Bruges,Belgium

 

Jane and Carol learning from Stephanie

Today, we made Belgian chocolates with Stephanie at Chocolate by Me. We started with an understanding of chocolate. There are 80 varieties of cocoa. The price of a ton of cocoa has varied from 3200 to 4200 Euros for the last 20 years. Last year the price rose by 10X “because of a failed harvest”. But there are multiple harvests per year in multiple countries.. Stephanie gets her Cocoa from Ghana and the Ivory Coast. We tasted chocolate without and without sugar. Sugar intensifies the taste to us. Dark chocolate has from 55 to 90 percent cocoa, which has about 30% fat from Cacao butter, and 45 to 10% sugar. Milk chocolate is 50% sugar, 30% to 50% Cacao (still 30% fat) and 20% milk powder. White chocolate uses Cacao butter, but not Cacao powder. Belgium chocolate requires that all the fat comes from Cacao butter. Most commercial chocolates have other fats added. The Cacao powder and butter are separated in processing. It took Stephanie two years of study to learn how to make Belgium Chocolate.

Cindy and Bob with chocolates

We then proceeded to make two chocolate recipes per couple. It was clearly a case for us of clearly reading the recipe. We missed the cocoa butter in our first attempt, but Stephanie helped us to recover for our praline chocolate. Our second chocolate was more successful; we made a Baileys and caramel filled chocolate. It was a great time as we learned the secret of chocolates. In the end, we got two large boxes of chocolates, samples from all 14 of us, plus some extras from Stephanie.

Madonna and Child 

In the afternoon, I explored more of Brugge, Stopping at the Church of our Lady, famous for its Madonna and Child carved by Michelangelo. Then exploring the Beguinage Houses and the Lake of Love. That evening the group gathered together to share the experience of the entire cruise. We really enjoyed traveling with our expanded family. We shared a lot of time, dinners, and beer together. We had not spent much time with Carolyn or Jane before this trip, it was great to get to know them. And, of course, there was a lot of beautiful architecture, interesting history, and fun throughout the trip.

Lake of Love, Bruges

Bruges and Flanders Fields

 

Bruges along the canals

Bruges was first settled by the Celts, then the Romans. It was a seaport and traded with the Hanseatic cities selling them wool, fabrics, and lace goods. Our hotel, the Casselbergh, was a royal residence and is near the Town Hall, the Count’s Chapel, and the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The Market Square, the commercial center, is just steps the way. In the mid-18^th century, Brugge lost its channel to the sea. The town was encouraged to preserve their buildings and become a tourist destination. We did a canal cruise to get a good view of all the historic buildings. 

In the afternoon we did the tour of Flanders Fields starting at the museum in the town of Ypres. France had fortified the boundaries between Germany and France, so the Germans planned to attack in World War I through Belgium. They expected to reach Paris in six weeks. North of here, the land was flooded, so Ypres became the direct path to Paris. The Germans at first captured the town, but the Belgian and French forces retook the town, while the Germans retreated to higher ground. The British and Canadians arrived to help hold the town. In total there were 4 major battles here. The second battle introduced the use of chlorine gas.

World War I Museum

The British set the policy that any soldier killed in Belgium would be buried here. The Essex Farm cemetery was where Doctor John McCrae worked as a surgeon in a medical bunker. Upon seeing his friend die here in 1915, he wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields. The cemetery has 1100 headstones.

We continued to the Yorkshire Trench and dugout. This trench formed part of the Frontline. There were several dugouts for the officers and various operations. But the average soldier was exposed to the elements and shrapnel for 4 days periodically. The trenches would fill with mud, so eventually they built planks over an inverted A frame to keep your boots out of the mud.

Tyne Cot Cemetery

Next, we went to the Tyne Cot Cemetery where the third battle occurred. Here the Germans had built blockhouses with machine guns to plow down any attackers. Several soldiers risked their lives throwing grenades to take out the blockhouses. There are 12000 gravestones at this cemetery and over 3000 names of the missing. It is the largest Commonwealth cemetery for any war. Overall, this region saw 500,000 soldiers killed during World War I.

After dinner, we joined a crowd to experience the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial. It is over a hundred years since the end of the Great War, but every night the local fire brigade and representatives from Great Britain come together to remember their sacrifice here.

Ghent,Belgium

 

Pulpit in St. Bavo's Cathedral

We drove most of the morning to reach Ghent, Belgium. Mary got off the bus and immediately needed oxygen. While we walked the historic city, she found a convenient bench near St. Bavo’s Cathedral. Later many of us would visit the Cathedral to see the Ghent altar piece, famously recovered from the Nazis in the movie “the Monument Men”. The exterior of the church is gothic, while the interior is Renaissance and Baroque because the original interior was destroyed during the Protestant Revolution. Opposite the Cathedral was the Wool Hall with its bell tower. A dragon protects the city, and soldiers at each corner watch for fire. We went on to the house of the Von Stickle family. They were traders and had a tower to see approaching ships. The houses were built in 1000, 1100, and 1300.

Ghent Altarpiece

The Gravensteen Castle in the center of the city is similar to one built in Syria. The family lived here for 300 years. It later became a courthouse and the nearby square was both a fish market and the execution Square. Then we came to the inner harbor with its guild houses: shippers, grain weighing, the little blue tax house and then grain storage. They charged 20% of the grain for the right to pass. This grain was then sold to the brewers, bakeries, and individuals.

We continued on to Bruges to the Casselbergh Hotel, about 2 blocks from the market square.  We had an orientation walk around the center of the city on our way to dinner.

Bruges City Hall

Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Overnight we sailed into the Netherlands, where over 50% of the land is at or below sea level. About half the land is used for agriculture. The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural goods in the world.

Dam Square with some protestors

In 1275, Amsterdam was a small village in a swamp, then they built a dam on the Amstel river, now Dam Square. The city became very rich, when the Dutch East India company was heavily engaged in world trade. They even created a stock exchange to allow the merchants to invest in several voyages rather than risk their investment on just one ship. We cruised the canals. There are now 2500 house boats on the canals, used since the 1950s when there was a housing shortage. Each is connected to city water, sewer, and electricity. Amsterdam has 1269 bridges.

Bridges on the canals

Our tickets to the Van Gogh Museum had been canceled because they were expecting thousands of protestors supporting the Palestinians to show up there. So, instead I did a walking tour of the city, starting at Dam Square. There were just a few protestors here. In the afternoon, I did a walking tour of the city starting at Dam square. I continued on to the Ann Frank House, where some of our group were touring. My find for the day was the Church in the Attic Museum. When William of Orange defeated the Spanish Hapsburgs in 1578, all the Catholic Churches were closed in favor of the Dutch Reformed Church. They tolerated other religions, if they weren’t public about it. Three homes were combined in the 17^th century, and the top 3 floors were converted into a Catholic Church. We climbed steep stairs up, stopping to see a kitchen, living room, and several bedrooms until we reached the church in the attic.

The Church in the Attic

That night Brooke and Tristan, Richard’s daughter and son-in-law joined us from London for the Captain’s Farewell Dinner.

Tristan, Brooke, Char, Richard in Amsterdam

Cologne, Germany

 

Cologne Cathedral before the rain

Cologne was first settled by the Romans. Today, over 50% of the city are immigrants. It is also popular with gays. There are twelve churches in the city center.

We started our tour with a huge traffic jam, because many streets were closed for tomorrow’s marathon. We reached the Cathedral, and then we had stiff winds and pouring rain. We immediately headed for shelter and then when the cathedral opened, we rushed in there, but had to stay in the back because there was a special service that day. Most of us gave up on the tour but we ended up waiting over an hour for the buses to return. Some of our group continued the tour, the wiser decision.

Shrine of the Three Kings

Later that day the sun came out. I headed to the Cathedral for pictures of the interior, especially the Shrine of the Three Kings (holding relics of the Magi).  The Cathedral took over 600 years to build, because the city ran out of money when trade routes no longer came to the city. The coming of the railroad brought trade back to the city. The cathedral looks black because of the lichen in the sandstone. It has over 1200 statues. I took the opportunity to climb 512 stairs to see the bells and the views from the top of the tower.

From the top looking to the railroad bridge

I made it back to see the rainbow over the River Aria before the rain began once more.

Returning to the River Aria

Cruising the Rhine to Koblenz

 

Pfalz Castle

This morning we cruised the Castle section of the Rhine, a World Heritage site. We began at the Germania Monument and headed down river, occasionally seeing people harvesting grapes. Highlights included Reichenstein Castle, Pfalz Castle right in the middle of the river, and the Cathedral on the river.

Spitting Fountain

In the afternoon, we walked Koblenz built by the Romans. The fun part was seeing the image of Johann Juter, who was tried for six years, but never convicted. He sticks his tongue out in defiance. The church in town was destroyed several times, so it has Roman and Gothic elements and is finished with onion towers. As we walked the town, bras were strung above the streets – it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We ended at the Schängel Fountain.

Wehy Winery

In the afternoon, we visited Weyh winery. This year they have completed 80% of the harvest, almost a month earlier than usual. Their highest quality grapes come from the steepest slopes and the oldest vines (70-100 years). It typically takes 3 to 5 vines for a bottle of wine. They primarily make Reisling wines. We sampled four of them. As usual my preferred wine was a mid-priced wine. Unfortunately, many family vineyards are being sold, the kids don’t want to farm them. Many of our party took the cable car across the river.

Our jester and minstrel

That evening we went to Marksburg Castle for a medieval dinner. Our entertainment was a man who was a jester using volunteers for his jokes, and playing a minstrel, and a woman who juggled and some acrobatics. The meal was delicious, but the service was slow. We were surprised to learn that we ate goose with stuffing.

Heidelberg, Germany

 

Rene, our Program Director

Our Program Director, Rene, spent his childhood in East Germany. As a 6 year old, their school lessons talked about the enemy next door, the West German capitalist society. Yet his father had a soldier friend in West Germany who would send Levi and sweatshirt hand me downs to him. One shirt promoted Lidl grocery and his teacher said he shouldn’t promote capitalism. The Berlin Wall came down when he was ten in the weeks before there were protests shouting, “we are the people, we want to be free”. The people danced in the streets when the wall came down.  Afterward, they opened the secret police files, and you could read your record and find out who had reported you. In 1990, a 1.9% tax was begun to help rebuild East Germany. Today there remains some resentment towards the East Germans, but their living standards are still lower than West Germany.

Heidelberg Castle

We started our tour in Heidelberg Castle. This was the home of the Prince Elector for centuries, one of seven electors for the Holy Roman Empire. There are numerous architectural styles. The Ruprect wing was built in 1401 and served as a throne hall. The angels above the door are the builder’s children. Most of the Castle was built in the Renaissance style in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.  On one wall Frederick IV traces a false lineage back to Charlemagne. A second wall has biblical figures. Below we can see the Neckar River. We visited the big cask which holds 5000 liters of wine from the taxes paid in wine. The pharmacy museum shows the various drugs used through the ages. Finally, we went to the gardens where we could see the destroyed tower that once held gun powder.

Toppled Gunpowder Tower

We continued in the town of 150K, of which 30K are students attending Germany’s oldest University. Here we saw the Church of the Holy Spirit, once shared by the Lutherans and Catholics with a wall splitting the church. The central market square was filled with people enjoying the day.

Heidelberg Central Square

We rejoined our ship in the port of Ruedeshiem, where we were entertained by a local group of women named Stimmalarm. 

Wertheim, Germany

Our group in Wertheim

Our day started with a glass blowing demonstration. 

We walked through the town of Wertheim, population about 20,000. Here we visited the memorial to the former Jewish Synagogue. We also saw the stumbling stones in the pavement in front of houses and businesses were Jews once lived and worked. Jews have been invited to Germany and then persecuted numerous times over history. They were invited to become the money lenders, but never merchants nor tradespeople, because Christians thought it was sinful to charge interest for lending money. But this led to their persecution when the royalty couldn’t pay their debts – easier to rid the town of Jews and extinguish the debt. This action was fortified by the tale that Jews worked with the devil, that’s why they didn’t catch the plague. The hygiene rules of Jewish law helped them avoid the plague with their kosher food and ritual baths. (Pork meat also spoils faster than beef.) 

Wertheim Castle

Many of us climbed up to Wertheim Castle to take in the views.

The view from the castle

In the afternoon, we had coffee and cakes at the home of Wolfgang, Stephan and Lucy. Wolfgang has been hosting Grand Circle visitors for over 20 years with his son, Stephan. Lucy is 20 years old and a granddaughter of Wolfgang. She was very excited because next week she was starting at the University.

Rothenburg and Wurzburg, Germany

St. Nicholas in Christmas Museum

Rothenburg with its medieval walls was established in 1070 amid numerous trade routes. The 30 years’ war left the town with no money, so they never modernized their buildings, leaving the interior of the city from the Middle Ages. A wall surrounds the town with many of the original fire towers. We walked along a portion of the wall, stopping at the Fortress Church, which is part of the wall.  Then on to St. Jacob’s Church, in English, St James. We reached the central square where the clock, commemorates how the mayor saved the town from Captain Tilly. He made a wager that he could drink an entire gallon of wine in one continuous swallow. The highlight of the tour was Kathe Wohlfahrt's Christmas Museum and store. She got her start when a US soldier wanted a Christmas decoration to bring back for his girlfriend. She picked up 12 wholesale and found that she quickly sold all 12.

Holy Blood Altarpiece

After lunch, we returned to St. James to see the Holy Blood Altarpiece and a monumental altarpiece by Friedrich Herlin. Then on to the Castle gardens and down through the gate on the other side to find the oldest house in town.

Castle Gardens

In the afternoon, we returned to our ship, docked in Wurzburg, the start of Germany’s wine country. The tradition is to have a glass of wine on the Old Main Bridge. We walked into town to see the townhall with its pictures from March 1945 where 90% of the town was destroyed in 17 minutes by British bombers. We continued on to Mary’s chapel with it’s interesting depiction of the Annunciation (a baby climbing down from God to Mary’s ear) and the Wurzburg Cathedral.

The Annunciation

Bamberg, Germany

 

Bamberg Cathedral and Old Bishop's Residence

Bamberg was founded in 902 by Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, as a gift to his wife, Cunegonde, to remind her of Rome with its seven hills. Henry eventually became a Holy Roman Emperor. She had been a nun before he married her (and it is believed that she remained a virgin).and later was accused of being a witch. (This region put to death more witches than the Spanish Inquisition.) She demonstrated her innocence by walking over flaming irons without injury. Today, she and Henry are considered saints and their tomb is in the Cathedral. Nearby are the old and new Bishop’s Residences and the Rose Garden.

Cunegonde and Henry II

The most recognizable building is the Town Hall built on an island by the merchants in the middle of the river since the bishop wouldn’t sell any land in the town to build it. It is a mix of medieval timber and baroque style painting.

Bamberg Town Hall on the river

Today, the town is known for its smoky tasting beer. The original brewer had dried his malt too long on the fire, but he decided to use it anyway. Now that is the tradition in the town.

Enjoying the beer at Brauerei Heller

Nuremberg

Nuremberg was the location for the Nazi party rallies from 1934 to 1938.

Why Nuremberg?  

·       This was where the Emperor held his first diet (meeting of the nobles) after his coronation since 1356.

·       The Bavarian Nazi party had held rallies here since the 1920s and its leader stepped down in favor of Hitler.

·       This was where the German railroad had its start and had connections to the rest of Germany.

·       This region has historically been right wing (90% of the vote in last election).

Hitler at Zeppelin Field

Zeppelin Field and Congress Hall were part of the Nazi Party rally grounds, designed to dominate the attendees. Used just one week a year, the rallies would attract 500,000 participants. Each year, the rally would have a different theme and different ceremonies each day. The 1939 rally was called a Rally for Peace but was canceled when Poland was invaded and World War II began. Today, the colonnades have been removed, and the concrete is crumbling. The field is used for parking lot for the nearby soccer stadium.

Nuremberg Defendants

We then visited Court Room 600, home of the Nuremberg Trials, where the International Military Tribunal tried 22 individuals for their part in World War II. The US, France, England, and Russia each provided a judge and his alternate. Three out of four had to agree to convict. After 11 months, 11 were sentenced to death, 7 to life imprisonment, and 3 acquitted. Why Nuremberg for the trial? It had a large courthouse of 580 rooms that survived the war with a prison next door, and was in the American sector of Germany (there was concern that the Russians would just execute them without a fair trial.

Nuremberg Castle from Sinwell Tower

After a lunch of sausages in town, many of us climbed the hill to visit Nuremberg Castle, the location used for the Holy Roman Emperor’s first diet (meeting with other royalty and bishops) after their crowning since 1356. We toured the Double Chapel, the Imperial Hall and other rooms filled with imperial items and armor. Then we visited the Sinwell Tower and the deep well. The deep well was particularly interesting. It was protected in a locked room to prevent poisoning in one of the courtyards. The guide poured water into the well, it took 3-4 seconds to splash in the bottom of the well. 44 meters below us. He lowered 4 candles into the well which we saw below us. Afterward returned to the Market Square with the Church of Our Lady and the Beautiful Fountain.

Church of our Lady and Beautiful Fountain

Germany Politics: the Shift to the Right

This last election, the AFD, Alternative for Deutschland, was second in the voting. The party was formed in 2013. The traditional parties CDU and CSU formed a coalition to govern. The AFD is against the EU, immigration, non-Christians, and democracy. It is also pro-Russian with the goal of restoring the oil and gas imports from Russia. They attracted most of the East Germany vote as well as the rural and young voters. Their issues are immigration, the high energy prices, the increasing defense budget and Ukraine. 

Kelheim, Germany

 

Interior of Liberation Hall

We can see Liberation Hall from our dock. The athletes hiked up there to see the memorial to the defeat of Napoleon.  The drinkers toured the Kuchlbauer Brewery founded in 1300. There are 598 breweries in Bavaria. The current ownership is in their ninth generation. They specialize in wheat beers using a top fermentation process. We were able to enjoy their beer. But the brewery is not only known for its beer, but also for its artistic tower and buildings designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.  

Hundertwasser Tower

That afternoon, we entered the Rhine-Mein-Danube canal. Most of the time, it was hard to tell we were in a canal. We celebrated going through the tallest lock (81 feet) of our voyage in the evening.

81 foot high lock

Rhine-Mein-Danube Canal

King Ludwig completed the first canal in 1846 with 102 locks, up to 50 feet wide and 5 feet deep, for vessels much smaller than today’s riverboats. Railroads were more competitive in 1835 when the canal were finished. It took 11 days to cross with horse versus 2 days using the modern canal. It was deserted in 1950 after the damage from World War II made it too expensive to repair compared to the boat traffic volume.

The current canal was completed in 1992. 105 miles long from Bamburg to Kelheim over the 1332-foot-high European continental divide (separating water that flows to the North Sea or the Black Sea). It took over 70 years of planning and 32 years of construction. The canal handles vessels that are 190 meters long and 11.45 meters wide.

Pedestrian bridge across the canal

Regensburg, Germany

 

The Old Stone Bridge

German vs US Education Lecture

We started our day with a lecture on the German Education system by a teacher who also taught in the US. Since each of Germany's 16 states are different, this is specific to Bavaria. She captured our attention with the following differences with the US system:

· Home schooling is illegal

· To graduate from high school (gymnasium) you must know 2 other languages

·  92% of 3 year olds are in preschool

·  Only ½ as many students have a post-secondary degree

·  Religious education is mandatory

·  All education is free of charge, including to foreign students

Their elementary education is four years and then based on grades and maturity, one of four systems of education is chosen. A gymnasium education is eight years and prepares you for university. The Realschule is for administrative and white color jobs. The Mittleschule is for trade jobs, six years of schooling, followed by alternating trade school and internships. There is little adult education. The 4th type of schooling is one school that is a combination of the three, this was the system in East Germany. There is another school system for the handicapped with a much lower student/teacher ratio. The school year is 190 days with longer holiday breaks and only 6 weeks in summer. School is 8 till 1, with 2 to 3 hours of homework daily. Each year there is a one week school trip, paid for by the school. Subjects are taught in 45 or 90 minute periods. Class size is typically 24 students. Each subject will have 1 or 2 exams per semester. Schools don't sponsor music, drama, or sports teams there are clubs for these, not associated with the school. No school buses, students arrive by public transportation or a free taxi ride if transportation is unavailable.

Regensburg, the Castle on the river, was founded in 179 AD. After the Roman Empire fell, a Bavarian tribe took over the city and it became the capital of Bavaria. The high point was between the 6^th and 12^th centuries when trade to the East and West along the river made this the largest city in the region. In 1135 they began construction of the Old Stone Bridge, which would become the only bridge across the Danube for almost 200 years. The legend has it that the builder of the bridge had a bet with the builder of the Cathedral for who would complete construction first. The bet included doing bodily harm to the loser. The Cathedral had God on his side, so the bridge builder made a pact with the devil that the devil could have the souls of the first three who crossed. The bridge was built in eleven years. The duke, bishop, and mayor wanted to be the first to cross. But the builder told them we should test the bridge by having two cats and a dog cross first, saving their souls. We saw the remnants of the Roman gate into the castle.

St. Peters under reconstruction

St. Peter’s Cathedral was started in 1275, but the steeples weren’t completed until 1872 (a clear loser in that bet). Unfortunately, they were completed in cheap concrete and are undergoing their second renovation.

Nearby was the golden tower, nine stories high, taller than any of the 20 other towers built by merchants.  The town hall has rods that are the official measurements for length in the region to keep the merchants honest. After our tour of the city, we stopped at a nearby tavern for a beer. 

Let's have a beer

That evening we were entertained by the Regensburg Girls Choir. Their singing sounded angelic and brought me to tears.

Passau, Germany

 

Passau Town Hall

Passau is built on a strategic confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Ils and Inn. As such it was a key port for the lucrative salt trade. We started at the city hall, which typically was built by the trade guilds and has a clock tower to counter the power of the Church with its steeple. We could see the flood levels marked on the hall. We walked the streets until we reached St. Stevens Cathedral with its 17,000-pipe organ. Unfortunately, that organ is under refurbishment, but we still enjoyed the organ concert.

St. Stephens

In the afternoon, we hiked up to the Veste Oberhaus fortress to get a great view of the rivers and the city of Passau. The fortress built in 1219 had a major renovation in year 1499 (at the time a 4 was written as the lower half of an 8).

That evening we celebrated the twin's birthdays.

Bob and Richard