Are We There Yet?

Begging in Bruges

2024-04-28T05:33:03Z

Begging? Yup. I left my wallet in the cabin safe. Most day tours are two or three hours long, but our excursion to the medieval city of Bruges was an all-day affair. The tour director, who accompanied our group, rescued us with a supply of euros.

There are three nearly remarkably preserved medieval cities in Europe: Rothenberg in Germany, Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic, and Bruges in Belgium. (There are numerous smaller towns with this distinction, such as Eguisheim in the Alsace, France.) How did these cities remain medieval in architecture through war and modernization? By being poor for four centuries, so poor and lacking in importance that the tides of change and fortunes of war by-passed them. Bruges is thriving today, of course, but from the 12th to the 15th centuries the city was one of the most prosperous ports and centers of commerce in Europe.

As an aside, Frances and I have visited all three medieval cities—Rothenberg and Bruges several times. But if you ever find yourself in southern Bohemia, ensure you include a stop in Český Krumlov in your itinerary. It’s a jewel and, when we were there, somewhat less inundated with tourists than are Rothenberg and Bruges.

Not that all of medieval Bruges is overrun by visitors. After several hours of an excellent tour of the primary sights, we had the rest of the day to explore the town. We decided to walk to the location of the boutique hotel we stayed at in 2015. It’s still there and still a delightful little inn where the streets were uncrowded. On our way back from that walk we were hailed by a man attempting to back out of his garage. He got out of his car and began speaking to us in Dutch. We did not interrupt and it took him a moment to realize we were not comprehending anything he was saying. “Why didn’t you stop me?” he finally asked, in english. (Do we take it as a compliment that he said we didn’t look like Americans?) He was asking us to help him back into the street by watching for cyclists, which we did—but not before he invited us to dinner. Sadly, we, of course, had to decline. We didn’t have the money to purchase flowers as dinner guests anyway.

We entered Bruges from the south, over the major canal that surrounds the city. The canal was the city’s major defense.

Top: A view of St. Salvator’s Cathedral. Bottom right: The same view without interference from two tourists.

While we carried box lunches provided by Gate1, we did use our borrowed money to purchase a sampler selection of Belgian beer. This worked out well as Frances and I were split in our choices of favorites, so finished them all. Belgian fries were our side dish. Thus far we have been informed three times that what Americans call French fries are, in fact, a Belgian creation. It seems that the first fries were “discovered” by American soldiers during World War I in the French speaking part of Belgium, hence the appellation “French”. Americans never were very good with geography. Regardless, if you want fries in Belgium, you’ll get them with mayonnaise instead of catsup.

Top: More of the cathedral. Bottom right: Housing for single women only, still active.

The main city square, with its 650 year old city hall. As promised, we did not climb the bell tower this time, but did listen to its chimes several times. You will have to access my blog archive from 2015 to find my picture of the huge “music box” that drives the chimes.

Left: The white bridge that connects two Flemish style buildings. Right: Our guide for the day, pointing out the beauty tips on the picture of this medieval era charmer.

Top: Frances is holding her favorite of the three beers we sampled (to the bottom). Bottom left: The hole in the wall by an entry door was for cleaning the bottom of one’s boots before entering the dwelling. Bottom right: Apparently our kids aren’t the only ones who fail to empty their mailboxes.

Left: More scenes during our walk to visit the hotel we stayed at during our previous visit to the city. It has not changed (right picture). We had a pleasant conversation with the proprietor. Lower right: Housing for the poor. The rich built these apartments for the poor in exchange for promised prayers from the occupants on behalf of the rich patrons, to speed their benefactors’ entry into heaven after death. A touch more benevolent than paying for indulgences.

Our timing with the weather was perfect. The threatened rain held off until our return to the buses and our trip back to the Empress. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Antwerp

2024-04-26T16:14:29Z

We cruised all afternoon, evening and through the night to get to Belgium’s second largest city, “Antwerpen” in Belgian Dutch. Antwerp is the country’s second largest city and, being located in the northern (i.e. Flemish) half of the country, is mostly Dutch speaking. While Amsterdam and Antwerp share a language, they are quite different cities. Both are major ports but Antwerp is the second largest in Europe, behind only Rotterdam. Antwerp is on the Rhine River, hence higher in elevation than below-sea-level Amsterdam, but this tidal area of the Rhine rises and falls 18 feet with these tides.

Left: We are lifted up by lock to the Rhine River. Right: Our ship docked adjacent to the city center.

The architecture and ambience of the two cities are quite different, as you will notice in the photos I will be sharing. Well, maybe you can’t discern the ambience from the pictures, but trust me on this.

We had a full day in Antwerp. For the morning we toured with a guided group, ending at the city’s magnificent cathedral, with its large Ruben paintings. We returned to the Monarch Empress to warm up (yes, it was cold) then the set out to wander on our own during the afternoon.

Our ship docked next to the Antwerp city castle, the lower sections being 1000 years old. Right: We passed several remnant sections of the old city wall.

For once, I’ll keep my promise to minimize the words and offer more pictures. This way I won’t have to explain much of what we saw. Trust me that the sights were enjoyable viewing.

The main city square, the groenplaats. On the east is the city hall, with other historic buildings on the other three sides. Germans V-1’s caused much destruction during WW II but much was spared and damaged areas rebuilt. American general Armstrong has a statue by the castle in recognition of his brigade’s efforts to protect the city during the attacks.

Top left: The cathedral spire. Top right: Hands are a city theme, based on a legend of a Roman severing the hand (and head) of the local river monster. Bottom left: A “drunkard’s lock”, so designed to aid an intoxicated citizen in getting his key into his dwelling door. Bottom right: Our tour included a walk through a medieval maze of apartments.

Street scenes: Top left: We passed a half dozen Madonnas with street lights beneath. It seems that putting (at one’s own expense) a lamp outside one’s dwelling would indicate enough wealth to invite taxing the occupant. Adding the Madonna made it a religious artifact and, hence, tax exempt. Lower right: A marker for the Way of St James Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, an 1100 mile walk to northwest Spain.

The impressive buildings on street corners.

More street scenes: Antwerp is the world’s largest center of the diamond trade. We passed perhaps thirty diamond and jewelry shops in a three block stretch. There also were scores of restaurants of all types in the area, including six McDonalds on a half mile stretch.

The city’s Cathedral of Our Lady. Ruled by the Spanish for several centuries, the town was almost exclusively Catholic. This history is why the Dutch speaking area of Belgium is separate from the Netherlands, with its Calvinist and republican roots. With the decline of formal religion in Northern Europe and with the on-going incompatibility between Dutch speaking Flanders and French-speaking southern Belgium, one wonders if Flanders and Holland would now be a better fit. It once took over 600 days after an election to assemble a coalition government. The citizens didn’t mind. There could be no tax increases during that stretch.

The pride of the cathedral is its paintings by Ruben. Details we noted included a partial solar eclipse and a scroll in three languages.

Antwerp’s train station is worth a visit by itself.

A few more scenes, from Belgian chocolate to Belgian waffles. We absolutely loved the waffle we purchased during our walk. Bikes are ubiquitous but the riders aren’t as aggressive as in Amsterdam. Back on the boat, we were entertained that evening with a Ditch Dixieland jazz group.

A wonderful day ended with an excellent sous vide lamb shank dinner (for me; cod for Frances ) and the Dixieland jazz group as entertainment. Even the contingent from New Orleans found them talented and fun.

We’re off to Ghent tonight although Frances and I opted for the excursion to Bruges. We’ve been to both, but Ghent more recently. This time I doubt I’ll try to climb the Bruges’ bell tower.

Amsterdam – 2

2024-04-25T06:50:00Z

I’m sitting at the desk in our cabin on the Monarch Empress. We’re heading for Antwerp. In the full-wall mirror before me I spot a barge barreling past us. At first impressed by its speed, I am slow to realize it’s only a reflection. The barge is moving in the opposite direction at a more conventional speed. Some days I can be a bit slow.

But not quite as slow as this morning, when Frances and I spent several hours walking around old town Amsterdam—without my iPhone/camera. I’ll have to “borrow” a few photos to reflect our sights during the walk.

Let’s back up in time first.

Our experience at the restaurant Fosco was excellent. We were the only Americans there and likely the only non-locals. It’s advertised as a neighborhood bar and eatery, which proved to be true in the most positive sense. The food was enjoyable and the ambience even better. The fries were “Belgium fries”, meaning served with mayonnaise. The burger was a cod patty. It was worth the trek to the restaurant and back to the hotel.

The pre-cruise group of us who came to Amsterdam several days ago numbered about sixty. We spent the second morning touring more of Amsterdam by bus. However, the majority of the mid-day we spent at the Rijksmuseum. It’s a repeat visit from one nine years back, but museums this great are worth an encore.

The Rijksmuseum. I couldn’t resist the picture of asparagus, but the many Rembrandts and several Vermeers were the stars, along with Hals and other Dutch masters.

Rembrandt’s famous and huge “Operation Night Watch”. A Rembrandt student copy, lower left, shows that the original lost about two or three feet from the left edge. This painting is now behind a large glass enclosure, left in place after the most recent restoration.

The museum library of rare books. To protect the collection, readers are not allowed to take even pencils into the library. Two weapons from the arms collection. I occasionally build model ships. I could only drool at the museum’s collection.

The only thing not cooperating is the weather. The cold rains come and go, but, thus far, we’ve avoided the worst of it. From the museum we were delivered to our home for the next week on the Monarch Empress, Gate1 Travel’s first company-owned ship. The ship is at full capacity, 140 guests. This is our second trip with Gate1, the first occurring back in 2008 on the upper Danube.

It’s worth (well, at least to me) spending a paragraph or two contrasting Gate1 to other companies we’ve patronized. Gate1 has the reputation of being much less expensive than many of its competitors yet delivering a high-quality product. How do they do it?

First, unlike Regent, Scenic and other “higher end” companies, tips are not included in the cruise fee. For meals, there is a multi-course menu, but with limited alternatives. Our first two suppers comprised five excellent courses each, but with two choices of soups, three for the entrée and two for dessert. Breakfasts and lunches are partly buffet and partly special order. Free drinks are limited to dinner only, but the wine flowed liberally then. For Frances and me, this is enough and the wine quality is good.

Two of our desserts. Thus far, we have found the food offerings excellent.

There are only a limited number of excursion options at each stop, sometimes just one. And, finally, most of the cabins are relatively small, but not unreasonably so. We, in fact, upgraded to one of the larger cabins and are very happy with our situation. (Curiously, when we first arrived at our cabin we were disappointed that our double bed was just two twin beds pushed together. When we complained, they immediately converted the bed into a true double, albeit with a split mattress.

Our ship, the Monarch Empress. Our first evening’s entertainment, two Dutch singers. We skipped out after a song or two. Bottom: Our cabin. I don't show the bathroom but we appreciate the double sinks.

The passengers are on average a touch younger than those we’ve traveled with on other ships, fifty and sixty and early seventies being the common age. (OK, maybe we’re ignoring the fact that we ourselves are moving past the average traveling age.) As with most cruise lines and land travel companies, many passengers are true loyalists. One of the passengers is on her 23rd Gate1 cruise and land trip.

Our tour guide, Bart, a Dutchman by birth, is outstanding. We just finished attending his talk on the Netherlands and he was terrifically funny. The ship’s captain is Ukrainian and his second in command Polish. A majority of the crew are Eastern European and Asian. As with all the ships we have sailed on, all the crew and staff are friendly and helpful.

Dress is very casual, even for dinners. I won’t be unpacking my blazer or dressier shirts.

We did have one disaster befall us, but nothing to do with where we are. For 556 straight days, Frances and I have successfully solved the online Wordle game. Even while in Botswana, with no internet, we picked up a single bar of Zambian cellular, enough to access and play the game. Yesterday, in a hurry, I carelessly typed a final word I did not mean to enter and we broke our string. Frances has forgiven me, despite having told me the correct word to enter.

Back to our itinerary. We waited for the rains to pass before heading back into town (as mentioned, sans camera). Our ship was moored near the Amsterdam train station, which itself is adjacent to the “old city” section of Amsterdam. We accidentally wandered into the red light district of the town for a street or two, but mostly we strolled through other parts of this historic city, ducking the bicyclists as necessary. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than people, most residents owning more than one.

Having forgotten my iPhone, I’ve had to “borrow” pictures representing our long stroll through the Old City. I tried to select pictures close to what we saw.

Tonight we depart for Antwerp, Belgium. I haven’t been to Antwerp since 1979. Mussels, Belgian waffles, Belgian fries, lambic beer and chocolates await.

Hello Again, Amsterdam

2024-04-22T20:04:34Z

“Bam!”—the sound of lightning slapping our 787. I know I have been on airplanes experiencing lightning strikes before, but this was a loud one. “No worries” announced the flight attendant in her pleasant Dutch accent, so I don’t. The Boeing’s doors remain attached and we are at 37,000 feet and heading to Amsterdam.

Our destination should have been Abu Dhabi, but the mullahs had other plans for the Middle East. So it’s to be two short cruises in the Low Countries and on the Seine River respectively instead. The territory isn’t new to us, of course, but there will be several new sites we’ve not visited before and a repeat of several destinations always worth revisiting. After all, the tulips are blooming in Holland and spargel is in season.

Even the fact that our KLM aircraft took off an hour late is of no concern to us. It’s a nonstop flight and we’ll be getting into Amsterdam too early for a hotel room regardless.

As we departed Georgetown, bluebirds were completing their nest in our backyard. We hope to get home before the future hatchlings have fledged.

So what is the plan? Two nights in Amsterdam to start with, followed by eight days on the Monarch Express, visiting sites in Holland and Belgium. We’ll be river and canal cruising courtesy of Gate1 Travel, a company we last patronized nearly two decades ago. We’ll then be bused to Paris, with a mid-day stop in Brussels. Our five nights in Paris will be split between two hotels, for reasons I’ll explain when we finally get there. Then it’ll be eight days on the Scenic Gem, traveling to Normandy and back. For this portion of the trip we’ll be joined by Brian and Karen McKenna. Then it’ll be two flights home as we’re still waiting for the promised nonstop route between Austin and Paris. If we’re lucky, we’ll return in time to see the bluebirds fledge from our backyard’s birdhouse and discover how many of the tomatoes have been eaten by the deer. They’ve already munched our newly planted front porch shrubs nearly to the ground. Maybe there will be a new fawn or two around to compensate.

By the way, KLM’s menu for the flight was promising. The reality as delivered? Let’s just say that the Rice Chex we were once offered on a domestic flight would have been an acceptable alternative—for both the supper and breakfast meals. Our inevitable weight gain while traveling will have to wait for the spargel.

It took us a good two and a half hours to get out of Schiphol Airport. Most of it was waiting to get through passport control. At times there but one official handling a line of hundreds of us. (Friend Brian is laughing as he reads this. With their Irish passports, Brian and Karen would have skipped through the EU portal in minutes—but then would have had to wait the several hours for the rest of us to catch up for our group transport to the hotel.)

Our lodging, the Hotel Jakarta, is interesting in its design and layout—a “v”-shaped structure of eight or nine floors, surrounding an impressive atrium/arboretum with trees and vines to the ceiling. The décor is wood and Scandinavian minimalist, with rooms both efficient and sub-optimal in some practical amenities, such as sufficient towel bars and hooks and nearly unusable drawers. There is nothing in or near the shower, for instance, on which to hang one’s towel or bathrobe. But I complain too easily. It’s comfortable and the coffee machine works, if you run it enough times to get a decently sized cup of coffee.

Consistent with the hotel’s name, the main restaurant features Indonesian dishes. We selected and shared several for dinner. It was quite good. We (OK, I) asked for a side order of white asparagus (the above mentioned “spargel”). This dish was attractive to look at but, alas, didn’t live up to our expectations. We’ll try again some other occasion. I should add the breakfast offerings were excellent, from the salmon eggs benedict to the croissants.

Our first meal in Amsterdam was Indonesian. Indonesia being a former colony of the Dutch, the Indonesian presence in Amsterdam is considerable. The white asparagus was attractively served, but sometimes looks can be deceiving.

For many of our fellow guests, that first afternoon was spent exploring Amsterdam. As both Frances and I struggle with recovering from long flights, we rested up instead. The next morning we toured outer Amsterdam by bus and followed that up with a barge trip through some of the inner-city canals. I say “some” as historic Amsterdam has more canals than streets. These tours were all part of our Gate1 pre-cruise itinerary.

Left: Rembrandt and Frances. Right: A still operational windmill, the first of many we will again see during this trip.

Top left: One of many art works in the parks. Top middle: Apartments. Top right: We viewed several Ukrainian flags. This one is in front of our hotel. Bottom: Roof tops with pulleys used to haul furniture to the upper stories, thanks to narrow stair cases. All older buildings have them.

The left photo is one of Amsterdam’s three dozen major museums. The right a random canal shot.

Canal views. There are seven bridges in line in the left photo.

The weather is cool and occasionally rainy, although we’ve avoided getting caught out in the open when the sprinkles have fallen. I’m glad we came with a full assortment of rain and cool weather gear. That should ensure good weather.

Top: The Amsterdam, a replica of an 18th-century Dutch East India Company vessel. Left is a photo I took in 2022 and the right hand one today. Bottom: The lefthand shot is one I. Took in 2015; the right a repeat of the previous collage from today.

Tomorrow we visit the Rijksmuseum before transferring to our cruise ship in the afternoon. But we won’t be done with Amsterdam for another day after that.

Meanwhile, we’ve made reservations at a restaurant a healthy walk from the hotel. Most of the less distant recommended eateries are closed Mondays. We’ll decide on Uber or a walking return after we eat. — We’re now back from the walk. It was worth the walk, in both directions I’d like to point out. The restaurant, “Fosco”, is a “comfy” bar and diner with the ambience of a place for locals. Many of the patrons and the staff seemed to know each other. The food was good and the wait staff friendly. For sure we were the only Americans and, perhaps, the only non-locals.

For the next post, I promise more pictures and fewer words, although I assume all my readers have come to tolerate my logic-defining blend of the past, present and even future tense, sometimes in one sentence. We came, we are seeing, and we will conquer (our jet lag)—if we get enough rest.

Traveling with the Dallens

2022-02-20T15:13:02Z

What's Coming up?

It's been a great past year of traveling, including the Amazon, the Galapagos Islands, Southern Africa, Argentina and Uruguay. I've moved the posting for our most recent trips to the archive: Blog Archive

So what is next?

Our cruise between Abu Dhabi and Athens has been canceled, thanks to the troubles in the Middle East. As a substitute, we are returning to the Low Countries and Northern France. We'll be taking a cruise through the Netherlands and Belgium followed (after a few days in Paris) by a cruise of the Seine.

The summer of 2024 we plan to visit the West Coast kids, then, starting in Vancouver, take the Trans Canada train across that country to Toronto. After visiting sites in Eastern Canada, we’ll head to Ohio and Michigan to visit more family.

The fall of 2024, we are to cruise the lower Danube and, that winter, check out the Caribbean. We have plans, both specific and vague, for several trips after that, but we’ll get to those later.

Traveling with the Dallens

Blog postings for our past trips (at least those from 2015 on) have been moved to the archive. You can access the archive here:

Blog Archive

Thanks for following our adventures,

John and Frances