Mahalo Moment: Guinea Pig Love

Volunteering at

SPCA, guinea pig

snuggled in my lap.

His name is Coco.

Caramel and mocha stripes,

so sweet and loving.

I think he wants to

come home with me! The kitties

would be quite annoyed...  

Mahalo Moment: Urban Fowl During Morning Commute

Awesome new bike lanes

for riding to work. Whoa! That's

a big wild turkey!

Mahalo Moment: Avian Water Landing

McKinley Park pond --

Canadian Geese glide in

synchronized landing.

Flutter of wings as

webbed feet skim the surface. Six

geese, in harmony.

 

Waterways of Holland & Belgium (End of Trip)

Thursday, May 10: AMS > DUB > BOS > SMF

I was up at 5:15am to fit in a workout before needing to put my bag outside the cabin for pick-up at 6:30am. I kept my yoga mat, though, and did my daily practice before packing up the last of my stuff into my back-pack and heading to the restaurant to grab some snacks for breakfast later. Our airport transfer group left the ship at 7:15am, but we didn’t make it to the airport terminal until nearly 8:30am due to an accident that resulted in closure of one lane on the approach road to the terminals. Yikes! Just over an hour to check in our bags, get our boarding passes, go through passport control and security, and make it to the gate. Good thing we were able to get some assistance and jump on a little electric cart or we might not have made it on time!!

Our transfer in Dublin was less stressful but still a bit tight on time, primarily due to the need to pass through U.S. Pre-Clearance in Dublin prior to boarding the flight. This meant that we didn’t need to clear customs when we landed in Boston, which is somewhat convenient but definitely added more time to the overall transfer process. So glad we were in Business Class and could get comfy during the flight! Mom read and slept and played games on her Kindle, and I watched 3 movies (“Molly’s Game,” “Justice League,” and “Father Figures”) during the 6+ hour flight. We arrived on time in Boston and claimed our bags. Then we parted outside by the limos when Mom met her ride home to Marshfield, and I came back inside to check in for my Jet Blue flight back home to Sac.

Since I had several hours to wait, I purchased the $40 day pass at the Aer Lingus lounge where Mom and I had waited for our outbound flight in order to have a quiet spot to do some email and blogging and take advantage of the complimentary food and drinks. Unfortunately, my return flight to Sac was delayed nearly 2 hours, but I made it home to see Mr. E and the kitties, unpack, and go to bed by about 11:30pm. Yawn…

Interesting Facts about The Netherlands

We learned lots of information and history about both Belgium and The Netherlands during the trip. A few facts that struck me:

• The Netherlands is the tallest nation in the world, although no one knows exactly why.
• Holland is actually the name of two provinces – South Holland & North Holland – that are home to the biggest cities, most important port, and capitol of the country.
• In total, The Netherlands is composed of 12 provinces, 1 of which is relatively new, and each has its own government, which makes political life quite complex.
• The majority of land in The Netherlands has been “reclaimed” by creating a series of canals and dikes in order to dry out the land, meaning that most of the country is anywhere from 4 to 22 meters BELOW sea level. Yikes! Hence the local saying that “God created the world, but the Dutch created The Netherlands.”

Characteristics of Shipboard Life

Anytime we left the boat, we had to turn in our key at Reception in exchange for a boarding pass. We then reversed the exchange when we returned to the boat. This system helps the crew to ensure that all passengers are on board before sailing to the next destination.

Each activity was announced by the Cruise Director, Amalia, over the PA system. This included a daily wake-up greeting that started off with soothing music and the sound of birdcalls! Every evening, a daily program was left in our rooms during the afternoon turn-down service, and the program included a schedule of activities, information about our excursions, and the weather prediction for the next day. We also had a “port talk” each evening to provide details about the next day’s events.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the lengthy dinners were a bit challenging for me. Breakfast was always a buffet, so that could be accessed and eaten in a more timely fashion. And for our shipboard lunches, Mom and I always opted for the “quick lunch” buffet in the lounge instead of the sit-down meal in the restaurant. But we didn’t have that option for dinner, so we had to join others for the 4-course meal, although we both usually skipped the 2^nd course of a warm appetizer and just had the salad, entrée, and dessert. Even so, this process usually lasted for 2+ hours, which was just too much. I did appreciate, however, that the kitchen was able to accommodate my dietary restrictions, and the maître d’, Cosmin, checked in with me each morning to review the day’s selections and make sure I’d have something to eat.

Although the description and diagram of the boat showed a Fitness Center, I stuck with YouTube videos in my room for my daily workouts, with the exception of the days that I went for a run. The Fitness Center was on two levels and had lovely windows but minimal equipment, and the treadmill was out of order for several days.

The housekeeping staff was very attentive, servicing the rooms in the morning and afternoon. And during the latter part of the voyage, we found awesome towel creations in our cabins each evening:

For the daily excursions, we used devices called “Quiet Vox” that allowed us to hear our local guides through a remote system with an earpiece. This made the tours much easier, as we didn’t have to huddle close to the guide to hear and could even range as much as 2 blocks away from the transmitter and still hear all of the commentary.

Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Day 8)

Wednesday, May 9: Keukenhof Gardens & Amsterdam

I went for a run this morning and got to see some of the newer parts of Amsterdam along the same route that we traveled to De Kas last night. Morning yoga again in anticipation of a likely late-ish farewell dinner this evening. Our excursion to Keukenhof Gardens had an early start, as we boarded the coaches at 8am, so I grabbed some breakfast snacks to eat on the way. Our guide explained how the Gardens are only open to the public 7-8 weeks each year, during the time that the tulips are in bloom.

 

The majority of the flowers are grown in order to cultivate and harvest the bulbs, while those grown for cut flowers are tended inside greenhouses instead of in the landscaped gardens. Several pavilions are scattered throughout the gardens as well, each with a shop, restaurant, and flower show highlighting different varieties, such as lilies and orchids. I’ve never seen blue orchids before!!!

After a short tour with our guide through part of the gardens, we were on our own to explore for another 3 hours, so we meandered around and into several of the pavilions. Mom ordered some bulbs to be delivered later this year, and we finished up with a light snack at the pavilion nearest the main entrance, where we met up with our group at 11:45am. By that time, the parking lot was overflowing with buses and people, so we were all quite pleased that we’d gotten an early start.

We had the “quick lunch” in the lounge once we got back to the boat, and then I headed off around 2pm to visit the Jewish Historical Museum. Although the temperature wasn’t as high today, I still got rather warm walking through the city, as the clothes I packed really weren’t intended for 70s and 80s! I tried to keep in the shade as much as possible and cooled down with another iced Americano from the Starbucks in the Doubletree Hotel near where our boat was docked.

When I got back to the ship, I paid for my incidentals and got packed and organized and ready for the morning. We had a farewell reception at 6pm in the lounge followed by the farewell dinner in the restaurant. These gatherings provided an opportunity to meet and recognize all of the crew. They all work so hard and have very long days. And they don’t even get a break before the next tour begins the afternoon that our tour ends. Wow. Not a job that would suit me! Dinner flowed a bit more quickly this evening, so we were able to take our leave before 9:30pm and get to bed at a reasonable time in anticipation of the early morning wake-up and departure tomorrow.

Waterways of Holland & Beligum (Day 7)

Tuesday, May 8: Amsterdam

Workout. Quick breakfast in the restaurant. Up to the lounge for a disembarkation briefing and then a short walk down the pier to the waiting canal cruise boats for our morning canal tour of Amsterdam. Our boat is docked right near the central train station and nestled among an entire clan of riverboats, including the Amadeus Silver III.

The canal cruise was a great introduction to the layout of the city as well as some of the history and culture. 

I had grabbed one of the small city maps at reception and was able to trace our canal cruise route on the map, which really helped to orient me to the city and to note the location of a few potential sites of interest for later in the day. Very bright sun. Quite warm.

When we returned to the boat, we dropped off a few things in our cabins and then asked the reception staff to call a taxi to take us to the Rijksmuseum. As we waited, we encountered another couple whom we’d met previously who were headed to the Van Gogh Museum, so I suggested we share the taxi since the two museums are just a block apart from each other. Our taxi arrived promptly, and we made arrangements for a pick-up at 2pm to go back to the boat.

I had purchased tickets in advance, based on what I’d read in several guidebooks about long lines, but there was actually hardly any line at the museum at all. Still nice to have the tickets already, though, so that we could just head to the 2^nd floor to admire the collection of works by Dutch Golden Age painters, including Vermeer and Rembrandt. We also enjoyed the dollhouses, a few Impressionists, and Delft porcelain. Lunch was in the Het Café, overlooking the main lobby area in a lovely light-filled mezzanine. 

Mom had the special creamy white asparagus soup, and I had a smoked salmon plate with a glass of rose.

Our return taxi pick-up was right on time, and we had a rather adventurous journey through the streets (and over the sidewalks) of the central city. I got dropped off near the Katten Kabinet, and Mom and the other couple continued on back to the boat. I had read about the Katten Kabinet in my Lonely Planet guide, and although it wasn’t a typical museum, it was quite fun to see the eclectic collection of cat artwork.

About a block away, I visited the Museum of Bags & Purses, which was quite wonderful. It started as a private collection and then moved to this old canal house in 2007. The newest exhibit on the top floor has some bags and purses from as far back as the 17^th century, and this part of the museum just opened about two weeks ago. I was fascinated to learn about the history of various types of bags and purses, not to mention the diverse techniques and materials utilized to create these functional works of art.

I navigated my way back to the ship, stopping for an iced Americano at a Starbucks along the way. After a very-needed shower (mid 80s today!!!), I met up with Mom for the evening lecture about contemporary Holland. Then we joined the rest of the Smithsonian group for dinner out at De Kas, a farm-to-fork restaurant where much of the food served is grown on-site. We had a lovely and inventive five-course dinner, and the kitchen was very accommodating of my allium allergy. Yay! 

Dinner finished up rather late, so we didn’t get back to the ship until close to 10:30pm. Luckily, I’d planned ahead and incorporated yoga into my morning workout, so I could just go right to bed.

Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Day 6)

Monday, May 7: Giethoorn & Kampen

Another room workout and a plate of breakfast to enjoy in the lounge during the third and final lecture by Stephen. This presentation focused on Dutch Golden Age painting and provided a very interesting and helpful overview of the primary painters of that time whose work influenced the development of what we might now consider modern painting.

We then headed to the coaches for our morning excursion to Giethoorn, a town of about 2,600 residents that currently receives nearly 1 million tourists each year. Yikes! The town is built around a series of small canals, linked by lots and lots of bridges, and has very limited vehicle access of any kind. 

We were distributed among three canal boats for a cruise through the area and onto the man-made lake nearby. The tour included a stop of about 45 minutes in the town itself so that we could walk around a bit and browse some of the shops. The weather was beautiful for this tour, and we were lucky that our excursion was during the week as our guide described how crazy-busy the weekends can be.

Everyone returned to the boat for a traditional Dutch food lunch buffet, which included lots of different types of sausages as well as a carving station with a roast pig, prime rib, and chicken. Luckily, there were also some vegetables available in addition to all of the meat-focused dishes. And the dessert station included waffles with various toppings. In mid-afternoon, I joined the short guided tour of Kampen, where we were docked for the day.

I then explored further on my own, taking care of a few errands and almost buying some warm-weather clothes, since the weather had been turning unexpectedly warmer than what had been forecast when I was packing last week!

When I got back to the boat in time for our late afternoon departure, I relaxed for a bit in my room and then headed up to the Panorama Lounge for some blog work and planning for the next two days in Amsterdam. I had no desire for another long dinner experience, so I had grabbed some Wasa crispbreads and peanut butter from breakfast, which was totally sufficient for a light snack, along with the white wine that had been waiting in my room when we arrived (still don’t know why, but I’m not complaining!). Mom ended up joining me in the lounge after she got the first course salad from the restaurant, and it was quite lovely to have such a nice quiet and peaceful dinner together while we sailed. We both headed down to our cabins before 9pm, where I did my yoga practice and then went to bed.

Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Days 4 & 5)

Saturday, May 5: The Delta Works

Another round of morning Zumba in my room, and then Mom and I met up at 7:45am to get some breakfast from the restaurant to bring upstairs to the lounge so that we could listen to the first of three lectures on medieval and renaissance Dutch art by Stephen Clancy, a recently retired art history professor from Ithaca College who is traveling with the Smithsonian group as our resident “expert.” The first lecture was about the rise of the merchant class and the impact of that societal evolution on medieval and renaissance city life. He’s a very engaging and passionate lecturer, so I really enjoyed his presentation, which finished up just after 9am, so we had a bit of time prior to our 9:30am departure to visit The Delta Works.

Our first stop was at The Delta Experience, where we watched a [rather dated] movie about the horrible storm and North Sea flooding in 1953 that was the catalyst for beginning an extensive array of public works projects to better protect areas along the western coastline. The movie described in detail how the various locks and barriers were designed, constructed, installed, and tested. Truly a technological marvel and a critical piece of Dutch infrastructure that continues to be refined today. The last part was completed in 1986, and this is a long barrier composed of multiple piers with steel gates between them that can be lowered in times of severe weather.

Our next stop on the tour was a visit to this barrier, where we were able to walk inside to view some historical exhibits and learn more about the entire project. We then climbed up onto the top of the barrier itself, right next to the roadway, where we had a close-up view of the structure and the marking on the pier that shows how high the waters rose in 1953.

The coaches took us back to the boat for lunch, where Mom and I opted for the “quick lunch” in the lounge rather than a full-service meal in the restaurant. I then did a bit of email and blog work for about an hour before heading out on a run through the lovely little town of Veere, where our boat was docked. The town is criss-crosssed with lots of well-marked walking trails in addition to the usual bike lanes and paths, and given the unusually beautiful weather (sunny & high 70s), there were lots and lots of people enjoying the outdoors and the town’s café, beach, and marina.

I was back on board the boat in plenty of time for our 4:15pm departure, so Mom and I went up to the lounge to hear a talk on “tulipmania” by Andrew Wyatt, a professor traveling with the Missouri Botanical Gardens group. Then we headed down to dinner and enjoyed some interesting conversation with the two Cal alumni folks whom I’d met during the Beer tour in Bruges as well as two other new-to-us people from the Botanical Gardens group (I think). Dinner once again took 2+ hours for the entire service, but I still fit in my daily yoga practice before going to bed.

Sunday, May 6: Delft & The Hague

More Zumba in the room followed by take-away breakfast from the restaurant so that I could eat while listening to the second of Stephen Clancy’s lectures. This one focused on “magical realism” in art and was equally as fascinating as the first presentation yesterday. Mom had breakfast in the restaurant with Stephen’s wife before joining me in the lounge for the talk. We again had a bit of time before the 9:30am departure for the day’s excursion.

Our initial destination today was the Royal Porcelain Factory in Delft. We drove through charming countryside full of farms set in the midst of little canals, almost like marshes, and each home was connected to the roadway by a small bridge. The fields were full of different types of water fowl, including lots of nesting swans. I was struck again by the vast bike infrastructure in The Netherlands, as every roadway has a parallel bike lane beside it, well-separated, well-marked, and well-traveled. I also observed that each roundabout in a certain area was marked with a sculpture of some kind in the middle, which continues the trend of public art that I’d started to notice during the previous days.

Once we arrived at the factory, a staff guide led us through as we learned about the history of Delft blue and Delft porcelain in general as well as the different processes for creating hand-painted vs. mass-produced objects. The skill and time needed for the former definitely make it much of much higher quality and more valuable, which is clearly reflected in the price.

 

Mom and I each bought some souvenirs, and we then got back on the bus for the short drive to the main center of Delft. Coaches can’t drive into that area due to the small streets, so we got dropped off nearby and then walked slowly towards the main square, which is flanked by a church and an ornate town hall and surrounded by souvenir shops and restaurants. We had a bit more of a guided tour around the square and were then on our own for just under 2 hours to get lunch and enjoy the area. More public art!

 

I noticed a little spot nearby called Happy Tosti that looked casual and inviting, and we had a lovely (and relatively quick!) lunch there of toasted sandwiches. We also learned that it’s a business with heart and a mission that’s not just about profits: 

The group met up at 2:30pm by the church to go back to the coaches for the return drive to the boat. I walked around the nearby town of Schoonhoven for a bit, and then Mom and I joined Stephen’s table for dinner, per the invitations that had been delivered last night. I enjoyed the conversation, but again the overall experience was just too lengthy, especially with pauses for two birthday breaks. Mom and I finally were able to excuse ourselves and head back to our cabins. Yoga. Bed.

Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Day 3)

Friday, May 4: Bruges & Beer

We had an early start today, with departure on the coaches at 8am. I was up by 6:15am for Zumba in my room (wi-fi working pretty well so far – phew!) and then met up with Mom briefly for breakfast before leaving for the day. Mom decided to stay on the boat and journey with several other passengers and the crew along the canal and rivers to Middelburg, where the rest of us would meet up with the boat at the end of the day.

The drive to Bruges took a bit less than 2 hours, and we got off the bus at a drop-off point just south of the historical city center. I was with the group going to tour the Halve Maan city brewery. Our local guide, Hart, led us on a short walking tour of the city as we strolled towards the brewery, where a member of the staff then took over to provide a wonderful and comprehensive tour of the entire brewery as we meandered through the purpose-built historic building, marveling at all of the various parts of the old brewery and how the brewers managed to fit everything into such small spaces! We also learned about the new brewery and technological innovations, including the creation in 2016 of the beer pipeline that goes under the ground from the brewery in the city to the bottling plant about 3km away. Amazing! Part of the tour led us up to the rooftop, where we could see the chimney from the drying kiln as well as a 360-degree view of Bruges.

 

The tour ended with a glass of beer on tap directly from the storage tanks, so it was unfiltered and unpasteurized

I then headed off on my own to enjoy about 3 hours of free time exploring the Medieval city of Bruges, winding through small cobblestone streets, browsing in souvenir stores, and grabbing a chicken, cheese, and tomato panini for a quick lunch-on-the-go. I had thought about trying to visit the Groeninge Museum (another group did that for the main activity instead of the brewery) but opted to prioritize climbing the bell tower in the central square. Given the size of the tower steps, entry is limited to 70 people at a time, so the entire experience of waiting and then climbing 366 steps to the top and back down took about an hour. I happened to be in the drum room area just in time for the ¾ hour chiming. The view from the top showed not only the city but also the carillon bells.

By the time I was finished with the belfry, I only had about 1 hour until the group meet-up, so I decided not to try to visit the art museum but instead to wander through more of the city center, seeking out the large-scale public art installations that are part of the Bruges Triennial. We had seen one of these pieces when we first approached the old city – a floating wooden structure created to be a mobile school.

I was able to find five more of the artworks, although three were definitely still in process of being installed, since the Triennial technically doesn’t open until tomorrow. I captured images of several of them, along with the explanatory placards. So cool!

The group met up again at 3pm to walk back to the coach and then return to the ship, crossing over from Belgium into The Netherlands along the way. I chatted with Mom as I unpacked from the day, and then we gathered with others from the Smithsonian Journeys group in a portion of the Panorama Lounge for the Captain’s Welcome Reception that preceded the “official” Welcome Dinner. We ended up at a table in the far back left, which apparently was a sort of black hole for the wait staff. At one point, I noticed that people up near the front were already eating their first courses before we had even been asked for our orders! This whole four-course meal thing is definitely not a value-add for me… I finished off the day with yoga before bedtime.