CASTLES ON THE RHINE

Today we cruised down the Rhine from Braubach to Rudesheim.  We toured Marksburg Castle then cruised the Rhine Passing several castles along the way.  It was a beautiful ride.

OUR SHIP BELOW MARKSBURG CASTLE

COLOGNE GERMANY

I think the best part of today was the ride up the Rhine.  We spent the whole morning on the top deck watching Germany go by; it was really great.  In the afternoon we visited Cologne.  Cologne is an old Roman City with some good Roman sights and a nice, huge, cathedral.   Here are some pictures from the day.

A GREAT RIDE DOWN THE RHINE

THE TOWER IS FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL ON THE RIVER

OFF LOADING GRAVEL FROM A BARGE

CAMP GROUND WITH A BOAT RAMP

THE HUGE CATHEDRAL IN COLOGNE BEGAN IN 1248 AND FINISHED IN 1880.  HIT WITH BOMBS 14 TIMES IN WWII BUT STILL STANDING.

THE FLOOR OF A ROMAN DINING ROOM FROM THE 1ST CENTURY A.D.

PART OF ROMAN SEWER EXCAVATED  AND RECONSTRUCTED ABOVE GROUND SO IT COULD BE SEEN.

SOME OF THE GLASS FROM THE CATHEDRAL

THE ONLY PHRASE WE KNOW IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE IS DUE GELATO WHICH IS ITALIAN FOR 2 ICE CREAMS.  THAT PHRASE HAS SERVED US VERY WELL OVER THE YEARS.  WE HAVE DUED MANY A GELATO.

THE MC DONALDS IS IN THE FORMER AMERICAN CONSULATE

BACK TO THE SHIP FOR MORE CRUISING

WINDMILLS IN HOLLAND (NETHERLANDS)

Today we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Sight with 18 windmills from the 17th and 18th century.  About half of The Netherlands is built on land below sea level.  Their solution was to build dikes and use windmills to pump the water out of the ponders (the reclaimed parcels of land) back into the ocean; the result, dry land. The windmills were built in the 1600's and 1700's.  Their function has been replaced  by electric pumps but the windmills are still beautiful.  Here are some pictures from the day.

A BRICK WINDMILL

A WOODEN WINDMILL

THIS GEAR IS ABOUT 15 FEET ACROSS

THIS FAMILY LIVED IN THE BRICK WINDMILL

THE KITCHEN FOR THE WINDMILL (NO FIRES ALLOWED IN WINDMILL)

SIZE 8.5

THE MODERN SCREW PUMPS THAT GET THE WATER OUT OF THE PONDER

A BARGE OF JOHN DEERE TRACTORS ON THE RHINE RIVER

These two ladies are from Philadelphia.  They were both raised in the USSR.  They came to America, in 1980,  became citizens, became hair dressers, (one of whom was a pharmacist in Russia)  were successful enough to come on a river cruise today.  They love America and have lived the American dream.

GERMANY IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RED BRIDGE.

VIKING RHINE GETAWAY

Amsterdam, Netherlands to Basel, Switzerland

Our cruise begins in Amsterdam.  Our ship is the Ingvi; don't ask me to pronounce it.  We got to the ship from the airport about 2:00.  We had enough time to grab a quick lunch and headed into town.  We did some sight seeing.  We leave Amsterdam on the cruise this evening.  Here are a few pictures of Amsterdam.

The main train station

Amsterdam is full of crooked houses.

More bicycles in the city than people

One of about a dozen tulip bulb markets.

Nonnie's favorite Amsterdam jewelry store.

If you look up the phrase "if you gotta go you gotta go" there will be a picture of this green barrel thing where I went.

A MESSAGE FROM GREECE

WE ARE STILL ALIVE.   The internet service on the ship is slower than dial-up and costs 75 cents per minute so a normal blog with picture uploads would cost more than our vacation.   I am in a restaurant in Katalono Greece that has wifi.  The price for the wifi is a Mythos beer.