Search for the Big Ball of Yarn

April 30, 2013

Hello! We boarded the Helvetia Sunday afternoon. Our luggage followed us on the ship and we were shown to our cabin very quickly, without ever showing any identification or documents. It’s like flying around in the EU. Once you are in, you’re in!

We enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon, unpacking, checking out the ship and relaxing. This is a lot bigger than the 8 person barge we left but much smaller than other cruises we have taken on Oceania. There are about 190 passengers on board. Most of the passengers are from the US. It’s a long boat with 4 floors. We have a lovely big picture window. It is so nice to be able to see out; except for the times we are docked right next to another ship or within easy view of the dock. But that isn't too often.

Monday was a morning tour to walk around and climb up a windmill in Kinderdijk. We looked outside and saw the wind blowing very, very hard, the rain falling sideways and said to each other “nah, we don’t need to tromp around in the cold to see a windmill.” So we relaxed, played cards and stayed warm. Several people told us we didn't miss much. After lunch we sailed for Cologne, Germany. There are so many interesting bridges and buildings. The sun came out and it was a nice afternoon.

I took a nap and we played cards, learned about Dutch cheese and had a wonderful dinner. The evening entertainment was a man who plays the piano with electronic drums. He sings all songs, Willie Nelson, Elvis, Billy Joel and etc. the same way, with an Eastern European accent. Those of you that are Ombudsmen and go into 6 beds know what I mean. Kind of odd, but its ok.

This morning the boat docked at Zons to let us off, and then took off to dock in Cologne. We rode a bus to Cologne. I don’t know what they pipe into the buses, but I fall asleep every time we got on a bus! In any case we got to Cologne driving through beautiful scenery. They have a neat tour system on this boat. You give up your room key for a bus token and id card. Then you go find your bus and get on. In each of our rooms we are given a “Quiet Vox.” It’s a small listening device with an ear phone. The tour leader speaks into his speaker box and you can hear him perfectly. It’s so nice to not miss anything because the tour leader doesn't yell loud enough, or you aren't close enough. Nice idea. In any case, we met our tour guide and walked to the St Peter and St Paul cathedral. This cathedral was begun in 1248 and finished over 600 years later. Talk about job security! It is magnificent. It had some damage during WWII but they have been rebuilding it. They currently employ 60 people to maintain the cathedral. It is made of limestone and is very dirty from pollution.

See that gold coffin in the nave? That coffin holds the bones of the 3 wise men. Well, at least we think so. They hold someone's bones and for centuries people have been coming here to worship these bones of the 3 wise men.

Luckily, some people saw that the war was not going to end well for Cologne and they took down the beautiful stained glass windows and hid them. It took 50 years to put the windows back up.

And the newest stained glass window was just installed in 2008. It is so pretty. The Archbishop doesn't like it because it’s too “modern.” Oh well, everyone else likes it, especially me.

You gotta love all the random stuff on these Gothic churches. This is a door handle.

We walked around Cologne with our guide and learned more about the architecture. During WWII there were 286 bombing runs on Cologne. These bombings pretty much turned Cologne into nothing but rubble. When the guide told us the number of bombings I thought “Well, if Germany hadn't bombed and/or invaded France, Poland, Holland, Czechoslovakia, England, Italy and etc. there would be no need to bomb Cologne!” So, because very little was left standing in Cologne the head guys decided to just build whatever they could, fast after the war. So beautiful architecture wasn't really a focus. What was built were typical buildings of the 1950s and 60s. Boxy…

The Romans settled here 2,000 years ago and in Cologne anything new being built takes forever because they find some archaeological site. Here's a dining room floor dated 50 AD. Wow! It's in amazing condition.

After our tour was over we walked along the shore of the Rhine a bit, did some shopping and had some lunch. Here’s a shout out to our soon to be daughter in law Joy. You would love the beer here!

For lunch I had a pizza-like dish. It’s a very thin cracker crust with a crème fraise, then goat cheese, honey and rosemary. It was delicious. BC had a very typical German meal, Rheiniseher Saurbraten. It is beef that is marinated in vinegar and a sweet raisin sauce for a week then cooked. It comes with delicious red cabbage and a potato dumpling. We washed this all down with a Bavarian beer. All while sitting along the shore at a small café.

I forgot to mention when we were in Amsterdam that Queen Beatrix is stepping down from her throne for her son Wilhelm Alexander today. Everything and everyone was dressed in orange and ready to party! This will be the first time Holland will have a King in about 100 years. They've had Queens for a century. Queen Beatrix asked us to stay on, but we hated to miss our cruise.

Tonight is a big deal here in Cologne. It is, as best as I can tell, “the day before May 1^st. “ Young men who are in love go to the forest and cut down a birch tree and decorate it with ribbons. Then they plant it in front of the window of the home of the young woman they love. The bigger the tree the more he loves her. So tonight will be a party night. We will have a front row seat as our cabin window faces all the cafes along the shore. We may go out and have another beer this evening. BC says my tree will be the biggest, most decorated of all the trees! I can hardly wait!