Day 5 - The Rhine Gorge and Koblentz - Thursday May 31 2012

Woke up a little later than usual today. The boat, the Felicity, left Rudeshiem and started up the Rhine again. We sailed through the Rhine Gorge.  This is a stretch of the Rhine where the shores on either side are high cliffs. The river can reach a depth of 25 meters - about 82 feet.  It can be dangerous to navigate this stretch, so thank goodness for a good crew. The interesting thing about the Rhine Gorge is the number of castles along the shores. Throughout the populated history of the region, different lords or kings built castles along the shore to control the commerce travelling the river. They would rain cannon fire near the ships as a warning that they could be more deadly if tribute wasn't paid. I'll post some pics below.<\p> After lunch we sailed to Koblentz.  We did a 90 minute walking tour of the city, which was originally a Roman outpost, then had about a couple of hours to explore on our own. We stopped at a bakery for coffee and WCs (water closets), and an ATM to pick up a few more Euros.  It rained a little while we walked back to the boat. Fortunately, we were prepared. Walked back to the boat to see a classical music show from some local musicians and then some kind of show being put on by the crew. Though neither of us is a big classical music fan, we both liked the little concert the string trio put on tonight. They did a few " gypsy" numbers. Very enjoyable. The crew put on a little show too. Hokey, but fun. There was a little music and dancing, but we came back to our cabin. Looking out our window to the south there are city lights. Looking north, there are also very lights. Maybe village lights is a better description.

Day 4 - Mainz and Rudescheim - May 30 2012

So today started with a stop at Mainz.  Not too much going on in this town of about 200,000.  There is of course a Cathedral in Rudescheim and a square.  The most interesting thing happened this morning though.  Janice has not been feeling well. Sore throat, coughing, pus in her eyes.  She wanted to see a doctor.  We went to the Gutenberg Museum.  He was born here and printed most of his Bibles here.  We got to see a reproduction of the first printing press and some actual volumes that were printed by him.  That was the second most interesting thing about Mainz.  The most interesting thing was a trip to a local doctor's office.  Andrei, the tour director, met us at the Museum and then took us to a local doctor's office.  It was not a state run facility, which is the norm, but like a doc's professional association.  Three docs in the office who see all people.  The government insured and the private insured. Janice was seen by Doctor Irene Kohls.  Using Andrei as our interpreter, she examined Janice and prescribed 3 medications.  Which we then took to a Apotheke (pharmacy) and got filled.  The doc visit was 24 Euros, which we paid in cash.  The drugs were about 33 Euros which we charged.  While in the doc office, Andrei stayed with us, and we talked about the healthcare system in Germany.  I guess it's what we would recognize as Universal or single-payer.  They do have private pay options, which seem to be advantageous in the time arena.  Private payer probably gets services quicker.  The reason why is because even the private payer has 80% paid by the state and the medical provider keeps the 20%. Andrei kept saying it's not perfect, but it's what we're used to.  We came back to the boat and are sailing to Rudeschiem, our next stop.  It seems to be the heart of the Reisling wine region, so wine tasting.

We went to a really neat mechanical musical instrument museum. Very cool stuff. A gentleman named Vernon, or something like that, showed us around the museum and demonstrated some of the instruments to us. I had the opportunity to actually participate in a demonstration. I'll try to post a video clip.

The museum was followed by a visit and wine tasting at Georg Brauer's wine garden. They put out cubes of cheese and let us taste a couple of different white wines. There was a band playing. Very friendly atmosphere. We would come back later that evening for dinner.  While walking around the town, we were there when a Russian woman from NJ feel.

The band played H'vana Gilah, and a few people actually got up and danced a hora.

This is an easy way to type

Speyer and Heidelberg - Tuesday May 29 2012

When we awoke, we were docked at Speyer.  The day started off with a walk into town from the boat.  We followed Andrew, the cruise director, who had to mail a package.  We walked in through a small but immaculate park.  As the crowd was crossing a railraod track, a train actually came by.  Unlike in the US, there was no post coming down or flashing lights or bells to warn you a train was coming. Andrew had to yell at some people to move quickly, gently chiding them, "Have you never lived in a city!"
There was a Cathedral, imagine that, as we came to the main square in town.
At the other end of the square was a city gate.  Beyond that were some shops.
Also a church where Martin Luthor nailed up his articles of Protestations against the Catholic Church.
We bought a new backpack from a store called Jack Wolfskin - German made travel gear and clothes.
We were supposed to be back at teh boat at 11:00 AM.  We lost track of time and just made it to the boat on time.  Janice runs faster than I do!
Then back on the boat for lunch. 
Then we went to Mannheim.  Got to see some of the city by bus, because the bus took us to Heidelberg which is on the Neckar River.  It's not really deep enough for a regular passenger riverboat and the locks are not long enough.  Heidelberg has a ruined castle and a well known university.  Martin Trocki was there in 1976, just before Janice and I were married.
We had a good time visiting the ruins and walking around through the city.  Janice and I had coffee and shared a slice of Apple cake that was delicious.
I´'m writing this late at night at the computer in the lobby of the boat.  I have to publish it because I can't save it locally.  I'll come back to it late to fill in details and post pictures.
Tomorrow is Mainz - Gutenberg Bible, Rudesheim - Reisling wine tasting and mechanical instrument museum, and then an "authentic" German dinner in town.
Having a great time. 

Strasbourg and the Black Forest in Germany - Monday May 28

So, today we got up early. We had breakfast with some people we met on the trip. There's Lisa and Kevin McQuade from Suffolk County NY, and Brenda and Steve from Ontario.  We also met another couple from Paramus, NJ, named Jerry and Brenda Westheim. Also met a couple from Ellicott City - Bob and... forgot her name. There are people here from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.  Very international group.
So about our trip...
This morning and evening were very French. Strasbourg is in France on the south, or maybe west, bank of the Rhine. We disembarked and got on a tour bus. Very comfortable and not completely full. The bus took us to another smaller tourist boat - my name for it.  It was like a long tube, the top of it being glass or plastic so we could get a good view all around. That boat took us along the Ill river through Strasbourg. We saw the seat of the European Council and a number of other very new and modern buildings along the river. At some point we crossed into the old city. A very marked difference in architecture. During the history of the city it went from being a Roman outpost in the BC era, through the Middle Ages, part of the Hapsburg Dynasty, Catholic, Protestant and a lot more history behind it.
The boat dropped us off near the Notre Dame du Strasbourg Cathedral. Very impressive. Pic below.
Back to the boat for lunch. After a short while we took another bus into Germany to the Black Forest. It was a beautiful drive to an open air museum. It was actually a little village with some buildings dating back to the 1400's. I have to admit my first step onto German soil left an impression on me. I couldn't help but think about Hitler and Nazis and the Holocaust. It left me feeling a deep satisfaction. The Third Reich is no more, and here I am a Jew, vacationing in the country that would have seen my people into extinction. I know it wasn't the whole country, but the feeling was there. I found the Germans we met to be very friendly. I guess one of the reasons people travel is to see things for yourself - to overcome your own ignorances and prejudices. It's a hard thing to do. We stopped at a gift shop that specializes in koo-koo clocks. Herr Herr was the proprietor. His family has had the shop for 6 generations. Nice old gentleman who asked if I hunted. He hunts in the Black Forest for deer, elk and boar. He keeps some and sells some to local restaurants. I liked him.
Back to the boat and dinner. There was entertainment tonight. An accordion player and a singer. Very French and very entertaining.
Tomorrow Speyer and Heidelberg.

Day Two - Zurich

Slept well last night. Today looks like another beautiful day. People tell us we are lucky with the weather. Apparently it was very wet the few days before we got here.
We just had a wonderful breakfast. Movenpick has a great breakfast buffet.
Getting ready to start our Pilatus tour in Lucerne.
OK. It's almost 11:00 PM.  We were out all day. Took a bus to Luzern, then a cable car to the top of Mount Pilatus. Then, a ferry back to Luzern. Really not into writing too much tonight, but I'll post some pictures. Well follow with more pics and descriptions.

Day One

It's Thursday about 3:30 pm.  We're at gate D11 at Dulles.  Our flight leaves at 5:45, but they start boarding at 4:55.  Considering all the stuff we went through for security, waiting another hour and a half shouldn't be too bad.

As it turns out we were delayed til about 7:45.  We all boarded the plane and tried again.  They didn't keep is on the tarmac too long.  It's now a little after 11.  We each watched a movie - or a part thereof , had dinner and are just settling in for the rest of our flight.  We are over the North Atlantic now, having traveled more than 1500 miles. We seem to be directly south of the southern tip of Greenland.  OK.  Enough of this boring stuff. Will continue after We land and get settled in at the hotel.
Just woke up from a not very restful 2 hour nap.  I wasn't going to write anything till we checked in, but...  Trans Atlantic flight is for the birds - and they are welcome to it.  I'm guessing we're about 20 minutes from flying over Paris.  If I want so tired, I'd be really excited.
We landed! One of the first things we saw at the airport was a smoking lounge.

Hollywood Beckons?

Jan and I have been into movie screenings for a long time. Somehow, Janice gets the passes and then we go to the screening. It's a free movie and a night out. Considering that we go to dinner, drive miles to get to the theater, and then spend literally hours waiting in line, it's questionable just how free the movie is.   But we enjoy it. I've brought along friends who enjoy the movie but say all the other stuff isn't worth it.  Oh well.  To each has own.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go one step further in my love for movies. I went to an open casting call for a movie titled House of Cards.  It was held at Stevenson University on Greenspring Valley Rd.  They took pictures of everyone.  4-5 weeks later, I got a call from a company named Central Casting. They asked about my availability to show up on the set for a movie titled Better Living Through Chemistry, starring Sam Rockwell. I had to be an extra, or what they refer to as background. I got a part as a cop ( see pic below).  I hope the scene(s) I was in doesn't get left on the cutting room floor. Maybe I'll have a few seconds of Fame.  :-)

Gotta run.  Look for posts from Switzerland starting Friday.

Testing blogging with my new tablet

OK. Using my new Asus tablet to input this new post on the blog.  Honestly, at the moment, I'm not too happy with this tablet.  It's definitely going to take some getting used to.  Whew, I've only had to reinput this 4 times!  Maybe I won't be blogging as much as I thought!
Will have to get back on that one.
Let's try adding a picure.

So, it looks like it works OK. And besides that, adding text content isn't as bad as I thought it would be - I'm able to use Swype, or at least an Asus version of it. If you've never Swyped, try it. You'll love it. I don't think its available on Apple products. At least not yet. It's now Sunday night. We leave for Switzerland on Thursday. We did some packing today. Getting excited!