day.  We leave for the airport at 4:45 a.m. and fly to Frankfurt where we have a 4-hour layover and then home. 

            We caught our flight to Frankfurt and got in on time.  The airport is really crowded and there aren’t many places to sit.  Found a table at a food court and got coffee and a snack at McDonald’s.  Having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

            Finally boarded our flight for home.  At least there are no screaming babies this time.  Had a glass of wine and then tortellini for lunch.  I tried to read but slept instead.  Not sure how long I slept but when I woke up they were feeding us another meal!  Lloyd had another pasta and I had chicken.  The flight was uneventful.

            Got into Denver at 3:30 p.m. and through customs with no trouble.  There is a lot of snow on the ground.  Luckily our car wasn’t buried so we were able to drive right out of the lot.  We got home at 6 p.m.  It is so good to see Maximus and Trajan and they seem happy to see us.

            Once again, it was a wonderful trip and a special way to spend Christmas.  We enjoyed Germany and the Netherlands and the new friends we made.  But, as always, it’s nice to be home.

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