11-25-15 Nijmegen, Holland

NIJMEGEN, HOLLAND 11-25-2015

We had enough frequent flyer miles to fly first class on our Delta 767.  The cabin is spacious and our seats had every adjustment up to, but not including, upside down.  When cocktails, appetizers and three course meals drew to a close, it was lights out.  The seats articulate and fold all the way down flat with your feet extended into the space where carry-ons are normally stowed under the seat ahead.  Later, when they awakened the passengers for breakfast, we had slept maybe an hour and a half or so.  By the time we disembarked in AMS, were gathered up and bussed to the ship and settled into our suite, I was so jetlagged and exhausted that I was dizzy.  We tried to nap but I didn’t have enough energy to fall asleep.  Finally, later in the afternoon, we managed a couple of hours of nap time to recharge our batteries and after that, we made it to evening.

Rob on the stairway with Santa

Harriet and Allen Lewis live in Boston.  They own this cruise line.  The MS (Motor Ship) River

Harmony dining room

Harmony is a beautiful old ship built in 1999 and detailed in dark wood, brass and lighted crystal chandeliers and sconces.  The addition of sparkling Christmas decorations reflects and creates nearly a fairyland.  It is hypnotic.  Our room is a bit small but it has floor-to-ceiling windows and a step-out balcony.  There is a table in the center of the room and sofas along each wall that are actually twin Murphy beds furnished with big fluffy pillows and down-doobie-down-down doovays.  During the dinner hour, the room attendant folds down our beds and places a mint on our pillows.  The staff is polite and friendly in the extreme and the experience is really luxurious.

Our stateroom 408 with
jetlagged occupant

One of the choices at din din last night was a fish called, “klip.”  We are not familiar with this fish and so, of course, we had to try it.  It tastes a little like cod, white and tender and flaky.  So now, we have another fish to add to our list.

The captain sailed all night and we passed through a few locks.  During our safety briefing, the captain explained that if we are the type that likes to watch the ship go through locks, please do not lean out to look down.  The walls of one of the locks are 38’ apart and the beam of the harmony is 36.5.’  That means we enter the locks with a shoehorn and a generous 9” to spare on either side of the ship.  Hanging one’s head over the side could possibly be hazardous to your health.  During the night, the ship glided through the water almost imperceptibly but on a couple of occasions, there was a “thud!”  I didn’t jump up to look but my guess is the lovely boat bumped into the walls of the locks so I guess I’m glad I wasn’t sticking my head outboard.

We are docked today in Nijmegen (pronounced nigh-make-in), Holland.  Er…the Netherlands?  I am not getting a straight story on the difference between all these countries.  They get pretty cranky about it, so it is safest to simply not mention anything.  We took a walking tour this morning and it was biting cold and raining and we desert rats did not appreciate it one bit.  (In fact, it has been raining since we landed.  This area of the world has an average of 230 days of rain per year.  Good grief.)  During the Nazi occupation, all the Jews in this town were eliminated. 

Weeping woman & plaques

There is a monument of a weeping woman in the town and plaques with the names of every one of them.  The cold gray drizzle added a quiet sad note to this encounter, as if the skies were weeping as well.  Nijmegen was pummeled pretty badly during WWII and much of the town destroyed, partly I assume because it is a port town built at the confluence of the Rhine and Waal Rivers.    The citizens rebuilt the bombed out town and so it is a mix of very old architecture adjacent to more modern structures. 

Typical cobblestone street in
Nijmegen

St. Stephen Cathedral

The construction of St. Stephen Cathedral was begun in 1200 and was completed 400 years later, presumably not by the same crew.  The streets are narrow cobblestone and rock and very slippery.  We were cold to the bone when the tour ended and we were happy to come back to the ship, sip a hot chocolate and thaw out.