Tuesday

Happily today we were able to connect with our guides and head to Lochem. The drive to this town took about 1 1/5 hours.

We have moved into a brand new, not quite all finished bed and breakfast.

We also met the  couple who own this marvelously unique restaurant and much more.

The owner, Barry has a complete mini museum in his basement which we had been invited to view.

Canadiana abounds!!!

We enjoyed this garden while we enjoyed our wine and appetizer.

The Restaurant Mondavi was a revelation.  Our host and Hostess were exceptionally welcoming.  

The owner is a passionate collector

The Next Leg

On Monday we toured old Amsterdam on foot. We had a guide, Drs. Kees Kaldenbach,
who took us through the war years, to help us understand how a whole nation could send 104,000 Hollanders to death camps.



10,000 of them were children.


For one thing the bureaucracy of Amsterdam had identified them all and already had their religion on their papers. Of course no one ever thought the horrors that eventually took place were the intention.


So we toured the old Jewish quarter and learned where they lived, how they were controlled and so on.

A memorial to all those lost lives......

Just a typical dutch bike parking lot!!!!!

This is a memorial to the families. People leave mementos just like at other memorials.  So sad. 

The Flower Market etc.

Ken and I spent the whole day Sunday wandering around the city with a map. We eventually found our way to the flower market.


There were lots of wonderful plants to see and everything was huge!!!!


I was and am totally entranced with the peonies. We need a health certificate to import these to Canada. I am going to look into these varieties as the flower makes a stunning cut flower display.

More peonies!!!!!!

And more stunning peonies......

The flower market was a definite fav.....

Touring Holland

Saturday we continued our Holland marathon with an afternoon in Edam and Volendam.

There were some highlights that we're pretty special. We did get to tour inside a working windmill, listening to the sound the blades make with every pass was something to hear.

We also got to climb up and see all the wooden parts and gears that made it functional.

Of course we also saw cows.

Edam was a tiny place with a wonderful history as well as unique architecture. It used to be the centre of trade for cheese in Holland.

along the canals in Edam

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So beautiful to look at

I'll never forget the sound the blades made!

This was breathtaking!

Amsterdam!

I am posting this mornings' pictures. The tour was in the canals and very well done. I walked back to the harbour from the tour end. One item to really note is the bikes everywhere!! They even have their own lanes.

this was so beautiful to see

From the back of tour boat...

The Old world architecture was captivating.

On one of the many bridges we went under.

Floating restaurants and boat that have seen better days...

and bikes!

A tour boat similar to ours...

On the way to Amsterdam

This evening was lovely, no rain any way and sunshine as we headed nearer to the Netherlands. All evening we saw more and more livestock and flatter land. About 9 or 9:30 we passed the boundary but were not able to see the Waal river.  Our son-in-law, who was born in Holland, had asked us to watch for this area but alas, it was dark.

Near Holland we pass the remnants of the The Bridge at Remagen, which was never rebuilt after the war. 

This is one of the last bridges the Nazis tried to destroy.  

Dubbed the "Miracle of Remagen," the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge opened the way for Allied troops to drive into the heart of Germany. Over 8,000 men crossed the bridge in the first twenty-four hours after its capture as engineers frantically worked to repair the span. Infuriated by its capture, Hitler swiftly ordered the trial and execution of the five officers assigned to its defense and destruction. Only Bratge survived as he had been captured by American forces before he could be arrested. Desperate to destroy the bridge, the Germans conducted air raids, V-2 rocket attacks, and frogman assaults against it.

In addition, German forces launched a massive counterattack against the bridgehead with no success. As the Germans were attempting to strike the bridge, the 51st and 291st Engineer Battalions built pontoon and treadway bridges adjacent to the span. On March 17th, the bridge suddenly collapsed killing 28 and wounding 93 American engineers. Though it was lost, a substantial bridgehead had been built up which was supported by the pontoon bridges. The capture of the Ludendorff Bridge, along with Operation Varsity later that month, removed the Rhine as an obstacle to the Allied advance.

Cologne

Another Eau de Cologne invented in  the city of  Cologne

Interesting fact: from Cologne to Amsterdam the river is deeper and and can take larger ships from the North Sea. It is considered a sea port for Cologne. The ships we saw and their shapes changed as well.


So now we are sailing to Amsterdam.


We did tour Cologne but it rained torrents. So that lowered the tolerance for walking.  The guide was great though.  

A tour boat tied up behind us

And always different river traffic

This is one of the original eau de cologne stores .