Saturday Nov 12 Antwerp

Saturday was our last full day of cruising and fun and we made the most of it.  In the morning we had a tour of the city with an ex-NYC guy who is living in Antwerp now.  Full of tons of good info, suggestions and more.  It was also the day that St Nicholas (Sinter Klaus) was arriving in Antwerp.  He arrives by boat with his (politically incorrect as pointed out by some teachers) black Peters.  The city square was full of kids and families out to enjoy the day.  We learned that the city used to have almost 500 statues set up on buildings of the Madonna and now approximately 200 remain.  Their architecture was great and we were sad to miss the cathedral but a funeral for an important person was going on.

We tried frites & mayonnaise and I got to introduce my American friends to the joys of mayonnaise with chips.  In the afternoon, I enjoyed some lovely sunshine on the top deck and Mum and I wrestled our luggage into submission stuffed full of goodies to bring home.  I was relieved to find a hobby train store-after 5 countries-located in a parking garage of all places.  A good friend of mine collects them and cannot get the specialty catalogues at home. 

In the evening we had a lovely dinner with the great group of friends we made on the ship and lots of laughs after dinner until we all had to get to bed. 

Pictures from Brugge

We've been having challenges on the trip uploading pictures.  We promise more when we get home.

Friday Nov 11, Remembrance Day in Belgium

This morning we were off to Brugges which Canadian troops liberated in September, 1944.  Belgium fondly remembers all the great efforts of our military forces. 

When we arrived early, it was before the crowds got in and we enjoyed some lovely sights including their cathdral with a Michaelangelo statue that he had been commissioned to do, the church did not pay him so he took it back and sold it to a private collector.  It ended up in Brugges as a donation from the heir of the original purchaser.  It was a stunning piece.  At the police station, we saw that they were prepaing for their Remembrance Day ceremony of laying a wreath.

We walked and walked as our tour guide was not very good so we struck out on our own.  We found a lovely chocolate shop called Dumon and let's just say some of our spare Euros found a new home.  We treated ourselves to Cafe au Lait and a waffle with chocolate, strawberries and cream-so decadent!

This afternoon Mum went to Ghent with the group and I stayed back to ice my knee.  She says it was beautiful, castle in the middle of town, lots of churchs, really lovely.

This evening was the captain's dinner and everyone got dressed up.  Odd to see everyone who was in jeans all week suddenly gussied up.  Mum and I won a prize in the raffle of Christmas decorations.  Tomorrow is our last day (boo hooo!) and then we'll be home Sunday night.

Thurs Nov 10 Rotterdam & Kinderdyjk or, where did the warm weather go??

The day started off beautifully with a nice sleep in as we had no morning tour.  We were in Rotterdam until noon but the weather was so lovely that we headed to the top deck for sunshine and warmth.  Nov 10th and in sandals and shirt sleeves on the top.  After lunch we headed to Kinderdyjk but the weather took a turn sharply downwards and we were all bundled up for the afternoon tour to see the windmills, learn about the area and how the canals work.  The local municipality did an amazing job with their presentation center and their information movie was fun and multi media. 

We strolled (quickly in the cold) down the boardwalk to see the windmill in action but due to the large amount of people in our group, we passed on the climb up the windmill.  Even in the mist though, the windmills looked like quiet sentinels waiting to wage war on the water.  They said without water management, it would take only 3 months for the land to be flooded again. We spent the late afternoon and evening in the company of our new friends and our table in the dining room can often be found with many giggles and lots of good conversation.  Hard to believe we only have 2 days left.

Wed Nov 9 Gouda & Rotterdam a/k/ our love affair with cheese continues

Oh cheese, how I love thee!  From the tasty samplings on the buffet in the morning to the cheese board at night, I have learned to adore good cheese again.  From the creamy camembert to the gouda to the herbed goat cheese, the munsters, ahhhhh!!.

Yesterday was a trek to the town of Gouda which was almost an hour from the ship but worth every moment of travel.  St Jans Church was spectacular.  Their collection of stained glass windows dating back to 1555 are awe inspiring.  The church started off as Catholic and is now a Protestant church and almost appears as a church split in two.  The organist was practicing on the large pipe organ while we were there and the sound was so fantastic. 

Their town hall dates from 1450 and has wonderful stone carvings decorating large parts of it plus a whimsical version of a cuckoo clock with a king. 

From there we went to a farm and saw Gouda cheese production.  It is a raw milk cheese that they produce and the flavour is wonderful.  I'm coming home with two large goudas (only 6 euros each) in my bags. 

In the afternoon, a lot of people went into Rotterdam but the extensive walking from the day before got to me and the 2 hour nap was much needed.  A silversmith came to the ship in the afternoon to demonstrate his filigree work which was exquisite.  I indulged in a necklace with two silver endings that are modeled after the silver tips they used to have on their knitting needles.  In the evening we had a real treat with the local Sea Shanty Choir.  It's a group of approximately 25 men and 1 woman who sing mainly old ship songs but they are great.  The average age was between 65 and 80 but their enthusiasm and wonderful choral style brought much of the guests to their feet.

Tues, Nov 8 Amsterdam or the day of walking and walking

Sorry we're behind in our blog but internet connections are a bit spotty over the past couple of days.  We started off the day on a glass topped canal cruise.  It was interesting and wow, I cannot believe some of those houseboats are worth the equivalent of $1M Cdn in some cases.  Some of the old houses that still stand from the 1600 where the merchants would be by the water to see their wares come in are amazing with their facades. 

From there it was off to the flower market and cannabis seed starter kits were everywhere.  In the afternoon, Peter, a fellow I met on ship who is traveling with his 80 year old mother, and I set off for a walkiing tour.  3.5 hours of walking around was great.  We saw the Venetian Mask Shop, the Condomeria where you can get a statue of liberty condom (not recommended for birth control), the red light district, coffee houses and more.  In the evening we had a tour with the group of the red light district but stayed on later with Ross, a NYC doctor who is a sexologist and she took us on a great tour.  We saw the Erotic Museum-great artwork-spoke to a few prostitutes (she is always doing research), got offered a family special at the sex shop and finally back to the ship.  After walking for almost 7 hours, I was completely wiped out.  And no, Mum stayed back on the ship being a good girl and missed the RLD.

Monday Nov 7, 2011 Arnhem WWII museum

Today has been a gray and dreary day and kind of suiting for today's tours.  We went to the WWII museum and then the Canadian War Cemetary.  Both are well tended by Dutch volunteers and provide a lot of information about a sad time with a large loss of life.  But, it provides good perspective and reminds us to be thankful for the sacrifices of those who came before us.

The Canadian War cemetary was beautiful, each grave has 3 plants and each headstone has a quote from the family, if they wished, of the person buried there.  Some dates were from after the war but when people died due to wounds they received in the war.  As I stood there and saw people from our tour looking amongst the graves at the names, the sayings and seeing the list of names of all the Canadians and other commonwealth men, it was very moving. 

I chose to stay in this afternoon but Mum explored Arnhem with some friends we have met on the tour and they found a coffee house.  Not a coffee house like we're used to but a coffee house that specializies in marijuana and other soft drugs.  They had a good giggle but assure me they did not go in...hmmm.

Today's picture is a group of friends we have met on the trip.  Joanne and Peter are mother and son and this is her 80th birthday trip.  Steve and Cathy are a couple and she is a retired nurse and he is a watercolour artist.  All 4 are from Pennsylvania and met on a tour of Italy a couple of years ago. They have added such a lot to our enjoyment on this cruise.