DANUBE & RHINE BLOG 04
(Apology: Sorry if these blog-entries have been delayed and less-frequent than you’d like. We’re experiencing ongoing problems getting internet access from the ship. Hopefully things will improve.)
Wednesday May 12, 2010
We woke up yesterday in our lovely Amadeus Elegant cabins … shared a finger-lickin’-good breakfast in the restaurant … then drove into the countryside to a quaint one-time-fishing-village-now-famous-tourist-attraction. Volendam hugs the shoreline of a vast lake, the Zuider Zee – which used to be a shallow inlet of the North Sea, before the enterprising Dutch closed it off with a massive dam.
We wandered through the beautiful town … sampled its coffee and apple cake (applegebak) … and then sampled cow, goat and sheep cheeses at a nearby cheese factory.
Then it was back into Amsterdam and back on board, where we set sail at last along the Amsterdam Rijnkanaal, through the flat polder landscape of Southern Holland to (as night fell) the old Hanseatic city Nijmegen.
We were tempted to sleep-in today and sneak an extra hour or two under our nice warm duvets. After all, the temperature outside was a bone-chilling 8ºC. But we resisted the urge, because shortly after midday we docked in Cologne. This famous city, founded by the Romans, has long been an important trading centre – and is dominated by its vast Gothic Cathedral, started in 1248 as a pilgrimage church to house the relics of the three Magi. The two teetering spires (which weren’t completed until 1880) are 157 metres high!
We walked the cobbled streets of the old town and marvelled at the Cathedral (outside and in) – before returning to the Amadeus Elegant for our evening dinner.
Which reminds me: it has not been hard finding something to eat on board. For example …
LUNCH today was a four-course affair offering the following choices:
Appetisers
- Asian Beef Salad with vegetables & sprouts in sesame dressing
- Country Baguette with beans, bacon & chilli
Soups
- Cream of Spinach Soup with chopped eggs
- Clear Chicken Soup with peppers & spring onions
Mains
- Pan Fried Fillet of Hoki served with almond butter, buttered carrots & steamed rice
- Traditional Konigsberger Klopse (poached veal meatballs) in creamy caper sauce served with beetroot & salted potatoes
- Spaghetti with vegetable Bolognaise sauce & parmesan cheese
Desserts
- Crème Caramel with fresh fruit salad
- Pistachio Ice Cream with blackberry sauce
Then at DINNER tonight it just got worse:
Appetisers
- Roulade of Smoked Salmon with sour cream & mustard-dill sauce
- Chef’s Salad
Soups
- Cream of White Bean with roasted bacon
- Beef Consommé with carrot juice & port wine
Mains
- Grilled Fillet of Ocean Perch on Asian vegetables, snow peas & Basmati rice
- Whole Roasted Turkey Breast on cranberry sauce served with grilled oyster mushrooms & mashed potatoes
- Quiches Lorraine (leek & onion tart) with chives & sour cream
Desserts
- Black & White Chocolate Mousse with fresh fruit salad
- Rum & Raisin Ice Cream with caramel sauce & whipped cream
It’s a tough life, I tell you, and I’m not at all sure if our brave Kiwi adventurers will last the distance. Spare them a thought and a prayer, will you?
PEOPLE NEWS: Another one bites the dust …
* The ‘Amazing Grace Award goes to Edgar – who went AWOL in the Cologne Cathedral and had everybody looking for him. Turns out he had climbed 550 steps up inside the tower for a bird’s-eye view, and eventually arrived back happy as a sand-boy. Another case of “I once was lost but now am found …”?
TOMORROW: We continue along a spectacular stretch of the Rhine, past castles galore, and do some leg-work in Koblenz and Rudesheim …
Yours bloggedly – JOHN
PS: If you want to leave a message for someone in our group, just click on ‘COMMENTS’ (or ‘NO COMMENTS’) beside the title for the day’s blog, and type away! Make sure you say who it’s for and who it’s from – and keep it brief.
Hi Christina & Daryl Scott – What a fantastic time you guys are having – have been following the Blog feel like Im on the trip with you both – Love from Lyn & John Nicol
Hi Patricia Luskie
sounds like you are having a great time.. All well here apart from my car so hope you don;t mind but borrowihng yours. Love from Joanne Rebecca, amber and Madison
Mum (Jan) finally we get to see you in a photo – even if it is sitting at the dinner table! Have been getting your txts and emails ok – make sure you take lots of photos on board the ship just in case it is the same one we go on! Don’t be cold, just go and buy a couple of bits of warm clothing!!! Love from us! xxx
Hi John & Robyn
Volendam, applegebuk & coffee, windmills & lovely meals on the ship – that all sounds like us! Sounds like you’re having a wonderful time.
We’re off to Oz in a few days – just been talking to Denis. Doug K has had a minor heart attack & is in Middlemore. The angiogram has shown that he needs triple-bypass surgery – I joke not!! Prob wn’t happen until we return from Oz… hopefully.
Talk again soon…
Love from A & V xxx
Hi Noel & Joce!
How’s the German coming along? Sprechen zie Deutsch??
Sounds like you guys are all having a blast… well, at least a blast of cold air, but I hope a good time too!
It’s been piss…isting with rain here for the last couple of hours, so Noel I hope you’ve got your kids organised to mow your lawn or it’ll be a jungle when you get back!
What part of our days aren’t filled with work are now filled with visiting Val’s dad at the hosp (refer J & R). He’s lapping up the attention, I might add… from his visitors as well as the pretty nurses!
Have a few coffees & applegebuks for us, will you? Meanwhile, have a wonderful time.
Love from A & Vxxx
Hi Elaine & Bill and also Hilary,
Hope that the weather has improved for you. You can always eat up large to keep warm from the sound of the menus. Torrential rain here today. Joy staying over for the night and she has enjoyed reading of your doings too.
P&O Cruise all on for the 13th for Joy so she is very happy! As are Marie & Beryl. Thanks Bill for starting this!
Love Brenda Graeme & Joy.
PS So pleased you had a pleasant lunch with Mark & Sandra.
Hilary(Mum):
The Netherlands look magnificent as did the Junk in the Singapore Harbor. Laughed at its ornate decoration. However, I am convinced that you may not actually be on the Cruise–I have searched for your head in photos but alas did not find you. I guess you are going hard and have not enough patience to stand still for a photo. Noentheless, hope you continue to enjoy and praying that the temperatures will rise foe you.
Love Linda
Hi Elaine and Bill,
Sorry we didn’t connect before you left. This blog is a great way to travel with you. It all looks amazing. Love the flowers.Hope you went on the Singapore flyer. I found that an amazing experience. Relieving disappeared into funding problems!but weeks already filling. Can’t imagine how I could go to work. The heat of Asia long gone from my bones. Enjoy every minute.
Love Joy