Greetings all,
I hope this email finds you in good health and ready for Tuesday. Hopefully, you voted early.
After our visit to Berlin in late September (covered in my last email), Nick and I boarded a train to Basel, Switzerland to meet up with my sister Bonnie and brother-in-law Randy. On October 1, we all boarded our Viking River ship for an 8-day cruise on the Rhine River, with scheduled stops in Germany and France, before landing at our final destination in the Netherlands. About two months prior to our departure, I read an article about the effects of the record heatwave that engulfed Europe this summer that created draught-like conditions, which has particularly affected the Rhine and Danube rivers. About that same time, Viking notified us about the possibility of potential changes to our route, if indeed the water level was too low in areas. Viking monitors water levels every hour of every day and assured us that they would keep us informed. They assured us that they were fully prepared to make whatever changes were needed. Our friends, John and Sylvia, were scheduled to travel on the Danube river with a different cruise line at the same time and had also been warned of potential changes.
From Basel we sailed to Breisach, Germany, gateway to the Black Forest region of Germany, and spent much of the day touring this small town and the surrounding area. Overnight we sailed to Strasbourg, France for day three of our cruise and spent most of the day touring this charming city. The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, was a highlight. It's so big and magnificent from the outside that it was impossible for me to get a good photo of it. Construction started on it in 1015 and was completed in 1439. Inside is a fabulous astronomical clock which calculates rare astronomical events and includes a planetary display, in addition to telling the time. Of all the cathedrals I've visited in Europe, I found this one the most impressive.
While in Strasbourg, we were informed that the ship could go no farther into Germany due to low water levels, therefore, Viking had to change the itinerary. That evening we packed our bags and the following morning we were transported by bus from Strasbourg to Brussels, Belgium by way of Luxembourg, where we stopped for a few hours to have lunch. Upon arrival in Brussels, we boarded an identical ship. Our luggage had already been delivered to our rooms. Different ship, different crew, only the cruise director remained the same. The following day we enjoyed a tour of old town Brussels and the historic square before sailing to Antwerp later that day. On day 6 of our cruise we enjoyed a tour of Antwerp's historic downtown and then had time to explore on our own in the afternoon. That evening we sailed to Kinderdijk, in the Dutch countryside. Kinderdijk is a UNESCO world heritage site and home to 19 working windmills from the 18th century. Much of this area is below sea level, and windmills were built to pump water out of the low-lying areas. This was the original method of Dutch water management. We took a fascinating tour of one of these windmills that has been preserved exactly as it was when inhabited by a family with 11 children! These windmills all had outhouses and cooking sheds and some had gardens as well. It is hard to visualize how a family this size managed to live in such a cramped space with so few beds. These days the remaining 18 windmills are inhabited and have been updated to include indoor plumbing, kitchens and internet. Current tenants are required to keep them in working order. Interestingly, descendants of one of the original millers, Jacob Hoek, who himself came to live there in 1745, have lived and worked some of these windmills and continue to this day. It's a fascinating place to tour.
While we missed making it to four cities in Germany, my impression is that Viking did their best to make it up to us, give us a good experience, and offer a substantial discount on our next cruise. I can't fault them for draught conditions and I do wonder if Viking and all river cruise lines will have to make changes to their itineraries in upcoming years should climate change continue to heat up the EU. We enjoyed meeting a variety of people on the cruise and have established some really special friendships. And yes, our friends cruising on the Danube also ran into problems and experienced changes to their itinerary as well.
A couple we knew from our days living in Dallas was in Porto a few weeks ago, and we got to enjoy drinks and dinner with them down on the riverfront. Courtney and I were patrol partners when we were fighting neighborhood crime in old East Dallas back in the late 1990's to early 2000's. It was great to catch up with them.
We're anxiously awaiting voting results next week and hope for a blue tsunami.
Adeus, abraços e beijos,
MaryLou