Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Saturday, May 10

Starting today all the ports we will be visiting will be new to us.  Rotterdam is one of the world’s busiest commercial ports.  It is the largest port in all of Europe, and the 3^rd largest in the world (behind 2 ports in China).  It took about 2 hours once we entered the mouth of the river at the Hook of Holland until we reached the docks at the cruise terminal, 30 miles inland.  There are sea barriers that protect the city from flooding (not the little Dutch boy with a finger in the dyke).

The sea barrier is 2 big doors on either side of the river.  These doors can slide towards the middle of the river and can close the river mouth in case of a storm flooding.  The doors are as big as the Eiffel Tower and protect all the people in the Rotterdam area.  The photo is an aerial view I grabbed from the internet.

The heart of the city of Rotterdam was destroyed in 1940 by Nazi bombing, but has been entirely rebuilt on a very modern and efficient pattern, which makes it very Dutch indeed.

We arrive in port about 11:00 am.  We wait and wait to be dismissed from the ship.  This is the largest ship to visit the port and it took some adjustments to the gangplanks before we could disembark.  And, it was raining!  And the wind was blowing very strong!  As we headed down the gangplank, there was severe congestion as some people in wheelchairs decided the weather was too bad for them and turned around ON the gangplank to return to the ship.

We looked for our guide for the day—Frank from “tours by locals”.  We are a nice small group of 13 from our rollcall in a very nice coach bus that could seat 45 people.  By touring with many of the same people each day we are becoming good friends.

Terry goofing off with our tour friends

Soon we were off on our tour.  Frank recommended we skip the Keukenhof Gardens.  It is famous for the tulip blooms, which have already passed this year.  Only blooming flowers would be in planters.  So, our first stop would be to see the windmills in Kinderjijk.  As we travelled along, Frank filled us in on a little history of the very efficient water management system for which the Dutch are so famous. 

The land in the Netherlands (Holland) is a delta of rivers and streams making their way to the sea.  When the early Romans came to the area, they did not stay as they felt the swampy land was uninhabitable.  Later, people arrived who devised a pumping system that could remove the water and make the land livable—windmills!  Forty percent of the country is below sea level, so they dug ditches and canals to remove the water to the sea with the aid of the windmills pumping the water along.

Typical home is about 650 square feet

Typical tourist souveniers

The nineteen mills of Kinderjik were constructed around 1740 as part of a larger water management system which prevented floods. Now they are a symbol of Dutch water management.  We were able to go inside one of the mills to see what life was like for the ‘miller’ and family who lived it in and kept the water pumping.  Today was National Windmill Day and we were fortunate to see ALL 19 of the windmills turning their blades.

Our tour guide, Frank, explaining the water management system

Inside the "millers" living quarters in the windmill

The only tulips we saw were wooden ones

The Dutch have a saying:  “God made the earth but the Dutch made Holland”.

Our next stop was at Delft, a beautiful city known for Delftware pottery, the painter Vermeer (famous painter of the girl with pearl) and William of Orange.   The rain stopped and the skies soon cleared.

Delft Blue is the world-famous earthenware that has been produced in the city of Delft since the 17th century.

Frank took us to a Delftware workshop where we saw a demonstration of the very laborious process of creating the beautiful earthenware.  It is a 4^th or 5^th generation family-run business and is only one of three true Delft manufacturers.  The pottery is beautiful and expensive!  Every step of the process is handmade and one of a kind. Unfortunately it is a dying art as the younger generation does not want to undergo the long and difficult training process.   The cheap stuff seen in tourist shops come from China or made in Holland but is machine-made.

The 6 steps of the same type of vase

The marks of true Delftware

The kiln

The lady is the painter on the pottery; the man does the molding/glazing, etc.

The name of the shop means candle holder

Just a few pieces that we really liked...

Frank took us on a walking tour of Delft.  We stopped at the “New Church”, which isn’t really new at all but is newer than the “Old Church”.  The Dutch don’t like to change names, I guess.  Inside the church we saw magnificent stained glass windows, a huge pipe organ and the Royal Crypt.  This is where the royals are entombed and there is a monument to William of Orange. 

The organ pipes

The current King, Queen and daughter

Now this stained glass I really like

William of Orange was an ambitious nobleman who grew into a rebel leader and was later honored as the “father of the country”, as the founder of a new Dutch state.

After the walking tour of the old city of Delft, Frank took us to the William of Orange café and treated us to a slice of “Dutch” apple pie and tea or coffee.

City Hall...it was once a prison

Canals throughout the town reminded us of Brugge, Belgium

Our guide said Delft has its own "leaning tower"

Bikes, bikes, everywhere

Couldn't talk Terry into buying a pair of Dutch running shoes!

Our "Dutch" apple pie

In the restaurant was a copy of the famous painting of The Girl with Pearl by Johan Vermeer, who lived in the town of Delft and specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life.

On our way back to the ship in Rotterdam, we passed through The Hague, which is the parliament buildings, the peace palace, and the city palace of the King.  It was just a drive by the buildings. 

We finally got a chance to take a photo of our ship from a viewpoint across the harbor.  Notice the tug boats along her side.  They were pushing against the ship to keep the gangplanks steady.  The winds were very strong.

We all agreed that our tour today with Frank was fantastic and would highly recommend him for anyone wishing to experience Rotterdam and the surrounding area.  It was a great day!

With one day at sea where I was able to catch up on these blog postings, we then reach Copenhagen, Denmark.  This is the final port for some 1,800 on the ship and many new passengers will be getting on the ship in Copenhagen.  We will continue on with the next leg of the voyage, going to the Baltic cities as far east as St. Petersburg, Russia.  Then back in Copenhagen we will disembark and stay 3 nights in Copenhagen before flying home.

The second voyage of our cruise

Since we will have 9 ports in 11 days, it’s most likely that I won’t be making any new posts until after we return home.  I’ll be just too busy siteseeing…

Lehavre, France.....but we head to PARIS!

Today is actually Friday, May 9, as I'm posting after the fact, and our port is Lehavre, France.  Today we join 6 others from our cruise critic roll call and head to Paris.  Our guide is Christophe Butaire, a driver/guide we hired after reading some wonderful reviews.  It will be a long day as the drive to/from Paris is 2 hours each way.  Our group is among the first to disembark the ship at 7:45 am and there is Christophe waiting for us. 

The drive to Paris is beautiful.  We pass by little villages that look so quaint and orderly.  The fields are lush and green.

Just before 10 am we arrive in Paris and see our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

First stop, though, is at the Arc de Triomphe.  It honors those who fought and died in the French Revolution and the Napoleon Wars.  Beneath its vault lies the tomb of an unknown soldier from WWI.  The eternal flame burns in the memory of those unidentified soldiers who died in both WWs.  Yesterday, May 8, was VE Day, which is the anniversary of the end of WWII.  Parades were held and there were still bleachers standing on the sides of the round-about near the Arc.

Then it was off to see the Eiffel Tower.  We held a very slight hope that the line to go up the Tower would not be very long.  Our group had tried to buy tickets online as soon as they opened up for this day, but it was sold out just a minute after the tickets went on sale.  The line to buy tickets today was very long so we were satisfied with staying on the ground and just taking photos of the Tower.

Next Christoph drove us to the  L’eglise des Invalides.  It was a veteran’s hospital and now an army museum.  It also contains the tomb of Napoleon and his son.

At many places we were able to stop the van and get out for picture taking.  Others, we just drove by and Christoph pointed out the places of interest.  Paris is a beautiful city and there are statues, beautiful buildings, monuments, and lots of city life just everywhere you look.

La Conciergerie is a former royal palace and prison.  It is part of the larger complex known as the Palais de Justice, which is still used for judicial purposes. Hundreds of prisoners during the French Revolution were taken from La Conciergerie to be executed on the guillotine at a number of locations around Paris.

Few travelers and tourists visiting Paris, France, realize that the famous cathedral of Notre-Dame is actually situated on an island. The Ile de la Cité is usually referred to as the epicenter of Paris, as well as the original site of the earliest settlement in Paris--- a muddy town on the banks of a muddy river that grew to be known as one of the most beautiful places in the world.

We stop at Notre Dame, Paris’ most beloved church with towers and gargoyles.  A 700-year old cathedral, dedicated to “Our Lady” (Notre-Dame).

Next to the cathedral there was a big tent with the most wonderful aromas coming from inside.  It was an International Bread Festival.

Heading back over the river, we cross on the bridge famous for its locks.  This seems to be a tradition in Europe now for young lovers to place a lock on the bridge and then throw the key into the river, locking their love for each other forever.

The Louvre is Europe’s oldest, biggest and greatest museum starring Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo.  Housed in a U-shaped 16^th century palace, accentuated by a 20^th century glass pyramid is Paris’ top museum and home to Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, and hall after hall of Greek and Roman masterpieces, medieval jewels, Michelangelo statues, and paintings by the greatest artists from the Renaissance to the Romantics.  Our hope is to return someday and spend hours in this magnificent place.

Then it was on to the Moulin Rouge, a caberet.  Moulin Rouge is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance it evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe.

Van Gogh lived in this apartment and there is a plaque indicating so.  Don’t know if this is where he actually cut off his ear….

Montmarte is Paris’ highest hilltop. We strolled along the streets filled with artist vendors and eateries and chose a place to have a quick lunch.  We selected what we wanted from the glass cases.  We chose a quiche and a wonderful almond tart pastry.  It was delicious.

On the Montmarte hilltop is the five-domed Roman-Byzantine basilica of Sacre-Coeur, which took 44 years to build.  The exterior is laced with gypsum, which whitens with age. From this point we had a spectacular view of Paris.

We saw so much more during our day in Paris.  We definitely want to come back and stay for several days in order to get a real feel for this City of Lights and to be able to go inside the many fascinating museums and churches.  A day in port is simply not enough for this beautiful city.

We headed back to Lehavre and our ship with one last glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.

Our day in Paris was wonderful, and it was a splendid way to celebrate my birthday.

 Next port....Rotterdam, The Netherlands!