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We departed Amsterdam on the Viking Long
Boat Kvasir. We were scheduled to be on the Ada; however it got delayed upstream somewhere due to low water. Viking
has some great contingency plans and their own fleet of buses as well as numerous brand new longboats. The Kvasir was
launched in Mach of 2014 so problems had time to be sorted out but still we had a great new boat to use.
All of Viking's boats are named after Viking Gods. We departed at 11:00PM and woke to a clear morning
with bright blue skis. Guess the gods decided we had been rained on enough in Amsterdam. We headed upstream on the Rhine
River. The Rhine is considered a major international waterway so we saw many commercial tugs pushing barges with every
conceivable load. Everything from new automobiles and trucks to sand, construction supplies and of course the every
present Chinese freight containers. This barge is loaded with coal.
I found it interesting that in many locations medieval walls and other
construction were incorporated
into later additions. Here we see an
old city wall incorporated into a later bridge over the Rhine River.
The original bridge was probably a Roman stone arch one.
Roman? Yes this part of Europe was part of the Holy
Roman Empire.
Roman architecture and ruins are seen everywhere.
Contractors hate it as every time
they start excavation for a new
structure, they find old Roman ruins and have to suspend construction
until the archeologists get done sifting through the find.
A close-up of this turret reveals
what appears to be a knight in armor
with his lance
being the flag pole.
As
we travel up the river we see many
church and city hall (Rathaus) spires, watch
towers and castles.
Some are in ruins
while others have been restored and
are obviously occupied. I finally figured
out (I
think) a way to tell the difference
between a Rathaus and a church from
a distance. Most Rathauses have clocks
while churches do not. From a distance
the architecture is very similar.
This is a typical waterfront view along the Rhine in the Netherlands.
The Rhine was muddy
due to recent rains but we saw very little floating trash.
Just a few tree limbs. .
One of many watchtowers we passed. These watchtowers
were manned in earlier times by watchmen. Many had two
different bells. One to warn of an impending attack on
the
city and the other to warn of a fire in the city. Were the
watchmen the first multi-taskers?
We passed by Noah's Arc on our way up river.
What, Noah's Arc? Yes, a full scale
replica built to the dimensions given in the Old Testament. Complete
with life-size
plastic animals.
To read more, click here.
Can algae be beautiful?
In these cases I think so.
Obviously someone has too much time on their
hands. I passed this garden
in the early morning one my way to a vantage point to photograph the
windmills of Kinderdijk
from a distance.
16 of the 28 remaining windmills in the Netherlands are in Kinderdijk.
It is designated as a World Heritage Site.
How many windmills can you find in this photo?
There are actually 11 shown. Hint: only parts of one can be seen. Sorry, trees and bushes don't count.
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