Day 59 - London to Dubai to Melbourne

The beginning of the arduous long journey to Australia is today.  Whilst we are looking forward to our favourite Qantas aircraft (A380 which we nickname "The Pelican") and its high level of comfort, the duration of the trip and the change of time zone creates a "zombie" sensation on arrival.  To our amazement, our two suitcases arrived in Melbourne, having been booked through from Amsterdam with British Airways.  We arrived home safely to familiar surroundings.  

We are exhausted, but very glad to be back after a wonderful trip.

This says it all, Judy happy at 41,000 feet on her way home to see our children and grandchildren.

Day 57 - Antwerp to Amsterdam to London

Final Captain's dinner last night and it was a sad evening as we had to say farewell to good new friends we have made from Yorkshire and Australia.  

Cruised all night again, woke in Amsterdam and went to the airport for our flight to Heathrow.  Waited in the customs line for longer than the flight took from Amsterdam!!  Heathrow is not improving - in fact it appears that more and more rules are in place at this airport where the number of staff working in immigration continues to be far too few.  They do have a problem with illegal immigrants, and perhaps they will eventually close their borders, demand visas, and consider their membership of the EU.

Stayed overnight in London, not far from the airport.

We had no time to explore Amsterdam, but since we have been there once before this was not an issue.  It seems that everyone rides a bicycle in Amsterdam - in fact there are more than 1 million bikes in the city.

Apologies that there are no photos tonight - the SD card cannot be connected to the iPad because it is on its way to Melbourne along with our clothes, razor, toothpaste, and all of our travel possessions apart from minimal allowable hand luggage!!

The following photos have been added at home.

The final dinner on board the Scenic Jade.

A superb view as we cruised towards Amsterdam, looking across the flat Netherlands at sunset.

Margaret, Brian, Judy, Rob and Ian with Geoff (aged 93) in the front.

We arrive in Amsterdam.  The docks and the railway station.  Thousands of bikes congregate at this location and make for a very busy part of the city.

Over 1 million bikes in Amsterdam.  This is one of the triple story parking bays for bicycles.

Day 56 - Antwerp

Great night last night.  The staff and crew put on a concert which was full of humour, dancing, wigs, magic and lots of cross dressing !!

Today we arrived in Antwerp (Belgium) and left immediately for Bruges by bus for a 6 hour tour.

Belgium is known for three things - diamonds, the Port and the painter Rubens.

The country is not without its challenges.  In the north they speak Dutch and in the south French. It is a monarchy, apparently commanding little respect from the Belgian community.  After the last election it took over 500 days to form a government.  The Dutch and French communities could not agree on many issues including what language to speak.  Finally they agreed on no change to the usual two language system !

Belgium is a tiny country which is relatively young.  During the time when colonisation was important, Belgium had Congo as a colony.  King William II was responsible for killing more than 10 million Congolese.  

Antwerp is renowned for diamonds, with more than 3,000 diamond stores in one block alone.  Most of the world's diamonds pass through Antwerp.

Bruges is a pleasant village with many canals, but it was completely over-run with tourists today.

This was one of the more enjoyable parts (Lovers' Lake) but others were bedlam.

Tourists lined up at 5 separate boarding areas to get a 30 minute ride on the canals for 45 euros.

This building is one of the most photographed sites in Bruges.  The guide could not explain why and left it up to us to fathom it out !!!

The entry to the Market Square where it was hard to move for tourists.

We found a quiet little cafe for lunch far from the madding crowd.

Day 55 - Veere

Cruised all night again and arrived at the lovely little village of Veere about 9.00 am.  

Went on a tour of the Delta Project where storm surge gates have been installed to stop flooding of half the country as happened in 1953.  This massive project consisting of more than 12 walls, dams and barriers was commenced in 1960 and completed in 1997.  The last storm surge gates at Zeeland cost over 8 billion $US alone.  Funding was from the European Union.

The next project is an endeavour to convert the salt water canals and dams to fresh water, so that it can be used for irrigation.  The plausibility of this seems impossible to us.

These intriguing buildings in Veere are slowly being converted into shops. The large building on the right is the museum.

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We are on the south west coast of the Netherlands, where small ferries like this transport people and bikes between the low lying islands that make up much of this country.   50% of the Netherlands is approximately one metre below sea level. 

These are one group of Storm Surge Gates that protect the Netherlands from major floods.

Wind generators as well as some trial hydro power are used around the Delta area.

This is the cross section of the surge wall and gates.

The black steel structure on the left is one of the actual gates that are lowered in times of a high surge of ocean water into the delta area.

There is ample evidence of the old windmills that were used in the past.

This is a photo of a dike that failed in 1953.  Attempts were made using manual labour to repair this one.  Dikes were destroyed in 67 places and breached in over 400.    1,835 people drowned and 72,000 needed to be evacuated.

Day 54 - Nijmegen

Cruised all night and reached Njimegen about 11.00 am, and then a tour of the site of the Battle of Arnhem in the afternoon.  Allied forces attempted to forge a bridgehead on the north bank of the Rhine but were beaten back by the Germans.

This was one of the most historic battles of World War II.

The Arnhem Road bridge that was the centrepiece of the fight between the allies and Germany

Note the road with bike lanes on either side.  The motorists must give way to bikes.

The paratroopers came in thousands in an attempt to stop Germany.  Many came in gliders and crash landed with vehicles and guns of all sizes.

Much of the equipment came down in cane baskets.

A vehicle of the time in 1945.

The war cemetery at Arnhem.

Back on the ship the entertainment got things going and then the staff joined in with the guests to all have a great night.  This is clog dancing!!

Day 53 - Maastricht

We cruised all night to reach Maastricht  (which is in Holland, squeezed between Belgium and Germany) at 8.30 am this morning.  We have only the day here and leave at 9.00pm tonight for Nijmegen.  

Maastricht was the oldest fortified city in Holland.  It has an historic cobble-stoned town centre with what looked like expensive shopping, many churches and temples, a creek wandering through town,  and several market squares which house the dozens of coffee shops.  All this is located on the east bank of the Maas river.

The historic St. Servatius Bridge with six arches was built around 1280.  The Market (market square) is a spacious venue for the bustling street market held twice per week at the front of City Hall.

One of the gates leading into the once fortified city of Maastricht.

Cannons set back from the river had little use, as a section of the old bridge was burnt by the locals when invaders tried to reach the old town.

This old water wheel, which is still in action, was used to crush spelt.

The Church of St. John has a tower with 200 steps if you wish to enjoy the excellent view.

This is the neighbouring Church of St. Servatius with its Gothic cloisters and ancient crypt. 

There are a myriad of shopping opportunities in Maastricht which enjoys not only local and tourist trade, but also shoppers from Belgium and Germany which are situated close by.

This old church has been renovated and altered to form a library.

Ann and Brian thought the cheese cake was too tempting at the Market Square.

The Town Hall on Market Square, which is an imposing building surrounded by many types of shopping possibilities.

St. Servatius Bridge gives diners at the many cafés along the Maas River a worthy view.

The section of the bridge at the far end is now a steel structure that opens for larger ships to pass.  It replaces the old wooden section that was burnt down when the city was invaded.

A newer pedestrian bridge which is also used by cyclists spans the Maas River.

Then the Band came on board !!

And the Macarena got going again.

And guess who were last on the dance floor again ?

Day 52 - Cruising Koblenz to Duisburg to Maastricht.

 Duisburg is located where the River Rhur meets the River Rhine.  This city is undergoing a huge upgrade with their plan to bring the water to the people and the people to the water, to encourage more people into the centre and provide a better living environment for all residents.  The population of the city has been falling over the past three decades.

Duisburg has the largest inland harbor in Europe. With its interconnected waterways and canals it can transport a large volume of goods throughout the country.

This afternoon Judy took a visit to the galley, where the head chef showed us the functions of the kitchen to feed about 200 people (passengers and crew combined).  There are 9 chefs and 2 dishwashers.  All surfaces and appliances are stainless steel, in a space which is relatively small for so many people to work in.  Fresh food is brought on board by hand whilst passengers are on excursions.  Fresh fruit and vegetables come twice a week, and other supplies once a week.  Obviously storage capacity must be constrained by the space available.  The only food not prepared on board is ice cream.

We are heading for Maastricht for our overnight stay.  Maastricht is on the River Mass and marks the Belgian-Dutch border on its way to Maastricht 

As a heavy industrial city Duisburg is the largest steel producer in Europe.  The city centre has been revamped since the war and the objective is to create waterways and pedestrian malls throughout the inner city to encourage more city living.  The plan appears to be working.

The Town Hall has been rebuilt since the war as has the other 90% that was destroyed.

The Gothic Salvator Church was bombed and lost its spire during WWII which was never replaced.

A different more modern type of stained glass window in the Gothic Church.

The new pedestrian mall with new buildings and a rotating large bright fountain in the centre of town.  

An Aussie chick in the brewery at Duisburg.

The Scenic Jade moored in front of one of the many bridges over the Rhine River.

These two look a bit lost in one of the Duisburg sculptures. This one is called the Whale Bone sculpture 

Then the Nutbush started and the place started to rock.  Note Judy leading the group again !!

Ann, Brian and Judy after the end of the dancing competition, the judges went to bed early around mid night so we never found out who won.  We think we all won !

Look at Rob and Margaret, they kept dancing even after the music finished and never missed a beat.

All those who can keep awake until 10.00 pm wait until Brian and Ann start dancing.  Everyone watches in awe and as soon as they stop dancing, the wall flowers head straight to bed.