Towns along the Main-Danube Canal

Warzburg on the Main River has a beautiful residence for the Bishop- built in the same era as Versailles-with many artistic decorations in the rooms- used for grand receptions as well as daily meetings and conferences and living for the prince-bishops family.  It looked all fancy and ginormous and frescoed, and gilded and such, but was one of the few places where pictures are not allowed; no idea why they don't allow them- but I can't show you any.  

We then drove through the beautiful farmland countryside to the town of Rothenberg- a walled medieval city with many decorated buildings with those great metal signs hanging out with symbols and figurines representing the shop or craft.  We will have to get our iron (and gold) working equipment so that we can make cool signs that distinguish our houses.  Noah-you can start with your sign- Brown Abbey- because we all like to gather there.  Once you've got the hang of it you can make our house sign.  The prince-bishops call their large houses "residences"- they often have an old and a new one, so maybe our sign can say Brown Residence-with flags representing the five families. It will be a side business.  You're going to love it!

Some very interesting rooflines.

And great gated archways- the gates are no longer needed to keep the ad guys out-all are now welcome to stay and eat and buy things.  Every street or alley is enchanting.

Then we drove two hours to Bamberg to get on the new ship because that's where it was waiting for us.  Some of the ships still couldn't get up from Vienna but we are supposed to be able to get down.  In the morning we saw Bamberg on a walking tour.  That was pretty good although it was "stinking hot" as somebody we know would say.  So Judy stayed on the ship after lunch and heard a lecture from someone from town and I went back and got all hot and sweaty again to walk along the streets and river, and saw a ceramics museum located in the old town hall that was built on an island to unite the two sides of the town long ago.

 They seem to have trails and parks along the rivers and canals.  I walked just upstream from town and entered a park that goes for a mile- with concessions and fenced off areas for picnicking and swimming.  The American River parkway is a good start- but we should continue to creat more parks for access to our waterways. They have had locks for a long time- here is one along the river (for bypassing rapids) along one of the parkways in Bamberg.

The next morning we awoke on the canal in Nuremberg and had a bit of a drive around tour as well as a walking tour which we enjoyed together- the walls were quite large with a very big moat around the entire town-maybe a half mile across.  The town was an important trade town with some artists and another prince-bishop.  The Nazis selected it as their demonstration town for huge rallies. We saw the Nazi parade ground and got out and looked at it for a few minutes.  We drove by the Nuremberg courthouse where the first war criminals were tried.  We had started the morning with someone coming on board and giving us a lecture on WWII through now.  It had to be cut short because we were leaving for our tour-we need longer days to experience all of these towns and river wonders.  After the tour we walked around town on our own, ate lunch at the Market Plaza, saw towers, walked over quaint bridges, took lots of pictures of half-timbered houses, went to Albrecht Durer's house, and lastly had Starbucks before we took the last bus back to the boat.  We heard another lecture from our Cruise Manager, who we like a lot, about locks and such on the Main-Danube canal.  All of the rivers in Europe have locks and dams- with many river barges moving cargo and lots of river cruise ships these days.  The canal really is an engineering marvel- three of the locks have 100 feet lifts.  

This canal was completed in 1992, but many of the river locks and dams were completed in the 1930s and then in the 1950s through 1970s as part of the after WWII reconstruction.  Do you want to see more of my lock and dam pictures?

Main River Days

One of the fun things about a river cruise is that you wake up in a different place each morning.  So far on the ship, we woke on the first morning in Amsterdam, we woke on the second morning cruising up the Rhine River towards Cologne, where we stopped just after lunch.  On the third morning we woke  at Boppard, in the Rhine gorge and on our walking tour after breakfast, church bells were ringing at a couple of churches, because it was Sunday.  On the fourth morning we woke in Frankfurt and on the fifth morning we woke in Mittenburg, a delightful town with great decorations on the stone and half timbered houses (with shops below). On the sixth morning we woke in Wuzburg, and on the seventh morning we woke in Bamberg (here) on our second ship, the River Princess.  Our week on the river cruise has been busy but enjoyable; eating in the restaurant looking out full length windows into the forsets and fields and town along the Maine River is quite enchanting.  Sailing to Wazburg we had an outdoor concert on the deck; really fun with songs from many European countries.    

Because of the flooding two weeks ago, many cruise ships were stuck for various reasons and our ships, River Duchess could not make it over the locks connecting the Danube with the Main.  While we visited Rathensburg yesterday, our luggage was transferred from the River Queen in Wazburg to the River Princess in Bamberg.  The people coming west had to drive about 6 hours on a bus to get from where they had made it to on the Danube to the River Queen.  We are all thankful that Uniworld was able to rearrange ships and allow our cruise to continue on schedule, with just this one transfer.  Beginning next week all ships are supposed to be back on their schedules and physically back on track. 

Frankfurt was on the Main River, and we sailed upstream through a series of locks that were built in the  1930's when many other river development projects were also beginning (like TVA).  The river is controlled during floods and kept high during the summer with locks and dams.  Each has a hydropower plant (on left) that produced electricity for the electric trains.  Here is the captain of our first ship River Queen, controlling the ship through a lock (out of view on the right) from the side deck.  

 Mittenburg is a very beautiful bavarian looking town, which has been preserved to the present time.  It is still a very popular place to live, with bakery, butcher, shoes, clothes shops along town; our guide says people shop each day, and go to the farmers market for fruits and vegetables, and once a month go to the large grocery store for staples and canned or frozen The shop signs are very creative- hanging way out into the street, with symbols representing their craft (baker, cobbler).  

Many pastel colored buildings and carved or painted half-timbered designs.

Around every corner are new beautiful sights- just like around the bends in the rivers.

Gorgeous Gorge of the Rhine

The Rhine River flows through a gorge (narrow valley) cut through a range of mountains (hills) upstream of Cologne; the valley walls are 250-500 feet high.  The river is faster and more constrained, and there are towns along both banks, alternating from side to side, spaced sometimes just 1-2 miles apart.  A few larger cities with churches town halls and hotels are located where various tributary rivers join the Rhine.  This is the castle corridor of the Rhine.  Most of them are high on the hills or on large rock outcroppings; many are just stone ruins, but several have been maintained or restored, with museums or hotels. Here are a few of the beautiful views.  

There is a lot of traffic moving through the gorge.  There are railroads on both sides, roads on both sides, and a steady stream of barges and boats. For the boat traffic there are several radars located on the points, and the captains are able to view the radar remotely- it works well and we saw no collisions.  

We stopped at two towns along the gorge during the day- and watched from the top deck during the rest of the day.  

The second town was Rudesheim- and we had dinner onshore at a restaurant from 1729- with a music band and a clock that had 16 bells on the outside wall and little people that came out on a carousel movement- we listened to the bells three times, 7 pm to 9 pm, and then sailed overnight to Frankfurt.

We slept past the walking tour time, and went into town and rode a hop on hop off double deck bus- a good way to view the city without walking as much.  It was very warm, over 40 C (104 F).  The city is built on both sides of the River Main with 20 museums along one side, pedestrian bridges crossing, and a parkway along the other side.  The old town has several great buildings, but the city also has the most modern buildings of any other European city.  

The Main River is smaller than the Rhine River, and the water level is controlled- except in the highest floods- by the upstream locks; there are 100 locks on the Main.  We are traveling most of the way up the Main to Bamberg- but that is around another bend.    

Inspiring Spires

We arrived in Cologne after sailing for 18 hours overnight from Amsterdam along the Rhine Canal, with two locks and then upstream 150 miles.  The river engineering in Netherlands is very impressive, with waterways going everywhere and many (hundreds) of river boats of every sort. I took a few pictures along the beautiful canal countryside- mostly dairy grazing as far as I could see with small factories along the way; bridges every few miles (kilometers)- some just for trains and others just for bicycles.  I'm pretty sure we can stop preparing bridge EIRs- and just build more bridges.  The Rhine looks like the Mississippi, but without levees; only a few flood walls for some towns.  There are green over-banks with large trees-and cottonwood seeds floating down like snow.  The Europeans really use their rivers to move lots of goods in bulk, container, tanker and car barges-most are river boats-with the engine and living quarters connected with the barge.  The river has many factories along its length, as well as several large ports from Rotterdam to Bern (850 km navigable). The captain gave a great talk on river navigation and assured us that he can steer accurately with radar at night- no auto-pilot because the river is always bending.  He told us about the river captain exam- he needed to know (memorize) the navigation details of every port, bridge and lock along each major river.  He passed.

Here is our first lock- a guillotine lock- which held our ship (35 ft x 350 ft) easily in one half of the lock, with a tanker behind us.  The lock gates are lowered and lift gates open at the bottom, so no water pumping is needed.  But we will be passing bridges and locks with very limited head room- so our top deck railings will be lowered and the pilot house is lowered 5 feet in some parts of the rivers.

We passed under some very large bridges and around a bend to reveal the Dom (latin) cathedral of Cologne.  The towers are hard to believe- such intricate carving and ornamentation.  It was built of stone between 1350 and 1880 using the original design.  Most of Cologne was bombed, yet the cathedral remained- most of the stained glass had been removed and the roof was damaged, but most of the buildings around it were totally demolished as part of the war effort to destroy the industrial heart of Germany.  Such terrible and needless waste and tragedy for everyone; armies, civilians, jews, workers.

We wonder what motivated the catholic church to build such majestic, yet costly cathedrals?  We wonder how many were building it for God the creator of heaven and earth? The cathedrals have lots of visitors today, but do many look up past the spires to Jesus the Lord of Life?  "Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable. Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ." I Peter 2:4-5

God wants to build us up-individually through belief and faith in the God who is really here- and together to serve Him and love Him by loving and serving others, in grace. We cannot build ourselves up like a cathedral reaching to God.  We are not able to reach God; He must reach us.

Also in Cologne is the museum of chocolate; sponsored by Lindt.  Fascinating to see the story of discovery in Central America, importing to Europe as part of the golden age of trade, and now enjoyed by most of us.  We learned a little about recent efforts to control child labor and provide a higher standard of living for cocoa farmers/processors- similar to the efforts for coffee growers.  Jeremy- Republic of Congo has only about 1% of the cocoa trade as Cameron- Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire produce the most- better suggest ROC needs to increase this lucrative jungle trade. We need to get to bed so we can rise early- we enter the scenic castle section of the Rhine starting at 7 am.  Can't miss those picture opportunities for river roaming.  

More Days in Amsterdam

We started our day with breakfast at a Dutch Pancake House on the canal; decorated in fairy tale colors and carvings- like the Black Forest of Brothers Grimm.  The giant pancakes were the size of medium pizzas, with strawberries and whipped cream- very delicious. We had left our tour book in a locker at the Jewish History Center.  We wanted to stop in and see if our book had been found, and thankfully it was.  But this was the part of town where the trolleys were not running because of track repairs, and the other nearby lines never seemed to go where we thought they would go.  We kept going around and around- including a trolley traffic circle.  To turn right we went around 270 degrees and then exited the circle.  Finally after an hour we had to walk- but we were rewarded with the return of the colorful DK book.  

We went across the street to the Portuguese Synagogue which is a walled compound with a large cube building in the middle; built in 1675 following after Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.  These Jews were chased out of Spain and Portugal by the catholics and settled in Amsterdam- and established various businesses-but were not allowed to join the established trade guilds.  The library is the oldest surviving Jewish library with works in many different languages.  The inside is still without electricity or heat- look at the large candelabras- that still use candles for light.  Judy noticed the sand on the floor and dust on the wooden pews; does anyone know why they do not clean the synagogue?  Again we wonder how God is using history and persecution to preserve His words and promises to His people, and provide for a remnant to believe?

  

Next we walked along a canal to the ship museum, located in an old marine warehouse- built of stone and brick with a great vaulted basement.  They have a replica of one of the Dutch East Indies trading ships- always fun to visit a ship, but not to actually sail the seven seas (too cold and wet and big). 

We had lunch and went in search of another canal house- but stopped along the way at the Dutch resistance museum; describing the efforts of the Dutch to live under Nazi occupation, but then to resist as the Nazis began to round up and send the jews to work camps and concentration/death camps.  This is where the Anne Frank story and the Corrie Ten Boom stories fit together.  All Dutch soldiers and other men were eventually sent to Germany to work; and many died there. There were 300,000 jews and other families being hidden in the Netherlands. Perhaps the worst time was the last year-the allied efforts to free Europe didn't reach Amsterdam until about a year after D-day; the Dutch railroad workers had stopped helping the Nazis and so food and fuel for civilians (those hiding and those hidden) was in very short supply.  

The taxi driver taking us from our hotel to our ship told us all school children learn French, German, and English as well as Dutch, but they prefer English-perhaps because of their history. We are all traveling a river of history, with many branches and tributary streams; where we have been gives us an inertia that is difficult to direct or divert.  Somehow God is using everything to work (provide protect direct and redeem) His chosen followers-as Calvin might say.  Are you under His guidance and direction, or just being tossed about by the storms and floods of the river called life? The Dutch have given us many good characteristics of free trade and hard work and religious freedom, and it was good to explore for a few days these historical roots of many American ideals- the Pilgrims sailed from here, after all.      

We had 3 hours until check-in so we rode the trolley one more time to the Van Gogh museum, back near our hotel (still traveling in circles) and saw the diamond museum-another jewish connection- and circled through the 3 floors of the colorful paintings in an hour or so.  We had purchased the museumkart- and so all the places we visited for these 4 days was pre-paid for 50 euros- a great Dutch investment- and just like Disneyland

Then we stopped at the flower market to buy a few Delft Blue souvenirs, and rode the trolley back to central station and walked under a bridge to the harbor and to our ship the River Queen.  

We will be taking another canal boat tour and going to see the Rijks museum- which has been under renovation for 10 years and opened just last month.  We are unpacked in our cabin and ready for serious river roaming tomorrow afternoon.  With our first three delicious and elegant meals to tide us over. 

If its Tuesday, this must be Amsterdam

We woke up on Amsterdam time and made it to the buffet breakfast.  The construction men began their work for the day and off we went.  Our first stop was the flower market- shops on barges along one of the canals.  Then we went to the Amsterdam history museum; a nice display tracing the history of Netherlands and some of its people.  They made lots of money in world trade- and for a while claimed to be the capitol of the world.  Lots of fighting and rivalry along the way.  Lots of jews migrating here because of persecution in other places; so lots of craftsmen (diamonds and silver) and businesses.  Here is a great shot of the silver chests that rich families kept- like a safe.

Then we visited a canal house (double-wide) owned by a rich couple who collected art- and without children donated their house and collection to the city as a museum.  Our favorite room was the kitchen; painted in our yellow color with a cabinet that looks similar to ours- good taste Willetts!

Then we switched to the Jewish museum- with historical displays in the old synagogue; restored after WW II by the few jews that survived the holocaust. The reverence the Jews have for God's word (reading through the Torah each year) and preserving their faith in God's promises for redemption and a Messiah was worth pausing to consider.

And we made it into Anne Frank's secret annex where her family was hidden for over a year and where she wrote her diary that was saved by one of the women bringing them food and newspapers who was not captured when someone turned them in.  And the jewish quarter was located right where the river Amstel comes to an end at a small dam that blocks it near its mouth; the water now flows east and west into the canals of Amsterdam.  So we were roaming today along the Amstel River through Amsterdam on a Tuesday. 

Amsterdam Stairs

We arrived in Amsterdam and took a taxi to our Apple Inn hotel; the taxi driver said "your hotel is under construction" after seeing a big dumpster at the entrance. Judy asked the construction men where to go, and they said "next door".  The second surprise was the stairs; they are very steep with no elevator.  The basic Dutch house is 3 or 4 stories, each with 12-14 feet ceilings but only 10-20 feet wide.  The stairs are therefore very steep; perhaps based on a ship design (ladders).

We visited a house with a Catholic Church built into the top three stories; for 200 years they were not allowed to have a public church- after the alteration of 1578 only protestant churches were allowed.  And we went into the Oude and Nieuwe Kerks- the first two cathedrals in town-taken over and stripped of their decorative arts during the alteration. Both had wooden arch ceilings; neither is still open, although the Nieuwe one is used for coronations- most recently for King Wilhelm III? in April 2013.  And we went on a canal boat tour.  We are here and the City is full of new sights.

 

Amsterdam Preview

We are preparing to leave for Amsterdam on Sunday.  Everyone else is preparing to have us leave.

Have you heard that Passau, one of the towns on our cruise, is underwater with a 500-year flood (highest since 1504).  They have 20 days to drain and clean before out arrival.


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(Google Images)