We
arrived home this afternoon and have been busy with laundry and family and
laundry some more.
We
flew into Dulles and stayed Saturday night at our friend Judi's although she
was at a wedding in New York. We slept fairly well then drove home today. We
had six hours to talk about the trip and point out to each other the lovely
terrain we passed in Pennsylvania. Lots of it was prettier than many places
along the Rhine, but the Mosel had it beat.
I
don't want to leave out an odd fact about the airport in Basel. Part of it is
in Switzerland and part in France. They're not kidding that things cost
more in Switzerland. A bottle of coke in the part of the airport in France was
2.70 EU and in the part that was in Switzerland was the equivalent (Swiss
use Swiss francs) of 5.10 EU.
All
in all we enjoyed the experience although I think I'd have climbed the walls
without that puzzle to fill down time on the boat. I'm not one to sit and look
at scenery for hours. We've begun talking about our next trip. Don't know where
or when. It's a little soon for me to jump right into another venture, but
I liken it to childbirth. In time I'll only remember the good parts.
Hope
all of you enjoyed whatever part of the emails you read & I hope you shared
them with others.
We’ve
turned in our receivers, put tips in the appropriate envelopes for crew and
tour directors, handed in our boarding passes, and THE PUZZLE IS FINISHED.
There were fifteen pieces missing. I wrote a note to that effect, also
mentioned the puzzle in the box wasn't the one pictured, put the pieces to the
wrong puzzle in a Baggie & put the note in the box. All who worked the
puzzle signed & dated inside the lid. One of the guys wanted to be sure it
was a 1,000 piece puzzle so we did a count of the pieces in the width and
length since they lined up in rows. There were 1,008. We boxed the puzzle and
put the tablecloth back on the table. I then put the puzzle on the shelf
in the library and brought out Scrabble. Dewi cracked up when she saw it.
All
that's left is packing. The last view we have out our stateroom window is a
wall. That's better than what I thought was going on after we got into bed last
night. I was in bed and saw what I thought was a mouse scurrying across the floor.
It took a minute before I realized it was the light outside illuminating the
lock that was shining through the crack in our curtains. I peeped out and it
was bright as sunshine.
We
had a lame orientation talk by a very uninformed young woman before our walking
tour this morning. An illustration of how knowledgeable she was is when she
mentioned that the population was 4% Muslim & 1% Jewish she spoke of
"Jewish churches." She claimed that Basel, the only port in
Switzerland, was liberal from the start (13th century) then mentioned that
women didn't get the vote in Switzerland until 1971. Short history: Celts,
Romans, three revolutions, 1515 independence, Reformation & Protestantism.
The population of Basel is 170,000 and although it's the richest city in a
wealthy country with an average income of 52,000 EU/ year (32,000 in the rest
of the country), the cost of living is extremely high. A Big Mac costs 7
EU. The main industries are chemicals, pharmaceuticals, & banking. French
and Germans come here to work at lower wages than the Swiss then take their
money home where the cost of living is less. Since Basel is at the corner where
France and Germany meet, many Swiss shop over the border as well.
The
Swiss, although neutral, still maintain a military sometimes described as like
the Boy Scouts. The pope still uses them as his guards. Members of the militia
take their guns home when not on active duty and there are more guns in Swiss
homes than in the U.S. but for some reason the murder rate is lower here.
The
political system is modeled on our constitution but here they have a direct
democracy. That means that every so often those old enough to vote (over 18)
receive a ballot in the mail dealing with any issue up for a vote. It could be
legalization of pot or repairing a street. Only 50% actually do vote. The
president is a figurehead appointed annually by parliament. Most people can't
name the president at any given time. Neither could our lecturer.
We
rode a tram with Dewi to the market square and there are still some lovely
buildings remaining and restored after the huge earthquake that devastated the
region. What earthquake, you ask? I did too thinking I'd missed something. It
occurred in 1356. Dewi mentioned this as we stood in Naked Feet Square near
where monks (who were barefoot) lived and cared for the sick in their church
which was now restored. St. Elizabeth's Cathedral where we walked next didn't
fare well either but it has been and is still being worked on. Henry II
(remember him) had it built. He had an interesting marriage to the daughter of
the king of Luxembourg. She really wanted to be a nun but was obedient to her
father's wishes. But before she married Henry she leveled with him. He agreed
that theirs would be a marriage with no “Scrabble” playing and was true to his
word. When he died they were childless and she got herself to a nunnery.
Sculpting people was new to church decorating way back then and Henry's image
comes off as a close relative to Barbie with an elongated giraffe-like neck.
His wife seems to have a smirk on her face. Some of the designs included what
we now call Stars of David but in those days the superimposed triangles
represented two opposites: good & evil, life & death. Brewers also used
the star as a symbol of their guild representing fire and water.
To
add to our collection of Medieval torture stories, Dewi pointed out a bridge
from where women accused of being unfaithful were tossed. If they didn't drown
they were declared guilty. If they did drown they were said to be innocent.
Divine justice.
The
people here, as with most of Europe, are less observant and churches are
suffering economically. To solve that problem they’ve been selling off parts of
the churches for other uses and retaining a small portion for worship. Some
churches now house department store or discos.
A
question was asked as to why we didn't need to show our passports since
Switzerland isn't part of the EU. The reason is that they’re interdependent
with members of the EU and have signed treaties with the EU. They now have to
abide by those agreements. One is free travel within Europe. Switzerland
is thinking about changing its open border policy in the next few months due to
the influx of people from the Middle East and N. Africa.
Dewi
now freely uses the word Holocaust. Today she gave a rundown about the banks
here taking Nazi money during WWII and also that Jews sent money to Switzerland
during the war. Many of those Jews didn't live to withdraw their funds and the
Swiss kept them in what they called sleeping accounts. A bank
worker found out that records of those accounts were about to be shredded
and the money kept. He reported it to the police and a major scandal ensued. He
is probably the only Swiss national who sought asylum in the U.S. Now the Swiss
government is trying to locate relatives of those Jewish families.
We
were supposed to pack after lunch but chose to take a tram ride that went all
around the city. We went with a group from the boat but only one had a map. We
stuck close to him. The ride was notable because we were almost involved in an
international incident. The man seated in front of us had a large backpack in
the seat next to him. As the tram filled, he wouldn't remove the bag to allow
others to sit even when they were old. At one stop a Muslim woman in a head
scarf stared at the seat and pointed. With obvious irritation the man removed
the backpack & the woman sat down. David said to me that the man moved
the bag reluctantly. The man overheard him and in very good English told David
that if they don't respect us we don't have to respect them. Things are
not going well in Camelot. Meanwhile the ride was pleasant enough.
The tram climbed up a big hill to the wealthy suburbs that reminded me of San
Francisco. Somewhere along the way we passed sheep grazing but couldn't figure
out why they were so close to the city. Overall this city isn't nearly as clean
as Germany although we were told the Swiss are fastidious. Maybe it only
applies to trams being on time.
Today
is Friday and David bought me a Shabbat rose. Aw!!!!
Found
a couple on board who have two gay kids. Took a long time for word about us to
spread.
Dinner
was beef roulade and we were looking forward to it. Unfortunately it was filled
with bacon so we had to eat salmon.
We stayed in Strasbourg and took a bus tour on the
Alsatian wine road today. I think we've been there but came from the other
direction. We were in Northern France around 1994 and went to
Strasbourg then. Today we drove through picturesque villages in the foothills
of the Vosge Mts. and drank in the quaint beauty of each new place. The custom
of one village was to place a heart on the roof if a single woman lived in
a house and a bottle on the roof if a single man lived there. We saw
one bottle that had a glass over it. The man was now taken. Geraniums rule in
this region and have been the window box flower of choice the entire trip. I'm
quite fond of them but have never been able to grow them. They were one of my father's
favorites and he planted some for me whenever he visited in the spring, but
they never lasted.
The
Rhine River formed between the Black Forest and the Vosge Mts. during a
volcanic upheaval. The Rhine chose to flow to the east into the North Sea and
the Rhone flows to the west into the Mediterranean. The volcanic soil adds
a special flavor to the wine produced here. Ironically, due to a fungus that
devastated the grapes, the majority of vines grown here come from California.
Other upheavals involved wars where the area bounced between Germany and
France. Towns still keep two sets of street signs just in case. Right now
street names are in French. The ones in German are in storage.
On
our hour-long drive Dewi reviewed some famous Frenchmen. Charles de Gaulle was
mentioned as was Napoleon. Dewi said that Napoleon was the reason most French
men were short. I guess de Gaulle is an exception. She said that as a battle
strategy Napoleon put the taller men in the front lines to scare the enemy.
Bye, bye tall genes. Napoleon changed the organization of bureaucracy and
insisted that the people adopt surnames. He also started a system of numbering
houses. However, I don't think he was responsible for the present thirty-eight
hour French work-week or the law giving an hour lunch break that allows one
glass of wine. Bartoli, the designer of the Statue of Liberty is from the
Alsace region and the Marseilles, the French national anthem, was composed
here. The infamous Maginot Line ran through here but is an embarrassment and
not maintained.
Duck, Duck, Stork
Our
first stop was at a stork sanctuary. The stork is the national symbol of the
region. The red, black and white colors of the bird symbolize blood, death,
& peace, respectively. Legend goes that monks care for a well beneath a
Catholic church were storks go to pick up babies for distribution. The birds
are faithful to their nests and I presume mate with whoever shows up. They take
turns building the nest but are not faithful to their partners. They stand
about 3 1/2 feet tall, weigh 8-9 lbs., & live around 30 years. The preserve
now has 40 couples produceing 100 chicks each year. Storks had been endangered
and in 1976 the population in the area had shrunk to 7 or 8 due to pollution
and high-tension wires interfering with their migration back and forth to
Africa. Activists went to Africa and brought storks back here by plane in
an effort to save them. They didn't want to be saved and insisted on migrating
back to Africa each winter. The solution was to hatch them in incubators until
generations forgot the route. We were able to get up close to nesting birds and
chicks of various ages. Very cute. The facility also had exhibits of otters,
grand hamsters (looked like a regular one to me), and muskrats. Two muskrats
were busy playing “Scrabble” and from the population of the various babies
in the reserve it looked like the storks were doing their job. The stork
population is now 400.
On
down the road we drove to the town of Riquewihr dating from the 6th century. It's
basically a huge gift shop housed in exquisitely rebuilt houses. Yes, the war
came there too. Today it’s getting rich from tourists and wine. We walked the
streets, found Rue de Juifs, took photos and got on the bus. The interesting
thing we learned was that half- timber houses were built to be disassembled and
moved. In the old days, the military went from battle to battle and the
officers took their houses with them. They did number the pieces and it was far
better than tents or no shelter at all.
On
the long ride back, before my nap, we passed donkeys grazing in a field. Dewi
thought they were so adorable. That's when we learned she came from a rather
comfortable family and she raised donkeys and owned horses. We couldn't
understand what use donkeys would have other than as pets. She explained that
here their milk as well as horse milk is used by people who can't drink cow
milk. Take note you who are lactose intolerant.
It
was the captain's farewell dinner tonight and we had filet mignon. Yum. But the
best part of the evening was a show the crew put on. It took place in the
lounge where we'd been working feverishly on the puzzle. The chairs were
set up in rows for the entertainment and tables were moved out of the way. I
couldn't find the puzzle and thought they'd put it away in the box, but when I
checked in the library there it was safe and sound on its table. The
entertainer who has been watching over it and our work the whole trip came over
to personally tell me they took great care in moving it. The show went on and
was really good. Some performed songs or dances from their countries but there
were humorous sketches, jokes, and just plain fun. They started a chain dance
like the bunny hop without the hop and before we knew it we had all danced out
the door and to our rooms. A good way to end a lovely evening.
Tomorrow
we'll be in Basel, Switzerland, our last port. We'll tour, pack, & get
ready to go home.
No cheers for the weather. We opened our curtains to very
happy swans-a- swimming around our boat in the rain. We struck out for our
covered canal boat parked next to ours so it wasn't a long walk in the rain
& we were cozy and dry once inside. Since most of the important buildings
are along the canal this was really a good way to see the old and new cities.
Located in Alsace-Lorraine, a French/German area, Strasbourg is two weeks by
canal from the Seine in Paris.
The
canal trip was all about locks, docks, ducks, barges &
bridges with history thrown in. Let me get this over quickly: Celts,
Romans, Franks, independence, Germans, French, Germans, French. Seen through
rain cascading over the glass-enclosed boat the city looked like an
Impressionist painting. We passed some modern buildings housing the Court of
Human Rights, Parliament for the EU, among others, then sailed into petite
France, the old city where Guttenberg built his printing press.
A
couple of the more interesting tales were about one bridge where torture took
place. First prisoners were covered in sewage while people watched and did
needlepoint. There must have been a change of heart because the punishment was
lessened and criminals were only caged before being lowered from the bridge
into the water. Who were the offenders? Why they were prostitutes and
"loose" women. Who did the needlepoint? It must have been the
"innocent" men.
The
story about the old port building was that there was a fire long ago. People
escaped through the one window until a fat monk tried to squeeze out. He got
stuck and twenty people behind him perished. We traversed back and forth
through locks passing a modern shopping center built where an old synagogue and
train station had been. But the most enthusiastic reaction from the people on
the boat came as we passed a swan and her cygnets paddling in the canal. C'est
la vie.
We
arrived at the dock in the old city and walked to the famous Cathedral. That
site where a spring exists was originally where Druids worshipped. The present
building was started in the 12th century and this gothic sandstone edifice took
300 years to complete. There were financial problems, fires, & wars, but my
theory was they didn't treat their donkeys well. If they'd only used hoists to
allow them to access upper scaffolding I'm sure the construction time could
have been halved. As it was they ran out of money and faith and only one tower
was finished. With that, it's a magnificent example of tracery work that
creates lace out of rock. Dewi pointed out a column built next to what is now a
store. That's where men wanting to work on the upper levels of the cathedral
applied for jobs. If their bodies could fit between the column and the wall
they were hired. If they were too wide they had to find other work.
Dewi
was a bit rushed this morning and forgot her transmitter. She did fine without
it on our short walk and could be heard, but one man insisted she'd fallen down
on her job and it was unforgivable. I suggested we cut her some slack. He
stormed off now angry at me. I wonder what he thinks about the fact that
all the tour directors miscalculated how many people would leave town on the
early bus to return to the boat. That error resulted in this man being able to
go back to the boat in a taxi paid for by GCT and get there before the bus. I'm
certain his tip to her will reflect that. Yes, the trip is drawing to a close
and people are figuring tips, converting amounts needed in euros and dollars,
and comparing results.
Speaking
of forgetting stuff, each day I have to be sure that
hanging from my neck is my name tag, receiver, & purse. My hat is over
my shoulder if it will be sunny. Sometimes an umbrella is in my jacket pocket
unless my jacket is tied around my waist. David is in charge of the camera
although it has at times been around my neck.
After
lunch we took the shuttle into town and did some serious strolling and window
shopping. The streets are not as hazardous as I remember from fifteen years
ago. Not any dog poop. They must have changed their ways. But some things stay
the same. Public toilets don't pretend to afford men any privacy at urinals and
when the women's line got too long, the attendant herded us into the men's
section to use their stalls.
Dinner
was yummy duck. Not as good as the lamb chops the other night but close. We get
wine with dinner and I know I haven't drunk so much in my life. I have a glass
each time or maybe a bit more.
The
puzzle is coming along. A couple we hadn't eaten with asked if they could sit
at our table. I told them they could but had to promise to help on the puzzle.
She was delighted. I still don't think we'll finish.
Tomorrow
we'll day trip out of Strasbourg for a drive through the Alsatian countryside
and a trip to see storks. The couple at dinner went to Baden-Baden and hated
it. They said they were treated like interlopers by the locals and even the
taxis are Mercedes. The black forest cake wasn't as good as what we had on the
boat and the black forest was foggy. Glad we didn't go.
It
sounded like we were being attacked last night. We'd just crawled into bed and
David was asleep already. I peered out the window and, low and behold, it was
fireworks. I don't know what town we were passing but it provided a bit of
bedtime entertainment.
It's
not only the Jews who get burned out. Everyone seems to have been intent on
burning everyone else's religious buildings. The cathedral in Speyer is a
landmark on a magnificent hill overlooking the Rhine. The town was built around
it but, alas, the cathedral & town have been torched multiple times.
We
climbed steps from the river level and walked into a lovely park leading to the
cathedral then the market square. Dewi told us that Speyer will
never be allowed to have more than a population of 50,000. That is
the size town where it's permitted to have a brothel. They move boundaries and
fudge the count so as to keep it under 50,000.
In
1027 the holy Roman emperor commissioned the Salian dynasty to build the
cathedral. It only took thirty-four years. It could have been accomplished
faster if their beasts of burden were more co-operative. Donkeys hauled
sandstone from far away and were unhappy about climbing up ramps as the church
walls rose higher. The builders solved the problem by hoisting the
donkeys onto scaffolds where they walked around distributing stones as
needed.
But
even the construction of such a huge edifice wasn't enough to insure Henry IV's
security on the throne. He became king at age six but his mother really ran the
government until he reached eighteen. His mother had a very volatile
relationship with the pope and Henry didn't do much better. His fascination
with Protestantism didn't help. Ultimately, Henry was excommunicated. Remorse
overcame him and he was granted a meeting with the pope. When Henry arrived
that winter at the agreed upon location (the home of the pope's mistress) he
had to wait outside the walls in the snow for three days. The pope granted a
pardon but a year later rescinded it marking the beginning of the end of Salian
rule.
As for
the cathedral, Louis XIV burned it and rebuilding didn't start until the
1700's. It wasn't completed until after Napoleon. Which brings us to the
"Jewish problem." Jews settled in Speyer in 1084 and built their
synagogue. The Hebrew word for Speyer is ShPira and so if your name is Shapiro
chances are you hail from Speyer. As I've mentioned, Jews weren't allowed to
join guilds so turned to money lending and commerce. The rules of Christianity
and Judaism were similar in that Jews and Christians were forbidden from
lending within their own communities, but it was ok to lend to each
other & charge interest. Things went swimmingly until the notes were
due and the emperor especially took exception to paying up. Rather than pay his
debts he expelled the Jews and burned the synagogue in 1195.
The
Jewish community rebuilt and alternately limped along and flourished for some
400 years dealing with pogroms launched over charges of ritual murder and the
Black Plague. It's well known that Jews were blamed for poisoning Christian
wells and causing the plague but the reason Jews were infected less than
the community at large rests on the mikve, ritual bath. The plague was
caused by unclean conditions and disease carrying fleas. Jewish men went to
mikve once a week, before Shabbat, and women had to go monthly. Due to Jewish
ritual hygiene 90% of deaths were in the Christian community.
The
Jewish community built up to its highest number of 539 in 1880, but
in 1933 the Nazi's rose up and on Nov. 9-10, 1938, the synagogue was burned.
Today all that remains are walls and, amazingly, an intact mikve. The perfect
brick roof and steps lead way underground to an area containing a changing room
and then farther down to the bath itself. There’s still water in it and it's
easy to imagine it in use. It’s poignant that in the brochures we picked up the
ruins are described as remnants of the Jewish "cult."
We
didn't learn of any Jewish community existing here now but Dewi reminded us
that Soviet and E. European Jews make up a goodly number of Jews now living in
Germany. She said that neo-Nazis were mainly from E. Europe where, after the
war, their education system told a different story of the camps. They were
taught the camps were for prostitutes. Mention of other groups herded there
were eliminated from their curriculum. Now German youth must visit a
concentration camp as part of their education but when asked about use of the
word, Holocaust, I got an interesting explanation. Dewi said that word is used
by professors and not the common people. They call it "events of
WWII."
Home Run
Lunch
wasn't scintillating for me. They had milky cucumber soup, tuna melt with salad
drenched in mayo, and dessert I could easily pass up. I was ok with brief
hunger pangs since this afternoon we went to a home hosted kafe klatsch. We
were divided into groups of 4-6 and bussed to separate homes. Our hosts were
Manuela and Manfred Hook. Although we were prepared for modest German living
the Hook's home was quite large and only fourteen years old. I'd say it was at
least 2500 square feet, had four bedrooms, a finished lower walk out level, and
lovely kitchen. The yard was also large and had a fish pond. It's built on land
given to them by his parents. I guess Manuela isn't from a long line of
German hausfrau bakers because she served us store bought plain cheesecake.
Where was the promised variety of three homemade pastries that kept me
salivating? In any case, they were charming and we learned a bit about their
lives and family. They had two children from her previous marriage. Alexander,
21, is an auto mechanic and joined the army. They're not happy with that
decision. Raphaella, 16, is preparing to be a pre-school and kindergarten
teacher and is involved in practical training for a few weeks. Manuela works as
a bookkeeper and he works for government social security but spent thirteen
years as a vice-mayor for their town, Dudenhofen. They've traveled extensively
and have relatives in the U.S. but don't have enough vacation time to make it
worth the trip. Manuela mentioned an aunt in Youngstown, Ohio.
The
chef redeemed herself at dinner. We had lamb chops and kefta. So good!!! The
black forest cake wasn't up to expectations and I bet the people going to Baden
Baden tomorrow were relieved. They paid $60 extra per person for that trip
and the highlight is black forest cake. I hope for their sakes it's
better.
Entertainment
tonight was a lecture by the musician about European music by way of showing us
excerpts from a Euro Vision contest over the years. Many songs were familiar
and I sang along as I made major progress on the puzzle.
We
have an earlier than usual start in Strasbourg tomorrow. France, here we
come!
It's
almost the end of our trip and we haven't called home. Guess we won't. We've
kept up with things by email and finding public phones is hard in the age of
cell phones.
David
says he feels as if he's sleeping with someone other than me. We have twin beds
on opposites side of the cabin. Our cabin is at the end of the hall so my side
doesn't butt up to anything. David shares a wall with our neighbor and can
sense when he/she turns over in bed.
We
opted out of optional tour today including a hike up to a medieval castle
(we've seen many). But perhaps that walk was more rewarding and there was
actually a castle when they got there unlike our quest to the Jewish cemetery
in Trier.
We
joined Dewi's walk through Boppard, a town of 18,000. The entire town is a
UNESCO Heritage site. It’s the most visited town on the Rhine having gained
fame when Konrad Adenhauer brought dignitaries here. It features the steepest
vineyards on the Rhine and we watched as they were spraying said vines using a
helicopter. Guess small planes can't maneuver the slopes.
Boppard
grew from, yes, a Roman settlement with requisite battlements to defend against
the Vandals (German barbarians) across the river. Eventually that Roman wall
extended 234 miles. Later Crusaders mounted 9-11 crusades over time (Dewi
said one blended into the other) and left behind Carmelites who built a sweet
little church that still stands. Their statue of Maria is paraded through the
vineyards and grapes are offered to it in hopes of a good harvest. Due to
evidence of ancient history here as in other areas inhabited centuries ago,
when attempts are made to erect modern buildings, relics are found. So the site
where a public parking garage was to be is now a tourist magnet featuring not
only Roman walls & towers, but also 7th century Christian graves. With DNA
testing Boppard was able to determine that one of the women buried there had
blond hair and blue eyes. Fascinating.
Wine
was good to the region and about fifteen families still control the wealth it
has produced. There are many mansions along the river some dating back to the
1700's. Since the river is capricious, homes are built with rooms starting one
level up from the street. Garages and storage is now and has been relegated to
the ground floor. Dewi told us that the two rivers are called Mother Mosel
because she's more cranky and Father Rhine since he's steadier. We didn't agree
with that assessment. The wine industry spun off barrel making, makers of
iron hoops (coopers), and shipping. Before motorized crafts boats were loaded
and sailed down river where they were unloaded, broken up, & sold for
timber or firewood.
We
walked down Judengasse and it was said that Jews weren't forced to live
together. Neighborhoods were organized by profession so bakers lived on one
street, shoemakers on another, etc. Jews weren't permitted to work at most
occupations so lived elsewhere. They did fill the need for people to perform
jobs the church forbid to Catholics like money lending.
Uplifting
We
walked back to the boat along a lovely promenade and park with lots of roses
that were definitely beyond their prime. We dropped off extraneous gear and
headed for the chair lift. We did notice that contrary to previous trips
abroad, European men are now wearing shorts and do have rather nice legs. It
was a twenty-minute ride one way and the views were lovely. We rose above the
vines then the forest. It became eerily quiet until we arrived at the top. A
cute restaurant was there where we enjoyed the vista before us as we sipped our
Pepsi lights. From our perch the winding river appeared to be three lakes.
They're officially called four but we could only make out three. Maybe some
trees have grown up since it was named. The ride down gave us a better view
& we noticed the “high tech” devices used to ward off birds wanting to feed
on the grapes. Shiny CD's hung from strings attached to the vines reflecting
sunlight and deflecting avian attacks.
We’re
finding more kindred spirits at meals and tend to sit with people with whom
we've dined before as well as new ones. We'll never meet them all. The
conversation always starts the same way with an exchange of names & where
they live. Then questions about travel begin. There are some great stories we've
heard. Today at lunch a man at our table found a broken piece of glass from his
dish in his ice-cream. He told the waiter who called over the maitre de and
head chef. No damage was done but the chef was ready to toss all the ice cream.
The man who found the glass assured her it had to have chipped after the ice
cream was in the dish. She hovered and rang her hands a long time and finally
retreated to assess her liability.
I've
lost interest in the puzzle. I sit there for the conversation but working on it
for a long time is too intense. At home I dawdle here and there but don't sit
for hours. I've invited the crew to put pieces in if they want. We're now doing
sky, mountains, & trees. Tedious. I don't expect we'll finish in the few
days left.
Castles
It
started raining as we pulled away from Boppard. Good timing. We
headed on to the more scenic part of the Rhine where we were told to do neck
exercises so we could see all the castles on both sides of the boat. They were
usually built overlooking river bends so they could levy tolls as boats slowed
down at the curve. We did pass the Lorelei rock where the siren was said to
lure sailors and distract them so they'd sink their ships. As we passed
the surprisingly tiny statue marking the spot one of the tour directors, Ben,
pranced out in drag with blond wig flowing. I assure you, in that getup he
wouldn't lure a blind man. The castles were in various stages of disrepair but
from our distance they were right out of Arthurian legend. Binoculars helped and
David said he got good shots of several. One in particular, the
Katzenellenberger, is a well known Jewish family name.
David
told me to add that since we've been complaining about all the pork being
served I should mention that the chef substituted beef for ham in the chicken
cordon bleu. It looked and tasted like corned beef or pastrami left over from a
lunch buffet.
After
dinner entertainment was guessing how many people would dance to a variety of
tunes. We got up to do the chicken dance but I was wearing sandals so I sat out
the electric slide. A lame program again but the tour directors have such a
good sense of humor and make it fun.
Tomorrow
we'll be in Speyer, our last town in Germany.
Forests
and mountains lined the shore today. We docked in Traben-Trarbach this morning.
It's supposed to be rainy on and off but the sun is shining. The view from the
boat is just like our puzzle with the houses, trees, & sky reflected in the
still water of the river. This is wine country again and lots of unemployed
people from Spain and Portugal come to pick grapes. Some find their way to
Luxembourg, our destination today, and seek work there in menial jobs
and in the steel industry. The 8,000 Muslim immigrants who live in
Luxembourg have become a major issue. They take government funds offered to all
religious institutions but are pushing for sharia law to prevail for them over
the local legal system.
We
left the boat at 8:30 AM and made the ninety minute trek through an industrial
zone, up forested hills and into one of the smallest countries in the world. We
traveled the autobahn once again and Dewi told us that if you get too many DUI
points on your license you have to see a "shrink." A woman in
our group who is a therapist thought that was a dandy idea.
Luxembourg
(I'll call it Lux for the sake of my fingers) is 100 square miles and has
500,000 people. Over half are immigrants. Their economy is based on tourism,
farming, & like Switzerland, hiding money. Lux is the only grand duchy in
the world & is led by Duke Henry, a relative of The Netherlands' royal
family. Their spoken language is Luxembourgish, a mixture of German and French,
which they rarely use for the written word. In grammar school they're taught in
German. Later schooling is done in French. English is also required.
Our
local guide, Jean-Pierre, wasn’t up to the usual standards we've come to
expect. His English was hard to understand and he read a great deal of what he
was telling us. His reading of English was a bit worse than his spoken words.
He rambled back and forth in history and mixed up dates so I found it a real
challenge to take notes. After a while I stopped. I was serious when I told
people in our group that I might have to resort to Wikipedia for background
info and history. Unfortunately we don't have access to Wi-Fi where we're
docked so this is mostly from memory.
Our
first stop was at the American cemetery. America got to liberate Lux twice.
They declared victory but then Germany saw fit to re-invade. When asked to
surrender by the Germans, Brig.Gen. McAuliffe rejected the demands by famously
responding, "Nuts!" Thus began the Battle of the Bulge. It lasted from
Dec. 16, 1944-March 21, 1945. The number of Americans killed was 5,076.
The
chapel is divided between Christian and Jewish faiths and plots are marked with
crosses or Stars of David. We searched to no avail for stones to put on the
stars until one of our group pointed out the rocks in the flowerbeds. Freshly
supplied, we made our way through the markers seeking out the Jewish fallen. I
worked my way to a far corner of the cemetery and stopped in my tracks. I waved
frantically to David who hastily joined me. We were standing in front of the
grave of Morris M. Horowitz of New York buried in 1945. We were surprised as
our emotions overwhelmed us and we broke down as David recited the El Molay, a
Hebrew prayer said at graveside. When I told Dewi what we'd found she took me
to the office to speak to the manager. He had no more information than was on
the grave but when I mentioned the possibility of one of David's relatives
researching it (he does genealogy) the man encouraged me to email him if I
learned anything at all.
It
was at the grave of Morris Horowitz that we both made the decision not to visit
the cemetery at our next stop. It was too much for us to commemorate the 1,000
fallen German soldiers buried there. We did get off the bus and walked down the
tree-sheltered path that had lots of rocks. We stopped outside the entrance and
waited for the group to return.
Lux
Our
bus shuttled us next to the city center where we got our first view of the
hills, bridges, valleys, and rivers of which Luxembourg City is comprised. Our
guide attempted to fill us in on the history of Lux. Oy! The Romans came in
963; it was made a duchy in 1354; it was then absorbed by the duke of Burgundy
following which it spent time under the Dutch and French (Napoleon). In
1815 it was made a Grand Duchy and lost some territory to newly created
Belgium. Hitler invaded in 1940. Aren't you impressed? But now I must
disillusion you. I looked up the history in a pamphlet on the boat.
Lux
is now a constitutional monarchy with a parliament. The town is a mix of old
and new with the more modern prevailing. I wouldn't say that the old buildings
even held a candle to some of the cities we've seen thus far. We avoided a huge
bike race taking place and maneuvered into and around a lovely church, past the
parliament and palace and into the main square.
After
lunch we sat in the shade and watched the crowds. It had turned hot and stayed
sunny. It was Sunday and most stores were closed this being a Catholic
country, but I found an open bookstore. I was able to conduct my entire
transaction in French phrases and procured most of what I needed.
Those
who know me well are of course waiting to hear about how I slept on the bus. I
managed ten minutes going and forty-five minutes coming back. Not too shabby.
After dinner we were fighting to stay awake. We went up to the sun deck to
watch the captain take the boat through yet another lock. A storm was moving in
and he was eager to get to the other side. He has to be outdoors at the side
controls to guide the boat and he ended up getting very wet. Lightning and
thunder eventually drove us downstairs but he was still at his post albeit with
a crew member holding an umbrella over his head.
We
sail on the Mosel all night until we meet the Rhine. Tomorrow we dock at
Boppart.
You probably guessed that since I've stopped talking about
the weather it has improved. Today is 83 and sunny.
We
opened our eyes not only to a new city but to several miracles. Our captain had
managed to turn our boat around in this very narrow river and the slate hills
of yesterday are gone. We are now staring at red cliffs. Are we in
Georgia, Dorothy? Then the bus taking us to the city center passed Hotel
Kessler. That's my maiden name. I have to start looking for my mother's maiden
name, but if I told you that you'd be able to access my accounts. I'm
jumping ahead, but another bit of excitement was getting to go pee-pee in a
Roman ruin looking at a Roman wall. Wonder if the men got to pee on it?
David says no.
Here
we go again...Celts, Romans, France, Prussians, Catholics, Protestants, &
Karl Marx. The latter grew up here and his home has become a pilgrimage site
for Chinese. Go figure. All fought, some prevailed, lots of dead bodies, peace
at last. Trier is Germany's oldest city dating from Roman occupation in 16 BC
& has several World Heritage sites. Their most dramatic ruin, which is
still in use as a Lutheran church, is their 2,028 year old
"Basilica". It’s extraordinary that in the time of Constantine they were
able to build an enormous structure of many stories. The windows alone are two
stories tall with opaque glass. The entire structure was brick covered with
plaster and has to be at least as large as a football field. The plaster has
fallen away but the flat roof remains. Another miracle of Roman engineering is
that the roof has no interior pillars supporting it. The still functioning
heating system was comprised of a double floor between which were furnaces.
Heat rises up the hollows in the exterior walls to a height of twenty-four feet
before being vented to the outside. Today they can still use the heating system
with electric heat but the cost is prohibitive. The Lutherans take refuge in a
more modern building during winter months. Attached to this wondrous edifice is
a pink rococo palace. Yes, a bishop wanted to knock down the Roman
"ruin" to build his palace but "saner" minds prevailed. I'm
not sure those who approved the pink “wart” can be considered sane. Allies saw
fit to bomb the town destroying 60 % so it really isn't totally original but
still impressive. At some point, as we were standing in the gardens in front of
the palace, our camera battery died. That's why God created postcards.
Our
guide spoke of the enormous Roman baths we’d passed on the bus. They were more
than baths and served as social facilities where speeches were given, there
were saunas, areas for games, and men could confer as they sat in the
toilet room on benches with holes in them. The sketch based on archaeological digs
she showed us reminded me of a very upscale version of the toilets we'd seen at
Birkenau. In al,l the baths looked like a Roman Community Center,
perhaps an RCC.
Unlike
conquerors to follow, Rome let their subjects keep their own culture and slowly
assimilate into Roman society. Not so Catholics and Protestants. In the
majority Catholic city (80% at one time) Protestants were only allowed to stay
in town for three days with special permission. Even within the Catholic Church
there was rivalry and we stood before what seemed like dueling cathedrals. Side
by side they were built competitively with towers being added to one when the
other became taller. The one we toured must consider itself victorious since
it’s the keeper of the tunic Jesus wore as he walked to be crucified.
The
patron saint of Trier is Peter who is honored by having his image on every
manhole cover. David was impressed by the pagan nature of belief today as our
guide pointed out that the mayor goes to the statue of St. Peter in the market square
to kiss the statue's hand & offer flowers in hope that they’ll have four
consecutive days of good weather for their festival.
Our
last stop was the Black Gate, formerly the white gate. Ancient pollution has
taken its toll & the patina is left to protect the stones from modern
atmospheric assault. The Roman wall and gates originally surrounding the town
were plundered for stone in the Middle Ages and the only reason this gate
remains is that a monk, Simeon, holed up in a room, was sealed in, food and
water was handed to him through a ceiling opening, and he died there. The
pope made him an instant saint and the gate was made into a church. Everything
was hunky dory until Napoleon came and closed down the church. But, at least
Napoleon had sense to preserve it. Built in 80 AD, of sandstone, it took the
Romans from four months to two years to complete. That's based on knowledge of
their timing on other projects. Our guide quipped that today it takes that long
to get permits to build.
We
chose to walk back to the boat. It was an easy (twenty minute) stroll through a
tree-lined park. We beat the bus & got to charge the camera battery for the
afternoon tour.
Synagogue Visit
The
tour of the synagogue was fully booked with some people being shut out. We found
three more Jews on our boat when the group assembled. Our guide said that due
to security it's hard to tour European synagogues. Permits are needed and
there's red tape. The one in Trier is easier to see as there's not a huge
security concern here. Our tour was led by a member of the Jewish
community and he did a very good job of presenting a lecture on basic Judaism.
There were times when he needed help translating from German (our guide bailed
him out) and times we all pitched in to figure out what he meant. David got to
read the Hebrew inscription over the entrance. The building was constructed in
1957 and is a basic stone cube. There's a social hall and kosher kitchen in the
lower level. The closest I can figure is it's conserva-dox. Women sit on the
opposite side of the aisle from the men with no screen unless the rabbi is
there. Then women go upstairs to the balcony. With the influx of Soviet Jews
they have prayer books in Russian and Hebrew and the ones at our seats were
German/Hebrew.
In
the entry there's a plaque for a young soldier killed in WWI. It was dedicated
by his parents for their son "who died for the Fatherland." Twenty
years later they were deported to Auschwitz. Another plaque commemorates those
transported in WWII. There are two six-branched menorahs in the sanctuary
symbolizing the six million Jews lost in the Holocaust. BTW, the word
“holocaust” has yet to be spoken by any guide on the trip. Seven Torahs are in
the ark two being original to the old synagogue. The others are from
Strasbourg, France.
There
have been Jews here since the 1100's. Urban I was a problem followed by the
Crusaders. During the plague when Jews were blamed for the epidemic the
bishop took them into his protection behind the walls of his palace. In 1480 the
archbishop forced Jews to give him their money at which time they went to Italy
and Poland. In 1807 Napoleon gave Jews the rights of all French citizens and
the area around the Judenstrasse was considered a prime property near the
market square where the wealthy lived. He had them pay taxes and they had to
Germanize their names and register. In 1859 the synagogue had an organ and was
part of the liberalization of German Jewry and the start of what we know today
as Reform Judaism. Before WWIl there were 1200 Jews in Trier. Only fourteen
returned but they established orthodox ritual without an organ. Now there are
about 475 Jews with lots of non-observant Russians in the mix. The Jewish
community is not well integrated in the city as a whole and attempts are being
made to rectify that. They will be part of a planned international
festival. Today's congregation is served by rabbis from Cologne,
Mainz, and Luxembourg.
We
chose to walk from the synagogue into the old city (about fifteen
minutes). Our mission was to stop at McDonald’s to buy two Happy Meals for
Talia and Rylee. The clever toys are what attracted us and of course we won't
bring the food home. We gave most of it away. We walked from there back to the
boat (twenty minutes) and David tried listening in with our receivers to a tour
group from a Viking cruise. It worked. Their guide pretty much said what ours
did.
We
sat with a couple from Columbus, Oho during dinner. They're Anglicans who split
from the Episcopal Church over the LGBT issue. They really got
"enlightened." Then we were stopped by Dewi and Becky, two tour
directors. Dewi has wanted to discuss the LGBT issue ever since I asked about
the rainbow flag the other day. She finally got a chance and got a short
version of our spiel. They're both very supportive & Dewi has an uncle
married to a trans woman. She has David's PFLAG card and is anxious to go on
line to pflag.org.
After
dinner there was an oompah band. I couldn't take it so retreated to the cabin.
Tonight we'll sail to Traben-Tarbach from where we have an all day bus tour of
Luxembourg.
A
detail about the Mosel River. It's a series of lakes joined by canals and
locks. It has many bends and looks like a giant blue snake on a map.
Campers
line the banks and families enjoy camping here as much as home. Most bring
their bicycles and vie with us for the footpaths, streets, & walkways. They
in no way give warning they're about to pass & I had to pull David out of
harm’s way this morning.
I
feel like a slug. So much sitting. Today promised more exercise. We followed
Dewi into Bernkastel (pop. 8,000), the most lovely town so far. In 800
Charlemagne made a deal with the pope. If Charlemagne could be emperor of the
holy Roman empire, the pope would be it's holy leader. Lanshut Castle was built
around 993 by Celts & sits on top of a hill. It's a forty minute walk
and it was a passing thought for the exercise. In 1700 the castle was hit
by lightning and never rebuilt. In the fashion of the time its stones were
used to build elsewhere.
The
half-timbered buildings in town were much more beautiful than in Cochem.
Many were decorated in the reds, greens, & yellows associated with Germany.
As we passed an old bath house, now a cafe, Dewi told us why brides carry
flowers. In ancient times only the rich could afford baths more than a few
times a year. It was a sign of wealth if a bride was sweet smelling and didn't
need flowers to mask body odor. She said to take note that even today royal
brides of Europe don't carry flowers.
On
the way to our early morning (11 AM) visit to the winery we passed a plaque to
the Jews who were deported from Bernkastle in WWII. The winery is nicknamed the
Doctor's Winery and dates from hundreds of years ago when a prince from
Trier was very ill. Doctors couldn't cure him but a vintner here said his wine
had healing powers and it did. Riesling grapes are the primary grape of the
area and we were treated to four varieties of wine going from dryer to sweeter,
all delicious. The Thanisch family cellar dates back 400 years and we sat
there listening to an explanation of viniculture for an hour in the 55 degree
constant temperature. That temp may be good for wine but I hustled out into the
sun as soon as I could.
Food
is becoming an issue. We really need to tell them at least a meal ahead to fix
a dish with chicken instead of pork.At
lunch I had another salad bar and David resorted to a burger since the main was
bacon sandwich, pasta with mussels, or wiener (pork) schnitzel. There was a
German buffet for dinner including roasted whole suckling pig, pig knuckles,
bratwurst, other sausages, pork meatballs. I could barely look at the pig as
they paraded around with it festooned with sparklers. Wonder why there's never
a whole roast cow on a buffet? We arranged for our potato leek soup to be
served without bacon bits & I had roast beef. David ate beef, veal roast,
& veal bratwurst. I didn't think we'd starve until I read the menu for
tomorrow. Lunch has chicken rolled in ham, honey & mustard glazed ham at a
carving station, pork meatballs,or schweinbraten. Dinner offers shrimp, but
there's also beef, salmon, or crepes.
Be
careful what you wish for. We went to Town Hall & got the key to the Jewish
cemetery gate as well as a map. Either our map reading skills are rusty or
they're still trying to do away with Jews here, but we were on our last legs at
the end of the jaunt. I walked an hour straight up a steep hill & David
went half way. We never found a cemetery of any kind and when I asked those
who'd climbed higher they said they hadn't seen one further along. When I
turned back I realized I was taking a different route down. With no cell phones
I had to rely on the kindness of strangers to tell me that, yes, there was a
man in an orange shirt sitting on a bench near a shrine at the fork in the
road. We were reunited and toddled back to Town Hall to return the key. I
needed to change for dinner. That or carry a bouquet.
There
was a special reception for Inner Circle members of Grand Circle Tours. You
qualified if you'd taken three trips with them. We've been on five. There was
wine and hors d'oeuvres and a thank you from the staff. There are sixty-two
Inner Circle travelers on this trip which is an unusually large amount, about
half the number of passengers.
Puzzle
chai (lives). I finally found the person with the authority to allow us to put
the puzzle on a table and leave it there overnight. He's the head bartender and
with the help on Egis, the evening singer/keyboard player, we prevailed on him
for permission. He agreed that it made no sense to have large puzzles that
can't be used.
Our
after dinner entertainment was the staff holding a lottery to see who won
products of Germany. They were clever about it and are quick on their feet. We
won a tiny bottle of kleiner feigling. We're not sure but think it's
vodka.
We've
been divided into three groups since the beginning of the cruise and starting
times for some city tours are organized by group color. We're in the red group
so when we were assigned the later time for tomorrow morning we let out a big
cheer. That's a half hour more sleep.
Tomorrow
we'll be in Trier and they've arranged for a special tour of the synagogue in
the afternoon. The total cost is 40 EU for the group. There are thirty-one
going so it's really cheap. We'll pitch in extra for a tip. I think the
organizers were really surprised at the interest. There are only three Jewish
people on the boat.
