Wertheim am Main - Dashing about without a map or a plan

Travel Blog No. 8

(click on photos to enlarge them)

Wertheim is a town in the state of Baden-Wurttembag. The Luftwaffe had a small airfield there during W.W. 2 to instruct pilots in flying the JU87 STUKA. The town was captured by the Americans in 1945, and postwar the airfield hosted a small U.S. Army base called Camp Peden. In the early 1990s, the Soviet Union having collapsed, the camp became redundant and it was closed.  Wertheim is built at the confluence of two historic rivers - the Tauber and the wider Main. The Medieval town suffered partial destruction during the Thirty Years War, and  Wertheim Castle the hilltop landmark, was left a picturesque ruin for almost three centuries. From the air the old town looks like a giant slice of pizza.  A slice made crunchy with modern red tiles and ancient red sandstone building blocks. Cross over the highway bridge and you are back in Bavaria.

An interesting pair of Wertheim photos I

scraped from a U.S. Veterans webpage.

In 1945 there was also a dispersed  ME109

production facility at Wertheim, hidden in

tunnels, barns and the surrounding forest.

A 1960s postcard of Castle Wertheim, found on Ebay

While we were busy touring Miltenberg the VIKING BESTLA had continued upriver. Towards the end of our afternoon we boarded motor-coaches and dashed along the river highway to Wertheim, not really knowing what to expect. This was one of the few stops where Viking does not provide a guided tour, and without a map you are pretty much left to your own devices. The time constraint means you have to confine yourself within the old town, which is too bad, because Wertheim is definitely worthy of a more careful visit. After receiving instructions from Tour Director - Alex, we all scattered. My wife and I made  our way through the narrow streets, looking for something inviting to photograph.

The Renaissance well known as the "Engelsbrunnen" has been photographed by every tourist who ever entered the town with a camera. Why should we be different?  Built of the same red sandstone of which our Miltenberg town-guide was so proud, the brunnen (it means both well and fountain) takes it name from the pair of angels that adorn the top of the piece.

For many years the Engelsbrunnen existed with its red sandstone skirting removed, and folks could use either of two drinking fountains. The stone skirting is now restored, as are two iron pulleys that indicate it was a well. This postcard view of the well is about 100 years old.  Further along we turned into a courtyard with a large church on our right, and a smaller chapel to the left. The old castle loomed on the hill above, and the shadows were deepening as the sun was sinking at our back. I  had no knowledge of any of the monuments we were photographing, but trusted we could research them when we were home in Canada.

And this is the same view - taken about 70 years ago.  It seems virtually unchanged.

In the basement of the chapel are entombed the bones of the Counts of Wertheim, most of whom were Catholic.  Of course we had no opportunity to enter the chapel, and contented ourselves with recording interesting corners and monuments of the surrounding area - and they were quite abundant.  The much larger structure on the right is the Evangelishe Stiftskirche - the principle Protestant Church in Wertheim.  If you go back to the aerial photo you will see that the yellow church is the largest structure in the old town.

Posing on the chapel steps, October 6, 2014.

Many of the carved plaques attest to the piety and charity of Wertheim's Christian elite, all now gone. Husband and wife memorials are very commonly found on German churches.  This is one of several we photographed.  I cannot read German and I have no way of telling you the story of this couple.  

In addition to the ubiquitous red sandstone monuments, we encountered plenty of red foliage in Wertheim which I attributed to the time of year.  Behind the church was an elderly vine which is living attached to a retaining wall some 30 feet in height. Here Wendy poses with some gorgeous colour!  I admit I posed at the wall too.

An additional feature built on the wall of the church is a sun dial which was large enough for the inhabitants of the schlosse (built on the ruin of Castle Wertheim) to check the hour of the day.   Because it had already gone past 6pm, the wall was in shadow.   It was time for us to start back to meet the VIKING BESTLA, which we had been promised must be waiting for us on the Main River.

Our longship was at the dockside, as were most of our fellow passengers, all waiting for the gangplank to be secured in place.  Several of the wonderful dining room staff and our beloved chef were lining the rail to greet us and, at a signal,  pulled out large letters that spelled "WELCOME BACK". Their gesture was much appreciated and we were very happy to pile aboard to prepare ourselves for cocktails and dinner. There was still much to see and enjoy as we set sail upriver.

Miltenberg - Where timber houses and a landmark hotel predate Columbus' Voyage of Discovery

TRAVEL BLOG No. 7

Viking Bestla approaches Miltenberg, and the savvy

swans  soon begged bread beneath our cabin balconies.

Nothing prepares a Canadian for the architectural delights of Miltenberg.  Even the ramparts at Quebec City are 'new' in comparison to much of what you are encouraged to touch and admire in this ancient German town.  Roman walls, a Renaissance church and squared-timber houses which predate the voyage of Christopher Columbus!  This was a river bank fortified by the Romans, then abandoned, and centuries later rebuilt, only to be scorched by the raiding Huns. This was a town where the Protestant Reformation initially faltered, and early followers of Martin Luther were beheaded.

VIKING BESTLA tied up at 2PM and we were soon parcelled into groups at dockside. We had already adjusted to the tour routine -  the leisurely stroll with well-informed local guide, followed by an hour or two of "exploring" - ie. scurrying about for those precious and very individual moments of discovery and meaning.  Between my wife and I, we came away with over 100 photos, and since returning to Canada I have done sufficient research that I can attest to the historical age and authenticity of what we were shown.  

For most tourists, the establishing shot at Miltenberg is the century-old tower and bridge that spans the river.  Both are constructed of gleaming red sandstone blocks, as are many of the public buildings in the town. I choose instead an old postcard (c1920) that is filled with many details that are no longer obvious, simply because the inhabitants enjoy letting the trees and bush grow thicker. If I had known that cemetery was there, I might have found a gate and had myself a quick look. 

We did however, have a careful look at a short section of the old Roman wall.  You will note that the Romans began the tradition of quarrying local stone to build their town, and stone cutting has employed  local men for centuries. Our tour guide insisted, and though confirmation escaped me I should not doubt her,  that much of the red sandstone used in building the wall around the Kremlin in Moscow, was quarried at Miltenberg.  [Kremlin walls and towers.]

If you visit, you will find it rather tricky to get shots of what remains of the original Roman defensive wall.  Nothing beats a human body for adding scale to a shot, so I stand here with my friend Lina.  Moments later I walked around the grey stucco building and photographed the opening though the wall.  That was the best I could do.  Imagine my delight when, a few months later, I found on German EBAY a postcard image of the same spot - printed roughly 110 years ago !  I have labeled my two photos and the antique postcard so readers can see for themselves how this crowded corner of Miltenberg has evolved since Roman times.

"Ein romantisches Eck an der Stadtmauer."  My German-English dictionary tells me this translates to  "a corner of the Roman City Wall".  If you look over my shoulder you will see that the two small structures built into the Roman wall are newly clad but their pitch and dimensions shows that the property owners have held on to those small lots, which must have been registered centuries ago.

Our guide spent less than fifteen minutes in the alleyways, before steering us back to the main tourist corridor.  We broke away briefly to get a series of photos in more cramped spaces, where winter frost and building settling has broken walls, exposing the interior details of ancient walls.   Its a truly fascinating catalog of innovation and repair by men long dead, but much too detailed for a Blog article. At one point we turned a corner into a narrow alley and bumped into a dozen men congregated outside an open door. They were, I believe, Turks and assorted Middle Eastern males. I assumed the flat or office was a strand in the continent-wide web of migrant trans-shipment that is always in the news, and I didn't attempt conversation.

The Hauptstrasse, or Main Street of the old town.

When we caught up to the tour group, I found our "gang" - all Taiwanese and Taiwanese Canadians, giving the guide their full attention. She really was very well informed, and I felt a tad guilty for having gone off on my own.  Still, several thousand tourists travel this corridor each day,  and I only had the one afternoon to form a lasting impression of a remarkable community.

In this photo my wife is standing in front of Miltenberg's most famous landmark -  a 600 year old hotel known as the Gasthaus zum Riesen, or "The Giant".  It is actually one of the oldest surviving hotels in Germany, dated to 1411, with archaeological evidence of an earlier structure beneath it.  If you can believe it, the Wiki-page boasts that Elvis Presley once took a room there. Had Columbus chosen to  beg expedition funding from a Bavarian princeling instead of a Spanish Queen, he might well have slept in that hotel.

 

Our tour guide stopped in front of the old Town Hall, to explain the details of its history and design, as well as to indicate how high the flood waters climbed a few years back.  It was trash collecting day in Miltenberg, so there were bins and bags on every street.

It was just a few more steps to enter the Marketplatz, where we assembled by the stone fountain to receive our last round of historical facts, anecdotes and suggestions to sample the local cuisine.  We did step into a bakery that displayed the most extraordinary formed and braided bread-work I've yet encountered, but we invested our time in further exploration of the town.  Again, I have found a century-old postcard image (below) which attests to the age and authenticity of the streetscapes. Miltenberg was a fortunate town that was passed over by Allied bombers during WW2, and it is mind-numbing to contemplate that only 70 years ago there were entire German cities, such as Nuremberg, filled with architecture compatible to this. 

The Miltenberg Marketplatz is remarkably preserved.

Our last foray was to seek a vantage point above the town, from where we could look down upon the river.  To the left, and uphill from the square, is the the town museum and an alley between two walls that leads to the the "Schnatterlochs-Turm" or "chatting gate tower".  Once through, the slopes are dark and cool under a canopy of trees, but pathways lead to lovely terraced properties where the photographer enjoys an open panorama above most of the rooftops.

Of course the Viking River Tour concentrates entirely on old town Miltenberg, as it should. A bustling modern city has expanded upriver and on the opposite side of the bridge, but the old town is the jewel all Germans treasure.  It is truly a walk back through time.

While we friends were enjoying our afternoon, the crew of Viking Bestla had continued the journey upriver to Wurtheim, where they docked and the kitchen staff prepared to serve us a sumptuous feast.  In motor coaches we covered in perhaps 20 minutes, the same distance it had taken the longship to sail in a few hours.  There was time for a hot shower and a stretch on deck,  and yes always a few beers in the lounge, before being seated to an exquisite dinner.   Pure bliss.

The Guns of Marksburg Castle - the Heritage of the Middle Rhine

Travel Blog No. 6

A 1908 postcard of  the magnificent Kaiser Wilhelm II monument 

at Coblenz. This is a dramatic "corner" where the Moselle River 

meets the Rhine, and a splendid place to board the buses for our trip to 

Marksburg Castle. The original statue was obliterated by the Americans 

in 1945, and only replaced in 1993.  (Its history is HERE)

As we slept, the ultra-modernViking BESTLA thrust its way upriver, its electronic systems silently communicating with navigational beacons and the control towers at river locks. The only sound was the splash of our flat bow-wave over the intermittent belts of heavy stone, laid down for erosion control. We had noticed that at night waves of moisture-laden air settles between the steep walls of the Rhine Valley, and as our vessel cooled, that vapour condensed  and  lay thick upon all the surfaces -  the upper decks, skylight windows and chaise lounges. Late at night I enjoyed stepping out onto our balcony in the moonlight,  to enjoy a private commune with nature and the darkened villages that drifted by.    

At sunrise our Gang of Ten assembled for a sumptuous breakfast, and as we chatted the BESTLA reached Coblenz, a city that was famously occupied by the U.S. Army in 1919.  Our berth was alongside the magnificent stone monument atop which is mounted a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I.  We took several quick photos of course, but our primary interest was getting ready for our  9:30 - 12 Noon shore excursion.  A troop of buses was formed up to load and transport us to Marksburg Castle at Braubach. My wife had reason to be excited. For months she had been anticipating the "Rhine Castle" leg of our journey, and she was not to be disappointed.  Between us we took about 100 photos, many identical to those you would find if you Googled "Marksburg Castle".  Today's sampling will include a few vintage images in the mix,  to better illustrate what the travel and tourism sites don't tell you.

This postcard view of Marksburg Castle is more than a century old, but I have added

a German stamp which was issued in February of 2015, months after our return to Canada.

The buses delivered us to a large parking terrace, sited at the rear of the castle, where the efficient tour guides quickly sorted us out.  Each of the them carries a large iron key, and a great fuss is made of unlocking the heavy front gate... but it is just one of the tricks used to control the pace, and keep the groups from bunching up. There is a peep-hole in the door to allow the guide to know when the preceding tour group has moved on.  The interior of the fortress has many steep steps, and a few tight passageways, so its important that the tourists are not stepping on each others heels.  

Six members of our "Gang of Ten".  Previously identified were (LtoR)  Lina, Lily, Janet and Spencer.  On the right Dr. Jason Su and his wife Sophia, two of our newest Taiwan friends.

The Allied air forces (including the R.C.A.F.) bombed all of Germany's cities, and many of the bridging points on the Rhine, but fortunately some monuments were spared.  Marksburg Castle and the town of Braubach turn up in a few reconnaissance photos, like the example below, but they were not bombed. Still, American artillery did rain a few shells on the mountain in 1945, firing from the opposite bank of the Rhine. And yet Marksburg is said to be the most intact of any of the Rhine castles.  Much of what tourists encounter in Germany today has been repaired or even completely rebuilt from old blueprints, but this castle is the real thing - a treasure of authentic Rhine Heritage.

Marksburg Castle has been in the hands of heritage preservationists 
since 1900.  In the 1930s the castle became the headquarters of the group
of architects, historians and archeologists -  German Castle Association

St. Marks' Castle -   Marksburg Castle perches 492 feet above the Rhine River and is today accessed by a valley road which leads up to a massive car-battery recycling plant hidden in the trees.  The original bastion dates to the 13th Century, and in 1437 a chapel was erected, dedicated to St. Mark.   The castle now had a permanent name. Several reasons are given for the its longevity, from guarding royal territorial boundaries, to defence of Braubach's productive lead and silver mines. The mines, first exploited by the Romans, are now closed. The mining jobs were replaced by a plant which recycles automobile batteries.

Below is a helpful diagram. Near the bus park there are large and very informative display boards that explain the history and features of Marksburg. (Sorry, no room for them in a short Blog article.) We  climbed the Chapel Tower but did not go up into the tower labelled "the Square Keep". There were 198 passengers in our Viking tour, divided into groups of about 30,  and it would be near impossible to get us all up and down, and still have time to take in the entire site.

The lower bastion wall offers a superb view of the Rhine River.  The crenellated turret (with flag) has not been restored. The floor rotted away perhaps a century ago. Our longship was already several miles upriver, and we would chase after her in the motor buses. The leap-frog technique of sallying forth on a shore excursion and then catching up to the boat at lunch time, works brilliantly.  

This flag designates  Marksburg Castle as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It costs almost a million dollars to get a site proposal through UNESCO bureaucracy,

followed by annual $$ costs.  Few can prove that the "WHS" logo actually boosts their profits. 

Marksburg has been attracting paying visitors since the 1840s, and it will survive the U.N.

In spite of the bunching up,  my wife did manage to secure a few shots of me alone with the stone. With the exception of frequent murmurs of appreciation that drifted from our appreciative group, the castle was nearly silent.  The footing was often so precarious that everyone was stepping about very carefully, and so there were no heavy footfalls echoing off the ancient walls.  As well there were no children about, so  it was a deliciously quiet morning.

THE GUNS OF MARKSBURG

Below, the gun platform (GROSSE BATTERIE) at the lower level. This battery overlooks the Rhine, but  I have no idea if these cannon were ever fired in defence of the castle.  Research tells me that they are Swedish and French cannon "preserved" on a rampart at Marksburg. They were war trophies but could easily have been re-purposed for defence. But were they? We were not shown any powder magazine, and there is no display of balls or shot. True, in a corner there is a small nest of stone balls of odd sizes. These might once have been thrown by mortars, but not by these wheeled cannon, which appear to be 24 pounders. Most of the guns are said to be Swedish, captured during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), and a few French. One was said (in an old travel guide) to have been a trophy from the Battle of Waterloo.

One or more cannon were sometimes fired in a ceremonial, usually to note the visit of a "Royal," as when England's Queen Victoria passed by. The German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II was a patron of the restoration of Marksburg, and he visited the castle in 1905 to examine the work. To mark that important occasion his personal standard was flown from the tower and a few of the Marksburg guns were fired in salute. Later in the day, another salute was fired to mark the Kaiser's departure. Who were the gunners in 1905? Perhaps Braubach reservists. Imagine firing a cannon over 250 years old! What would be your level of trust?  Today, every visitor to Marksburg enjoys posing with them. I posed, and so did our good friends Lina and Charlie Lin (below).

And for an historical comparison - a postcard of the Great Battery (die Grosse Batterie), published in the 1920s:

Swedish Cannon  of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) preserved
at Marksburg Castle. This picture postcard was mailed in 1926.

How would the battery have appeared when Kaiser Wilhelm visited and was saluted in September of 1905?  A good question. Photo evidence is lacking, but my guess is that at least a few of the Swedish guns sat on an open rampart, as shown in a painting (below) by Hans Rudolf Shulze.

One of the great German war artists of 1914-18 was Hans Rudolf Shulze.

He prepared this view of the Grosse Batterie on an open rampart, for a

popular series of postcards  sold at Marksburg and down in the town.

SOME OF THE EXHIBITS

I found very detailed written descriptions of Marksburg's dungeons and the infamous "hunde-hol" or "doghole", some accounts published as early as the 1850s. There is a room full of torture impleents and today's guides do linger on this crowd-pleaser. But I will leave that subject for you to explore, should you decide to take a Rhine River Cruise.  This next photo records a rather strange moment. The wine cellar (weinkeller) is filled with fascinating artifacts, including the leather bellows used to pressurize the barrels and leather flagons for drawing off a table serving of wine.  Note that there are electric lights mounted, but they are not turned on. The cellar was in total darkness, but my flash filled the space and saved the shot.

After the panic visit to  the Romano-German Museum in Cologne, my wife and I fell in sync in our photo coverage of the trip, often dropping back to grab several fast shots after our tour group had moved on.  This next shot is one of hers, taken in the armoury at Marksburg. What was I closing in on?

I was recording a few details in the manufacture of the old German weaponry  - in this instance the cranking mechanism on a crossbow.  At home I have bronze components from two ancient crossbows. They were recovered from Chinese tombs, and I acquired them in Hong Kong in 1984.  Hence my interest in comparable European weaponry.  The Marksburg armour collection has been moved around several times over the years, as curators found better ways to display what they had.  I have photos of the armour taken in the 1930s which tell me that a few substitutions have been made, or perhaps some artifacts were stolen in 1945.  

We took several photographs of the living rock surfaces inside the castle walls.  I must admit I did cluck-cluck a few times about the curatorial choice of leaving these surfaces swept bare.  Not simply because it was a bit dangerous for some of the older members of our tour group, but I don't believe it is an authentic recreation.  For centuries Marksburg had working stables and there was a smithy who kept the horses well shod. These uneven stone surfaces would have been levelled off with gravel or crushed stone so that goods carts could roll easily, and there would be no risk of (expensive) horses tripping and breaking their legs.

After returning to the buses we blitzed down through the old town of Braubach perhaps a bit too swiftly, but I suppose most of us were excited to see what culinary delights would be served at noon on board the BESTLA.  As we sat to our lunch the last few clouds scattered, and we could enjoy a relaxing afternoon on top, letting our ankles recover. Our knowledgeable cruise director, Alex, called out the names of each and every castle which drifted by, adding interesting bits of historical trivia and Rhine culture.  It being a Sunday, many thousands of German families were out on rural day-trips, and scores of them waved down to us from castle battlements.  The road traffic was rather light that day, but an occasional electric commuter train would zing past, and riders among bicycle touring parties would give us a friendly shout as they passed.  We were always pushing upriver, so serious cyclists moved at a faster clip than did our longship. 

Goats now freely graze on these terraces of an abandoned Rhine vineyard.

My only regret that afternoon was failing to have a camera in hand the moment when a three-engined Junkers JU 52 orbited twice over the river.  It appeared to be the civilian version of Germany's most famous transport aircraft of WW2.  Nobody else on deck seemed to be impressed, but I was thrilled.

++

VIKING BESTLA - We settle in, and set out

Blog No. 3

Ronald J. Jack

ronjackbc@yahoo.ca

We had pre-arranged taxi service to the cruise ship terminal, and it turned out a rather hilarious ride.  Four of us crammed into a sedan, and the other six followed in a small van.  Though I had only been in Amsterdam two days, I was dead certain that the driver (a young immigrant from Turkey) had peeled off in the direction of Schiphol airport. "Hold it. You're going the wrong way!"  Two quick lefts, (guided by my index finger) and he must now hit the waterfront at some point. I was riding shotgun, so it was easy to unfold my city map, spread it under his nose, and point at the terminal. "Oooooh! I know it." Yes, but the words "Viking Cruises" meant nothing to him.  Nor did the name "Vancouver".  He had heard of Canada, but not Vancouver.  I, on the other hand, could tell him a great deal about his hometown, Istanbul.  We got along.

Our friends de-bus in front of VIKING BESTLA -  Day 1.

Boarding the BESTLA was a treat.  She was only a few months old, and so pristine you might believe yourself the first passenger to trod her carpeted passageways.  We were offered steaming hot towels and cool champagne, and invited to lunch in the dining room while our baggage was being stowed in our cabins. In fact the cabin crew was still busy erasing all trace of the previous tour group, most of whom were now waiting for flights at the airport. We had time to dash up top, to wave happily as our friends arrived and paid off their Turkish driver.  Lunch was a delight, and some chose to go topside with a cold beer, where we could drink in the charms of Amsterdam from our new home.

Our longship cabin was designed and decorated with care, and I could find not a single fault. Each room has a flat panel screen with a generous mix of TV, movie and news content (BBC and CNN). The push button strongbox is easy to use, and large enough for a small purse.   I soon fell in love with  the bathroom, because the floor is heated and the shower stall was always dry within minutes.  The French balcony is a clever design feature, private and ample for two. It was soon my favorite perch for a quiet read, or just to watch Europe roll past.  The photo shows shows me with a full stomach and feeling deeply content, though I was also ignoring a pair of swans who had taken up station below our balcony. I had nothing to toss them.

After two nights in a sub-standard Amsterdam hotel room,  it was pure

joy to unpack aboard our beautiful Viking longship.  So what exactly is a 
"French Balcony"?  A narrow perch adjacent to your room, separated by a
heavy, floor to ceiling  sliding-glass door.  The balcony rail is also clear glass. 
Here I prove that the balcony is quite functional, contrary to Internet blather.**

** I notice that dissatisfied cruise customers choose to post "revenge reviews"
on open discussion boards such as "Cruise Critic".  Please understand that
"Cruise Critic" is BOGUS.  It is a U.S. owned travel promotion site, run
by paid writer/editors who allow the "criticism",  in order to feign honest
travel journalism.  ... Lazy mouse clicking leads to U&ME  tricking. 

VIKING RIVER CRUISES berth their longboats within sight of the Movenpick Hotel (see photo below). While I don't regret taking a room in an older hotel closer to the Van Gogh Museum, I have learned the layout of central Amsterdam, and would make adjustments if I use that city to jump-off on another European cruise.  We invested the remainder of DAY 1 in our final foray into the beating heart of  that fascinating city.  On return, we were free to examine and admire the ship's features and begin sampling the many onboard services.

KINDERDIJK  - DAY 2
Heritage Park   - Shore Excursion 9-11 AM

I had never heard of Kinderdijk. I just knew there would be windmills and some sort of open air museum. All provinces of Canada have heritage theme parks, and they are a staple of school "field trips".  (We even have one near our home - Burnaby Village Museum.)   Must I admit that the visit exceeded my expectations?  Here's why.  We awoke to find our longship berthed alongside a riverbank, and tethered to a welded aluminum dock.  As we breakfasted it seemed to me that the sun could never burn through such a heavy fog and even as we obediently switched on our voice receivers, and marshalled with our tour guides on top of the embankment, the morning did not seem promising.

A ten minute walk delivered us to a reception centre packed with ancient tools and large pieces of wood, some cleverly shaped or  others simply badly worn. We were crowded in a shed adjacent to a decaying brick pumping station, that was stop number two. An explanation of the history of the site was given by a personal young man, native to Kinderdijk and on holiday from university.  As the morning wore on we noticed something truly splendid. The fog was slowly lifting, and each time we turned our attention from the guide to our surroundings, we saw that more of the park was revealed. We came to realize that a pretty column of windmills was emerging from the gloom, and that if we were patient we might get to meet them up close.   

By mid-morning the sky was a deep blue, and cloudless.  We were allowed plenty of time to climb up into a museum windmill, and to take photographs through centuries-old glass windows.  The exhibits were interesting and well explained, such that I feel I now understand the wind technology and the people who once worked with it. Now I am quite aware that millions of photographs have been taken at Kinderdijk, with or without people, and there were no fresh angles to discover.  Nevertheless we took as many as our patient friends would pose for.  

Our friends Charlie and Lina Lin patiently posed for

several cameras. The man in red VIKING jacket is 

Alex,  our energetic BESTLA Program Director.

I will never experience the Netherlands in Winter, but I have examined many hundreds of photographs of Europe in Deep Freeze  and a few famous paintings of the frozen canals of Holland.  I did wonder what Kinderdijk looks like when frozen over, so I Googled the subject.   Below is a news photo scraped from the Internet, and taken during a cold snap in January 2009.  

NIJMEGEN - AN HISTORIC  WW2   SITE

It has been 35 since I read A BRIDGE TOO FAR, the glorious story of "Market Garden", the Allied Airborne assault on the German-held bridges at Arnhem and Nijmegen.   Millions know the 2-hour movie, and not the 2-night  book, but I do like to believe that most people my own age know something of that epic story.  I was rather pleased that we sailed through the historic region and, because BESTLA was cruising at such a slow and measured pace, there was time to get our bearings and recall the bloody struggle that the Royal Canadian Engineers participated in.  Our soldiers helped the paratroops escape encirclement and capture. Nijmegen on the Waal River is today rebuilt and enlarged, so you should not expect to spot any evidence of World War 2 battles from your boat. That said, further inland, on the Rhine, you do encounter reminders of war, most commonly the blackened foundation piers of bridges destroyed in the bombings or stone walls still pocked by heavy machine-gun bullets.  More of that, in another Blog.

Towed-gliders. The airborne assault was a brilliant miscalculation.

When we sailed through, Nijmegen was bathed in the golden glow of a late afternoon sun.  It was a vivid contrast to the thick mist that greeted us at dawn, and all agreed that it had been a happy day.   Of course we posed for a clutch of keepsake photos, and my pick is of two friends, Janet and Spencer (below). That  arching span in the distance is a railroad bridge, across which brilliantly hued high-speed trains convey inter-city commuters. Though on vacation, they are two serious Taiwanese business folk. I didn't realize until at least a week later that Spencer was examining European transport and commercial practices with the eye of a veteran manufacturer and exporter.

All of the Taiwanese friends in our group have

English names. This is Janet and Spencer on deck

as we were passing the bridges at Nijmegen, on the Waal River.

Spencer proudly sports a new KINDERDIJK baseball cap.

NOAH'S ARK -  but will it float?

Not long after we passed Nijmegen, my wife

spotted this.  Noah's Ark.  A theme attraction?

One man's backyard obsession? Anyone's guess.

Then I see this... NEWS VIDEO LINK

.

Next:  Magical Cologne

Viking River Cruises - My Advice? Buy the Package, Enjoy the Package

Article No. 2
Ronald J. Jack
Email: ronjackbc@yahoo.ca

THE GRAND EUROPEAN TOUR -  Amsterdam to Budapest
Some Friendly Advice
If you purchase this fifteen day travel plan from Viking River Cruises,  it is an all-inclusive package - i.e.. air, shuttle, hotel overlooking Amsterdam Harbour, the  Five-Country Cruise, shuttle at Budapest, and return flight.  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider making your own air reservations and even the hotel bookings.  There are several important things to consider:

A) You are booking a year or more ahead. Standard cancellation insurance is expensive, and Viking's policy on refunds is nothing short of confiscatory.  No insurance? You will lose most of your money.

B) There is no 15th day. Viking has to empty the Longship at Budapest as fast as it can, which means they book you on very early flights out of Budapest.  When I realized we would have to get up around 3:30 AM to pack and eat (that's when they start serving breakfast) that is when I was forced to make my own air reservations (British Airways).  As a result we left the Longship at mid-morning, and Viking honoured the airport transfer agreement -  they hired a coach for our remaining party of ten.

C) The trip is five-country, but NOT language immersive. Our group was composed of two groups - Western Canadians and a large block of folks from New England.  ALL printed material onboard is in English, and it is the language used by the staff and the hired guides.  In addition, the average age of guests onboard was 60 - 65.  (I was 56 and only encountered one guest younger than myself.)  You are cocooned. Viking certainly knows the demographics of each block of passengers, but I am not sure they would share that information with your travel agent. 

D) We took out travel insurance and paid $250 for extra medical coverage.  The truth is that Viking staff and crew go to extreme lengths to ensure their passengers suffer no discomfort or injury. If you are healthy, basic coverage is fine.
E) Our travel agent told us gratuities were included in the invoice. That wasn't true, so you are responsible for those extras. Mid-way through our cruise we were transferred to a second Longship, so we went through two pay-cycles with provided envelopes, and using Chinese red envelopes to give extra to staff we especially appreciated. Our total was US$ 900, but would have been about US$ 800 had we kept to one boat.
F)  Laundry service is horribly expensive, so bring enough fresh clothes for two full weeks. (I may publish the laundry price list in an upcoming Blog articles.)

The preceding list is meant to inform and empower you, and not to discourage you in any way. A Viking River Cruise is one of the best gifts you will ever give to yourself. 

Buy the Package, Enjoy the Package

I had months to prepare, if I wished, a list of famous landmarks or sites I thought more significant than those chosen for us. But then I questioned why someone might be insistent on striking out on his own each day, after paying for excursions and services chosen by professionals. I knew I was going to enjoy myself,  but still doubted that all of my expectations could be met. What really SOLD us, and turned simply waiting into genuine anticipation, was a cruise presentation we were invited to at Shadbolt Theatre in Burnaby, a few weeks before departure.  We returned home CONVINCED, and I have to thank our Expedia travel agent, Olivia Lopez, for including us. 

 For a time I thought I would film the entire trip. That would entail research and, at minimum, some cooperation from the members of our group.  Tricky, and an imposition. Also, I dreaded many hours of editing after the return home. My wife reminded me that there would be ten digital cameras in our group, and nothing would remain unrecorded. She was right.  We logged more than 3,000 still images ourselves, and several video sequences.  If you are interested in the history of architecture, urban planning and heritage preservation, as I am,  here is an important consideration. The Europeans are fond of erecting large, visually appealing and very informative display boards around construction sites, archeological excavations, and more. There is simply not enough time on a walking tour to read much of it, so you must photograph those which interest you most. My wife carried an iPad Air that takes very high resolution images. She kindly recorded every board and banner I believed I would enjoy consulting again later.  An example:

I did think it important that we have a rough appreciation of what we would encounter during each stop on our route, and it was easy to locate a travel blog (maintained by a Dutch couple) who had taken the same tour. Other than that, I read only one book in preparation for the trip -  Modris Eksteins' SOLAR DANCE: Genius, Forgery, And the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age (2012).  Van Gogh has always been my favorite painter, and it is quite possible that this trip would be my only chance to visit Amsterdam and the Van Gogh museum. The book whetted my appetite for my first encounter 

The default Viking Cruises hotel in Amsterdam is the ultra-modern Movenpick, on the harbour front beside the cruiseship terminal. But there are more than a hundred hotels of traditional design on the city canals, adjacent to the heritage venues we all planned to visit. My friend Charlie Lin chose one using an Internet booking service. We stayed two nights at the Hampshire - Hotel Prinsengracht,  which was an easy walk to my primary destination - the Van Gogh Museum.  In fact I paid for an expensive room overlooking the canal, but we were given keys to a very ugly, and badly fitted out room in the rear, looking out on an overgrown garden. I would have walked out, but the other four couples got their canal views and were happy. No big deal. The saving grace was that the night manager (an immigrant from the Dutch East Indies) was a willing and spirited conversationalist when the time zone difference sent me downstairs before dawn. He also provided a superb continental breakfast.  

Visitors to the Van Gogh Museum are encouraged to use

the display boards outside to take their "souvenir shots".

There is also a "selfie-room" provided inside the building.

We took our establishing shot outside with Vincent, but I

have yet to take a "selfie".  Narcissism is not in my DNA.

Visitor access to Van Gogh's work is incredibly generous. You can stand virtually "nose-to-nose" with your favourite canvases, a privilege I have still not recovered from. Sometimes I found myself examining his creations from multiple angles, enjoying how light played with the textures. Minute detail, never apparent to me in art books, is memorable.  Little things can tickle my imagination. For example, I noticed that even the dimmest flame he shaped when depicting the household lamps of the peasantry, (ref. The Potato Eaters) still required at least three colours. I thought I had seen all of his drawings and paintings, but the museum collection contains several surprises. A day with Van Gogh was not simply a high point of our trip, but one of the great days of my life.  

We had two full days in the old city, under a gorgeous sky that illuminated the urban canal network and displayed all of the city's ornamental iron and carved stonework at their best.  It was an ideal way to prepare ourselves for the coming cruise, because our cars were parked in Canada and Taiwan, and we suddenly became pedestrians again. We certainly needed to adjust to the slower rhythms of life if we were to absorb the richness of our surroundings, and truly enjoy the services that Viking River Cruises was about to offer us.  I recall my principle thought as I walked Amsterdam streets and rode the handy canal boats was, "These people   deserve to be proud of this great city. Who wouldn't love to live here and spend their days in an endless journey of urban adventure and discovery?" It was an impression that would repeat itself as each day unfolded.

THEN AND  NOW

With each of my travel blogs I plan to incorporate a Then and Now feature. This will of course emphasize the authenticity of our travel experience. Much of Europe's built-heritage survived the two World Wars, and it was our great privilege to walk through, climb over, sit on or touch with inquisitive fingers, a cornucopia of wonders.  I assembled my set of "Then" photos after returning, in preparation for writing this travel-Blog.

The Canal behind the Church of St. Nicholas circa 1890. 

In the far distance we see the spire of De Oude Kerk.

Lina Lin, my friend and neighbour here in Burnaby, helps with this comparison. The old canal warehouses are almost untouched.  I am looking toward the church seen in the 1890 photo. It still exists, but today is captive to Amsterdam's Red Light district on the Oudekerksplein, which encircles it. 

The canal behind the Church of St. Nicholas, Amsterdam.

The canal, church and warehouses are as they were in 1890.

Next:  Our Beautiful Longship