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American Military Cemeteries, General Patton's Grave, Luxembourg American Cemetery, Luxembourg and Luxembourg City, Statue of the Consoler of the Afflicted

Luxembourg City and a poignant visit to another WWII cemetery

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The Rambler hadn’t read the daily program carefully the night before and didn’t realize that  we would not be visiting Trier today. Instead, we would ride a bus to Luxembourg City and the WWII cemetery there. The River Queen would indeed dock at Trier at 1:00 PM but most of the cruisers would board busses at 1:15 for our trip to Luxembourg returning at 6:30, just before our boat would move to another dock near Trier at Schweich. The Ramblers only view of Luxembourg had been from its train station, while we waited for a connecting train 20 years ago. We had  looked down on the city from the railroad station, and thought it might be an interesting place to visit. Now we would have the chance. Luxembourg City is surrounded by high cliffs and therefore is a smallish, compact place.

Little did we know that our guide would stop our bus so that we could look down on the city from those same cliffs.

Luxembourg has the highest GDP in the EU (3rd in the world), because its population is small (under 600,000, highly educated and benefits from hosting several branches of EU government as well as high tech industry and banking. This year, its GDP per capita is a startling 107,000 dollars. Our cruise manager commented that it was a shopper’s paradise, every trendy and exclusive brand had a shop there. Needless to say, some of our fellow cruisers were excited by this.

Luxembourg  City was less than an hour’s journey by bus both  from Trier and from our dock, so no long bus ride involved and more time in Luxembourg City.

The small but beautiful chapel stands tall near the entrance to the cemetery.

Our first stop as we neared its outskirts  was  the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. Many of the Americans buried here were killed in the drive to push the German forces out of  Belgium and back into Germany in the last year of the war. There was fierce fighting on both sides at Bastogne and in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge, and casualties were high for both Germans and Americans.  (There is a German military cemetery one mile away, also established by the US Army graves registration service, which we did not visit.)

Flags mark the location of the 6 American cemeteries in relatively close proximity where Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and France border Germany.

A temporary military burial ground was established on this spot in December 1944  to  inter the bodies of the many soldiers who had been killed in the  Battle of the Bulge. Later the use of this area as a military cemetery was granted by the Grand  Duchy of Luxembourg without charge or taxation, in perpetuity.

The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is half the size of the one at Normandy 5,076 graves opposed to over 10,000, and gets many fewer visitors. ironically, there are three more American Cemeteries not far away in Belgium and the Netherlands:   the Ardennes American Cemetery, the Henri-Chappelle American Cemetery and the Netherlands American Cemetery near Aachen in Germany, Their locations are marked on the map  by American flags. More than 50% of the 5,000 + graves at the Ardennes Cemetery are those of airmen  shot down while supporting the ground forces.

Another 8,000 graves can be found at the Henri_Chapelle Cemetery, most of the men buried there were killed as the US forces moved relentlessly towards Germany. At the only American  military cemetery located in the Netherlands, the Dutch have adopted the grave sites of the men buried there. Twice a year they have a days of remembrance where they decorate the graves with flowers and display photos of the fallen.  The furthest of these is only 123 miles away as the crow flies.

This photo gives some idea of the massive size of the Meuse Argonne cemetery, row, upon row of crosses.

Even closer are two more American cemeteries, the Meuse-Argonne and the Lorraine Cemetery. The Meuse Argonne’s over 130 acres hold the largest number of American military dead in Europe, almost 15,000. Ironically most were killed during the “War to end all Wars”  during the Meuse Argonne Offensive of 1918. A few were killed during the  ill-fated US expedition to Russia in 1918-1919. It is not far from the huge French and Germany cemeteries at Verdun where a million men ultimately lost their lives.  The Lorraine Cemetery contains 10,489 graves. Most of the men from the 7th Army who lie here were killed driving the Germans from the fortress city of Metz. The Ramblers visited this cemetery twenty years ago with French friends while living in Metz for a study abroad program. It is a beautiful place.

The Ramblers walked slowly thru the lines of graves reading the inscriptions.

The Ramblers were touched that Uniworld had included a stop at the American Cemetery as part of  the Luxembourg tour and it is well  worth visiting.  The cemetery is a peaceful place where visitors quietly honor the memory of the thousands of Americans and Germans who died here. Besides a small but beautiful chapel, there is a memorial pylon for 37  soldiers and airmen whose remains were never found.

Buried along with 5,076 American military dead including one army nurse, is General George Patton, who asked to be buried with his soldiers. His grave lies between two flagpoles overlooking the graves. Sadly, twenty two sets of brothers are buried here along with 101 unknown/ unidentified soldiers.

General Patton’s grave marker is a simple cross, although it is set apart next to the rows of crosses.

Leaving the solemnity of the cemetery behind, we boarded our bus and headed for our next stop, the center of Luxembourg City. We would have a brief tour of  beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral and a walk around the Ducal Palace.

Luxembourg is not a kingdom but a Grand Duchy; its current head of state is the Grand Duke Henri, he and his wife have 5 children. The Ducal family was not in residence so we couldn’t see the changing of the guard ceremony nor did we have time to tour the palace. Although it  is a private residence, the palace which was once the city hall and built about the same time as the cathedral. is open to the public during the summer for a small admission fee. Visiting dignitaries and heads of state are housed there when they come to Luxembourg.

Long view of the Palace, you can see the empty sentry boxes directly below the tower.

One place we did visit was the grand and very large cathedral of Notre Dame. This huge edifice was built at the end of the Gothic period at the  beginning of the 17th century.

The cathedral Our Lady(Notre-Dame) of Luxembourg was built between 1613 and 1621 by the Jesuits to serve as a church for their college which is now the Luxembourg National Library. The north gate is a mixture of the semi-Renaissance, semi-Baroque style of the of the time when it was built.

Miraculous Statue of the Consoler of the Afflicted from the Cathedrale of Notre Dame
Statue of the beloved Grand Duchesse Margrethe who ruled Luxembourg during WWII from exile.

Since 1794, it has housed a revered statue of the Consoler of the Afflicted, one of the many titles of special devotion given  to the Virgin Mary. It is especially appropriate as Mary is the patron saint  of Catholic Luxembourg. Notre Dame was named a cathedral church in 1870 and enlarged from 1935 to 1938. Today the church is truly enormous as befits the only cathedral in Luxembourg.  Some of its outstanding features include a choir screen in richly sculpted alabaster, columns decorated with arabesques, stained glass from the 19th and 20th centuries, neo-Gothic confessionals, modern sculptures in bas relief, and bronze gates by Auguste Trémont.

The crypt is the resting place of John the Blind, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg, as well as deceased members of the Grand Ducal family,  including Grand Duchess Margrethe,  the two lions flanking the entrance are also the work of Auguste Trémont.

Baroque detail above the entrance door

After our tour we had free time to enjoy the lively scene in the Place d’Armes the main square near the Palace which pulsed with activity.  It was originally a parade ground for soldiers, hence its name, Many shops, hotels and cafes line its perimeter.

The balloon man doing a brisk business in the Place d’Armes.

The Ramblers were happy to find a bench in the shade and enjoy some excellent people watching before it was time to head back to the River Queen. We particularly enjoyed the balloon man who did a brisk business selling balloons he twisted into many fantastic shapes.

The time passed quickly on a beautiful sunny day and soon it was time for our group to gather nearby for the short walk to our waiting bus.

Ediger-Eller, J. Walter Oster wines, Jewish remembrance in Ediger Eller, maus peaches, St. Martin's Church

Ediger-Eller; history, red peaches and some tasty wine

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The Rhineland was our base from 7 AM when the River Queen arrived in Cochem until 7 PM when she sailed. After the morning Cochem tour, there was an opportunity to visit the twin towns of Ediger-Eller, population around 1,000, in the afternoon. We would first  learn about their history and culture and then ride our bus to an historic wine cellar for a tasting. The senior Rambler again decided to stay on board as his back was acting up. Of course, he could go ashore anytime as the River Queen was docked in walking distance of the town.

The River Queen docked at Cochem, very close to shore. One of the ship’s bicycles is parked on the right. It was a good place for riding.

Despite her  somewhat humiliating experience at Reichsburg Castle, the Rambler still  joined the group  in the afternoon as she enjoys riding through the countryside and walking through the small villages along the Moselle. It didn’t take long for us to reach Ediger-Eller, and on the way we learned something of its history. Most interesting to me was that peaches were grown here, as the climate would normally be too cold in winter. However these were not just any peaches .

The Rambler had never seen any peaches like these maus peaches even tho she has lived in Georgia, the peach state for 30 years. They grow only around here.

These small peach trees that bear a very unusual peach are found only  around Cochem. They were brought to the area in Roman times, adapted to the climate and still flourish today in a symbiotic relationship with the vineyards that line the hillsides. The peach trees produce small hard fruit covered with grayish fur that are  called maus (mouse) peaches. Although they are not good for eating off the tree, the maus peaches which are deep red on the inside, make delicious liquor and preserves. I later bought a bottle when we visited the weingut J. Walter Oster for our tasting as it was one of their specialties.

The peach liquor is a beautiful color, bottled in heavy glass, 18% alcohol. Tastes good too.

I managed get it home unbroken even after our last, disastrous day on the the German rail system when the Ramblers struggled to get back to Amsterdam. Not surprisingly, Cochem hosts several peach festivals during the year.  https://youtu.be/UIH00D2rjJc

When we alighted from the bus, we were greeted  by the Mayor and his wife; they would be our guides for our tour of Ediger Eller. The mayor was a very outgoing gentleman, proud of his town, while his wife was more reserved. I am positive she didn’t enjoy the tour business as much as her husband.

The mayr and his wife greet our cruise manager, Tabea Bramberger in Ediger Eller.

They both wore robes and chains of office  based on traditional mayoral garb. The mayor had good reason to be proud of his beautiful well preserved town. It was an amazingly well-kept place with many ancient half-timbered or stone houses. His family had lived in the area for many generations and it seemed that everyone we met was related to him in some way. Not surprising in such a small place. The town had one very unusual space, a simple room for contemplation with a menorah clearly visible against the far wall.

A simple room, door always open, commemorates the Jewish families lost from here during WWII. Black and white seemed appropriate.

The room was built to commemorate the Jews who were forced to leave Ediger Eller during WWII; sadly none had returned.

Our last stop in town was at St. Martin’s Church which had been damaged during the war, but well restored. There we enjoyed an brief concert. The Rambler enjoys organ music, especially when both the organist and instrument are both excellent. The church had one  especially interesting sculpture  group that I have included its photo here,  here, along with the usual statues and stained glass. But St Martins was overall a simple, quietly spiritual place.

Almost life size figures stand around the body of Christ on his bier, solemn and unusual.

After the concert, we again boarded our bus for a brief ride to the nearby town of St. Aldegund, even smaller than Ediger Eller with a population of only 600. Despite its small size, St. Aldegund did have several excellent, ancient wine cellars. Naturally we were to have our tasting in a very atmospheric and historical one.

All these towns we have seen or visited in this part of Germany are surrounded by vineyards which climb the surrounding  sometimes very steep hills. I would not like to have the job of working at such an angle, and we have seen some workers wearing a safety harness in the steepest areas.

We saw this red local train go by, it looked like part of a model railroad display.

I later learned that many of the hills that surrounded us have a 70 degree gradient, and are among the steepest vineyard in the world, and certainly the steepest in Germany. All work, even picking the grapes, has to be done by hand, since a machine would likely tumble down the slope. A  careless mis-step by a worker often results in a serious injury. If you look carefully, you can see that the vineyard owners have graded level pathways every so often along the hills so that tractors and people can walk along them.  Usually crews from Eastern Europe come in for the harvest of mainly Riesling grapes. Ninety percent of the grapes grown here are white varieties although a small amount of red grapes are harvested.

Our mayor and his wife accompanied us to the historic winery of J. Walter Oster in St. Aldegund.

Mrs. Mayor at the wine tasting, she was pleasant but certainly lacked the outgoing personality of her husband.

We were greeted warmly and ushered into a cavernous cellar past mysterious flasks of wines  and spirits on display that reminded me of the laboratory of a mad scientist. There was also a small store selling the Oster products as we entered. Most of us stopped there on our way ot.

There were several dozen of these tables with flasks, I never did find out exactly what they were since I don’t read German very well.

The Rambler found this laboratory area fascinating but had to follow the group into a large room which had the look of a cavern,  equipped with sturdy wooden tables and chairs. We  arranged ourselves around the  tables and  immediately started nibbling on the cheese and crackers that had been set out for us.  It is a conundrum that even tho there is no shortage of food on a river cruise, the travelers always seem to have room for more. During the course of the tasting our group consumed almost all of the cheese and most of the crackers. LOL Several varieties were quite tasty and they disappeared first.

The mayor was an enthusiastic promoter and participant in the wine tasting.

Soon the mayor again appeared center stage and discussed the wines we would try and as if by magic, bottles of Riesling and other less well known varietals arrived and the tasting began. We tried many wines ranging from white to red, dry to sweet.  The Rambler enjoyed most of them but didn’t keep a tasting chart as I knew it would be impossible to buy them back in Georgia. Most of these family-owned wineries do not produce enough wine to export their products and sell locally, although there are exceptions.

Too bad that bright light was right above our accordionist’s head, but so it was.

Soon an accordionist appeared and he and the mayor treated us to several choruses of German drinking songs. It was a fun time,  and our stay in the cellar passed quickly.

The historische gewolbekeller of J. Walter Oster. Used a photo from the web when I found I had cut off the bottom of the entrance.

All too soon, it was time to head back to the River Queen as she would sail for Trier at 7 PM. One thing we have learned on our cruises with Uniworld is that they are always on time, so when they give an all-aboard time, they are not kidding. The crew has to stow the gangplank and untie the mooring ropes which can be very hard work depending on the dock.

We were back on board in plenty of time as usual. Trier would be a quite different experience as it was a much larger place and featured some impressive Roman ruins. The Romans built towns all along the Rhine but not too many have survived as well as those in Trier.

Cochen, Ediger-Eller wine country, Reichsburg/Cochem Castle, River Queen

Cochem/Reichsburg Castle defeats the Rambler…

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Despite the beauty of the basilica and its historic center, Koblenz is now a fairly large town of over 100,000 inhabitants, with bustling shops and many tourists. Today we would get to visit much smaller towns which still retained much of their medieval hearts. The River Queen docked for a full day at Cochem where there were opportunities to visit Reichsburg castle and take a gentle walking tour of the town and visit two even smaller towns in the afternoon.

The entrance to Reichsburg Castle, Against my better judgment, I decided to go on the castle tour. I was defeated by the slippery cobblestones. The building with all the windows is the cafe where I waited for our group.

Having had some experience with castle tours, the Ramblers knew that they usually involved walking uphill on rough terrain with lots of ups and downs. These tours no longer appealed to us because of the potential for tripping or falling. The Rhineland is almost overflowing with castles, you can see them on almost every high point along the river. Some are crumbling ruins, others have been restored often as hotels and even youth hostels, while a few, a very few, were restored to their original form. Unfortunately, to me anyway, most  of the restored castles open for tours have been altered, especially on the interior, so that the original residents would no longer recognize them.

Nevertheless, I was talked into visiting Reichsburg, also called Cochem Castle,  even tho we woke to rain and fog. The senior Rambler smartly stayed on board the River Queen, and while I didn’t regret going into Cochem, I didn’t get to see much of the castle. I had been coaxed into going on the tour because of the castle’s magnificent location high above the Rhine. There had been a fortified building on this spot for a thousand years and more, but sadly, this medieval castle had been blown up by the army of Louis XIV at the end of the 17th century and they had literally left no stone unturned.

It was a long walk up, although for a while there was a paved path which ran alongside the cobblestones.

Reichsburg remained a ruin for 200 years until a wealthy businessman, Louis Ravene, bought the the castle remains and the 13 acres surrounding it in the 19th century.  Then he rebuilt the castle, not in its medieval form but in the then fashionable Gothic style.  He did try to incorporate what remained of the medieval building into the new castle but little was left as the French had done their work well.  He then furnished it  with Renaissance and Baroque period antiques. The Ravene family did not hold on to the castle for long and  eventually it became the property of  the city of Cochem which now maintains Reichsburg as a tourist attraction. The city has added a cafe which provides decent food at fair prices at the castle entrance. As it turned out, it also  provided an excellent place to wait while my companions toured the building interior.

Magnificent view of the Moselle valley from the castle walls.

We did get bussed to the castle grounds, which I mistakenly thought would provide easy access to the building. Unfortunately we still had to walk up a long , slippery and steep slope to get to the gate and then further to reach the entrance. I hadn’t brought a cane along, which was a mistake, and felt so uncomfortable on the wet cobbles that Tabea, our cruise manager and guide for this excursion, concurred that it might be best for me to wait in the cafe, as I still would have to walk back down the same slippery slope to get back to Cochem. Castles were built to repel invaders and Reichsburg successfully kept the Georgia Rambler out, with a secret weapon combo of steep incline and slippery cobblestones. So travelers beware…

Heading back to the village with the castle still visible in the background.

Fortunately, the cafe had an excellent view of the misty valley which I enjoyed during my wait, probably more than I would have enjoyed the tour of the interior. If you visit Cochem, and don’t mind walking on cobblestones, Reichsburg is an excellent stop; the Rambler enjoyed it and she didn’t even go inside.

Although we had ridden the shuttle up to the castle, our group would walk down to the town where we would meet our local guide.

Our guide in Cochem, surprisingly, he was a retired police detective who was proud of his town.

He took us around the historic center of Cochem, today a town of 5,000, before we made the long walk across the Moselle river bridge to the River Queen docked on the other side.  Cochem has a number of buildings dating back to medieval times in its historic center, either stucco or timber framed and in these small river towns, there is always an attractive fountain in a central square. Cochem was no exception, its fountain was in good repair, and featured a sculpture of fish. I am not sure of their significance, although people surely fished in the Moselle for centuries.

The sun came out briefly, adding color to this photo of the fountain.

It was pleasant to stroll the streets of the old town, and for a time, the sun came out and brightened up the scene.

On the way back to the River Queen, the sky clouded over again, but it was only 10:30 and it would clear later.

However before long it was time to head back to the River Queen as we were going to  visit Ediger-Eller this afternoon. There the mayor would show off his well-preserved small town and we would enjoy an organ recital in the parish church.

This area along the Moselle is noted for its wines, mainly white, but some reds. The vineyards climb the hills on either side of the river and were still bright green in August. It is not only tourists from river cruises who enjoy tasting the delicious wines  of the  region.Touring the banks of  the Rhine is  popular with many who live in the area as well. Since the wineries are fairly close together it is also ideal for bicycle tours as long as the riders don’t imbibe too much wine, as the scenery is beautiful.

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, Koblenz Seilbahn

Riding high above the Rhine in Koblenz

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After lunch the Ramblers headed out again along the Moselle to the German Corner and then along the Rhine until we came to the entrance to the Seilbahn or cable car. Today we had a good bit of free time to wander the city on our own. probably because it was easy to get around.  I’m not really fond or heights or of climbing into a moving cable car but after we bought our tickets (8.9 Euros) we had to wait in a fairly short line until it was our turn to climb aboard.

The cable cars are quite large but they are constantly moving so it is tricky to climb aboard. Wouldn’t like to be in one with 34 other people.

The cars are fairly large and  perhaps a dozen people climbed aboard each one while it moved through the loading area.  I later found out that each car was built to hold a maximum of 35 adults, but we were glad that this was not the case today. Photography would have been almost impossible and boarding would have been tricky during the brief time available.

If some of the folks at the head of each group board slowly, those who follow are forced to scramble aboard. There was an attendant and I imagine he could have held back the car if a person hadn’t quite gotten aboard. The Ramblers  are not as quick as we used to be but the klutzy Rambler (me) had time to study the procedure so all went smoothly.  Before long we were heading upwards in our ride over the Rhine. Incidentally the cable car glides along at a speed of about a yard a second in a continuous loop.

Before long our car was dangling over the Rhine, it was possible to see for miles.

We were surprised to find out that the Seilbahn had been built in 2010, not so long ago, to accommodate visitors to the massive Bundesgartenschau, a huge national floral and architectural exhibition held every two years in cities around Germany. In 2011, it was Koblenz’ turn to host the show and the Seilbahn was built to ferry the huge crowds quickly across the Rhine to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress which held some of the exhibits. Although the flower show is long gone, the cable car is still very popular. The ride alone is worth the fare, as the view over the Rhine and Moselle is amazing. I totally forgot my fear of heights in my enjoyment of the view. Yet I was glad we hadn’t landed in car #17 which has a glass floor.

You can see the mighty Rhine and the smaller Moselle going off to the left. A river cruiser motors by on the Rhine.

The 9.9 Euro fare is for a round trip, but we had to get out at the fortress side which meant scampering out, and then had to get in again for the return trip. Oh well, it was worth it. To the Ramblers, the fortress was something of a disappointment even though it is a UNESCO site. It was huge, no doubt, but there was not much to see on exterior.The best view, although a fleeting one, was from the cable car. Plus, although there had been a fortress on this spot since Roman times because of its location, the current structure was built in the 19th century by Prussia to replace one destroyed by the French in 1801.

The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress perches right on the edge of the cliff, the best view is from the Seilbahn.

We noted that there was a sidewalk which ran along side leading to a parking lot at the far end so it is possible to view the fortress without riding the cable car. All the exhibits are on the inside and we had not bought a combination ticket which included admission. No matter, we strolled around for a while, and were not tempted to go inside because it was such a beautiful day to be outside. So back to the cable car and another exciting view and then we walked along the Rhine before heading back to the River Queen.

Not much to see from the outside, but it a huge place.

We hoped to locate the small hotel we had stayed at before we took our first Rhine cruise twenty years ago. Could we recognize it? For this, I relied on the senior Rambler as he has a great visual memory, having worked as a graphic artist for many years. He did not fail us as we are pretty sure that our little hotel restaurant is still going strong. He also has a great memory for meals that he enjoyed and still talks about the second-best sauerbraten he had eaten in their restaurant. I, of course, make the best version of the dish. LOL

We stayed here in 1998, and our little hotel restaurant is still going strong.

Unlike some places we have visited, it is almost impossible to get lost in Koblenz, as there is no thick wall of tall buildings lining the river. There are hotels of course, because this is a popular base for holidays but none of the buildings is very tall.  Since the river bank rises as one walks inland, it is easy to see the second and third row of buildings not to mention the towers of St. Castors.

Many small hotels line the banks of the Rhine, these were more modern and weren’t here in 1998. They also looked appealing but we still preferred our choice.

It did look like a fun place to stay for a few days with many wine villages and quaint villages in the nearby Rhineland Countryside. Not to mention that Koblenz is noted for its excellent shopping. Evidently many tourists come here mainly to shop! We arrived back at our ship in plenty of time for the all aboard call, and the River Queen then set sail for Alken at 7:00 PM. We chose a table with a river view so we could watch the scenery along the Moselle as we enjoyed our dinner.

Deutsches Eck, Ehrenbreistein Fortress, Gorch Foch 1, Koblenz Seilbahn, Kolner Shanty Choir, Ludwig Museum, St. Castor's Church

The German Corner where the Rhine and Moselle meet.

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Although we had a busy day in Koln, we were treated to a guest performance that night. The Kolner Shanty Choir came aboard at 9:00 PM, before our ship sailed for Koblenz. The Choir is a jolly group of men in seafaring garb whose mission is to support the restoration of a German sailing vessel, the Gorch Foch 1 and having a good time. The 3 masted barkentine was built in 1933 and named after Johann Kinau, a German who wrote about seafaring life between the wars and was lost at sea during the Battle of Jutland. Gorch Foch was his pseudonym.

The Gorch Fock 1 in the 1930’s. Photo from Wikipedia Commons.

The magnificent sailing ship was taken by the Russians as part of war reparations at the end of WWII. After the fall of the Soviet Union, it fell to the Ukraine which couldn’t afford to repair it. Finally in 2003, the ship was purchased by the Tall Ship Friends and returned  to Germany in very bad condition. The Tall Ship Friends  has since worked to restore the Gorch Foch 1 as a sailing school ship for young people interested in a maritime career. The Kolner Shanty Choir performs to raise money for this cause, and because of a common interest in seafaring.

The Kolner Shanty Choir  obviously enjoyed singing their songs of the sea and we  enjoyed their performance. Here are a few choruses of Anchors Aweigh sung  by the choir on the bank of the Rhine last summer. The Rambler loved hearing the USN standard sung with a German accent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28zhevk4bE

Immediately afterwards,  the River Queen prepared to sail to Koblenz where we were scheduled to arrive at 8 AM. On time as usual, the River Queen docked on the Moselle, or Mosel, not the Rhine. Koblenz is situated at the point where the Moselle and the Rhine meet, called the corner of Germany or Deutsches Eck. A statue of Kaiser Wilhelm still stands at this point since it was erected in 1897.

The Kaiser surveys his domain from the top of the monument of the German Corner.

For this part of the cruise the River Queen would leave the Rhine and sail along the Moselle until we reached Strasbourg. Then we would turn around and return to the Rhine for the final leg of our cruise.

Our excursion this morning was a walking tour of Koblenz. It is a great town for walking, with largely level terrain, and the gentle walkers loved it. With our English-Speaking German guide, we headed towards the Deutsches Eck and its imposing statue. From there we walked along the Rhine towards the Ludwig Museum and finally St. Castor’s Basilica.

The senior Rambler couldn’t resist this photo op in the courtyard of the Ludwig museum during our tour.

The Ludwig Museum of Koblenz is one of five museums in Germany, founded by  Peter and Irene Ludwig. The Ludwig’s amassed a large collection of contemporary art which they believed should be shared with the public to further an appreciation of modern art. Peter Ludwig and his wife Irene,  used his fortune as the CEO of Ludwig Chocolates to preserve and promote contemporary art, particularly works by French and German artists along with establishing five museums to display them.

Today the Ludwig Museum in Koblenz is supported by generous donations, permanent loans and project funds. Since its opening in December 1992, the museum has defined itself through an active dialogue in modern art mainly with its neighbor, France. In addition, the museum has organized a number of international exhibition projects in Koblenz. Although its art is contemporary, the museum is housed in the  15th century Deutsches Herrenhaus, built as a bailiwick and hospital of the Teutonic Knights.

The Ludwig museum with the twin towers of St. Castor’s in the background.

It is an attractive building, nicely restored,  not far from St. Castor’s Basilica. In between the buildings is a series of patios with benches and a lovely and extensive garden complete with fountain and benches which leads to the Church. It was a pleasure to walk through and a pleasant place to sit if you weren’t interested in church history. Yet St. Castor’s has had a particularly long and interesting history and the core of the building is much older than it looks from outside.

It was a pleasant walk to St. Castor’s through the garden. One of our group decide to wait on the bench during our tour of the church.

Although much has been added and changed on its exterior, the church was actually built between 817 and 836 AD by the archbishop of Trier. At that time, it was situated just outside of the city of Confluentes (Koblenz) which had been founded by the Romans centuries ago. The Romans were long gone now the Carolingian Franks, under Charlemagne controlled the area and most of its inhabitants were Christians.

Approaching St. Castor’s…

Over time, the church was engulfed by the town of Koblenz and  later became part of the monastery of St. Castor. Negotiations to divide the Frankish kingdom of Charlemagne were  held in the church after his death in 842. Following this tradition, it became the preferred meeting place for emperors and kings for several centuries. Many disputes were settled there that caused the boundaries of Europe to shift and eventually evolve into the Holy Roman Empire and later Germany and France. In the 12th century, the church was enlarged, and two towers were built higher. Further changes were made after a battle in 1199damaged the building.

The ceiling is very beautiful and the windows, though not particularly large make the interior very bright.

St. Castor’s took on its present form when a beautiful vaulted Gothic roof and ceiling was added at the end of the 15th century to replace its original flat Romanesque roof.

By the 19th century, St. Castor’s had fallen into disrepair, and just as in Koln, the Prussian government began a restoration of the church. Unfortunately the church was damaged by British bombs and artillery fire in 1944 as Hitler’s forces retreated. Fortunately, the stone building remained largely intact at the war’s end and the slow process of restoration was began in 1948 and completed in 1990.  The church we visited last summer still had traces of its earliest years and much remained from the middle ages. Of all the churches we have visited in Europe, St. Castor’s was one of the most peaceful and encouraged contemplation. I’m sure the medieval monks of St. Castor’s would have been pleased. Our tour ended at the church and we were on our own to wander along the Rhine and perhaps take a ride on the Seilbahn across the Rhine to look at the Ehrenbreistein Fortress which loomed over the hill on the other side of the Rhine. Before she left us, our guide informed us that our President Troomp’s family came from this part of Germany, not sure how she felt about this.

On the way back, we passed this playground and watched the children getting wet in a variety of ways.

The Ramblers decided they would walk back along the river bank to the ship and have lunch, afterwards the Seilbahn beckoned and we also wanted to find the hotel we had stayed at twenty years ago, if we could. We had come to Alsace Lorraine in 1998, when the Rambler was still teaching history at Kennesaw State University,for a Study Abroad program. The senior Rambler came along and it turned out, was a big help keeping track of my students on our field trips. The week-ends were our own and on one we took a day trip on the Rhine, staying overnight in Koblenz. It would be fun to see if the place was still there.

Dr. Stefan Rath, Fruh am Dom, Kolncathedral, Kolsch beer, Shrine of the Three Kings

Koln Cathedral, the Three Kings, and a special beer

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Cruising through the night and into the morning, we enjoyed  the varied Rhine scenery of green fields, quaint villages and castle ruins. The River Queen reached her destination, the city of Koln or Cologne around 12:30 PM.  The last time we had visited Koln on a river cruise, our ship had docked quite a distance from the city center.

Th large plaza in front of the Dom serves as a meeting place for various tour groups. Sadly it is also a place where pickpockets take advantage of tourists gazing at the intricate facade. The main train station is off to the left.

Then we had to ride  a bus to the great cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage landmark in the city center. This time our ship was docked on the other side of the Rhine, in walking distance of the alstadt, doable even for the slowpoke gentle walkers. This was a real plus because it gave us a chance to wander around the city on our way back to the River Queen after our scheduled tour of the great Cathedral. There was plenty of time for a leisurely lunch first,  as the Koln Walking Discovery Tour and Kolsch beer tasting didn’t start until 2 PM.

As you can see from this aerial photo, the Cathedral dominates its surroundings. It will continue to do so as a law was passed to limit construction height in the surrounding area. Its design in the shape of a cross is clearly visible.

Like many German cities along the Rhine, Koln was an outpost of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago,  Colonia, as it was called, became an official Roman city during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Currently the 4th largest city in Germany, Koln is still the heart of Catholic Germany. The great Dom (cathedral) dominates the skyline of the old city (alstadt) and is visible form the Rhine. still the second tallest building in Koln. It was not the fist cathedral  built in this spot.   A series of Christian churches had replaced a Roman temple on this prominent site since Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD.

The medieval plan of the cathedral facade was discovered in a Paris antique shop in 1814. Photo from the KolnerDom website.

This magnificent structure was built because Archbishop of Koln acquired the relics of the Three Kings, from Frederick Barbarossa. He had  had “liberated”  the relics from a Milanese basilica  in 1164. Because the relics of Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar drew pilgrims from all over the Christian world, the Archbishop wanted to make sure they were housed in a significant place. Planning thus began for a new  Dom in the latest French Gothic style. Building the Koln Dom was a huge undertaking and would take centuries to complete. The eastern side  was  finished and consecrated in 1322, over a hundred years later. A temporary wall was built so the existing building could be used,  until the western side was finished. Unfortunately the work on the west side of the Dom stopped in 1473, with its south tower complete up to the belfry level. At this time, the tower was topped by a huge wooden construction crane that would stand as a Koln landmark for 500 years. Since they left the crane in place, it is obvious that the medieval builders hoped to complete the tower within the next few decades but such was not the case. There were many reasons why the Dom was not finished until 500 years later; perhaps the most important was a lack of funds as it was an enormously expensive project.

The 14th century crane which was left on top of the tower for 500 years. For more information  see https://www.koelner-dom.de/home.html?&L=1

Fortunately for the Dom, the 19th century brought renewed interest in the medieval period. When the original plan for the  facade was discovered, even the Protestant Prussians in the North supported the effort to complete the Dom, providing 1/3 of the huge cost while the Catholics raised the rest. Prussia had gained many Catholic subjects after the defeat of Napoleon and saw this as a way to improve their relationship. Thus work resumed in 1842, with a commitment to the original medieval design but using more modern construction methods. Even so, the Dom, now Germany’s largest cathedral, was not finished until August, 1880. Kaiser Wilhelm attended the joyous opening celebration. The completed towers  now reached 515 feet, the Dom was the tallest building in the world for a few years until the Washington Monument was completed  in 1890.

Over 60% of the city was destroyed by 1945, but the cathedral survived.

WWII was not kind to the Dom; it was hit by more than a dozen bombs during the air raids  in 1945, which completely flattened Koln. It is likely the twin towers were spared because Allied pilots used them as a navigational landmark for their bombing runs. Most of the wartime damage was not repaired until 1956, although the Dom is rarely free of scaffolding today. Wind, rain and pollution slowly erode the stones.

Dr Rath, by the Three Kings shrine within the cathedral.

If you have the ability (the Ramblers didn’t) it is possible to climb to the top of the building in only 533 tightly spiraling steps, no elevator provided. The narrow winding passage is not for the claustrophobic. The top of the tower must provide an wonderful view, but we took a pass. In case you’d like to try it,  a special entrance at the side of the building provides access and it costs 3 Euros to make the climb past the bell platform.

You can see people walking past the huge bell called Old Peter on their way to the observation point. The Dom is actually the Cathedral of St. Peter.

The Gentle Walkers guide for the cathedral tour was an architectural historian, Dr. Stefan Rath, who proved to both knowledgeable and  passionate about the history of the Dom which he shared with us. When you enter the nave of the Dom, you are almost overwhelmed by its height. Then you begin to look around, and there is much to see, an ancient crucifix, statues and paintings, many tombs of bishops and rulers and beautiful stained glass. However everyone’s eyes are eventually drawn to the glittering gold triple sarcophagus of the Three Kings.

Your eyes are drawn up to the lofty ceiling and then back to the shrine…

The reliquary which according to a tradition dating back to the 3rd century holds the bones of Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar is made of gold, silver and wood and inlaid with precious stones. It was designed by one of the most famous medieval goldsmiths, Nicholas of Verdun. Nicholas began work on the reliquary around 1180 and it was finished around 1225. We know he designed it because he was perhaps the first medieval craftsman to sign his work. Up until that time, music and artwork of all kinds were not signed as they were made for to honor God. (All Christian art of the time was religious.)

Detail of the Three Kings from the sarcophagus

The shrine was opened and its contents examined in both the 19th and 21st century, The most recent examination of the bones determined that the three skulls inside were of a young, middle aged and older man, which agrees with the belied that the Three Kings were young, middle-aged and elderly. What ever the truth, it is an amazing work and it does no harm to believe that the Magi rest within.

Our little group was amazed when our tour of the Dom ended that we had spent so much time there, but we enjoyed it immensely. Although our tour was to include sampling the famous Kolsch beer, most of us were ready to wend our way back to the River Queen. We thanked our guide and headed back towards the Rhine. A few of the Gentle Walkers accompanied our guide to the Fruh am Dom  which has been serving Kolsch for a hundred years. As it turned out, Fruh was just around the corner from the Dom.

The Brauhaus Fruh am Dom was right around the corner from the cathedral.

Before heading back to the River Queen and our next port, Koblenz, the Rambler encourages you to sample Kolsch if you are ever in Koln. As we learned later, Kolsch can only be brewed in Koln, it has a special terroir, just like wine, according to an agreement signed by 24 Koln breweries.  It is a mild, pleasant tasting golden ale, served in special cylindrical glasses with excellent flavor. You are not likely to encounter Kolsch outside of Germany,  as the amounts brewed are small in comparison to the production of famous breweries.

The special cylindrical glass in which Kolsch is served.
Rijks Museum, The Night Watch, The River Queen in Amsterdam, Uncategorized

The Rijks Museum, a festive dinner and on to Cologne (Koln)

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After a pleasant night in our small but comfy suite, we were ready for the morning’s tour to the Rijks Museum. The Ramblers had never explored Amsterdam on their other stops, and their attempts to see things on their own this time had mixed results.  The senior Rambler grumbled about taking this Uniworld tour. He is not a big fan of art museums, despite spending a good bit of his working life as a commercial artist. He was talked into going, when I pointed out, he didn’t have to go inside if he didn’t want and the museum had a beautiful garden. True to his word, he didn’t go inside, although I think he would have enjoyed it. I know i did.

Sometimes ships are docked far away from the city, this time we were docked within walking distance of the city.

As a life long student of history, this Rambler has toured many museums and the Rijks Museum is one of the most beautiful I have visited. Even before entering a visitor can’t help but appreciate the  newly restored exterior, white tuck pointing gleaming in the sun. The one complaint most visitors seemed to have was that it was hard to determine just where the entrance was, so they wandered around a bit. However, the Ramblers didn’t realize this until later as we had special access and didn’t have to wait in line to enter but walked right in. This was a plus as more than 2 million people visit the Rijks museum every year and it can be very crowded.  Luckily this was not the case when we visited as we were able to get quite close to the major Dutch masters and never felt crowded.

The Rijks Museum, from the road. As we arrived by bus, we had no chance to wander around outside.

You may wonder why the Netherlands, a small densely populated country has such a major collection of art? Well, the Dutch were a major naval power with trading posts all over the world in the 17th century,  their golden age.  Unfortunately, they eventually  lost out to the British and the Dutch Republic was even  ruled by Napoleon  for a time. Nevertheless, the Dutch did not lose their sense of identity nor their pride in their golden age art of art and architecture. Unlike most of Europe at this time, the great works of art by Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, et al., were owned by wealthy  stadtholders, officials appointed to keep order in the provinces . Most of them were fiercely republican and not from the aristocracy, although there were exceptions.  The public museums that we take for granted today began to appear at the end of the 18th century and the Dutch thought a national museum like the recently opened Louvre, would be good for the country. Some  stadtholders then allowed their cherished paintings to be  displayed at the new museum.

Noticed this gentleman copying some of the details from one of the paintings.

Thus the precursor to the Rijks Museum opened in May of 1800 as the National Art Gallery in The Hague. When Napoleon established the Kingdom of Holland in 1806, the museum was moved to Amsterdam and paintings then owned by the city, such as the Night Watch were exhibited there. The exhibits of paintings and art objects were moved several more times until  a new building was constructed in 1874. It would be decorated inside and outside with references to Dutch history. This building which opened in 1885 became the Rijks Museum. However, over a century later, it needed some refurbishment and in 2003, the main building was closed for a total renovation. Some 400 of the most famous artifacts were displayed in the wing next door until the Rijks Museum re-opened in November 2014. The renovation took over a decade to complete and cost 375 M Euros, but the money and time was well spent. The interior glows with light and the center atrium gives the museum a spaciousness not often found in museums. Not surprisingly, over 2 million people a year have visited it.  After the renovation, the most famous Golden Age paintings were grouped in the Hall of Fame, anchored by the most famous of them all, The Night Watch. This makes it easy to see some of the greatest Dutch masters in a relatively short time.

Our guide, Aida, giving us the background of a painting, the art student/copyist, is standing the the left.

Thus  the senior Rambler was left to wander around outside, and with hopes I would find him when we were done with the tour. I joined the Gentle Walkers group in the atrium where we met our guide Aida. The guides at the Rijks Museum are a very highly trained bunch who have considerable understanding of art. Aida was extremely knowledgeable and easy to understand and made our visit very pleasant. We  of course, had limited time in the museum so Aida led us on one of the special tours for groups like our Uniworld bunch.

Here we viewed Rembrandt’s most famous work, The Night Watch.

We were able to see some of the Netherlands’ greatest paintings in the Hall of Fame, which probably pleased the majority of the tourists. This Rambler, however, wished she had more time to check out more of the galleries, especially the arms and armor and ship models. However, Aida provided us with a delightful hour’s worth of knowledge about the Dutch masters of the Golden Age. The paintings were indeed masterworks.

The Night Watch is big but this painting which hung on a side wall, was much larger.

We learned that The Night Watch was actually not a night scene but had been  coated with a dark varnish which was since removed. It is justly famous for its large size, 11.91 x 14.34 ft., its wonderful use of light  and shadow and the life and motion that Rembrandt has given what was a portrait of a military company. It has been vandalized several times. In 1911, it was slashed with a shoemaker’s knife, by a bread knife in 1975; although it was restored, some evidence of the damage is still visible. Finally in 1990, it was sprayed with acid. However this time, the guard quickly sprayed water on the acid and no serious damage resulted.

Feeling very cultured, I located the senior Rambler and we headed for our bus. We had quite a long walk past dozens of busses which had arrived after ours. It was obvious that the attendance figures for the Rijks Museum had not been exaggerated and it was a good thing we had an early special entry.

House built into one of the bridges, note the heron perched next to the window. Quite the water view but not so good during a flood.

Back on board the River Queen, we watched the crew get ready for our departure. They worked in precise order to lift the gang plank and move it into its travel position, lines were cast off and we said good-by to Amsterdam.  Sometimes river cruisers sail at night if the landscape is not interesting but this time there was much to see. First the outskirts of Amsterdam, with many quaint buildings and finally into the country side where windmills still turned in the distance. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we lingered on deck to watch the countryside scenery flow past.

Sailing through the Dutch countryside, in the distance you can see one of the many windmills that dot the landscape.

Eventually we headed to our cabin to change. Tonight was the Captain’s Welcome Dinner, with a meet and greet before hand in the lounge. Our Captain for this trip, Hendrick Fennema, was a tall, lanky Dutchman, one of the most out-going and personable we have encountered on our Uniworld cruises. He would always be visible and approachable during the cruise which we all appreciated. We also formally met our Cruise Manager, Tabea Bramberger, another very important person on any cruise. Young and pretty, we found she was also an accomplished organizer and tour guide. It looked like the Ramblers would be in good hands as we cruised towards Basel.

Amsterdam's canals, Stach Amsterdam Nieuwendijk, Stubbe's Haring, The Bulldog Coffee Shop

Finally on board the River Queen, after another day in Amsterdam

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Because we had to change hotels for our free night at the Renaissance Marriott, the Ramblers didn’t plan any activities for our last day in Amsterdam. Instead, we decided to take a look at the area around the hotel. The Marriott is on a narrow side street which was close to yet another canal, and an open square with food stands but sadly, no places to sit down. The Marriott was also close to the famous or infamous Red Light District and several coffee shops including the Bulldog. For those who might not know, coffee shops serve marijuana which is legal in Amsterdam, not coffee.

Very close to our hotel on the other side of the canal was the famous or infamous Bulldog Coffee shop.

Our youngest son, then a graduate student at the University of Georgia, visit Europe for the first time shortly after 9/11; his rationale was that it was probably the safest time to go as security was very tight. He had wanted to experience New Year’s Eve in Amsterdam so he booked a stay at the Bulldog Hostel. This turned out to be a bad idea, but that is another story. We were surprised to find that the Bulldog was just a short distance from our hotel, tho we did not visit it.

The groom in formal tails valiantly pedaling around the square, somewhat hampered by the large pink balloon which always got in his way.

We also had a chance to see some wedding fun. A wedding party had stayed at the hotel, and after the ceremony, it seemed to be a tradition for the groom to pedal his bride around the square in a wheelbarrow cart. This was not so easy because of the cobblestones and uneven pavement. He almost dumped his pretty blonde wife onto the pavement several times, much to the amusement of the bystanders.  The Ramblers noted that Amsterdam seemed to have more than its share of tall, slim, blond and attractive young men and women.

The famous herring stand, not too busy at the moment. They only do serve herring.

The Ramblers also checked out the nearby restaurants. Probably the most famous was Stubbe’s Haring stand. They mainly served haring (herring) in several ways, which has been a traditional Dutch food for generations. However, I had been forced to eat pickled herring at home when I was a child and developed a strong dislike for it. Therefore although I am usually game to try local specialties, herring did not fall into that category. Stubbe’s is supposed to be one of the two top places to experience this Dutch treat in Amsterdam, but the stand near the canal has recently closed, although they still have another location in the city.

Our friendly proprietress who did everything efficiently. The sandwiches and cakes were delicious. It wasn’t crowded only because most people wanted to eat outside on a nice day.

We finally settled on a small place called Stach staffed by one smiling young woman, who efficiently ran the place. Everything looked fresh and tasty and the senior Rambler didn’t even realize that he was eating at healthy food restaurant or that his cake was gluten free. LOL

After a good nights sleep, we gathered our bags and headed downstairs to wait for the Uniworld bus. We thought we would wait outside, so the senior Rambler could have a smoke. It is ironic that you see almost as many people smoking marijuana as you do conventional cigarettes, easy to tell as they look sort of lumpy. While we were outside, the Uniworld rep was looking for us inside and we were finally located just as the bus arrived. The River Queen was docked not very far away, on the Rhine, and we were happy to board our new home for more than a week. For the first time, I had booked an suite, and we would get a lot of ribbing about it from our new friends on board.

A beautiful orchid awaited our arrival in the suite

The River Queen only has four suites; they are not huge like those on ocean cruises but very well fitted out. They also come with a butler wearing formal butler garb. This was a new experience for the Ramblers. The Uniworld butlers go to the same training as those who work for the British Royal family. No doubt we didn’t take full advantage of our butler as he always wanted to do more for us. We found a beautiful orchid waiting for us in our suite, a very nice welcome.

After checking out the cabin and meeting our butler, we headed up on deck to watch the river traffic.

The Celebrity Silhouette heading out to sea, guided by a tug. It dwarfed the River Queen and other river cruisers docked nearby.

The River Queen was docked on the Rhine rather than a canal. The river is deep enough here so that large ocean going vessels also dock there. We were somewhat startled to see the Celebrity Silhouette glide by. It made the River Queen look very small as it headed out to sea. The Uniworld ships are always polished and spotless. The River Queen was no exception even though it had the look of an old-time river cruiser. One of the staff, polished the ship’s bell before we left port.

A member of the hotel staff polishing the ship’s bell before we left port.

We would spend one night on board in Amsterdam before starting to wend our way towards Basel. Of course, our day included both a tour of the Rijksmuseum and another canal cruise. The canal cruise was first, and we saw some entirely different views of Amsterdam from the water that morning. We began to appreciate just how important the canals were to the the citizens of Amsterdam. The oldest one, Singel, acted as a moat around the city. The three main canals, Herengracht, the gentleman’s canal Prinsengracht, the princes, canal and Keizersgracht, the Kaiser’s canal, were dug in the 17th century during the Golden Age of the Netherlands. They form concentric belts around the city and are lined with more than a thousand  historic buildings. There are many canals; some wide and busy and some quiet and dreamy. At least one connects to the Rhine as we found out that morning on our canal tour. In all, there are more than 100 kilometers of canals (60 miles worth) and a total of 165 canals, 1,500 bridges and many islands. Amsterdam is considered with good reason, the Venice of the North.

Perhaps the most bizarre thing we learned about the Amsterdam canals is that their murky waters are a repository for unwanted bicycles

Searching for bicycles in the murky water

. So much so, that the city has  teams of workers who search the murky water for bicycles and other other unwanted items. and remove their rusting remains. It is said that between 13,000 and 15,000 bicycles are dumped into the canals during a year. Some were stolen, a few were unwanted but most seem to end up in the water because of hooliganism. If you have to leave your bike outdoors, it is a necessity to chain it to an immovable object. About a car a day also ends up in the canals, and  surprisingly to us, there are many sunken boats under the water which have to be removed.

A barge full of rusting bicycles; all will go to the scrapyard.

Sometimes people end up in the water as well, although the canals are not suitable for swimming at the moment. The  3 meter deep canals have a muddy, debris filled bottom. The Dutch are working to improve the water quality but from what the Ramblers observed, it will take a while. Amsterdam is also the only city that has four divers on call 24/7 to removed unwanted objects from the canals.

In the winter, after a prolonged cold snap, many of the canals freeze over and the Dutch skate on them as they have done for centuries.

Anne Frank House, canal tour of Amsterdam, Gay Pride and Homomonument, Lindberg Tour of Bruges

The Ramblers explore Amsterdam on their own with mixed results!

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We were to board our ship the Uniworld River Queen in three days. During that time, we hoped to tour Bruges  and visit the Anne Frank House. The second night we would have to move from the Grand Amrath (the Shipping House) to the more ordinary Marriott Renaissance Amsterdam. Then, the next morning, a Uniworld bus would take us to the River Queen, docked not far away on the Rhine. Our activities were quite well planned, I thought,  but as it turned out, the best laid plans often get messed up.

The River Queen, unlike most Uniworld boats, she had the look of an old-time steamboat.

One of the most famous museums in Amsterdam is the Anne Frank House and it is always crowded with tourists. The concierge at the Amrath told me that the best way to buy a ticket for a tour was to go to the website .www.annefrank.org/  There it was possible to buy tickets for our preferred day and time as soon as they became available, two months ahead of time. This seemed like good advice as if you don’t buy your ticket in advance, you will have to stand in a long line of hopeful ticket buyers the day of your visit.

On the date we had chosen, we waited patiently tickets in hand in line with crowds of people swirling around us. What we didn’t know then was that the day we picked to visit the AFH was also the day of Amsterdam’s huge Gay Pride Parade. The participants were already assembling by the Gay Pride Memorial the Homomonument,  which is quite near the AFH, when we arrived for our tour. More about this later.

Already, a crowd of people were waiting around the Anne Frank House when we arrived.

You may have noticed in some of my photos that the historic center of Amsterdam is populated with thousands of very tall narrow houses built wall to wall. Up til our visit to the AFH, we had never been in one.  We did’nt realize that they did not have elevators and that in order to get to the top one had to climb stairs which became ladder like as one reached the top floor.  Thus most of these old houses have a hook and cable attached to the roof by which they move furnishing in and out.  Unfortunately similar stairways in the AFH would almost be our downfall.

Here is a photo from the AFH website, wish I had seen it before I bought our tickets. There is yet a steeper set. No photography inside so I had to use theirs.

For some reason, I didn’t even consider that the Anne Frank House might not be handicap accessible, especially after reading a number of glowing reviews. My mistake.  Of course the old house was not built as a museum. Having now been through it, the Ramblers could see that  there is really no space to add an elevator, and so we strongly recommend that if you have trouble with stairs, you only visit the modern museum attached to it. What made visiting the old house even worse was that people took an overlong time looking at the displays yet even more people kept entering at 15 minute intervals. If you are claustrophobic, this can also be an issue as the rooms are small and crowded. You can’t go back after you climb the first set of stairs, so we grimly kept going to the top. Going down was even worse but we survived without any mishaps. We didn’t enjoy our visit, and tired and sweaty, we were happy to step outside into the fresh air.

As we found out, there were lots of people marching in the parade.

There was another surprise awaiting the Ramblers.  We found  that we were trapped at the Anne Frank House Complex because all the streets had been blocked off for the Gay Pride Parade. Those crowds we had seen swirling around the house, had come for the parade. From  what we saw, it was a great parade, lots of people of all kinds having a fine time. Some of their costumes were both amazing and startling but I didn’t take any photos, except from a distance as many were very X-Rated.

Amsterdam’s Homomonument, the world’s first, is located quite close to the AFH, next to the nearby canal. Of course it was the starting point for the Amsterdam Pride parade, which was held on July 30 in 2017, the day we visited the Anne Frank House. As much as we might have enjoyed watching the parade, we were hungry and tired and simply wanted to take a taxi back to the Amrath. But not only were there no taxis available,  it seemed we couldn’t escape from the AFT area until the parade was over as all exits except the canal were blocked and they don’t have water taxis in Amsterdam that we knew about.

One view of the Homomonument which was built next to the canal. It is a memorial to persecuted gays and lesbians all over the world.

Then the senior Rambler had a brilliant idea…he suggested we join the parade until we got to a place where we might find a taxi. After all, not everyone was wearing a costume or waving a flag. Since our only other option was waiting until the end of the parade, we decided it was a good idea and started marching along. It was a friendly group and no one seemed to mind as we slowly edged our way to the other side of the throng and then slipped out when we reached a likely intersection. At last I flagged down a taxi and we were on our way to the Amrath for a well-earned rest. Later on we walked to the canal and watched a variety of boats motor through in a watery traffic jam.

An absolutely loaded boat waiting to clear a lock on a canal near the Amrath.

The next day was our trip to Bruges, highly recommended as a beautiful medieval city by our youngest son. I booked a day trip though Viator, a subsidiary of Trip Adviser. We had good luck with them in the past but not this time. Lindbergh Tours was the vendor and we had to get to their office, according to their directions, at least 15 minutes early. We found their office near the Damrak which seems to be a general meeting spot, checked in and were given a group color. Although we were early, we found to our dismay that others had come even earlier and there were already three full bus groups waiting for their guides. The office manager assured us that there would be another bus for our group and I guess there was, but the Ramblers never saw it. The young man who was to take us to the bus headed off at a very  brisk pace and we soon fell behind. Unfortunately the senior Rambler is not a fast walker. I told him I’d try to catch up with the group and tell them to slow down. But it was a lost cause.

By this time, I was already behind and the bus seemed to be  quite a long distance away, evidently on the other side of the Centraal station. When I finally reached the Station I could see the group  disappearing out the other side, and in my haste, tripped on some marble steps and fell on my face. Some nice British tourists helped me up and I assured them that I was OK, but now, not only had I lost the tour group which was probably headed for Bruges by now, but I had lost the senior Rambler. This was not a good feeling.  I  slowly retraced my steps through the station, noticing that I might have a few bruises the next day, but he wasn’t there. Well, I thought, if he wasn’t inside, he must be outside, and so he was. We slowly walked back to the Lindbergh Office to tell them what had happened.

The interior of our tour boat, Plexiglas everywhere, and it got quite warm too.

Needless to say, we didn’t make it to Bruges, but we did get the money we had paid for the tour refunded. They told us to keep the vouchers for the canal tour that came along with it and so after lunch we headed for the Dam Square again where we would board our tour boat. The senior Rambler does enjoy boats and so despite our miserable morning, we had fun on the tour. There are many companies that offer canal tours in Amsterdam. I don’t remember which one was our bonus boat ride, but I think it was the Blue Boats. If you are thinking of taking a canal tour, the Ramblers recommend spending a little more for a tour boat with open windows. The Plexiglas windows on our boat made taking decent photos almost impossible. That was a shame because there was much to see.

This lady was hanging her laundry to dry. Many people live on canal boats, even with small children. Unfortunately I got some Plexiglas reflections on an otherwise good photo.

The next morning, after enjoying a nice breakfast at the Amrath, we checked out and headed to the Renaissance Marriott by taxi. We were glad to leave the slippery front steps of the Amrath behind, although we loved the maritime atmosphere of the place. On a map, the two hotels aren’t far apart, but the Ramblers were not willing to brave cobblestones, bicyclists and scooters, while dragging our luggage with us. Again we were able to check in early at the Marriott, which left us with a pleasant afternoon to explore the area around the hotel.

Another photo ruined by the windows but I couldn’t resist including this one of intrepid kayakers braving the canal traffic.
Amsterdam, Centraal Station, Sail Amsterdam, Schipol Airport

The Ramblers head to Amsterdam for another cruise on the Rhine.

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In Spring,  2017,  the rivers of Europe were calling again; of course,the Rambler heeded their call. This time, she told the senior Rambler, they were going to try something different. They would arrive in Amsterdam a few days early and spend some time exploring the city. The Ramblers had been to Amsterdam several times but only because Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport was a convenient place to fly into and out of, especially if you live in Atlanta.

A view of the traffic in the river during Sail Amsterdam

The last time we flew into Schipol, we didn’t see much of the city as it was the week of Sail Amsterdam. This is a tall ships sailboat festival held every 5 years.  Because it is such  a special event, it draws crowds from all over Europe.  After we boarded, our captain told us  that the river and canals were too crowded for our ship to dock in its usual spot. Looking at photos of the event later, it was pretty much wall to wall boats on the water, with rows of people lining the banks. Thus we didn’t get to see much of Amsterdam in 2015; this time it would be different.

The sun was just coming up over the canals and ocean that surrounded Schipol when our plane touched down. Even after disembarking and locating our luggage, nothing much was open. I had booked a shuttle that would take us to our hotel, but when we got to the office, it too was closed. Sometimes the early bird doesn’t get the worm.  The shuttle office finally opened, we got our passes and found that the stop was only a short walk. The tricky part was to find the correct shuttle as  all the shuttle busses in Amsterdam seemed to stop here.

The Grand Amrath on a cloudy day.

Finally the right mini-bus appeared and we were on our way to the Grand Hotel Amrath. When we booked our cruise, it included a AAA promotion of one free night in Amsterdam before the cruise. At the time, our stay was at the Grand Hotel Amrath, so I booked two additional nights  for our Amsterdam experience.  Later the free night was changed to the Marriott Renaissance Amsterdam; I could have changed the booking but didn’t so we would have to change hotels on our last night in Amsterdam. On the map, they seemed close to each other, so it wasn’t a big deal at the time.

The Amrath was truly grand in appearance but it had one failing as far as the Ramblers were concerned. Its somewhat slick front steps were steep and had no railing. Although the friendly Doorman was willing to lend a hand, I would have much preferred a railing. This entrance is the ONLY way to enter or exit the Amrath, so keep this in mind, before booking there  if you have balance issues.  Of course we had arrived well before check-in time and expected a wait but the front desk clerk said it was possible to check in early and led us to our room.

The Grand Amrath is a large hotel and the shipping house is one of the 100 most important Amsterdam landmarks.

Needless to say, we were tired and a bit jet-lagged and  happy to check into our room. We had stretched out on the comfortable beds and were just dozing off WHEN we were startled by the sound of construction right outside our window. To our dismay we saw that a large building was under construction adjacent to our room.  It was obvious that the work would go on all day, and probably start fairly early the next morning. We learned that it would be a 5 story addition to the Amrath.

The Rambler was not happy about this; she had booked a 5 star hotel, not a room near a construction site. Making her way back to the front desk, she asked kindly but firmly for a different room. Fortunately the front desk was willing to change our room to one on the other side of the hotel but we would have to wait until it was ready. We readily agreed and eventually found ourselves in a pleasant room with a canal view, far away from the construction noise. We recommend booking a room with a canal view in Amsterdam, as it is a lot of fun to watch boats of all shapes and sizes cruise past.

The canal view from our room, always something going on.

Too bad I missed several Trip Adviser posts about construction noise at the Amrath before we left home. I usually read the most recent posts and the posts about construction were dated a few months earlier.  If something like this happens to you, the Ramblers hope you are lucky enough to get your room changed. I think it helped that we checked in so early, latecomers might not be so lucky.

Despite the steps and the noise, the Amrath is a majestic place. It was built in 1916 for 6  shipping companies in an Art Noveau, but distinctly Amsterdam style, thus its Dutch name, the Scheepvaarthuis or shipping house. Much of its decor has  a nautical theme, and  carved oak and paneling line the halls.  When the shipping business declined, the massive building  was sold to the City of Amsterdam and for a time, housed the municipal transit company. During this period, it was modernized but not in a good way. In 1998, the City put the building up for sale. Fortunately it was rescued by a property developer who had a vision of turning it into a hotel. Architect Ray Kentie successfully turned this vision into reality and in 2007, the Grand Amrath opened to rave reviews. Many of the original decorations were refurbished and more were added as all signs of its post-war modernization were removed. Despite a few glitches, we would enjoy our stay in this historic landmark.

The always busy Centraal Station, a short walk from our hotel.

By late afternoon, the Ramblers decided it was time for something to eat.  We took a brief walk to explore our options and settled on a small restaurant serving traditional Dutch food and hamburgers. Although it was still cloudy , the weather was warm enough to enjoy our meal outside so we could watch the urban scene that unfolded before our eyes. You may guess who had the traditional pea soup and who had the hamburger…

The Ramblers at a traditional Dutch restaurant, me having Dutch pea soup (very good) and the senior Rambler, a burger.

Amsterdam is a city that pulses with life. There is constant traffic, on foot and  bicycle, as well by car and tram. We quickly learned to watch out for the ever-present bicyclists who seemed to stop for no-one, sometimes not even traffic lights. The Amrath was  close to the Grand Centraal Station which teemed with activity, it is a huge place with many shops and restaurants as well as trains. It was also a popular tram stop and meeting place.

Although Amsterdam is certainly a walk-able city, the Ramblers found getting around somewhat daunting mainly because of the large number of pedestrians and bicyclists, in particular as well as motor scooters. Not realizing how difficult it would be for us to get around in Amsterdam, I had scheduled two tours, on the two days before we boarded our ship. After much research, I had booked a Viator Tour to Bruges as we had enjoyed our tours in Provence and also got tickets for the Anne Frank house. Both of these excursions would not turn out quite as the Ramblers expected.