October 9, 2006

We tried really hard to start October 8 off on a good note because of all of the traveling that we had ahead of us. After an early breakfast, giving Akos his gift and putting our bags out, we walked to Gassan’s, the diamond cutting and polishing operation on one of the canals. It was a lovely walk with almost no traffic and people walking their dogs along the canals. We arrived at Gassan’s about 15 minutes before they opened. We signed up for the free tour and then were taken to a place with other tour guests. I was able to purchase a porcelain bell for the Christmas tree. We had our tour with another couple who I believe were looking for an engagement ring. We had a good tour and were shown the stages of diamond production from having the rough, to cutting it, to faceting it and then polishing it. We saw people polishing diamonds using the traditional tools and were also shown the patented Gassan cut that had 121 facets.We were then taken into a room and given an overview of the four Cs. In Europe, the colour classifications differ as they have names, not letters. We saw loose stones, compared to one another, with the related prices and then we went through trays and trays of rings, pendants, and earrings. It was great and the prices generally were not too bad. Our tour ended in the Gassan shop so Aidan and I got to work looking for a pair of diamond solitaire earrings. We found the perfect set -- .26carat, Top Wessenton (equivalent to colour f/g in the US system), PK1 in a round brilliant cut set in 18 carat white gold – and it did not break the bank! They’re excellent!We walked back to the ship for 11 a.m. transfer. If only we knew that it would be our last bit of peace for the whole day. Getting to New York was HELL! We detest the Frankfurt airport with a passion. It took over an hour to find the tax refund office. We had to go through at least four security checkpoints yesterday. We just got more and more irritated and realized that we would have been better off making our own travel arrangements and flying via London versus New York. Anyhow, we boarded our 7 1/2 hour flight to New York, crammed into tiny seats. I couldn't put my seat back, because the woman behind me kept pushing back -- I was too nice, I should have done it anyway. The guy in front of me did and I was cramped the whole way. The good thing was that I got to watch ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Yes, I can say I have lived parts of that movie.We got to New York and had to sit on the runway to get to our gate. We finally got in and had to do the whole immigration thing. We caught a yellow cab and I was irritated again because we gave the name of the hotel that we were given and the taxi driver wanted to lecture us because the hotel was not where he thought it was. Then he got an attitude when Aidan gave him the tip -- Aidan ended up giving him extra. I wouldn't have given him anything!The room was nice, and we had a view of Shea Stadium. We had room service -- an excellent steak dinner were french fries and broccoli. We watched the Discovery Channel Atlas program on Italy before going to bed. Aidan didn't sleep well as the stress from yesterday had gotten to him. It definitely was an irritating day. We left for the airport at 5 a.m. with the shared goal of relaxing in our bed at home. We got through the airport pretty well and had an hour before flight. My coughing was awful, but we boarded our flight to Bermuda. We’re Home!!!

October 7, 2006

We are enjoying a lazy Saturday morning watching the Netherlands landscape pass us by. It is the last full day of the cruise and we will be running around Amsterdam this afternoon. For now, I rest and try to deal with this chest cold and coughing.Yesterday was quite lovely. Cologne was cool, but we did enough walking to keep warm. In the morning, we boarded small trains and went to the cathedral. The tour guide on the train was interesting, to say the least. She drew out her words and had everyone laughing. When we got off of the train we immediately went to the other tour guide who thankfully had different inflection. Cologne was amazing, because it was built on top of the Roman colony. One of the first things we saw was the tile floor in the Romano-German museum. It really caught my attention. I was even more blown away when our guide took us down into a parking garage and we saw the remains of the old city wall. Apparently, construction takes forever in Cologne, because whenever they try to excavate, they come across Roman ruins and artifacts.After the tour we visited the cathedral and the Romano-German museum. The cathedral was special because it is said to have the remains of the three Magi, or Wise Men, from the nativity story. The remains are kept in the Golden arc like box, and it was definitely impressive. We got a book in the cathedral since we did not do a formal tour. The museum was equally as fascinating. It is always amazing to see how people did the equivalent of modern activities that use particular technologies but using only primitive resources. Aidan pointed out that without shock absorbers, the Romans had used leather straps on their carriages. It was indeed fascinating. What gave someone the idea to do something like that in the first place.We then explored the shopping streets in search for an Internet café -- it had been a week since I cleaned out my mailbox. I was over quota again, so I deleted a lot of junk. I kept my promise and didn't answer e-mails. It has been odd to be literally cut off for two weeks. After cleaning up my e-mail we got a waffle from a street vendor and headed back to the ship for lunch. We came out after lunch with the goal to find the bride's collection of Christmas ornaments. We found a store near the cathedral with handmade glass ornaments and thankfully, we found the collection as well. The items and meanings are as follows:1. Pine cone -- motherhood and fruitfulness2. angel -- God's guidance in the home3. Santa -- unselfishness and goodwill4. flower basket -- good wishes5. House -- shelter and protection6. Rose -- beauty and affection7. fruit basket – generosity8. rabbit -- hope and faith9. Bird -- happiness and joy10. Fish -- Christ's blessing11. heart -- true love12. teapot – hospitalityWe then walked about for what felt like hours, visiting shops and looking at what Cologne had to offer. We got tired and decided to drop the ornaments off at the boat. And then went to visit the chocolate museum. Needless to say, it smelled amazing and tasted even better. It was a great museum and the working factory was fun. We got to taste the chocolate from a chocolate fountain and then we got to purchase chocolate in the shop. We ate way too much chocolate on the way back to the ship -- but it was good. After a nap because my cold was getting worse, we dressed for a concert in lounge. La Strada were a trio from Belgium of two violins and a guitar. It was lovely. They played classical and Gypsy music and were fabulous. We purchased two of their CDs for our collection. We then had the farewell Coctail party and dinner. By the end of dinner my voice was gone. We didn't party with everyone else, because we were both not well – Aidan was sneezing and had a runny nose. We turned in early and hope for good Saturday.

Amsterdam proved to be as interesting as it promised to be. The morning and early afternoon was full of both sunshine and rain. I was sure that we would be running about with raincoats and umbrellas. I was wrong. The remainder of the day was sunny and bright.After our last lunch on board, we boarded coaches to take us to the canal near the central station for a Canal cruise. We learned a lot about the different roof shapes, the laws for canal boat living, and the locks that helped prevent Amsterdam from flooding. I was amazed by the canal boat gardens and the large windows in the houses on the narrow lanes. As usual, I loved seeing everyone riding around on pedal cycles -- even walking their dogs riding the cycles. Amsterdam definitely had the most cycles of all the countries we visited. At the end of the cruise we went to the Ryksmuseum. To be honest, I prefer Van Gough to Rembrant but I was there looking at Rembrants with the most boring tour guide, ever. Feeling as sick as I was, I tired quickly of her and I dragged Aidan off to explore the museum on our own. We enjoyed many paintings as well and pieced together Dutch life and their colonial history.After our final dinner, we decided to visit the red light district of Amsterdam. I had basic expectations of the area but Aidan did not know what to expect. The streets were packed with people of all ages. Aidan noticed that many guys appeared to be from the North of England. Anyhow, we walked up and down each side of the canal. The ladies in the windows varied in shape and state of dress. In the fluorescent lights they looked like mannequins, when they did not move. It was odd when they were negotiating with men outside the window. It was interesting to watch yet sad at the same time. We visited the erotic Museum, on the right bank of the red light district. It housed four floors of the history of erotica -- literature, paintings, ceramics, et cetera. It was definitely fascinating. It even had a floor explaining how the girls in the windows operated. Culture and history in the midst of what appeared to be an area of excess. Fascinating!We've just spent the last hour packing. Were having breakfast at 7 a.m. and have to vacate our room at 8:30 a.m. We may go to a diamond museum at 9 a.m. because we do not leave for the airport until 11 a.m.. Then we're in for almost 12 hours of flying – yeesh!!!

October 6, 2006

So much for feeling better. I think I have had a relapse and Aidan is blowing his nose every two seconds. We didn't let that get too much in the way yesterday. While we relaxed, well slept, in the morning, we got to explore Rüdesheim in the afternoon. We boarded a train, much like the type they use at home, well actually better covered, and were taken through the picture postcard town to Siegfried's Music Museum. It had over 350 mechanical musical instruments from barrel organs to music boxes and everything in between. It was fascinating. I ended up purchasing an egg music box because I was just so impressed with the place. It really made me want to get a Christmas music box with a song from the ‘Nutcracker’ but there wasn't a nice enough one that I could find at the time.We walked about looking for the regular stuff -- postcards, a book, and an added item -- the Bride's Christmas ornament set. We only found the postcards. We went down one street and found a place with the lot of wooden carved items. Aidan liked a particular nativity set, but they were attached to a rock. After walking about for another 15 minutes, we finally went back to the store and found that he could buy the set without the rock. Aidan set it up as soon as we got back to the cabin -- he knows exactly where he wants to put it for Christmas. At the same shop, I found gifts for my team in the office.We sailed down the romantic Rhine looking at castles and hearing about the fabulous legends of the area. The Loreley legend was the most familiar to me, but there were legends connected to almost every castle. And many of these castles were fairytale quality! The countryside was amazing with the vines and the colorful houses and the castles on the hills. During dinner we docked in Koblenz. We went for a walk around the town. If we visited Koblenz during the day it could have been what the Australians called an ABC tour – Another Bloody Church/Castle. It was indeed a pretty church from the outside. Everything else was bars and restaurants -- then again, it was after 8:30 p.m. We decided to head back to the ship and spend the time instead in the hot tub. We then watched ‘Monsters Inc” before turning in. The Rhine is pretty rough right now and has a lot of traffic. That with being sick made for a somewhat restless night. Still, we're ready to discover what Cologne has to offer tomorrow.

October 5, 2006

Miltenberg was an excellent stop because we do not have to board a coach or start out on a walking tour. After a relaxing morning of sleeping, reading, and eating, we were eager to get some fresh air. We headed out with the map and warm fleece because it was sunny but cool, in the 60s. We started off by going the wrong way, but soon find ourselves back on course and in an absolutely lovely town. The half timber houses were pretty impressive, and I loved how people were growing grape vines up their buildings and even across streets. We saw one man harvesting grapes. It was even better than expected, because there were so many craft shops. If I lived near here I would have been in heaven. There were also many toy shops selling trains and the like. In any case, we did some shopping, including a suitcase, had some ice cream, pastries, and bratwurst. It was a lovely timeWe enjoyed the hot tub before dinner, and it became apparent that both of us are ready to go home. This has been an amazing honeymoon, but were also ready to see how we will get along with real life. We intend to enjoy the next few days, but we also know that going home will not be a sad event. After dinner we went to a vanilla cookie baking demonstration. It was so funny. We did the daily soduku puzzle while we waited and in between slow bits. It was the craziest cooking show I've ever seen! The man separating the eggs was just too hilarious. They went through a lot of eggs to get it right. At the end, the lady knighted the two men as "Vanilla Cookie Bakers" and one of them said “once a King, always a King but once a knight is enough!” Total insanity, I tell you!Today we crossed into the Rhine River. It is much wider than the Main River, but just as beautiful. We are now firmly in the midst of fall as we've seen the leaves change from green to yellow to brown (they seem to miss the red and orange colors here). We've seen so many ducks and swans today to. In fact, we saw quite a few over the last few days. We fed swans off of our balcony/sliding glass door yesterday! After lunch we're set to go to a mechanical music Museum in Rüdesheim and then in the late afternoon we will sail through the Rhine Gorge. It should be beautiful.

October 4, 2006

Aidan actually didn't do the port talk on October 2. The plot actually thickened considerably as more people got involved. I'll get to that story later.The night of the second and all day on the third was absolutely rainy. It was okay while we were on the ship. We just relaxed and enjoyed the ability to do nothing. I slept a lot and really got to the point where I came to appreciate the ability to do absolutely nothing. It really made me look at life a little differently. We will see how the desire for relaxation will continue to be a priority for me when I get home.We visited the Prince Bishop’s Residence at Wurzburg in the afternoon and had to don raincoats and bring out the umbrellas. We had a bit of a city overview in the bus, but it was somewhat difficult with the rain. The Prince Bishop’s Residence was nice. They have done great restoration work of the baroque areas, but have not restored the Empire areas. Wurzburg was bombed during the war so some areas of the palace had to be rebuilt from scratch. It was fascinating to see how the mirrored room was reconstructed. It took 10 years to replicate the room using the original techniques. After visiting the chapel, we headed back to the ship because the weather was still bad.Aidan made his preparations for the evenings activities, and I rested. The port talk was indeed crazy. Akos came into the lounge and begin talking about the busy day to come. He was then called down to the reception area for an important call by the hotel manager. The hotel manager, Roman, came across a loudspeaker with Akos and we heard them throw Akos overboard. Roman then announced that Aidan was the new cruise director. Aidan then came in with Akos’ jacket, identification card, and the microphone and gave the port talk for the evening. He communicated a more relaxing day since Akos’ notes were written in his native Hungarian, and he therefore had to make up the schedule. It got crazier when Akos came back into the lounge, soaking wet with a life preserver around his head. He called for Aidan to be taken away by security but instead Akos was led away by two crew members. It was absolute insanity! Aidan, Akos and Roman are nuts. Everyone loved it! Aidan then announced that the restaurant was open for dinner.At dinner, there was a pirate theme and Stefan came out dressed with his pirate captain outfit to carve the turkey. After dinner, we were treated to the crew talent show. The most memorable number was the kitchen staff's interpretation of ‘Swan Lake’. Good Lord, they were crazy. They wore shorts, their aprons, undershirts, and had boobs that were made from blown up kitchen gloves. I was crying from laughing so much. We danced a lot last night, as we hung out with Roman and the other crew members. I had a crazy merengue with one of the ‘Swans’ and had Roman cracking up when I danced with him. Aidan hung out with Roman a little longer, as it turned in for the night.Today is another easy morning before we arrived in Miltenberg this afternoon. We haven't gotten today's soduku puzzle yet, so we've rested and now Aidan is giving me a massage. All the walking has my back, hamstrings, and calves really tight!

October 2, 2006

Well, I am sick with a cold. All in all, it was a tough night. Still, I quite enjoyed breakfast and was looking forward to walking in Bamberg. The tour guide was probably one of the best that we have had. We found that we have learned a lot in the last week or so. We were able to recognize various German words, and even the different types of architecture. We went into a church, and I looking forward recognized the Gothic architecture. Aidan, looking to the sides recognized Norman architecture. It turned out that we were both correct.At the end of the tour, after a great visit to the most beautiful Rose Garden that I've ever seen, we got to run about Bamberg to see the lovely things that the city had to offer. Aidan purchased another bouquet for me because the roses that he purchased in Vienna had faded. It is a shame that I could not dry them out and take them home. I also purchased a really nice tea cup for loose tea and some Earl Grey. The Lipton tea bags are starting to get on my nerves! Lunch was lovely, and I've been napping on and off because I have a slight fever. I'm enjoying ‘Notting Hill’ on TV as I watch the scenery pass by and the rain coming down. Aidan is doing a tour of the galley and getting ready to change places with our cruise director tonight, since people keep mistaking Aidan for Akos. Yeah, Aidan and Akos to look similar, and now they've decided to have a little fun with the confusion.

October 1, 2006

Yesterday was another busy day. Granted, the walking tour of Regensburg was not until 10 a.m. We made it as far as the Stone Bridge and the Old Sausage Kitchen before we broke with our group and went exploring on our own. It was a lovely Bavarian city with great pride in their history, and in Pope Benedict since he was a professor at their university. The Pope also visited the city recently. We also saw the Pope's old house in the afternoon - people were taking pictures in front of it. In our exploration, we purchased a scarf from H&M and I got a dried lavender and rose wand from a nice shop. We then found a Moroccan store, and I found a hip scarf for the evening’s Passenger talent show. We went to the Old Sausage Kitchen to purchase sausages on fresh rolls and ate them while we walked through the Saturday market. They were all types of vendors including one with guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, and canaries.After lunch we went to the Weltenberg Abbey and the Danube Gorge. The church was beautiful! The Father gave us an overview of the history of the church. He started and ended with Gregorian chant. Talk about amazing. We found a few Christmas decorations, but never tasted the beer made at the Abbey. That was a shame because the brewery has been making beer for over a thousand years. The Danube Gorge tour was breathtaking. It was insanely beautiful. Upon our return to the ship we participated in the passenger's talent show. We performed ‘One’ and I did a bellydance. It was a fun night.

I slept most of the day today. Firstly, because I could. Secondly, because it was day one and I wasn't feeling too good. Aidan just let me sleep and woke me up for lunch. Again, Stefan, the head chef, made an amazing lunch. I think the hazelnut mousse was the best I have ever had!We boarded buses for the Nuremburg tour and honestly I did not expect much. The only thing I knew about the place was the trials after World War II. Well, the history and beauty of the place got me. The old town still had its city walls, many of its timber homes, and of course there was bratwurst! We visited the castle and saw the cityscape. After most of the city was destroyed during the war, they decided to rebuild the city with traditional rooves but with modern bodies. Therefore, the view from the castle reflected a medieval cityscape. We walked down into the city and pretty much waited impatiently to be let loose. You see, there was a market in the square with rows of vendors. We immediately went to the tourist shop for postcards and some Christmas decorations. We visited another shop and found Advent calendars, and I got a beautiful Swiss watch. We then purchased a pewter wedding cup to celebrate one week of marriage.Upon our return to the ship we sent our daily postcards to ourselves and wrote the postcards to our parents on World Cup postcards. We then went to a Bavarian beer tasting. Four beers, and four different types of glasses to enjoy them. I had double the amount since Aidan does not like beer. He took a sip and then would pour the rest into my glass. I didn't mind. I liked all of them except for the wheat beer. Dinner was great as usual. The vodka in the sorbet was quite interesting. I also enjoyed the crème caramel. So yummy. We ended our evening in the hot tub. Good Lord, we need one of those! It was a great place to relax.Well, we're a week in and have a week to go! I hope the rest of our honeymoon will be relaxing and enjoyable.