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Sept 29 - Home

9/30/2019

 
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Our Travelers in front of the Cologne Cathedral
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After breakfast, we departed for our transfer to Brussels and return home.  It has been a great trip, with great friends.  But, it's good to be home.

This is the last travelogue blog until January when we leave for Arabian Adventure followed by The Best of Kenya and Tanzania in February.  If you've received this message, you're subscribed to the blog.  Stand by to hear about those adventures.  

Happy and safe travels.
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Our Itinerary

September 28 - Bruges

9/29/2019

 
Bruges - GCT Photo
Lovers Lake
Chris took us for a second walking tour this morning.  We covered some of the same ground as we covered yesterday with our local guide, but he pointed out a few treasures we'd missed.  We ended the tour with a sampling of one of the local specialties - waffles.  The local waffles are heavy and sweet, not light and fluffy as we'd expected Belgium waffles to be.  We tried them plain, with caramel and chocolate.  They are delicious any way you eat them!  Cholcolates are famous here too!
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You can get waffles with many different toppings
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Thank you Audrey for the waffle photos
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Windmills just at the edge of town
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Home for single women
We had the rest of the day at leisure.  Some did some last minute shopping, some enjoyed a harp concert, and some of us headed to the north side of town to find the pub Rand and I discovered while here four years ago.  We found it and they still have Straffe Hendrik Quadruple, probably our favorite beer in the world, on tap.
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De Verloren Hoek, home of Straffle Hendrik Quadruple on tap
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Straffle Hendrik Quadruple - YUM!
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Randall, me, Chris, Gayle, Glenda, Audrey and Skip
At 5 PM we gathered in the hotel bar for our farewell drink and toast to a great trip.  We said a sad goodbye to our Chris our Program Director and our fellow travelers.  We all arise early tomorrow for our return flights.

September 27 - Bruges • Optional Flanders Field Tour

9/28/2019

 
Flanders Fields - GCT Photo
Flanders Fields - GCT Photo
We set off on a walking tour of this former capital of Flanders.  Bruges dates from the 13th century and is a living museum with a treasure trove of fine architecture. From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Bruges was the most important trading center of northern Europe, based largely on its thriving wool and textile industries. You'll see signs of this mercantile history in the beautiful houses built by wealthy textile dealers.
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Our local guide kept us entertained with her stories of past and present Bruges
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Quaint houses line the canals
Following the walking tour, most hoped on a boat to experience Bruges from a different perspective.  A few of us saved our tickets to use the next day when hope the skies will be blue and the sun shining.  Then a visit to a lace shop to see some of the world's finest lacemakers at work, completed the morning tour of the city.  
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Our fellow travelers leaving on their boat ride. The sun came out for a few minutes to brighten their views.
Several of joined the optional excursion to Flanders Field to learn more about the World War I.  Our first stop was Ypres now known as the “City of Peace,”  where we visited the interactive Flanders Field Museum.  Later we toured the battlefields and cemeteries. After dinner at a local restaurant, we visited the Menin Gate Memorial and listened to the buglers from the local fire brigade who play there every night in remembrance of those lost in the war.  It was an informative excursion, and another sobering reminder of the horrors of war.
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The museum
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The cemeteries are beautifully maintained
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Entrance to a bunker
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The surgical bunker. The ceiling is too low for our taller travelers to stand straight.
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The trenches snake across the landscape. They are curved to minimize injuries.
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Susan in the trenches
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Glenda, Susan and Kay

September 26 - Return to U.S. or  Begin Bruges Post-trip

9/27/2019

 
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I just can't get enough canal/bicycle photos!
Today we said a sad ado to about half of our group who departed for home.  The rest of us boarded the bus for a full day transfer to our Bruges post-trip. 

This wasn't your ordinary bus transfer with boring stops at road-side rest areas, but one that took us through two fascinating a places, which deserve to be destinations on their own.

Delft, the Netherlands  - Delft is mainly known for its city center and canals, and for
the famous painter, Vermeer.  After a brief walking tour in the rain, we visited a porcelain factory, which has been in the same family for 4 generations.  We learned about the distinctive blue Delftware pottery and how to recognize the authentic article v. the Chinese knockoffs that are so readily  available.
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Fourth generation Delft potter
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A skilled artisan makes jewelry she's designed
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Traditional Delft pieces
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This plate shows the artisan's skill
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A Vermeer vignette allows me to pose as a milkmaid
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Another picturesque canal and bicycle
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Our first real encounter with rain on this trip
Ghent, Belgium - Our second stop was Ghent, which was originally a settlement set at the confluence of the Scheldt and Lys rivers.  During the Middle Ages, it became one of the largest and wealthiest cities in northern Europe.  We enjoyed a walking tour of this charming city and wondered why it's not a touristic hotspot.  
your hotel, and enjoy dinner on your own.
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Our city guide Wim tells about Ghent
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The beautiful buildings illustrate the historic wealth
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Ghent is known for it's waffles
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The buildings along the canal were guild houses
We arrived about 5 pm in Burges, originally a ninth-century fortress built to protect the Flemish coast from marauding Vikings.   Today Bruges retains its reputation as one of Europe’s best-preserved Old-World cities. The city’s centuries-old canal system, which was essential to its once thriving textile industry, beckens tourists to meander its narrow, winding streets in search of art, history, and fine chocolates.  Randall and I visited here several years ago.  It's one of our favorite European towns and home to our favorite beer in the world!  We look forward to exploring it's nooks and crannies again.​

September 25 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands

9/26/2019

 
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Amsterdam canal
We arrived in Amsterdam about an hour late because low water on the Rhine forced the boat to slow.  Not to fear - the schedule was once again re-arranged so we didn't miss a thing!

Today's discoveries of Amsterdam, the Venice of the North, began with a morning canal boat tour providing an unmatched vantage point to view the city's architectural achievements, including its famous tall and skinny row houses, many with tidy window boxes and hand-scrubbed stoops.
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On-Board the tour boat
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Carol captured this photo of Rand and me
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Canal
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Yes, those houses are crooked. They are built on pilings that are failing
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Bicycles everywhere
We disembarked in the museum near the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseums.  Some of us took buses back to the ship, others enjoyed the museum and still others headed north toward the Anne Frank House. 
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Excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank
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Anne Frank
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The Anne Frank House
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The bookcase that hides the hidden rooms
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The door behind the bookcase
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Stairway to the hidden rooms
Our last evening on board we enjoyed a Captain's drink and multi-course Farewell Dinner in the ship's dining room.  Then back to our cabins to Pack up as we're leaving the boat tomorrow.  Some of us will return home, others continue to Bruge for the post trip.
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The Captains Dinner
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Our Tour Director lead the "Yellow Group", so Chris and I posed in our yellow

Facts about our trip:

Vienna to Amsterdam - 950 miles on the 
Danube, Main and  Rhine Rivers

MS River Adagio:
  • constructed 2002
  • Length:  410 feet
  • Width:  38 Feet
  • Speed:  9.7 MPH upstream, 13, 4 mph downstream
  • 81 cabins
Some have asked how my knee is doing.   Thanks for asking.  In a word - Great!  I'm walking without crutches or brace while on board ship, but am still using the brace when walking the cobblestone streets.  It's pretty much pain free except after walking 10,000 steps or so, in which case both knees hurt-)
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