Going Cruisin

I always find it difficult to close off these blogs/adventures.  But here goes! People: One of the concerns that we had before heading off on this cruise (maybe me more than Sue) was having to interact with people who were complete strangers.  All of our past travels have been solo/self directed.  This one forced us beyond our usual comfort zone.  That turned out to be not a bad thing. We knew that of the 190 passengers most would be American.  With the 'idiotic' politics south of the border and me being a political junky, I was particularly concerned.  It turned out to be unwarranted.  Other than the 2 individuals that I have written about before of course.  The majority of people we interacted with were just like us although most were older than us.  To our surprise, we met some people that we clicked with.  Within a few days, we were having dinner with the same group.  The 2 ladies, one from Michigan who had been a teacher and th...

We left our hotel by shortly  after 8:00am.  Within 30 minutes we were checking in at the airport and the waiting began.  Our flight was delayed originally by 40 minutes which stretched into more than an hour.  The fun of flying! Eight hours later, we arrived to the usual 'ZOO' called Pearson.  Despite the self declaration process, the lineups were silly.  Eventually we made it through.  The 'Horner Limo Service' was waiting patiently for us.  Well, maybe the patient part is a bit of a stretch.  Thanks Chris! We were invited to stay for dinner.  We sure were not turning down a steak dinner!  After all, our cupboards and fridge waiting for us at home we knew were a little bare.  Thanks guys! It was a long day.  I am sure it will take a day or two to rest up. Stay tuned for a wrap up of this adventure! Amsterdam by night.

I applaud the Dutch for their use of Bicycles.  In Amsterdam it is a major way for people to move around.  We had been warned about the cycling etiquette or lack there of.  Bicycles have the right of way over cars as well as pedestrians.  But until you have experienced this place, you have no idea.  To call it 'chaotic' is an understatement.  If there are any rules for bicycles and cars together, they sure are not followed.  You take your life in your hands every time you step off a curb.  You need eyes in the back of your head.  No one signals.  It is stupid.  Add street cars, scooters, and small 'smart cars' into the mix and it becomes even more insane.  While enjoying a 'refreshment' at an outdoor patio, we were entertained by all the near misses between bicycles and cars, bicycles and bicycles, and bicycles and pedestrians.  It was kind of entertaining to just sit back and watch.  It would be fascinating to know h...

Yesterday we had a history lesson about water management in the Netherlands.  We docked for a few hours at Kinderdijt.  This is a small town of maybe 50 houses.  It is famous for its 19 working water windmills.  18 are 300 years old and one of them is 400 years old.  They are no longer pumping water but are maintained.  Families live in these things and are required to operate them for half a day each week.  They are responsible for their maintenance.  One is kept open to the public as a museum. It was fascinating to climb to the top where you could view all the gears that are made of wood spinning.  The blades are 40 feet long.  At their apex, they are travelling at 75 mph.  And I have to stress, these things are 300 years old!  In their day they were capable of pumping 16,000 gallons an hour.  Their replacement in the 19th century, steam and then diesel pumps could move 80,000 gallons an hour.  The electric ones tha...

Last evening we participated in what will go down as one of the highlights of our cruise.  Cologne is known for its 'beer' culture specializing in Kolsch beer. Two groups of us headed off for an evening of beer drinking (right up my alley) and interesting dining!  Our group consisted of 1 Aussie, 10 Americans, a member of the wait staff from Portugal (she had the night off so joined us on the tour), and Sue and I.  The other group had way more people with one major problem.  They had the pleasure of the company of the obnoxious lawyer that I talked about yesterday.  More about that later. Our first stop was at Peters Brauhouse where the beer began to flow.  Over the next hour we enjoyed a 3 course meal and way too many 7 ounce pours of Kolsch.  The 'loud' lawyer was sitting at the table behind us.  The more beer that he had the louder and more obnoxious he became.  The guy beside me leaned over  and said to me, "I apologize on behalf of ...

Yesterday's weather did not hold for our outing into Koblenz.  It had been such a beautiful day and then it was not.  As we were leaving the boat it started to rain.  It got heavier.  And then it poured.  By the time we met our guide up on the dock area there was thunder and lightning.  We are congregated under some large trees.  A person in our group asked our guide why the tram above us was not running.  He said; "well it is unsafe when there is a thunderstorm".  I guess no one told this guy that it is also a really bad idea to stand under a tree when there is lightning.  Jesus!!! Off we went in the pouring rain.  Sue and I have good rain jackets so we have not bothered to take the umbrellas that Viking provides.  They are very large umbrellas.  It is astonishing how unaware people are of their surroundings.  I could go on and on about the near misses with other people's umbrellas but I will not as it would take up ...