Nijmegen

Walking the Plank

Holocaust Memorial

Giant Rabbit

May 31, 2011-Water-Water

How does the crew know our names? At lunch our server handed us the soup and assured us it was without ham. We sat at his station last night but we hadn't sat there before. They're amazing. I on the other hand have given up. I don't even know with whom I dined the previous night. There are 135 people and open seating. I've learned a few names and don't think any more will stick. Everyone is friendly and we have lots to talk about, but I've not a clue who they are. Most have stopped wearing their nametags.

As it turns out our room is really well located. The passengers are all old people & go to bed early so noise isn't an issue. I don't know what the one twenty year old from Mnpls traveling with his grandfather does after 10PM.

It was rainy and mid-60's but not too windy so our walking tour of Nijmegen was rather pleasant. What with holding the umbrella and wearing gloves I didn't take notes, so the history is sketchy. Nijmegen's problem is, of course, water and today there wasn't enough. The river is so shallow that traffic is slowed down. All boats have to use the middle and the two-way traffic is too close for comfort at times. When we docked due to the low water level, the gangplank had to be on a steep incline from boat to shore. The crew was there to help some make the climb and keep from us slipping even with the rubber matting they put on the metal ramp.

This is reckoned to be the oldest town in The Netherlands. Barbarosa was here in the 1100's and Charlemagne came in the 1400's. Each left vestiges of their castles with one using the stones of the other with which to build. We entered the rebuilt newer city through water gates that are new and still in use. Many medieval structures survived WWII and are striking in their design. Unfortunately the Allies were instrumental in bombing the city by error and adding to their plight. There’s a memorial to Jews lost in the Holocaust that includes a statue and tombstone upon which people still place stones and memorial candles. It was obviously carefully tended and well planted with colorful pansies. Our guide walked us past the present synagogue rebuilt in the old style and still in use although the Jewish community is small.

We had time on our own and managed to come upon a wedding at Town Hall. It didn't matter that it's a Tuesday. Streamers and balloons decorated the railing outside the Hall & well wishers waited. The groom was decked out in jeans with his shirttails out and the very pregnant bride wore a short teal dress with boots sporting teal laces.

Although it was pointed out to us, we decided to skip the cafes selling both coffee and marijuana. We were told that locals know how to handle smoking pot but tourists get into trouble. They leave the cafes and head for the bars. Mixing liquor and pot isn't recommended. Ironically, smoking tobacco indoors is forbidden in The Netherlands but that doesn't extend to marijuana.

We walked through the shopping streets to a park overlooking the river to see the old castle ruins but didn't expect to see a giant wooden rabbit into which you can climb for a "rabbit's eye" view. Unfortunately, it didn't open until later in the day.

Boat Tour

While David went for his massage I climbed up to the wheel house for the captain's tour of the bridge. Did I mention that the captain is about 6'5" tall? His head tickled the ceiling as he explained some things and answered our questions. We may have a captain but this is a rudderless boat. They use the two propellers to steer.  The view from the bridge provided a different perspective of how much traffic there really is on the river. It's like dodge-em cars only without bumper protectors. There's almost no way to lighten the load but they do have ballast tanks in case they have to lower the depth the boat rides in the water so they can get under a bridge. Some rivers are more stable than others and some have shifting sandbars requiring the pilots to be updated from trip to trip. The Rhine doesn't change much but the Danube does. Captains are licensed for each segment of a river. It's an ongoing process & at times they have to hire a pilot who is licensed on a particular stretch of water where the captains are not yet qualified. The official language spoken on this river is German. There's no international language as with airline pilots. This boat doesn't go that fast but others seem to zoom past. We travel at 6-8 knots up stream & 11 knots with the current. As far as the locks go there is no schedule on the Rhine. It's first come first served. Schedules are needed on the Mosel River but several boats can have the same time. In that case it becomes first come first served. This is pretty high tech with radar, sonar, GPS, etc., but if the captain falls asleep we're toast. There are always at least two captains aboard and the crew is trained to be able to stop the boat but there's no fail-safe system. We were assured that the shifts aren't longer than 6-7 hours so the captains stay alert.

Since we were sailing so much of today there was a kitchen tour too to fill time. The most interesting thing I learned was about the language policy for the entire crew. They must speak English when working together or when in small groups on off hours where more than one language is represented. This prevents cliques from forming based on language group and keeps people from being able to gossip about others in front of them.

The kitchen is in two levels and bigger than I thought it would be. They serve 140 meals per seating & all Grand Circle boats use a uniform cookbook compiled yearly. Menus are also the same within the fleet with the exception of regional foods being used. I see sauerbraten in our future. All chefs, sous chefs, & new hires must attend culinary school for a month in January. Plates are assembled in 7-9 seconds in assembly line fashion. However they do it the food exceeds our expectations except for the halibut tonight.

Before dinner there was a short talk about our next port, Bonn. It started with a question, "What do you know about Germany?" I didn't answer, "The Holocaust," though that was the first thing I thought of. Most people thought of beer.

Our puzzle group has expanded. There are people waiting for a seat to open at the table. We almost finished it tonight but gave up. There was a cute skit the tour directors put on making fun of the passengers. That followed a German lesson. We were puzzling and not really paying attention. David was kind of bored this afternoon and kept falling asleep during the skit. I puzzled on.

Tomorrow is a busy day. We'll have a twenty minute walk from where the boat docks to the city center of Bonn. It's due to the low water level. If they docked in their usual spot the gangplank would be even steeper than it was today. We'll take a walking tour and return to the boat for lunch. Afterwards we signed up for a tour of Augustenberg Palace. At least David won't be bored.

Toby