Trip Report - GCT River Cruise 5/06
Jun 9th, 2006, 01:05 PM
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Trip Report - GCT River Cruise 5/06
Grand Circle’s Legendary Canals of Holland and Belgium
May 18 – June 2, 2006
Our trip had some strange beginnings. My sister, Doris and her husband, Eddie had booked a river cruise to see the tulips in bloom in Holland and we decided to join them. Within a few weeks, we discovered that we had a family affair, so we postponed the trip til after the party, and the tulip cruise was no longer available. It was a disappointment, but we looked forward to spending ten days with Doris and Eddie.
We left on May l8, and upon arrival, found out that the ship had a mechanical problem and we were staying overnight in a hotel in Amsterdam. This was a definite plus, because we were able to go to the Rijksmuseum and wander around the city. The next evening, we boarded the ship and were given some other good news. The Keukenhof Gardens (the feature of the tulip cruise) was supposed to have closed for the season on May 19. But because they had a late spring, it remained open til the 21st, so we saw the Rijksmuseum AND the Keukenhof Gardens! However, this “late spring” continued, and we encountered some of the coldest and rainiest weather in this part of the world since l896! However, the weather didn’t ruin our experiences. We visited Zaanse Schanz, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Volendam, Nijmegen, Gouda, Lier, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Luxembourg.
I loved the Rijksmuseum. I had prepared for this trip by reading Tulipomania and Rembrandt’s Eyes, a historical biography which discussed Ruben’s life, too. The Rijksmuseum has many of his paintings and sketches in a lovely setting. We also visited Rembrandt’s house (The Rembrandthuis), saw the synagogue, and sailed past Anne Frank’s house. Robert, with good humor, took us on a walk through the Red Light District. We learned that prostitution is now totally legal and that the girls actually charge VAT. They have price fixed “menus”, each item 35 euros and up. The girls work in 8 hour shifts, and make thousands of dollars a day!
The Keukenhof Gardens were beautiful, even though during season it is truly spectacular. It also contains many indoor exhibits, and Doris happened upon a wedding in the castle, which is still inhabited by a Duke whose staff maintains the gardens.
We visited the Jongenhoeve cheese farm in Gouda, and the Duval chocolate factory in Brussels. (I helped to make some truffles. When I was done, the chef put some hazelnut mousse on my fingers and literally FORCED me to eat every last drop!) We visited Nijmegen, a site of the WW II Operation Market Garden and the “Bridge Too Far” in Arnhem. We visited the touching Liberation Museum and learned how Holland was impacted by the war. Nearby is a cemetery for the 2700 Americans, British and Canadian soldiers who died in this vicinity. We visited the windmills of Kinderdijk which were built in the l8th century to control flooding and whose techniques are now being studied by Americans from New Orleans. Kinderdijk’s dikes are constructed of reeds and rocks and have lasted 500 years! We visited Lier, a little medieval town with a beguinage (home for pious unmarried women), Its ancient tower contains the Zimmer clock which which was made for Belgium’s centennial celebration. It is known as the “World’s Wonder Clock” and was exhibited at the l938 World’s Fair. We visited Ghent with its heavily carved l6th century town hall, and photographed its picturesque scenery. We visited the lovely Catholic fishing village of Volendam and sailed across the bay to visit the pristine Protestant village of Marken. In Marken, we stopped to admire a “Van Gogh” bridge, and a man approached us, offered to take our picture, and struck up a conversation. He was visiting his family. His aunt was dressed in traditional Sunday costume. Would we like to meet her? We walked over to the house, and managed to communicate with the help of our friend. We were invited in, but we had to get back to our boat. Great experience! We took a train to Luxembourg for an afternoon and wandered around its capital city.
The Dutch speak a very comical language, and they have a great sense of humor about the gutteral sounds and crazy spellings. They also joke about “being tight”. We didn’t know that “going Dutch” derived from this perception. Robert told us about the bottle scrapers, which are long handled tiny spatulas. This way, you can get every last drop out of a bottle. We bought them for souvenirs, and of course one for ourselves.
We had the great fortune to have Robert as a guide. He is a warm and wonderful person and was a professional mime who studied with Marcel Marceau. He gave up working in the entertainment industry, but he still entertains as a guide. On the last night, he and his co-guide, Marleen, did a mime presentation for us. We also shared in his happiness when we heard him get a phone call from his wife of two years. He is going to be a daddy!
We had never taken a real river cruise before and this was a new experience for us. Being a weight watcher, I was worried about the food. We asked for plain grilled fish and chicken, however the chefs on board drenched everything in butter and fancy sauces. There was not a lot of fresh fruit nor was there low fat yogurt, but we walked a great deal and were able to eat three meals a day without gaining weight. The desserts were beautifully presented and delicious, but thankfully I was armed with my weight watcher bars. There was always cappuccino at the ready in a machine and I must have had 20 cups of what was undoubtedly the best coffee on the ship. I used the fact that I needed milk as an excuse to guzzle the foamy brew.
When not on the ship, we ate mussels at Chez Leon in Brussels where Sol tasted the Leffe beer, and we ate unlimited mussels every night at Poules Moules in Bruges. Of course, every day we shared ONE truffle. You don’t go to Belgium and not eat truffles! We also tasted my sister’s Belgian waffle, Belgian pancake and some very fresh herring in the fishing village of Volenam. French fries are ubiquitous. Why are they called French fries when they’re really Belgian?? One night, we had plain grilled chicken at the Brussels Grill near our hotel on Waterloo Avenue. Somehow, even their grilled chicken tasted gourmet.
For breakfast, we had coffee and pain au chocolat. The Belgians don’t make omelettes available for breakfast. They also don’t make egg white omelettes.
Our hotels were lovely. The Brussels Hilton is located in a very upscale neighborhood and is walking distance to the Lower Town and the Grande Place. From the 27th floor you have a beautiful view. It was also a short walk to the Royal Square which houses the Beaux Arts Museum where we saw Brueghels, Rubens, Chagalls, Magrittes and works by some other excellent Belgian artists in an airy, roomy venue. In Bruges we stayed at the Sofitel, housed in a medieval inn. From there, it is a ten minute walk to Market Square. Although the hotel is lovely, they tried to charge us 19 euros per day per person for a breakfast that we never ate, and they also said that we took things from the bar, which we never touched.
We liked the railroads. They are very inexpensive. A senior citizen (over 65) can travel anywhere in Belgium for 4 euros, but watch out! Since I am not a senior citizen, my ticket was 30 euros.
We did some shopping. I found windmill music boxes in Zaanse Schans for each of the kids, and we picked up a pretty Delft style teapot. In Belgian Art in Brussels, I fell in love with a silk lace jacket which I can use for formal occasions. We also bought pretty lace silverware holders which match my Battenburg tablecloth, and a cake plate with lace embedded between layers of glass. Of course, our most interesting purchase was the bottle scrapers in the pedestrian mall of Nijmegen!!
A word about bicycles. They are everywhere! If we had more guts and better weather, we would have rented two and gone out into the beautiful countryside.
Having faced the worst weather we could remember (one day of full sun), we still had a lovely time and now feel that we know something of the Dutch and Belgian people, their culture, economy, politics, and geography. Every country is different and special. Ain’t traveling grand?
P.S. The day we left, the sun came out. Guess a lot of people were glad that we’re gone….
Jun 10th, 2006, 06:03 AM
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Partypoet: Thanks for your great report. We are scheduled in November for the same trip. We are taking the Pre trip in Amsterdam. Did you take the post-trip in bruges? It sounds like you had a great trip.
Thanks again,
Mike
Thanks again,
Mike
Jun 10th, 2006, 10:21 AM
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We were supposed to take the post trip to Bruges, but noone else was interested in going, so it was cancelled. Our GCT travel agent arranged for us to go by ourselves. He did a great job and booked the hotel and transfers.
