Reflections on our River Cruise

Rhine Trip

19 August 2022 – Friday

I was hoping to report 6tha6t yesterday’s flight went without a hitch, but that was too much to ask for. Things went smooth from Spokane to Seattle and seemed to be good until we taxied out at SeaTac. I watched as two came forward and talked t6oa stewardess. Then the pilot asked over the PA if there was a doctor on board, and began to taxi back to the gate. Once we finally got back to where we started from, paramedics brought in a wheel chair and left with a large elderly man. Then we waited to top off our fuel and finally were airborne, two hours late. Thus, a nine-hour flight turned into 11 hours.

On a side note, remember when flying was fun? Passengers dressed up and everyone had smiles on their faces? Then came 9-11 and the resulting security procedures. Smiles were replaced with bad tempers and sweat pants or pajamas became travel attire. That attitude has gradually changed to today’s sense of resigned acceptance that the experience will be unpleasant and the airlines are out to make as much money out of the flying public as possible while providing minimum service. Thirty dollars for a checked bag and five dollars for an inflight snack were unheard of before 9-11.

Once we arrived in Amsterdam two hours late, the passport check was smooth, but getting our checked baggage was an ordeal. Apparently, land was cheap because the airport is spread out more than any other, I have ever been to. We followed the signs to what seemed more than a mile to the baggage area. The directory said our baggage would be on carousel 15 but there were only seven carousels!! Then I noticed a small sign indicating carousels 8-23 were in another independent area a couple hundred yards further on. There I found carousels 8-14 and a glassed-in area we couldn’t get into. I walked all the way back to passport control and was told I hadn’t gone far enough. So, I walked through the area of carousels 8-14 and saw another small sign point to another area of carousels 15-23. After another few hundred yards, voila! We found out bags and braced ourselves for the customs check. We found the entire customs area to be unmanned so we just walked through and found our cruise guide for the half hour ride to our mid-town hotel.

We woke up at dinner time and went looking for a restaurant. Amsterdam is intersected by canals. We found a nice Argentine steak house with outside seating along the canal. A man at the next table flagged down a waiter who in broken English, asked the customer, “What is your language?” You know you are in Europe when the waiter askes for your language. It turned out the guy was Albanian so they communicated in slow English. English isn’t always first, but it is universal.

Billie noticed a fish feeding on the stuff floating in the canal and mentioned to the waiter that I like to fish. The waiter introduced me to the chef, who happened to be from Bulgaria, and also like to fish. Fishing seems to be another universal language for men, so we talked about fishing for a while. It turns out the fish in the canal are some form of carp. The chef fishes for them using kernels of corn for bait but does not eat them because they are not palatable.

After supper, we went looking for a coffee shop. I wanted a latte. There are coffee shops every block or so, but when we stopped at one near our hotel the waiter informed us that the seating on the sidewalk was for smoking marijuana! We went to another right across from the hotel and I went inside and ordered a latte. She frowned and said something to the cashier who shrugged and make my drink. Then I looked around and noticed all the signs advertising different kinds of pot. They gave prices for everything from individual joints to hashish oil to cookies. The patrons were all rolling or passing joints back and forth. It seems that “coffee shop” is a euphemism for pot bar. What ever works, I guess. By this time, I was getting high on second hand smoke, and it was close to nine o’clock so we went to bed.

20 Aug, Amsterdam. I don’t think Amsterdam will be on my list of favorite places. It is beautiful; however, the city is built on an ancient swamp. The swamp was diked a drained centuries ago leaving a crisscross pattern of canals. Houses were built on the dikes using submerged wood pilings for foundations the same as Venice. The buildings were all brick with fancy trim and some date back seven centuries. Bicycles were everywhere – thousands f them! They ride on sidewalks aw well as the narrow streets. The rule is pedestrian beware.

The narrow strip between the buildings and the canals are streets/ bike paths/ sidewalks all in one. The streets all seem to be one way on opposite sides of the canals so opposing cars don’t meet each other. I didn’t see any signs so I didn’t figure out how they knew which streets were going which way. The pavement was almost always some sort of brick. The ground underneath is clay so the brick pavers fold and buckle leaving an awful walking surface. The pavements tilts and undulates first one way then another. Not good for old folks with questionable balance. The traffic has no discernable rules. People, cars and bikes seem to go wherever they please. Walking is a continual game of chicken. People coming at you make eye contact and continue on their course until you give way. People frequently bump into each other, bounce off then continue on their way as if nothing happened. We haven’t found a place to convert currency yet. The universal currency seems to be VISA.

I haven’t gotten used to small drinks. My diet colas come in little seven-ounce bottles, and that is not enough for my meal. Waiters DO NOT hover, so you need to flag one down for a refill. Dining is a leisurely activity. By our standards, c=service is slow, but it is just the way they do it.

We get on the boat tomorrow and head up the Rhine.

Wednesday 21 August

I just love European breakfast buffets. They have cold cuts with sliced cheese, herring, smoked salmon, all before you get to the American end of the line to find the scrambled eggs and bacon. Six kinds of coffee as well as chocolate and white milk. I could make all three meals here.

22 August.

We are still in Holland, but headed for Cologne, Germany. A guide told us there are 17 million people in Holland and 22 million bicycles. They find a million bikes a year in the canals. We took a windmill tour yesterday. Windmills were built in the 1600s to pump water out of the swamp, into a canal then out to sea. If they didn’t pump continuously, the land would be a bog- too much and the land dries out. Electric pumps stations have replaced the wind mills, but the queen promised the millers they would remain forever so they do. All 1500 of the old mills are manned and kept in working order.

We may not get to sail all the way to Switzerland due to low water levels. They say this is the lowest it has been in 400 years. Curious me...I wonder what caused the low water 400 years ago. I mentioned this at dinner and a man at our table remarked that the amount of water in the world is constant, so where did the water go that used to be in the Rhine?

23 August

It is Cologne, so this must be Tuesday, or something like that. Cologne is actually an ancient city completely rebuilt after being bombed out in WWII. The only ancient building is the cathedral. Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany, and is the largest Catholic city. We go to Koblenz tomorrow.

I have decided that I may be too old to travel. After following our tour guides for two hours, I get sore knees and didn’t learn anything I couldn’t find on Google. It would have helped if I could understand more of the guide’s heavily accented English, but being out of breath I found that a challenge.

Most activities on the boat involve gluttony or alcohol consumption. As a type two diabetic those activities are prohibited. The optional shore excursion this evening is an organized pub crawl. A few years ago, that may have been fun, but not now. We had lunch today in a German pub, while everyone else tried the local beer, I ordered a diet coke. I felt out of place.

We are a couple hundred miles upstream from the mouth of the Rhine and the water is now relatively clear. Not as clear as a mountain trout stream but not muddy as I expected. Lots of barge traffic. The length and width of the barges are all about the same, so I concluded the locks limit the size of the boats.

The river is managed with rocks to prevent erosion and wing dams every quarter mile or so. Quite different than the Pend Oreille where the county board tries to return the shoreline to what it was 200 years ago. Returning riparian areas to nature is not a goal here. They strive for a river that is both clean and compatible with human use. The bottom of the river is rocks with algae growing on them. Much like a trickle waste disposal plant, the algae eat the bad bacteria and the river is quite clean. Above Mannheim the water is even mor clear. It looks like a very big trout stream.

25 August

Where did yesterday go?? I remember taking a morning hike around an old fortress. The guide was an actor playing a role to entertain us. It was supposed to be physically easy, but a two-hour walk is not very easy for this old man. We had a group tour of the town of Koblenz ending up in a restaurant. Lots of wine and rich food. I felt like the designated driver with no car. Diabetes sure takes the fun out of partying.

Today we had an excursion billed as lunch in Heidelberg with college students. We started in Mannheim and after an hour walk, we drove to Heidelberg castle. After an hour or so there, we went to lunch. Our student’s name was Nasha or something like that. She was from Turkey and had lived several years in the US. She is getting her master’s degree in American studies. Sounds to me like something interesting to study after you have a degree that lands you a job. She had no idea what her degree would lead to. College costs are low all over Europe. She pays 1500$ a semester. In Holland, foreign students pay 1000$ a year.

After lunch we went shopping in Heidelberg. I am about played out. My feet hurt and my knees are swollen, so I found a sidewalk café, bought a diet coke, and waited for Billie. I have run into so many people on my blind side I feel like I have been in a brawl. I’m pooped.

We haven’t been 100% for a few days now. Mine started with an allergy attack - drippy nose, and sore throat. Billie’s is more like a summer cold. We are slowly getting better, but I still want to see a doctor when we get home.

26 August

We are docked, but I’m not sure where. We went through locks last night at 330 and 530.My sleep pattern is still messed up. We both got up for the first lock, but Billie slept through the second one. A sailor told me we will go through a few more locks before we get to Basel, Switzerland. We are supposed to have a walking tour of Strasberg, France today making it a total of four countries we visit on our boat ride.

There are swans on the river now very close to the boat. It is the second time I have seen them. They are sure beautiful.

Since I lost my eye, I am uncomfortable in crowds. I try to walk to the right of whatever walkway I’m on so I can pass oncoming traffic on my good eye side. Some people must feel superior and expect others to get out of their way, but I can’t give way to my right because I can’t see on that side. So, when people approach me, I tend to stop and wait for them to do what ever they want to do. Most go around me, but a few will wait until the last minute and bump me on the way by. One lady yesterday was oblivious and walked right up against my chest, stopped, then slid to the side. I bet she though I was as arrogant and I thought she was.

The river is a barge highway, and most cargo barges have a small auto near the pilot house. I’m told they unload it at destination so they have wheels, then reload it for the return trip. That way the have a car at both ends.

We took another four-hour hike today in Strasberg. I Am hiked out. The narrow streets were crowded, then we went inside the cathedral and the crowd was pressing on me from all sides. Our guide led us to an alcove to watch a Bavarian clock strike the hour. By the time the clock struck I was in panic mode full sweat and shaking. I couldn’t wait to get outside. I know better than to let myself get in that position.

College is free for resident students in France as well as Holland. Minimum income in France and Germany is just under 1000 euros per month. It is around 4000 in Switzerland.

Groups of armed soldiers patrol the streets of Strasberg. The guide said there was a terrorist attack here four years ago and the patrols wither discourage the terrorists or make them mad. The guide wasn’t sure which.

27 Aug

We cancelled out guided tour to the Black Forest and walked around the quayside town. We could set our own pace and found it kind of nice. We should have done more of that and fewer group torus. We lucked into a bike race. We were heading back to the boat when we noticed workers setting up temporary barricades. So, we got a table on the street, ordered a coffee and waited. After 30 minutes or so a group of police cars followed by a small group of bikers, then five minutes later a few hundred bikers passed. The crowd cheered. We were told it was the Tour De Germany. Not as famous as the Tour De France but OK for us. It was cool!

Not as many people smoke as used to. Those that do, however, smoke anywhere they want. All the restaurants have ash trays, and it is common for people to smoke on the street and throw their butts on the ground. I saw a couple folks with e-cigs but they were rare.

We made the whole trip without euros. We had planned to exchange money in the airport but there was no place to do it. Our backup was to try the desk in our hotel in Amsterdam but they didn’t do it either. Neither did the boat. Stores wouldn’t take Ame5rican dollars, but everyone took VISA. I tipped in Dollars and never touched a euro. On our past trips I’ve always gotten home with a hand full of foreign money that I can’t exchange in the US. It accumulates in a bag stored in my dresser drawer.

We go home tomorrow.