The return home

 For the start of our return home, we had arranged with a driver Barbara had recommended to pick us up at the hotel at 8.15.  He kept us updated on the phone, the construction on the street delaying him by a few minutes, and we started the trip with him needing to back up the Mercedes van some distance on the lane turned to dirt by the construction.

We arrived at Schiphol airport at 9, and it was a pretty smooth check-in and trip to the gate. I'd heard that most of the epic problems at the airport were resolved, but once in a while there was a bad day.  We'd taken the cautious approach of arriving early, there were two flights at our gate before ours, the last one delayed in leaving the gate so we needed to move to another one.

The flight to Madrid on Iberia Express had a few minutes delay and they charged for food and drink.  When I bought a Croque Monsieur I was worried about not getting it right away, but it was cooked in the galley after the order.  Even though this was a Schengen flight it arrived at the 4S satellite terminal at Madrid, and there was a long trip, with a curving underground train, to get to the main Terminal 4 and baggage claim.  This is quite a large terminal complex used mostly by Iberia.

We got the baggage and, as we'd decided, left our checked bags in the left luggage office.  Even going with just our carry-on backpacks and taking a taxi, the trip was stressing us: there were many taxis but also a long line of people, but it moved quickly, with dispatchers directing us to cabs.  Our driver turned on the meter to the fixed €30 fare and, like on the return trip, took reckless moves.

Maybe it would have been better to stay at an airport hotel and have it optional to go into the city, but it was a nice enough night, on an award, at the Indigo Gran Via, centrally located.  Even arriving after 4, the room wasn't ready yet, but it was ready quickly.  I just made a brief stroll out, spotting a red carpet event practically next door and looking into the very busy El Corte Inglés department store and its food court at the top.  The city was full of people out.

View from the store at sunset

We decided to have a room service meal, and later I had the free drink that was offered at the rooftop bar with this view:

In the morning we picked up croissants and coffee from a bar, then got a taxi to the airport.  I got the bags from left luggage, found the designated bank of counters for our flight, then learned there was another bank for Business Class check-in.  When check-in was done, it was still a long trip to the satellite terminal and we didn't have that much time in the lounge, where I needed some of the time to deactivate my Italian phone plans and change SIM cards.

We got to the gate and boarded our Business Class seats, I think Margaret's first time ever in that class, and my first since true lie-flat seats became the standard.  Margaret liked having a window seat by itself, and we liked the food and drink selections, my main course being a beef cheek dish.  We'll consider it a great flight, even if there were problems navigating the TV screen and getting usable Wi-Fi.

We landed in Boston, a delay getting to the gate meant we couldn't get the ideal shuttle bus to our home area, but fine to wait another hour, and we were home and the trip was done.  This trip covered a range of memorable experiences, in generally mild weather, and we'll try to think of what to do next.

Amsterdam, Finishing Up

 A few things to note about these few days in Amsterdam: on Monday we explored the Jordaan neighborhood, more with locals, and found some street markets and more canal views.

About the popularity of bicycles, I can show the multi-level bike parking lot at Centraal Station.

Instructions for the IJ ferry are only in Dutch, saying that one side was only for fietsers, which was the first Dutch word I learned on a warning sign entering Belgium at age seven: bicyclists. 

Tuesday we went to the Rijksmuseum; rather than the easy metro or tram we were looking for the taxi or Bolt. Going over although I’d established where the taxi stand was, there were no cabs there, and I got a Bolt car to arrive.

We hadn’t previously established a time to reserve a visit, and needed to figure out that tickets could be bought at the museum shop outside for immediate entry.  We ate at the museum cafe, with ordering and payment entirely done by QR code.  We had the great art works to see in the museum, but the crowds were a distraction.

At the end, calling a Bolt again, we didn’t know about the designated pickup spot on a side street, and when we found the car the driver was taking off saying he’d cancelled.  We did another call: just the wait was much longer than a public transportation trip would be, but the road routes gave us interesting looks at the city.

One more observation is that most payments here are cashless: the bakery where we get coffee and croissants demands payment by card.

One more walk to get pictures of Dam square:

We have a driver booked and hoping for the best for going to Madrid tomorrow for a night before returning home, hoping for the best.

Amsterdam and its challenges

The cruise arrived in the early morning and people could sit comfortably in the lounge until the time they’d chosen to leave, when Uniworld handled the luggage and and arranged car service rides to people’s various hotels.  While Barbara had her own B&B, we were booked, based on the co-brand credit card’s opening bonus, at the Kimpton De Witt Hotel.  It is near Centraal Station on one of the bigger streets, but that street was torn up for construction and there were complications in getting there.

 The room wasn’t ready; we walked a little on the touristed nearby streets, where shops often pandered to the vices Amsterdam is known for, and eventually with some prodding from us the room was ready.  It was nice to have more space than on the cruise stateroom, but it was back to the reality of spending money, which we effectively hadn’t done in the last week.

After a little wandering during the day, we agreed to meet Barbara at the Bistro Bonjour French restaurant.   For trips of a certain length, I had the Bolt app that I heard was more recommended than Uber for a rideshare service.  When I requested the ride, it went through several drivers all “unable to accept.”

I had the idea to go to Centraal Station where surely we’d find regular taxis. On the plaza in front of the station, the only vehicles were trams; there was no sign of automobile traffic.  At Margaret’s suggestion, I tried Bolt again and got a ride accepted at a meeting place in front of the adjacent Ibis hotel.  That was the one acceptable ride app experience to date (a regular taxi called by the Bolt app) although it was worrisome to pass bicycles on the narrow canal streets. We still got to the restaurant by the appointed time, and had a nice French meal: prix fixe, main course of chicken with good-flavored sauces.

With the thought that drivers weren’t accepting the rides from the hotel because of our torn-up street and the difficulty of getting there, we tried Bolt again for the return.  We continued to get refusals, and decided to get a tram from the bridge where we were; there wasn’t a ticket machine at the stop but I had downloaded the GVB transit authority’s app, where I needed to enter a credit card number to get tickets with QR codes and start the 1-hour validity.  Then we need to check in and out of the tram; they’ve recently allowed doing it ourselves but it’s confusing how to position the phone.  I understand there is the option of buying on board from the conductor if applicable or the driver.

The next day, Saturday, with a day mostly of strolling, we talked of having an Indonesian meal;  I remembered eating at Sampurna, which was open through the afternoon.  For going there, I had downloaded the regular taxi app, hoping to have better luck.  It works like the other apps and once again we kept having drivers cancel.  I tried from the plaza in front of the train station, no better luck, and it wasn’t clear if automotive traffic could go on the side of the street where we were waiting.  I asked a hotel concierge, who said it was best to go to the next block and hail one.  We did indeed find a taxi waiting, which we took in desperation even as the driver quoted a high fare because of a closed street.  The main taxi stand at Centraal is on the opposite side of the tracks, facing the harbor.

Our dining experience was less than ideal; even mid-afternoon there was a wait to be seated and the staff were facing some challenges.  It was time to say goodbye to Barbara, returning home on Sunday.

Another thing Saturday while I was off on my own was that it was time to return the HipPocket Wi-Fi device, which had served us well on the cruise. I was looking for a mailbox for the postpaid envelope, and it was hard to find one.  Google Map searches were leading me astray, such as to addresses that were no longer package handling places, and the post office in the station seemed to be in the area limited to ticketed passengers clearing turnstiles. I didn’t really know what a Dutch mailbox should look like, but I finally found one by a tram stop in front of the station.

I knew to expect heavy bicycle traffic, but on this trip I’m impressed by the number of people walking in the streets.  The pedestrian streets are full, but so are the wide sidewalks on the broader boulevards.  The main other place where I’ve noted so many people out was Haiti, which I’d consider such a different society.

On Sunday, I’ll briefly mention seeing the Eye Filmmuseum, accessed by taking the free ferry, accessed by a free ferry across the IJ harbor channel, pronounced like the English Eye, making the museum name pun on that along with the shape of the building.

Then we had the canal tour, nice to get that overview but I couldn’t get the best pictures.  The narrowest house in Amsterdam:

Cologne and approach to Amsterdam

 We docked in Cologne during the night and there was an early call for breakfast as we were getting things done early to be sure we’d complete the long trip to Amsterdam in time for some passengers to make their flights.  We were out on a walking tour at 8.30, before much had opened, and had a bit to see of the center of this big city, much of it with postwar reconstruction, the guide telling us of a few oddities, many centered on critical details that were missed in getting something to function.  He provided some jelly donuts. We got to the Cathedral; I remembered seeing the spires when my family drove by on the Autobahn when I was seven, and now it was impressive to look inside, however briefly.

Cologne was a city I’d wanted to see for a long time, but this visit was rushed, with the ship needing to leave before noon.  As we are on this afternoon sailing, I can report preliminary thoughts on the cruise.  It was nice to be on this all-inclusive cruise with plentiful food options and all drinks included.  It’s also unique to be able to wake up in different towns without needing to pack and move bags.  On the other hand, I’m not generally a fan of going on guided tours, and I felt the pressure of having limited time, especially in Cologne.

We’ve had our nice Captain’s final reception and dinner, now looking forward to our time in Amsterdam.

Rüdesheim and Rhine Gorge

 We reached Rüdesheim and had reached the Rhine.  There was a new town to visit; we started the walking tour with a chocolate store with liquor-filled candies, and ended in a shop with their specialty coffee, with flaming local liqueur.  A selection of pictures:

One thing to note was a hotel with wine barrel rooms:

In the afternoon we took off, on the wide Rhine with smooth sailing, through the Gorge with many castles, a heritage site with restrictions on new construction; I also noted the rail lines on both sides of the river.  A selection:

The end of the cruise is in sight.

Miltenberg and Eichenbühl

 Even as the distances between stops are short, the many locks on the Main make for a long duration, our arrival this morning being at 9.  We were at Miltenberg, a town with a historic center based on one narrow street.  

And what’s upstairs?

Outside views of the ship

Afterwards we went to the neighboring small town of Eichenbühl, not a tourist attraction, but where it had come together for the mayor to organize a gathering when this cruise comes around, serving us cold cuts with wine and beer, with a band performance, and the chance to go to the chapel and ring the bell.

Another day done.

Würzburg

 Today we docked in Würzburg.  These last few stops have been in Franconia, which is part of Bavaria but the guides have said should be seen with its own identity, with wine one central interest.  The ship just docked at 8 a.m. as daylight was starting, showing the Marienberg castle on the hill above.  Unlike previous stops, this one was convenient to the town center.

I had been in Würzburg before, in 1975, before being removed from the Romantic Road bus, my previous effort to see Rothenburg (for having the wrong type of rail pass).  This was on a too-fast trip around Europe, and it was good to get a better sense of the city.  We were bused to the Residenz palace, which I believe was closed during my previous stay, noteworthy for its Tiepolo ceiling frescoes representing four continents (no photography allowed).  There were other rooms and the garden to see.  Then there was the option to return on the bus or continue walking around town and to the ship.  I saw more of the picturesque city and learned about the heavy Allied bombing there in World War II.  The Residenz had exhibition rooms about its own damage, but the Tiepolo frescoes were untouched.  There was another exhibit in the city hall about this bombing.

The sloping vineyards that come right above the city in the direction we were sailing 

Right on departure we had a good view of one of our many passages through locks.

Volkach and Rothenburg

 Mostly pictures today.  On this Sunday, we docked at Volkach and our tour was to surrounding places to see wine production.

                                                          One way of buying wine

In the afternoon, we had the extra tour to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a picture-perfect town with big crowds.  It was interesting to note the distinctive architecture and learn of the history, and otherwise think of the parallel development of the picturesque towns of Italy.

While there, I got the news that my best friend from school days in Umbertide, Graziano, had died.  He’s been part of my trip reports.  He’d had health problems, and we’d only spoken on the phone during this last trip.  In my sorrow in learning the news, I think of how popular he was around town, and the quirks that he and I had that made our friendship special.