Belgium/Netherlands/Germany

Guten Tag, Thursday, July 15, 2010

As I write this blog posting we are cruising through the Kiel Canal. The Kiel Canal cuts through northern Germany, connecting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is 61 miles long, and is the busiest artificial canal in the world. The alternative route would be to sail around the Jutland Peninsula (Denmark) but by taking the canal a ship saves 1 and a half days of sail time. We had never heard of it before this cruise. At any rate it is not very wide and we see people walking along the canal waving to us. The countryside is beautiful with picturesque villages and farms along the way. We pass many boats going in the opposite direction.

We boarded our ship, the Regatta, Monday about 1:30 and are having a wonderful time. All of Monday was spent in port at Dover. We only had a 60 mile trip the first night to Zeebrugge so the ship did not leave port until 10:00. We spent Monday eating, unpacking, eating, exploring the ship, eating, reading and eating. Much like Madison was required by law to drool all over the displays of chocolate in Harrods, we too are required by law to be gluttens on this cruise. The food has been excellent. A few highlights: Lynda had a whole lobster as well as a filet mignon one evening. Tim tried sushi for the first time in his life with the aid of a couple from Los Angeles that we dined with who were experienced in eating sushi. Who knows what culinary treats await us!

Tuesday we took a taxi into Brugges, Belgium. It is a charming little town with lovely gingerbread type buildings and many canals. In fact, it seems so much like a fairy tale scene that it doesn’t really feel like a real town. We visited a beautiful church that has a Michelangelo Madonna and Child that is strikingly different from the Pieta in St. Peter’s in Rome. It is said to be the only one of Michelangelo’s sculpture’s moved from Italy during his lifetime.

During the evening on Monday as we cruised from Zeebrugge toward Amsterdam, we were surprised to see several windmill farms in the middle of the North Sea. Each farm was a group of 40 to 50 windmills. Most fascinating was the fact that none of the vanes on these windmills were actually turning.

We have both been to Amsterdam before so we didn’t do any sightseeing to speak of. You can only visit the red light district so many times! We did spend the afternoon with Dan Trout. Dan is a very good friend of Jilayne’s from high school and college. He was also a former student of Tim’s. We visited the flower market and had lunch with Dan and than went back to his apartment where he was gracious enough to let us use his computer. We have discovered that internet time on our ship is very expensive so we are going to be depending on finding Internet Cafes at each of our ports of call in order to post our blogs and check e-mail. Needless to say, the area around Dan’s apartment was much nicer than the tourist areas in the very center of Amsterdam.

Today the entire day is being spent cruising. We are really enjoying having nothing to do. We took in a cooking demonstration this morning by the ship’s chef. (Anyone want to join us for terrine of foie gras and porcini mushrooms followed by lamb chops and polenta?) Lynda is playing bridge this afternoon and Tim hopes the opening round of the British Open will be on the TV in our stateroom. An aside to Madison - our state room is bigger than our hotel room in London! We presume there will be a sumptuous meal this evening. Tomorrow we will be docked at Warnemunde, Germany. Our original plan had been to take a cruise sponsored tour into Berlin. However, the three hour bus ride each way to Berlin has changed our mind. We will undoubtedly explore Warnemunde and hopefully find an internet café so that we can post this blog.

Auf Weidersehen!

Tim and Lynda


Wandermunde and Rostock addendum - July 16, 2010

Just got back from Rostock and we were unable to find a wifi to post our blog. So we will update you about today’s doings and hope to find someplace tomorrow in Copenhagen where we can post.

Our ship docked in Wandermunde, a popular seaside resort on the Baltic Sea in the North of Germany. We took a train into Rostock, about 20 minutes away by train. Rostock was a major center both economically and politically 600 years ago. Rostockers claim that the University of Rostock is the oldest university in Germany. From the train station we took a tram/trolley to the Neuer Market. It was a pretty plaza with a fresh fruit and meat market taking place in the middle. We walked down a lovely little pedestrian street towards the University. We did a little shopping along the way and enjoyed the city. It was nice to see shops that were basically locally owned or at least local German chains. We saw only a few of the ubiquitous stores that we see all across Europe. Found a nice restaurant for lunch where Tim enjoyed Weiner schnitzel. The highlight of Rostock was the Lutheran Basilica. Overall the church was not as ornate as the catholic cathedrals in Paris and Rome, but maybe a bit more than English churches. It was built in 1230 and miraculously survived the allied bombing during WW II. There was an amazing clock that was built in 1463 that not only showed the time but the day, month and year. And, it had a feature that showed the date that Easter would occur all the way through 2017. Now you may be thinking “big whoop, 2017” but think about it. The people back in 1463 probably were pretty astounded that the clock showed the date for Easter for the next 600 years. After leaving the church we got on a tram/trolley and rode around for a while just looking at the different neighborhoods of Rostock. Sound familiar Madison? We are now safely back aboard the Regatta relaxing.

It will be exciting to see what tomorrow brings in Copenhagen.

Tim and Lynda