Category: Holidays (Page 12 of 12)

Rhine Cruise 27.7.19

28 July 2019 / admin

Xanten Arena 27.7.19

Our destination today is the Xanten Archaeological Park which is a reminder of how far the tentacles of the Roman Empire reached. The teams are undertaking huge reconstruction of the former structures on site – commencing with the Arena which at the time of our visit was very much the prime exhibit.

Colonia Ulpia Traiana is the Roman name for the place and it was one of the largest cities in the Germanic provinces with, at its peak over 10,000 men, women and children residing here at the northern borders of the Empire. The Romans initially arrived in around 13 or 12 BC, with a legion always based in the area. The city covered around 180 acres and the city reached its largest extent in around the 2nd century AD. As a Colonia the residents were granted full Roman citizenship and Roman laws applied in place of Germanic. The Colonia was originally on the Rhine itself, but changing watercourses led to it becoming remote from the river. The Colonia was over run by Franks in the third century with the stones being re-used for new buildings.

Latrines Xanten 27.7.19

The reconstruction work covers the baths and latrines and since the visit I can see that even more now exists.

City Gate Xanten 27.7.19

Moving away from the Roman City the Klever Tor was constructed in 1393 as part of the medieval fortification of the city, most of which has since been removed. It is now used for holiday accommodation – a far cry from earlier use as a house of detention. Post WWII damage it had undergone some reconstruction.

Xanten St Viktor 27.7.19

We also had time to pass by the Xanten Cathedral before returning to the boat for our lunchtime departure.

Rhine Cruise 26.7.19

27 July 2019 / admin

Basilica of Our Lady, Maastricht 26.7.19

The reason why our boat sailed along without us yesterday was due to the distance to be covered to our next destination, which also sees us leave the Rhine behind and to take a sideways trip, almost back into Belgium to the City of Maastricht which is still just in southeastern Netherlands. This requires a trip along part of the river Meuse as the city lies either side of that river.

the name resounds because it was the Treaty signed here in 1992 which led to the foundation of the European Union. A significant mistake was made at this point by the Major government as other nations did not undertake a referendum which led to nigh on 20 years of unrest within the Conservative party which may never be resolved but almost certainly led to the later demands for an exit from the EU. A referendum at that point might have avoided the subsequent histrionics.

Restaurant Maastricht 26.7.19

Despite being post the Brexit vote, the local restaurants looked interesting – with simple messages conveying what to eat!

Hell’s Gate Maastricht 26-7-19

The city history goes back a long way and this gate dates back to around 1230 in the original walls around the city.

Maastricht lies at the joining of the Jeker and Meuse rivers and as we head back northwards we have Germany on the right bank and Netherlands on the left. I believe a cut off canal at Mook then takes us back to Nijmegen where we rejoin the Waal and we then head eastwards entering Germany where the river becomes the Rhine.

Rhine Cruise 25.7.19

26 July 2019 / admin

Windmills Netherlands Open Air Museum 25.7.19

Our destination in early afternoon is a berth at Arnhem where we berth to disembark for a trip to the Netherlands Open Air Museum. Scenic Ruby then departs and we later rejoin her at Nijmegen.

The Open Air Museum covers a significant area and similar to beamish Museum has a tramway running around much of the perimeter to enable access from one area to another. We have around 3 hours which means it is impossible to cover the entire site but we can at least gain some exposure to the collection of historic buildings which have been brought to the site from across the country.

The windmills above have different origins with the large one being a sawmill (originally in Numansdorp) whilst the smaller one behind was a drainage mill (from Gouda).

Dwelling Interior 25.7.19

Like Beamish and other museums the interior of the preserved houses have been suitably fitted out with relevant interiors.

NS Class no 285 25.7.19

A little wandering around found this locomotive at the goods shed which is adjacent to the tram depot.

Tram 25.7.19

The trams are also running so provide some rides as we progress.

There were a couple of coaches undertaking our transfer back to the Scenic Ruby but despite being requested to use the same coach someone failed to do this and we are significantly delayed on our return as the numbers when counted do not add up. We are counted numerous times and eventually the facts are sorted – no-one is missing but I have a feeling we end up delaying our boat’s departure. We do make the connection – just.

Rhine Cruise 24.7.19

25 July 2019 / admin

Delta Works 24.7.19

We marginally retrace our route overnight returning to the Netherlands, berthing in Veere on Zeeland which is immediately adjacent to the southern end of the North Sea. I take an organised trip to the Delta Works. Originally the plans were for sea defences which would protect the entire country by carefully controlling the flow of water to and from the North Sea. Eventually opposition and the vast costs limited some of the ambitions but the Delta Works was the largest outcome from projects which commenced following the North Sea flood of 1953.

In the South Holland area there are 4 million residents which the state sought to protect such that flooding risks were limited to particular risk levels which were then enshrined into law. Some of the original plans could not be progressed due to the potential loss of important buildings and also ended a plan for a new freshwater area as the harvesting of oysters would have suffered. However the works which have completed have still led to former sea water becoming fresh water as there is no longer open passage to the sea. Obviously the need to preserve life is highly rated and work is now under consideration to enable the likely coming increase in sea water levels can be ameliorated.

Delta Works Barriers 24.7.19

Conveying the size and scale of the barriers is almost impossible but hopefully this goes some way to achieving that.

This evening is the Captain’s cocktail reception and welcome dinner.

Rhine Cruise 23.7.19

24 July 2019 / admin

Antwerp 23.7.19

Most of the river cruise moves take place at night so we arise this morning moored in Antwerp in Belgium which is mainly south of Amsterdam having passed along the Amsterdam-Rhine canal for about 40 miles. Wikipedia reports that it is the world’s heaviest used artificial waterway with an annual average of over 100,000 ships.

This joins one of the major branches of the Rhine – the Waal – from which we branch off and do not quite reach the open sea but proceed via canals to Antwerp which is some ten miles or so north of Brussels. We dock at Antwerp at lunchtime.

We have joined an afternoon walking tour of Antwerp on what is another intensely sunny day and it is not long before we are all feeling the heat, so it is immensely pleasant for hear the guide to inform us that he would shortly be turning onto a shady street.

When we do there is no shade. It transpires that this is the centre of the local prostitution area. At the time prostitution was recognised and regulated only becoming decriminalised in 2022. Antwerp (being a port) took a very different view to other local authorities and heavily regulated the red light district – elsewhere the approach was to ban window prostitution so the sights here are unlikely to be seen elsewhere. There are signs offering particular services and indicating prices. The residents do not wish photographs to be taken, any sign of use of a camera was met with shouting and banging on the glass. So only the wall was photographed.

Antwerp Guild Houses 23.7.19

We pass by other parts of Antwerp – which of course is the centre of the diamond trade – and was therefore immensely rich, witness the Guild Houses above on the edge of the Market Place and there were other examples of architecture with the Cathedral and other churches proving impressive. The tour takes around two hours in total.

Rhine Cruise 22.7.19

23 July 2019 / admin

Eurostar 22.7.19

This was our first river cruise for many years – the last one was last century in Russia and it was a decent way to see sights and yet be insulated from most of the country’s drawbacks. This cruise also marks a return to Scenic with whom we travelled to Australia a few years earlier – we were well looked after then so hoped for a repeat of that experience. As this is being penned some years after the event I will not be doing a day by day record but will record a little more detail than on some holidays not covered at the time.

The start to the holiday was when we were collected at 03:20 to be taken to London St Pancras International – a very early hour indeed. What is more pleasant is that at the time the through service to Amsterdam was only just over a year old – to my mind the limited destinations available via Eurostar have limited passenger growth, along with the way passengers are treated with excessive luggage scans, pen herding and essentially not really believing that they are running a train service. All of which is experienced today!

The actual trip to Amsterdam is smooth and we are met and ushered onto a bus – which effectively takes us to the other end of the station where the cruise boat is moored. It is a long station so I suppose it is quicker than walking – but the weather was warm so it was preferable to be air conditioned for a few minutes.

For those who have not participated in a river cruise the point probably needs to be made that cabin sizes are not enormous – there is not the same space as on cruise liner (navigating locks would be impossible) so the cabin size can be disappointing. In these circumstances I retire to a corner or the bed and wait until Jackie has unpacked and then unpack my case so that only one of us is moving around the cabin at a time. It means I can listen to the concerns being expressed and readily note my sympathetic view.

The aim of the cruise is sea to source – well not quite. From Amsterdam and the North Sea to Switzerland with a diversion along part of the Moselle with the cruise ship navigating part of the latter.