Our last leg of the journey before the flight home - a great train trip from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. What lovely countryside we travelled through today! The train connected with the Frankfurt airport which is SOOOO convenient. A quick shuttle will take us back tomorrow. Overnight at Holiday Inn Express just 10 minutes from the airport - a lovely rural area.
Smells so good as we walk to and from dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Hope you have enjoyed travelling with us on our journey!
Jan and Shirley
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Where do bicycles have their own highways and traffic lights?
After all-day travel via Madrid, we arrived in Amsterdam for the last few days of vacation. Our hostel, Hortus Pension, was modest but clean and the staff were most helpful. As taxes are paid on the ground floor street frontage, it explains the narrow, multi-floored buildings everywhere. Including our hostel! And we’re on the top floor – up 3 very steep, narrow flights of stairs. The first trip up with suitcases was a chore we were glad we didn’t have to repeat – for sure! We were located in the Plantage area of the city and we even had our own canal and bridge around the corner!
While the city has numerous museums (about almost any topic you can think of), we spent our time walking and exploring the sights in the downtown core of Amsterdam (the centrum). The Bloemenmarkt (flower 
market), Rembrandt Square, the Waterlooplein book fair, and Dam Square were features amidst the many canals
and bridges, clock towers and old buildings.
The Beginjdem (a cloistered community hidden away off the busiest shopping street) featured the oldest house in Amsterdam – a dark wooden structure (picture to the right).
This grouping of houses, together with two churches, offers housing to older, single women with low income.
What was surprising (and disappointing) was that many of the old historic buildings are no longer kept as historic sites but instead house restaurants or shops – and no mention is made of the historic significance.
Karen had warned about the bicycles in the city – but there is no way to prepare by a mere description. 800,000 inhabitants in the city, and 800,000 bicycles – with their own pathways, traffic lights and rhythm.
Not only do you have to watch out for cars, but more importantly, you have to watch out for the bicycles zipping along between the car roads
and the pedestrian sidewalks! And it wasn’t obvious that they cared whether you were in the way or not! Clearly, in a city with many narrow, one-way streets, this is a fast means of travel – but to pedestrians, a dangerous adventure.
On our last day, we took a tour which featured several beautiful villages in both north and south Holland (Volendam, Marken). Enroute we visited: a cheese factory and saw the cheese making process, working windmills, a clog maker (a traditional trade passing from fathers to sons, but now slowly disappearing), one of the two remaining Delft pottery factories, The Hague with the International Court of Justice, the Queen’s working palace and the Houses of Parliament for Holland.
We also visited “Madurodam” in The Hague – miniature (to scale) depictions of famous buildings across Holland as well as industrial activities. This was developed as a war memorial and is extremely well done. While clearly tourism sights, these were a nice counterpoint to Amsterdam.
Despite forecasted rain during the time we were here, the weather was quite pleasant - when Amsterdam indicates rain on 250 days each year, we felt blessed that our time there was "dry".
While the city has numerous museums (about almost any topic you can think of), we spent our time walking and exploring the sights in the downtown core of Amsterdam (the centrum). The Bloemenmarkt (flower 
market), Rembrandt Square, the Waterlooplein book fair, and Dam Square were features amidst the many canals
and bridges, clock towers and old buildings.The Beginjdem (a cloistered community hidden away off the busiest shopping street) featured the oldest house in Amsterdam – a dark wooden structure (picture to the right).
This grouping of houses, together with two churches, offers housing to older, single women with low income.
What was surprising (and disappointing) was that many of the old historic buildings are no longer kept as historic sites but instead house restaurants or shops – and no mention is made of the historic significance.
Karen had warned about the bicycles in the city – but there is no way to prepare by a mere description. 800,000 inhabitants in the city, and 800,000 bicycles – with their own pathways, traffic lights and rhythm.
Not only do you have to watch out for cars, but more importantly, you have to watch out for the bicycles zipping along between the car roads
and the pedestrian sidewalks! And it wasn’t obvious that they cared whether you were in the way or not! Clearly, in a city with many narrow, one-way streets, this is a fast means of travel – but to pedestrians, a dangerous adventure.On our last day, we took a tour which featured several beautiful villages in both north and south Holland (Volendam, Marken). Enroute we visited: a cheese factory and saw the cheese making process, working windmills, a clog maker (a traditional trade passing from fathers to sons, but now slowly disappearing), one of the two remaining Delft pottery factories, The Hague with the International Court of Justice, the Queen’s working palace and the Houses of Parliament for Holland.
We also visited “Madurodam” in The Hague – miniature (to scale) depictions of famous buildings across Holland as well as industrial activities. This was developed as a war memorial and is extremely well done. While clearly tourism sights, these were a nice counterpoint to Amsterdam.
Despite forecasted rain during the time we were here, the weather was quite pleasant - when Amsterdam indicates rain on 250 days each year, we felt blessed that our time there was "dry".
Guess what – no canaries in the Canary Islands!
A week of absolute relaxation – fantastic. A wonderful timeshare resort awaited us after a 4.5 hour flight from London. We picked up a car at the airport and headed south along the main freeway which runs along the east side of the island. While it is the biggest of the 7 islands, Gran Canaria isn’t very big – took us only 45 minutes to do ¼ of the island circumference road.
The population of Gran Canaria is 850,000 with about 750,000 living in the northern part around Las Palmas as that is the industrialized area (shipping, construction, electronics, automotive parts, aquaculture, horticulture, desalination plants and tourism being the main industries). The island uses only desalinated water now so the water tables are rising. As the island is buffeted by ocean winds and storms, there are lots of “modern windmills” to generate electricity
and most agriculture has converted to indoor methods – greenhouses and covered fields predominantly - in order to provide protection for the growing plants.
The resort was set against the high cliffs of the southern coast, just past the villages of Arguinequin and Patalavaca. Construction started in the late 80’s and the facilities were finished early in the 90’s. All the walkways on each floor to rooms were on the inside against the rock cliff, meaning every apartment had a beautiful view out over the sea. There were actually 4 resorts on the same property – all owned by the same company – but each offering slightly different amenities. Guests were free to take advantage of all 4 sites. Our apartment was on the upper level and this part of the resort had its own pools, café/bar, restaurant, childrens’ playground and games area. Very easy to feel self-contained without going far. As it is located right on the sea, access for the public to the waterfront area is mandatory – which meant the resort was actually gated at the beach end. This lower promenade had numerous restaurants, a grocery store and a performing stage where we were treated to shows every evening. The usual array of water sports were available – scuba outings, banana and paddle boats, sailboards and jet skis.
We did visit Arguinequin for groceries several times and also visited the open-air public market which visits once a week.
We ventured out with the car to travel further up the west side of the island and inland – and found out they weren’t kidding when they talked about the 365 turns in the highway along the coast! Narrow, narrow, narrow and very twisty.
The villages of Puerto Rico and Puerto Mogan which are not far from the resort have clearly been developed solely for tourism. In contrast though, when we traveled inland into the mountains a bit to the village of Mogan, we found a small, more traditional village with narrow streets that wove up and down the hillside – reminded us of our trip to Spain.
We booked one day tour which took us through much of the north
end of the island where volcanic activity thousands of years ago has created a very stark and rugged terrain. 
Here again the roads were VERY narrow and twisty –
and we were very glad that it was a bus driver with experience doing the driving, rather than us (which we’d considered earlier in the week).
In the village of Teror,
we came across numerous groups of village people creating beautiful street decorations from natural materials (e.g. flowers, sand, straw), in preparation for the celebration of Corpus Christi, a Christian festival honouring the Eucharist. We learned that many of the villages have few year-round inhabitants as folks who work in the city of Las Palmas – the industrial centre of the island – travel to their “mountain homes” for weekends and holidays.
Definitely a resort that would be lovely to return to – if it wasn’t so far to come…….
(By the way, the name of Canary Islands comes from a Latin reference to dogs – and has nothing to do with canaries!)
The population of Gran Canaria is 850,000 with about 750,000 living in the northern part around Las Palmas as that is the industrialized area (shipping, construction, electronics, automotive parts, aquaculture, horticulture, desalination plants and tourism being the main industries). The island uses only desalinated water now so the water tables are rising. As the island is buffeted by ocean winds and storms, there are lots of “modern windmills” to generate electricity
and most agriculture has converted to indoor methods – greenhouses and covered fields predominantly - in order to provide protection for the growing plants.The resort was set against the high cliffs of the southern coast, just past the villages of Arguinequin and Patalavaca. Construction started in the late 80’s and the facilities were finished early in the 90’s. All the walkways on each floor to rooms were on the inside against the rock cliff, meaning every apartment had a beautiful view out over the sea. There were actually 4 resorts on the same property – all owned by the same company – but each offering slightly different amenities. Guests were free to take advantage of all 4 sites. Our apartment was on the upper level and this part of the resort had its own pools, café/bar, restaurant, childrens’ playground and games area. Very easy to feel self-contained without going far. As it is located right on the sea, access for the public to the waterfront area is mandatory – which meant the resort was actually gated at the beach end. This lower promenade had numerous restaurants, a grocery store and a performing stage where we were treated to shows every evening. The usual array of water sports were available – scuba outings, banana and paddle boats, sailboards and jet skis.
We did visit Arguinequin for groceries several times and also visited the open-air public market which visits once a week.
We ventured out with the car to travel further up the west side of the island and inland – and found out they weren’t kidding when they talked about the 365 turns in the highway along the coast! Narrow, narrow, narrow and very twisty.
The villages of Puerto Rico and Puerto Mogan which are not far from the resort have clearly been developed solely for tourism. In contrast though, when we traveled inland into the mountains a bit to the village of Mogan, we found a small, more traditional village with narrow streets that wove up and down the hillside – reminded us of our trip to Spain.
We booked one day tour which took us through much of the north
end of the island where volcanic activity thousands of years ago has created a very stark and rugged terrain. 
Here again the roads were VERY narrow and twisty –
and we were very glad that it was a bus driver with experience doing the driving, rather than us (which we’d considered earlier in the week).In the village of Teror,
we came across numerous groups of village people creating beautiful street decorations from natural materials (e.g. flowers, sand, straw), in preparation for the celebration of Corpus Christi, a Christian festival honouring the Eucharist. We learned that many of the villages have few year-round inhabitants as folks who work in the city of Las Palmas – the industrial centre of the island – travel to their “mountain homes” for weekends and holidays.Definitely a resort that would be lovely to return to – if it wasn’t so far to come…….
(By the way, the name of Canary Islands comes from a Latin reference to dogs – and has nothing to do with canaries!)
Theatre and sights - back in London again
Another few days of great weather and touring in London!
We managed to get tickets to the three shows we were hoping for – STOMP, Love Never Dies (the sequel to Phantom) and the Lion King. Each was presented in a theatre we hadn’t yet seen, so pre-show time was consumed with viewing the wonderful architecture and decorations of the old theatres. All of the shows were awesome. With theatre a major focus of our time in London, we have gotten to know the West End pretty well.
Days have been occupied with walking … and walking … and walking to see the various sights in downtown London. Pax Lodge is such a great location for getting around – about 15 minutes to the tube station then off we go. Very safe area too so when we come home late from the theatre, it is still very comfortable walking through Hampstead to Pax Lodge.
We decided early on that we weren’t going to focus on the “Top 10” sights to see, but instead spent time exploring a few areas
well and taking the time to enjoy the gardens and public areas. Of course, we saw all the key squares – Picadilly Circus 
with the statue of Eros in the centre, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square with the statue of Nelson (and Canada House on one side of the square) and Covent Gardens and the shops/market. It was great to be able to sit in the sun and enjoy watching the people and activity at each of these famous locales.
We managed to get tickets to the three shows we were hoping for – STOMP, Love Never Dies (the sequel to Phantom) and the Lion King. Each was presented in a theatre we hadn’t yet seen, so pre-show time was consumed with viewing the wonderful architecture and decorations of the old theatres. All of the shows were awesome. With theatre a major focus of our time in London, we have gotten to know the West End pretty well.
Days have been occupied with walking … and walking … and walking to see the various sights in downtown London. Pax Lodge is such a great location for getting around – about 15 minutes to the tube station then off we go. Very safe area too so when we come home late from the theatre, it is still very comfortable walking through Hampstead to Pax Lodge.
We decided early on that we weren’t going to focus on the “Top 10” sights to see, but instead spent time exploring a few areas
well and taking the time to enjoy the gardens and public areas. Of course, we saw all the key squares – Picadilly Circus 
with the statue of Eros in the centre, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square with the statue of Nelson (and Canada House on one side of the square) and Covent Gardens and the shops/market. It was great to be able to sit in the sun and enjoy watching the people and activity at each of these famous locales. After going through the Memorial Arch, we enjoyed a long leisurely walk through St. James Park enroute to Buckingham Palace. 
On the day we visited, the main road leading to the Palace, the Mall, had been closed for a marathon, so it was much like a closed pedestrian area which allowed us to walk freely around the Queen Victoria monument, the front of the Palace and surrounding park. 
The bobbies on duty at the outer gate even obliged with a quick pose. The gates and the grounds of the Palace were both astounding views. A small guard changing gave us a sense of the pageantry that goes with this setting.
Shirley met her fear of heights face on with a ride on the London Eye.
High above the city, we were able to see the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and other sights. A gorgeous day made for good viewing. 
On the day we visited, the main road leading to the Palace, the Mall, had been closed for a marathon, so it was much like a closed pedestrian area which allowed us to walk freely around the Queen Victoria monument, the front of the Palace and surrounding park. 
The bobbies on duty at the outer gate even obliged with a quick pose. The gates and the grounds of the Palace were both astounding views. A small guard changing gave us a sense of the pageantry that goes with this setting.Shirley met her fear of heights face on with a ride on the London Eye.
High above the city, we were able to see the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and other sights. A gorgeous day made for good viewing. 
Another day we headed west out of town on the train to Hampton Court Palace, home of Henry VIII and William & Mary. A bonus that our Oyster Cards worked for the trip – just swipe, hop on, travel, hop off and swipe again.
On the day we were there, Henry was marrying Catherine Parr so visitors to the palace were able to don period clothing and participate if they wished. We “played” countrymen and cheered to the King when prompted to do so.
The exhibits were very well done – especially the historically accurate kitchens and descriptions of the food service for the palace at that time. The massive gardens and grounds were beautifully “manicured” – clearly a labour of love for an army of people. We spent a whole afternoon there and it was hardly enough. The comprehensive audio tour explained not only what was in the rooms, but also what was happening in Henry’s life, politics and the world at the time. Very well done.
Our return to London from the cruise was made special by a cab ride from a famous author! Alf Townsend picked us up at Paddington Station as his last fare on his way back to his home in Hampstead – how fortuitous. He has written various books and shared a little about one in progress. He pointed out sights along the way – an added bonus.
Overall, a great few days in London. Nicely paced – time to see the sights but also sit and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Impressed by the cleanliness and visitor-friendliness of the city.
The exhibits were very well done – especially the historically accurate kitchens and descriptions of the food service for the palace at that time. The massive gardens and grounds were beautifully “manicured” – clearly a labour of love for an army of people. We spent a whole afternoon there and it was hardly enough. The comprehensive audio tour explained not only what was in the rooms, but also what was happening in Henry’s life, politics and the world at the time. Very well done.
Our return to London from the cruise was made special by a cab ride from a famous author! Alf Townsend picked us up at Paddington Station as his last fare on his way back to his home in Hampstead – how fortuitous. He has written various books and shared a little about one in progress. He pointed out sights along the way – an added bonus.Overall, a great few days in London. Nicely paced – time to see the sights but also sit and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Impressed by the cleanliness and visitor-friendliness of the city.
Monday, June 7, 2010
May 27 - No Sign of "Nessie"
Today we are in the highlands of Scotland - Cromarty Firth, having travelled overnight to Inverness. While the day is overcast, the colour of the fields alongside the firth are gorgeous yellow making the hillsides very colourful. The yellow comes from the rape seed which is used to make canola oil.
This area was used in WWII for British ship maintenance. Today, it is used as a repair and maintenance port for North Sea oil rigs - several large installations were visible in the channel and firth where we were docked for the day.
We decided to take a tour again today - this time to Cawdor Castle and to Loch Ness, with hopes of perhaps seeing the elusive Loch Ness monster. We were surprised to hear the statistics - 5 million people, and 8 million sheep in the highlands! Who would have guessed. AND .... it rains 250 days of the year. Yuck. Mind you, often it's just a drizzle, but still. We learned too that, where yesterday we were in the "lowlands", the "highlands"today means that the land is 100 metres or more above sea level (I think I got that right?).
As a backdrop to our first stop, Cawdor Castle, we heard all about the Battle of Culloden, and Bonnie Prince Charles and how the Catholic and Protestant conflicts eventually led to the downfall of the clan system in the highlands of Scotland. Today, apparently only 5% of Scots still speak Gaelic.
These friendly souls met us at the gate to the castle - apparently they represent the ghosts of the castle! Our guide said they are not there often so it was a treat for us.
On to the beautiful shores of Loch Ness and hopes of seeing the monster. But no luck - like many others, she eluded us today. Urghart Castle was a great stopping point though. The castle is mostly ruins as this site has been damaged by numerous wars.
It's location meant that it was a strategic military point along the waterways.
This is a picture of Loch Ness - 57 (I think) km long and 10 km wide. We were told it contains more water than all the lakes in Scotland and England combined.
A great day steeped in the history of the Scottish highlands - amongst the heather and the thistles.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Meet our wonderful tablemates
Table 20, 8:45 seating, Aquarius Dining Room
We were seated with 3 absolutely lovely couples - 2 from Norway and 1 from New York, USA. Discussion was wide-ranging and lots of new information about Norway for us from "across the pond". Alot of similarities between Yukon and Norway - not a surprise I guess given each is at about the same latitude.
This is AnneLise and Morten - they live just outside Oslo on a farm. AnneLise works for a company involved in offshore oil drilling. Their daughter is at university and their son will soon graduate high school. They enjoy hiking in the mountains from their cabin.
This is Jack and Hege - also from Oslo. Jack is an avid fisherman - and they both enjoy time spent at their cabin by the sea. They have done a number of river cruises and highly recommended them.
This is Marcia and Richard from New York. He is a retired lawyer. They had just finished a five day cruise on the same ship (Vision of the Seas) which visited Holland, Belgium and ??? (I can't remember).
We were seated with 3 absolutely lovely couples - 2 from Norway and 1 from New York, USA. Discussion was wide-ranging and lots of new information about Norway for us from "across the pond". Alot of similarities between Yukon and Norway - not a surprise I guess given each is at about the same latitude.
This is AnneLise and Morten - they live just outside Oslo on a farm. AnneLise works for a company involved in offshore oil drilling. Their daughter is at university and their son will soon graduate high school. They enjoy hiking in the mountains from their cabin.
This is Jack and Hege - also from Oslo. Jack is an avid fisherman - and they both enjoy time spent at their cabin by the sea. They have done a number of river cruises and highly recommended them.
This is Marcia and Richard from New York. He is a retired lawyer. They had just finished a five day cruise on the same ship (Vision of the Seas) which visited Holland, Belgium and ??? (I can't remember).
May 26 - Rule Britannia, Britannia Rules the Waves!
Today we are in port in Edinburgh, Scotland. Cloudy and hinting of rain. We are docked at Queensferry south of town and tender to shore as the tide is out. Bagpipes and welcoming volunteers greet us as we disembark ashore - what a lovely welcome. Our tour guide, Morag, quickly ushers us to a "coach" and off we go. She has much to tell us about the history of this area of the Scottish lowlands and about Edinburgh as we drive - a lovely lilt in her voice and a quick laugh - we know right away we'll have a fun day with her!
Our first stop, the Royal Yacht Britannia. When this vessel was decommissioned in 1997, a public bidding process was undertaken to determine the site for her permanent mooring. Leith port was selected and they have developed a fabulous display on the dock before you enter the ship for an audio-guided tour. The site is managed by a not-for-profit trust and they have done this up well. A few pictures of some of the areas of the ship we viewed on the tour follow:
The Queen's bedroom:
Crews quarters (left) and formal dining room (right). The alcoves around the dining room display gifts from around the world - some are quite beautiful.
The other main feature of todays tour was Edinbourgh Castle. This fortified village was the
home for Kings and Queens from the 1100s to the 17th century when conflicts decreased. It was the historic residence of royalty when in Scotland, but nowadays that residence is Holyrood Palace. Perched on the hill above the city, Edinburgh Castle is a beautiful site. The cobblestone steets and the narrow passageways give you a sense of what it would have been like to live in this city. We visited St. Margaret's chapel from the 11th century (the oldest building at the Edinburgh castle site) which was built by the same Queen that started the ferry service at Queensferry. She brought Catholism to Scotland which was prevalent until the 1600s when it changed to Presbyterian. We also saw the Scottish Honours (crown jewels - Septre, mace and crown) display - a wonderful history lesson of the various kings through the ages.Old town appears as a series of buildings "piled" on top of each other - with the city built on 7 hills, the lower buildings are only about 3 stories in height, while the ones further up the hills are 8-9 stories - makes for the "layered" look. Much of the old town is of Georgian architecture made from cream coloured sandstone which was quarried locally. Once the train arrived, red sandstone was imported from other areas and used for housing and commercial building construction.
We were very impressed with how hilly and scenic the city was mixed with the historic buildings - far more vibrant and beautiful than we expected. Definitely a site for a repeat visit.
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