Trying To Catch Up, Part 2

October 17, 2022

Perhaps you have noticed a gap between entries. This was not by choice. It was caused by the lack of internet for about three days on board the MS Victor Hugo. To be honest, being untethered from the internet was kind of relaxing, no news headlines, no Facebook, no emails. We have become so dependent on the internet for information that once we get over the shock of being internetless, we actually begin to pay attention to other people and have conversations.

I will try to recreate what has been happening for the past few days in reverse order. First, the cruise has been a wonderful experience and I plan to cruise with CroisiEurope in the future. The company is family owned. All of the emplo

yees whom I have met have been courteous, professional, and friendly. In spite of being one of 6 English speakers on board, the language barrier has not been insurmountable. Every meal has been wonderful and our excursions have been very good. Last night we arrived in Amsterdam after an about 11 hour trip. We passed through a series of locks as we made our way across the Netherlands and passed by the serene Dutch countryside. The day was very relaxing. I may have even taken a short nap in the afternoon. Last night was our gala, so the TravelSmith sport coat I brought with me made its one and only appearance on this trip. The dinner was superb and ended with Baked Alaska. I will be spending time in Amsterdam followed by time in the Hague. I am not used to eating three full meals a day, so I will need to eat less and walk a LOT more over the next week. This morning we had a bus tour of Amsterdam and a visit in Amsterdam's diamond district where we got to see a bit of the process of cutting, polishing, and mounting diamonds. There was also a chance to buy some diamonds or rings or watches. In answer to your question, No I did not make any purchases. I could just see myself not declaring my purchases at US Customs and being arrested as an international diamond smuggler. I'm sure you would come to my defense and bail me out, right?..................Right?

Thanks to my unparalleled technological skill, I have included some photos from earlier in the trip when I was in Hannover and Bremen. Sometimes, I amaze myself with my tech wizardry.

There was an another excursion this afternoon into Amsterdam, but I opted not to go because I will be spending the next two days in Amsterdam. Tonight there is a canal tour which I will go on. On Saturday, we visited the Meyer Werft shipbuilding facility in Papenburg. It is at this location that cruise ships are built for companies such as P&O, Carnival, Celebrity, and Disney. The ships are built indoors and then brought outside for finishing touches. One new ship, the Arvia, for the P&O fleet was outside having finishing touches done. It should be completed by November and then will go on a shakedown test cruise prior to being turned over to P&O. The ship is huge. If I recall, it will carry 5,500 passengers and a crew of 1,800 to 2,000. It looks very luxurious, but way too big for my taste. Give me the small intimate river cruise boats any day.

*I forgot to include this shot from the souvenir shop I entered in the flower market area. To say the least, Amsterdam is very open in its attitude toward drugs.

Friday was a day in Bremen, a city that has an old city center that is well worth the visit. My tablemate Bill and I had a very good English speaking guide to ourselves and she gave us a very informative and entertaining tour of the old town center. Much of Bremen has been reclaimed from rivers as the city has grown. It was severely damaged in World War II, but miraculously, some of the old buildings, such as the Rathaus (town hall) survived as did the Cathedral.

Do you see the picture of the fountain above? That represents the public bath in Bremen dating to the Middle Ages. It is said more than bathing took place there and that even the Archbishop would come and frolic there via a private tunnel from the Cathedral to the bath house.😮

Wednesday was a visit to Hannover, another city worth visiting. Hannover was severely damaged during the war. If you see the relief maps above, you get a pictorial history of Hannover. In 1689, there were actually two cities, the old larger city for Protestants, and the new smaller city for Catholics and Jews. By 1939 the city had grown immensely and was a prime target for Allied bombs because Hannover was a major maker of armaments. See the relief map of 1945 to get and idea of how the city looked at the end of the war. The one constant throughout Hannover's history has been the three churches which were there even in 1639. To this day, no building within the city limits may be built higher than the three churches.

One other tour of note was the tour of Charlottensburg Palace, the summer residence of the King of Prussia and the royal family in Berlin. Not surprisingly, it was over the top. It was really built for his queen Charlotte, but she did not get to enjoy as she died in 1704 I believe, three years after it opened.