Monday, July 29, 2013

Amsterdam....Rembrandt, bicycles, Van Gogh, canals....

.....and we,re only just coming down from a second hand smoke high! Probably the most exotic of all the cities we visited.....a surprise around every corner. An amazing morning at the Rembrandt House...it is almost eery to be within the very walls where he lived and worked...
Bicycles have right of way in this country and they take no prisoners...if you don,t hear the bell among the cacophony of sounds, you could be flattened.

Van Gogh museum was crowded....not too many of the well known pieces, more lesser known works...interesting his copies of Millet painting and those of other artists. Also his notes.........Again, great to see everything up close and realize that sometimes what you think is paint, is raw canvas..

Red light district.....yes, the girls are in the windows, yes the tourists are pushing each other down the narrow streets.....but only Bibi and I noticed the most amazing reflections in the canal......a fitting way to end the trip!


At Schiphol, leaving.























Friday, July 26, 2013

Koeln

Sunrise in Koln....

A self portrait.... Bibi still sleeping.







Bus and ship, and bus again...the Rhein and Koln

We have lost too many days through the lock strike. late Wednesday night we are told to pack up....we need to disembark the next morning, leaving the ship for good. The journey will continue by bus...

Early morning on the Rhine.....everything shrouded in fog....A cynic would be tempted to say, like thetravel plans.... But it is perhaps the most beautiful moment on the river


From Wertheim to ruedesheim by bus...en route the Johannisberg where we used to buy our wine....

Lunch in a "typical German" restaurant in Ruedesheim.....very Bavarian....am finally seeing germany from an "American" point of view....

then a ferry cruise down the Rhine to Boppard...vineyards and castles everywhere....and of course the Lorelei....


Then another 2 hours by bus to Koln...the Hilton. So some great views from the hotelroom.

Great confusion, great unhappiness among the passengers.

























Wuerzberg...

.....spending time on board.....lots to see from the balcony....

Andrea, Dietmar,s niece,came to bring me medicine...couldn,t board because of landing difficulties, but some agile seaman managed to bring it...


The fresco ceilings by Tiepolo in the Residenz are spectacular....maybe next time...













Bamberg

Another picturesque town, more quirky corners....4 ship tours there simulteously, almost a thousand tourists....an art to take photos without body parts. But some quirky juxtapositions of old and new....and mysterious body parts protruding..

Missed the Picasso exhibit unfortunately....it was a Monday and the museums are closed...

Stumble-stones....had first seen the in Berlin a few years ago. Brass cobblestones with inscriptions to commemorate Holocaust victims, set into the sidewalk...

An unconnected tap mysteriously running water....

Reflections of buildings in hat stores....

Just a pretty town...



















Monday, July 22, 2013

Nuernberg: Albrecht Duerer and Adolf Hitler

Sunday.....another bus, another city. Nuernberg, 700 years old,, 90 percent destroyed during the war, all rebuilt with the original stone by the women of Nuernberg. From the Kaiserburg, a view over the red tile roofs remind of Florence. Windowboxes everywhere.

Albrecht Duerer was not home....his house is closed to visitors on Sunday. The Nazi Rally Ground was open....

I actually opted not to go to Nuernberg....but Bibi did not miss it and neither should you...

I cruised along the Rhein Danube canal all day, watching people on bicycles, camping....noted the number of houses with solar energy along the way.....







Sunday, July 21, 2013

Locks, locks and more locks...

We spend a lot of time in locks.....16 since yesterday....just thought I,d show you what the look like on the inside....


Since we,ve entered the Rhein-Danube canal, we,ve been transported DOWN....before that, we were transported up....just thought you,d want to know. Also, going through locks during the day is soundless.....at night is accompanied by horrendous clanking of chains and rusted mechanical bits....just so you know...