tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48732335723661144702024-03-19T01:03:26.679-07:00Taj Mahal and Tulipscwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-70735000507045579522013-06-29T10:28:00.001-07:002013-07-01T20:10:30.152-07:00MAY 2<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">THURSDAY - Eisenach to Frankfurt, Germany and Fly Home</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are up early this morning and once again it is cloudy. There is no way we can sleep late on a travel day! it is cold and grey outside. we are ready for some sunshine. It has been very allusive since we have been in Europe. We finish packing and are in the dinning room as soon as they open and have a better breakfast than the dinner last night. It is buffet and eggs cooked to order.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One last climb to the forth floor eves to meet the bellman and back down again to check out. We are off to Frankfurt less than three hours away and it is a little after 8AM. That has got to be a record for Carolyn! The drive is pleasant and there is very little traffic until we near Frankfurt. About half way there the sun comes out and we can really see how pretty Spring is in Germany. The grasses are a lush green and there are many white and pink flowering trees intermingled with white houses with red roofs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We get to the airport a little before 11AM and only have to circle around once to find and make the turn for the rental car return which is painless once we are in the right spot. It is a looooong hike through two terminals to check in and the airport is a little stuffy from too much heat. Final boarding passes in hand and through the dreaded security check, we begin the hunt for the BC lounge. We have about two hours until flight time. Don't know way this airport has given us so much trouble finding the lounge, except the signage is for before the concourses were finished and do not point toward the area where the lounges are now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Finally with Dick cussing and Carolyn steaming, we find the right door and it opens to the lounge! We have a light snack and cool off in time for our boarding to be called. The plane is cool and comfortable with fully reclining seats that are also comfortable through out the 9 hour flight. We take off on U447 on time at 1:50PM for an uneventful flight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It has been raining when we land at 6:15PM in Houston, but JW is waiting for us in the baggage section and we are off. He tells us that the airport was closed down at 2PM due to a shooting event in the domestic terminal and just reopened a little while ago. He was afraid it would disrupt our arrival as all flights had been diverted for a while. Thank goodness we weren't affected! It is evening rush hour in Houston, but we make decent time and are home in about an hour and a half. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It was a wonderful trip! But much too short for such long flights. India was incredible and we hope to be able to go back. Europe is beautiful in the Spring, we are glad we were able to see the color.</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-73969919846124959962013-06-29T10:24:00.002-07:002013-07-01T20:11:15.561-07:00MAY 1<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">WEDNESDAY - Drive from Potsdam to Meissen to Eisenach, Germany</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We wake to a very overcast sky, "boo" as today is a travel day and we begin to work our way to Frankfurt and home. We have a nice last breakfast at the hotel and say good-by to the family members that run this wonderful place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As we leave Potsdam we do a quick driving tour of some more of the Old Historical Center checking out the Branderburger Tor, the Nauener Tor and the Hollandisches area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We plan to send the night in Eisenach at Hotel auf der Wartburg part of the old Castle Wartburg. It is a four hour drive by the shortest way, but our plan is to see Meissen on the way. That adds about an hour to the trip. It is misty and cool this morning as we work our way out of Potsdam and on to the motorway. There is not too much traffic, but there is intermittent road work which slows things down. The countryside is rural and very German looking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a couple of hours we are nearing Meissen where we hope to get some lunch and see the old castle and the Cathedral. We can see the Cathedral on the hill for miles. As we cross the bridge into the town, we see that the older part is up on the hill just below the Cathedral and there is a newer section on the river. We hope to find a information center or a café as we enter, but no such luck. In fact, the town looks shut down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">According to the GPS, the big "I" is up on the hill so we follow the map. As usual for the old European towns, the streets get progressively more narrow as we go up hill. We pass through one of the Old City gates and we have nothing more than a wide path. It is mostly one way now and still no "I". There are lots of people walking around and Dick can't make any head way. Somehow we manage to turn around and get back through another Old City gate. There is a sign to near by parking, but no way can Carolyn climb back up to the Cathedral so we drive on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So much for seeing Meissen! This has happened a number of times in Germany and Italy in the past few years, unfortunately. We drive on through the countryside stopping outside of Meissen to get a nice picture of what we couldn't see. We are off the motorway right now and continue to drive through some cute German villages. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We stop in one to stretch our legs and look for some place to eat. There doesn't seem to be any cafes, but there is a pretty little village church and its WWI war memorial. After some help from a local we finally find the entrance to the motorway and then a service center for food, restrooms and gas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">All problems solved, we head on to Eisenach and our hotel for the night passing some ruins of castles on the hill tops. The hotel is on top of the mountain above the busy Victorian era resort town just below the Castle Wartburg, built in around 1100AD. The hotel its self is almost 200 years old and in a spectacular setting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It was built as a resort and has been well restored, but there is no elevator and our room is on the forth floor! We get settled and then go to the castle for a very interesting tour. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It is getting toward dusk when we get back to the hotel so go straight to the bar and have a drink sitting in the nice lounge in front of the fire...it is cold out side! From there we move into the dinning room and have a nice view but costly marginally good dinner. Finally it is back up the stairs and to bed.</span><br />
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cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-9038325430271092862013-06-29T10:20:00.000-07:002013-07-01T20:21:13.955-07:00APRIL 30<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">TUESDAY - Potsdam </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Today, we wake to sunshine. It is a bit cool as we go to breakfast. We have really had good included breakfasts this trip, something we enjoy. Afterwards we do some historic site exploring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">First on our agenda is the site of the Potsdam Conference. The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945. Cecilienhof is now a high end hotel and the conference site is preserved as it was in 1945. We explore the exterior of the hotel. Outside the hotel, there is all sorts of graffiti from the time of the Russian occupation. It seems to have been left for its historical interest. Several gardeners are at work and the Spring flowers are beautiful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our tour tickets are for a the self-guided tour. The ticket includes a headset and audio descriptor so we each can listen as much or as little as we want. We see the offices assigned to Truman, Stalin and Churchill as well as the main conference room. The tour is really interesting and we spend well over an hour doing it. There are several tour groups, but with the head phone set ups, we are not bothered by them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Head phones were used by the tour guides on the river cruise tours and we really liked them. The guide could speak in a low voice and we could hear on the head set even if we had fallen behind looking more closely at something. On a tour like this one, the self tour people can listen to their tape with the sets of detailed info on the site while the tour groups listen to their guide on their head sets and everyone can hear their tour information! We saw this everywhere in Europe and it is a definite improvement! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cecileinhof is in a huge park with trails going to several other points of interest. Unfortunately we just can't walk as much as we use to. We want to see the San Souci Park with its palaces this afternoon so we do a fast drive through the old Russian district, Alexandrowka, then head back to the hotel for a light lunch and some rest before we tackle the next park. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Within walking distance of our hotel lies Sans Souci, one of the favorite homes of Frederick the Great and the site of his grave. It is set in a huge beautiful park area with several other palaces and points of interest. One could spend days walking the paths in this park. We walk around San Souci and enjoy the view from the hill on which the palace is built. Frederick and some other family members are buried on this hill in the shadow of the palace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We for go a visit into the palace in favor of a walk through some of the park, past the windmill to visit the Orangery Palace to the west of Sans Souci. This was built to house San Souci's guests. It is a bit of a hike so we assume there was carriage service for the guests to go between the palaces. The Orangery is huge with an impressive entrance by a number of stairs leading up to a big reflecting pool in the front. The building is in the shape of a U with the ends being the actual guest accommodation with the center the orangery. There are other buildings to walk to, but we opt to go back to the car and drive around the park once again. The sun is setting and there are nice long shadows in the wooded areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We drive through the park and get pictures of the Neuw Palace, now part of the University of Potsdam, and a neat looking pavilion. Then we go back to the hotel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We go to the bar for a drink and have a pleasant visit with one of the brothers who own the hotel. He is the bar tender tonight and speaks the most English of the family. This is a family run enterprise. The two brothers, their sister and spouses live and work in the hotel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We decide to go back to the great little restaurant we went to the first night so the host calls and gets us 7PM reservations. Once again we have a great meal. These days in Potsdam have been a real treat. The hotel is wonderful and very reasonably priced. Potsdam is a wonderful city with lots of things to see, unfortunately the real world is calling us home so we pack up before heading to bed.</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-66678178126966155692013-06-29T10:17:00.001-07:002013-07-01T20:23:17.483-07:00APRIL 29<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">MONDAY - Day Trip to Berlin</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is our day to see some of Berlin, looks like the sun will come out. We have never been here before and the WWII history of the place is fascinating to Dick. Although, we know that there is not much left in modern Berlin of what was there prior to 1945, there is still a lot of interesting Berlin history that took place in our life time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After breakfast, we drive to the Potsdam railroad station and find a parking slot in the underground garage. With a little help we purchase round-trip tickets into Berlin, walk to the appointed track and board our electrically powered commuter train. We have a selection of seats and the train departs right on time, the hallmark of the Germany trains...you better exit or enter in the allotted two minutes or be caught in the door! It takes about 45 minutes with multiple stops for us to arrive at the Alexanderplatz S Bahn station in Berlin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We get off and are looking for Karl Liebknecht Strasse. Carolyn knows that Bus 100 will take us to Unter den Linden and down to the Brandenburg Gate, one of our must-sees. Naturally, there is no sign and we walk out the door exactly opposite the one we need. So, we get a complete tour around the exterior of the train station before finding our bus. It is a double-decker and we move up top so as to see a little better. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Traffic is heavy and progress is very slow due to heavy construction on Unter den Linden. Five or six long blocks from the Brandenburg Gate we give up on the bus and start walking. We find a tourist shop and explore it buying several "Pieces of the Wall" as souvenir gifts for grandchildren along with the ubiquitous "pin for Jack." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Unter den Linden is a really pretty tree lined boulevard so we crossed over to the middle and walked toward the gate passing numerous buskers dressed as various military characters. For a fee you could have your picture taken with a bear dressed as a Russian soldier. We walk under the gate and around to the right toward the Reichstag building.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Along and on a fence in this area was a makeshift memorial to people who were killed trying to escape from East Berlin before "The Wall" came down. The area around the Reichstag is closed off and heavily guarded. Circling the block, we return to Unter den Linden and cross over to the south side looking for lunch. Finding a nice looking café with an appealing menu, we sit down at an outside tables and have a nice lunch while people watching. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">F</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">rom the café, we walk past the British Embassy to the Holocaust Memorial or "The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe." This large open area is very stark and unfortunately the underground museum is closed on Monday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By now, our feet were complaining so we catch a taxi down to Gendarmenmarkt, a large plaza with the Deutscher Dom/Neue Kirche on the South side and the Französische Friedrichstadtkirche on the North side. In the middle, on the west side, stands the Konzerthaus Berlin. This is just a photo stop and we again catch a taxi to the Pergamon Museum Berlin, one of the museums on Museum Island. The taxi drops us as close as he can...there is a tremendous amount of restoration going on in Berlin right now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We buy tickets to the Pergamon at a outside kiosk on the Island. We want to see the permanent exhibits of antiquities excavated in Turkey. The displays include the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus (background picture) and the Ishtar Gate. All of these are monumental in size. In addition, there are numerous displays on three floors covering smaller items. Fortunately, Carolyn's cane gets us courtesy access to a guarded service elevator as the stairs would have been difficult for both of us. We are not much on museums, but this one is most interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On leaving the Pergamon Museum, we walk along the river to a bus stop by the Berlin Dom (Cathedral) on Unter den Linden getting a good view of the famous radio tower built by the Communists in East Berlin and the Berlin Dom. After waiting about 15 minutes, we catch a west bound bus and ride it through the Tiergarten to its end at the Zoo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From here we walk into the S Bahn station and board a train back to Potsdam. It is late afternoon and the cars are crowded but not packed. We didn't see all that was on Carolyn's list, but have had an interesting day leaving things for a return trip to Berlin some day...maybe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After cocktails, we drive into downtown Potsdam and have dinner at a little Italian restaurant. Again, no English with the menu or vorspeisen in German. We share an over priced pizza-like dish and some wine, walk around some and head back to our hotel ready for bed.</span><br />
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cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-74645220678154887482013-06-29T10:14:00.001-07:002013-07-01T20:27:26.667-07:00APRIL 28<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SUNDAY - Potsdam</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a good nights sleep and a late wake up, we pack up the few bits we took out for last night and get our stuff ready for a morning of site seeing. Our plan is to eat breakfast and head out. They can then move our stuff as soon as the first floor room is ready and we won't have to climb the steps again. Breakfast is in a huge airy set of rooms in the ground level of the main house. There is a huge selection of many different types of foods from the typical German fare to fully cooked English breakfast. There is salmon with all the trimmings so Dick and Jack are happy. After a nice breakfast, we head out to see what we can find. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The first stop is to try to see the spy bridge where the prisoner transfers took place during the Cold War Era. There is some kind of bike race today so the streets are all messed up. After much turning and cussing we find ourselves on a buff area over looking Glieniche and Tiefer Sees. We park in an open area and head up a path. This leads us along the edge past an engine house designed to look like a castle with a tower covering the smoke stack. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From there we come out into a nice park area around the Schloss Babelsberg and overlooking the infamous Glienicke Bridge. The schloss was built in 1834-5 in the Neo-Gothic style for Prince William of Prussia and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar. It is a blue bird Sunday and there are lots of families out enjoying the sunshine on this coolish day of rest. The schloss is closed for repairs which turns out to be the theme song of these historic places in old East Germany. Not much has changed since the war and there is a massive effort to restore the historic buildings at present. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dick wants to get some pictures of an area at the back of the schloss so he explores the woods to find a vantage point. Carolyn people watches for a while and then walks back to the car to wait. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From there since the bike thing has cleared out we drive across the famous</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">bridge and head to the historic center of Potsdam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We luck out with a parking space just off the pedestrian street. There is a craft market going on today so the place is very lively. We walk a ways toward the (Potsdam) Brandenburg Gate, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">then turn around and head towards St Peter and Paul Kirche. Spotting a Greek carvery we have a delightful huge sandwich and drink. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On the way back to the car we notice the markers in the sidewalk detailing what was once the prison used by the Nazis and the Communist. Dick goes through a pleasant enough looking door for a tour while Carolyn shops. Dick says inside the building is scary spooky still. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Carolyn has a good time and finds some little hand blown animals for Dana's kids and some strawberries. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On the way back to the hotel we drive around a bit, checking out some places we might want to get out and explore one of the days we are here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Potsdam is a beautiful old city. Very little was harmed during the war and time stood still during its time as part of East Germany. There are the Palaces of Park Sans Souci, Cecilienhof, the Old Dutch and Russian quarters of the old city center and the beautiful waterways to explore. Really much more than we can do during the time we have especially since we plan to spend tomorrow in Berlin. Oh well that just means we will have to come back! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Returning to the hotel we find we have a delightful new room with a little patio and nice view of the gardens. Since we ate a big late breakfast and an even bigger later lunch, we are not hungry. We spend the late afternoon and evening enjoying the hotel grounds with cocktails and then a dinner of our Dutch cheese, local bread and fresh fruit from the down town market/</span><br />
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cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-5796282331635020952013-06-29T10:08:00.002-07:002013-07-01T20:28:29.788-07:00APRIL 27<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SATURDAY - Driving from Amsterdam, Holland to Potsdam, Germany</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This morning we are up and ready to go. We enjoy one last excellent breakfast before moving on to the last leg of our unusual itinerary....five days in Potsdam, part of the old East Germany. The ship calls a shared taxi for us about 9:30AM to take us to the Hertz place and the staff gets us and the luggage off the ship. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are the last to be dropped off so we get a nice tour of Amsterdam all decorated for the big day tomorrow when the beloved Queen steps down in favor of her son. There is orange and blue bunting and flags everywhere! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are dropped at the Hertz place, the same one we used in the Fall. There is a line waiting to get cars so it takes nearly 45 minutes to get our car and get gone. Later getting out of Amsterdam than planned and according to our trusty GPS it is 6 hour drive to Potsdam with no stops, Carolyn has hopes of a couple of stops, but we will see. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Once again it is no hassle to drive out of Amsterdam....the GPS is a wonderful tool! The motorway is fast but congested as it is one small town after another until we are well into Germany. We cross the main N-S German motorway and the countryside changes to much more rural. We are hungry by now and see a sign for McDonalds! Well it is better than nothing and we need gas too! After a bit of a trek, we have gas and find the McDonalds which is hugely popular this afternoon. We get drinks and fries and are soon on the road again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The plan was to take a side trip to Quedlinbury, a World Heritage Site story book castle town in old East Germany, but we never see the turn off. However we do see creepy gun towers on the side of the motorway that graded the old border.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">About 5:30PM we arrive in Potsdam and are directed right to our hotel, Villa Monte Vino. It is a big Victorian era home with a very nice hotel addition in the back. The Owner greets us, checks us in, gives us tons of tourist info and makes dinner reservations at his favorite Italian place around the corner. His English is perfect, but in general finding English speakers proves to be a rarity in this part of Germany. After we get settled in our very nice but forth floor walk up room we head for dinner. Being late checking in, the room was the last one, but tomorrow while we are out they will move us to a first floor room. (I had requested a low floor because of the steps, but!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">All is forgotten at dinner. What can we say, it is one of the best places we have ever eaten! About 12 tables and no English, but we have a great time trying to figure out the menu options with the waiter and the food and wine are outstanding. Back at the hotel the four flights don't seem so bad! We collapse into bed and into sleep!</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-4930495089263564992013-06-29T10:03:00.005-07:002013-07-01T20:31:39.581-07:00APRIL 26<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">FRIDAY - Utrecht, Keukenhof Gardens and Amsterdam </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We sailed from Shoonhoeven about 3AM and docked in Utrecht around 8AM. As soon as we finish breakfast we will board buses to transport us the the Keukenhof Gardens for the morning while the boat makes its way back to Amsterdam. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The day is cold and threatening rain. Hopefully it will hold off until we leave the Gardens.It is about a 45 minute drive to the Gardens and when we get there at 9AM there are already many buses parked in neat rows headed by different countries flags...we park in the USA row. We are given maps and suggestions of things we should see and turned loose just inside the gate.The Gardens are only open eight weeks a year and cover 70 acres with 7 million planted bulbs in bloom! There are five or six pavilions and food courts at various points around the gardens. It is a beautiful place even in the misty conditions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are beds in full bloom featuring every kind of bulb. We walk counter to the path most people are taking and find many spots to ourselves.It starts to rain at some point and we head to one of the food courts and have some wonderful hot chocolate until the rain stops. It is cool today so the hot chocolate is just perfect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We then head to the windmill so we can climb to the top for a good view of the tulip fields around the gardens and then see some more of the gardens. Carolyn finds an area set up like a florist shop with beautiful flower arrangements and a place to order bulbs that can be shipped to the US this Fall. She some what over indulges with some things that will grow in our climate and some tulip bulbs just for the fun of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It has stared to rain seriously now so we head to the show parvilion where thousands of tulip bulbs are planted in sections by type and color indoors. What a display! It is a riot of color with many blooms that don't even look like tulips. By this point our feet are killing us and we are damp and cold...it is almost time to leave.The three hours have flown by in this beautiful oasis of flowers. We make one last stop for something to drink and then head back to the bus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We get back to the ship in time for a welcome hot lunch. The ship is back at the same berth in Amsterdam.Carolyn spends the afternoon packing.Tonight we are going to the special Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner.It is the alternate dinning option and each night the dinner is served to up to 16 guest in the small dinning room on the aft of the boat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It turns out to be eight of us for tonight's dinner. We are wined and dinned with great wines and wonderfully tender tasty roasted beef and sides and a great desert, five courses total. The meal is part of the whole cruise package and is a wonderful way to end a great week. Just one more reason that this has been a great cruise<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Well fed we retire to bed and dream of beautiful tulips!</span></span><br />
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cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-76446608264225829682013-06-29T09:50:00.001-07:002013-07-01T20:34:01.926-07:00APRIL 25<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">THURSDAY - Willemstad, Kinderdijk and Shoonhoeven</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It looks like we might have some sunshine today as we dock at Willemstad about 9AM. After another good breakfast, we head for the little village. We are to hear a organ concert recital at the church at 9:45AM, but have a few minutes to explore the information center where Carolyn buys a few souvenirs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We get to the church just before the concert starts. It is a low key affair, but nice. Afterwards we explore this quaint village with its lovely quay and windmill turned into art studio. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It is all aboard at 11:45AM as we sail 24 miles to Kinderdijk a World Heritage Site. We have lunch and watch the world go by from the balcony. About 3PM we arrive in Kinderdijk. There is a guided tour, but we strike out on our own and go first to the museum that is in the old pump house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This place, a pretty waterway lined with windmills, looks just like we think Holland should look. Around 1740, at least 19 windmills were built here to drain excess water from the Alblasserwaard polders into the river Lek. They have been well preserved and many are still working. There is one that is working and open for tours down the path a ways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We start toward it, but Carolyn sees a dock for a tour boat so she decides to do that while Dick walks to the windmill. Carolyn does the boat ride past the windmills, most of which have families living in them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dick says the tour of the inside was very interesting. It was set up like it would have been when families lived in and operated the windmills. It has turned out to be a sunny warm afternoon so this beautiful place is quite a treat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">All aboard is 6:45PM and we depart for Schoonhoeven some a few miles up the river. We have cocktails and go to the Farwell Dinner which is very good with prime rib and all the trimmings. During dinner we dock at Schoonhoeven about 8PM. There is the beginnings of a beautiful sunset after dinner and we decide to get out and walk around Schoonhoeven, as it appears to be another neat little village. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We enter the village through the old city gate and follow the canal to the village center. It is charming place with some cute looking shops. We wish we had arrived earlier or were staying until later in the morning. We have a pleasant walk around until it is to dark to really see. Back at the boat we get some tea and head to bed.</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-51167081704494908242013-06-29T09:46:00.002-07:002013-07-01T20:48:21.271-07:00APRIL 24<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">WEDNESDAY - Ghent and Bruges</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We start today with a stop in Ghent. We are fortunate to have been able to get on the tour to the Van Hecke Chocolaterie to learn how to make fine Belgian chocolate. This family run business is now in its fourth generation with a father, mother and son running the operation. The dock is a little ways from the city center so we are bussed to and dropped off near the Cloth Hall and the new subway station.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We meet our guide and are led several blocks to the Van Hecke's shop. They are expecting us (about 16) and we are given hair nets and led back into the tiny kitchen/work area. For the next 1 ½ hours we are shown the process for making one of their specialty chocolates and given the opportunity to try our hand at various the steps. When it is all over, including the tasting, most of us purchase samples to take with us back to the boat. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From here, we walk to our buses</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and head for Bruges, a World Heritage Site. It takes about an hour to get to this "Venice of the North." Bruges is a very popular tourist area and is packed with tourist today. We were here back in 2006 and loved it. The bus drops us off outside the old city walls in a purpose built parking area complete with very nice restrooms. We meet our walking tour guide there; an older man who really should find a new job. He leads us into the walled city on the opposite side from where we stayed last time and we see a lot we did not see the first time staring with the Begijnhof with its flower filled courtyard and quaint old church.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The guide is a bit of a Nazi and is really pushing the group. After a visit to the Church of Our Lady, we decide to bail,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">so get instructions where and when to meet back up for the canal boat ride at the end of the tour. We strike out on our own and by 2PM we are foot sore and thirsty. We stop at a small, sidewalk café along one of the canals for some refreshment and people watching.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From there we head to the Grote Markt and the City Hall for some pictures. In a little ally on the way, Carolyn spies a a lace shop where she buys two fabulous antique Belgium lace table cloths and a couple of small souvenir items including some lace Christmas ornaments for Dana. The Grote Markt is packed today, but we get some nice pictures as it is a beautiful afternoon.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is almost time to meet up for the canal boat ride so we head that way. It isn't to hard to find and we have time for a coke before the group arrives. Again this is something we did before, but it is fun to see the city again from a boat. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the ride we head back to the bus and then on to the boat arriving about 6:30 just in time for cocktails. It has been a great, but very busy day! Peter (he is so funny) does another short talk on the next stop and we head to dinner....tonight it is a Belgium dinner. These themed dinner have been surprisingly good...last time we remember the food was all white! The soups have been very tasty with two to chose from each night including several fruit soups which Carolyn loves. Tonight's entertainment is a Belgium desert buffet in the lounge. It looks good, but we ate a dessert with dinner so we pass in favor of</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a good book. At 10PM we sail for Willemstad 64 miles away.</span></span><br />
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cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-63915020281265991542013-06-28T20:47:00.005-07:002013-07-01T20:39:42.293-07:00APRIL 23<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">TUESDAY - Antwerp</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If it is Tuesday, then it must be Antwerp, the second largest port in Europe! When we wake up, we find we are already tied up at some old, commercial wharves that were built during the reign of Victoria, but are not far from the historic center of the city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After breakfast, we meet our guide for our walking tour and set off down the main drag along the river Scheldt. There is some sort of workers strike going on and we watch a parade of sign carriers go past before checking out the Steen (Antwerp) Castle, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">crossing the boulevard and heading up toward the old center of the city first walking through the old medieval part </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and into the main square or Grote Markt with the large Brabo Fountain and the massive looking gray stone City Hall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From there we stroll through some of the narrow alleyways</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and come to a large square behind the Antwerp Cathedral, a World heritage Site. Once again our feet are hurting so we park on a park bench and tell the tour leader we will make our own way back to the boat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After resting and people watching for a while we decide to visit the Cathedral. The Cathedral has a number of Peter Paul Rueben, the famous 17th century Flemish Baroque painter, works on display, the most famous paintings on display being, Elevation of the Cross and Decent from the Cross (humm...maybe copies of the originals). The Cathedral is under going a massive redo that is almost finished. One of the huge paintings looks to be restored, but the other is very dark from years of display. Since we have ditched our guide we are saved from the 20 minute lecture on each piece and can just study each on our own!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are hungry and thirsty now and see a fries fast food shop as we exit the Cathedral. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We order a huge serving of the traditional fries with mayo, Belgium style, and eat with a number of local business men. Fortified we retrace our steps back to the ship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Scheldt has a huge tide here and our boat has fallen some 12 feet during the time we have been on tour. This afternoon there is tour to Brussels, but Dick plans to rest and read, and Carolyn decides to take a shuttle to one of the diamond factories for a tour. It is interesting and doesn't take to much time. She gets to see the cutting, grading and polishing processes plus some drop dead jewelry pieces...both in design and price! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We have cocktails on the balcony and head to the lounge for another short talk by Peter, the CD for going to dinner. The food is so much better on this cruise than in 2006, with good nightly choices plus the always available items. The wine selections are very good also. We have another great meal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The entertainment to night is a violin group that we heard before in 2006. They are really good, but once again we head for bed. At 10:45 the ship sails for Ghent 61 miles away, but we are sound asleep! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The AMAVerde is a beautiful boat. built in 2011 in the new long boat style with spacious cabins/suites many which have a very nice balcony. The food and wine have been great so far. A really nice thing is offering a light breakfast early in the lounge and a nice lunch there at mid day. Also we are having no problem getting a table for two if we want which we do tonight as we are tired.</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-12474874348536726072013-06-28T19:00:00.003-07:002013-07-01T20:42:16.134-07:00APRIL 22<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">MONDAY - Arnhem and Nijmegan</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dawn finds us approaching the city of Arnhem, site of "A Bridge Too Far." We dock at a quay and, after another outstanding breakfast (Jack says, "You can’t have too much smoked salmon."). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dick boards a bus for a tour of the area and its famous WWII battlefield. It turns out we are only a short ride from the site of the John Frost Bridge, better known as "A Bridge Too Far." The current bridge is not the one from 1944, but the support pillars are from that time and show distinct signs of battle scars and bullet marks. The original bridge was blown up by the Germans sometime after the September 1944 battle. There is a small park by the bridge and we stop for picture taking. The park contains some displays of "Then and Now" photos with overlays of the old buildings on the new picture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It gives you a good feel for what was where in 1944. None of the buildings in the area of the bridge survived the war and the city was heavily damaged so most buildings are post-war construction with no character. Such a waster!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We then ride out to the area of the airborne drop and the glider landing fields. These are some 10 miles from the bridge and are virtually unchanged in appearance. They are still farm and pasture land with only historical markers indicating their place in history.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our next stop is the Airborne Museum located in and under the Hartenstein Hotel. This hotel, first a German headquarters and then the British Headquarters during the Battle of Arnhem, has been turned into an outstanding museum dedicated to the events of September 1944. They have excavated 4-5 stories deep under the hotel and have an excellent, "walk-through-the-battle" experience with artifacts, light and sound making it feel like "You are There;" sort of!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a not long enough stop here, we drive to the British War Cemetery where many of the British dead from the battle are laid to rest. As with all British War Graves it is beautifully maintained and very moving. We are told that area school children are required to tend the graves at some point in their schooling so that they will learn and never forget the sacrifices made by the British on their behalf.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We return to the boat by way of the route taken by the British soldiers when moving from the landing zones toward Arnhem. Back on the boat we have lunch and watch the river banks slide by as we make our way to Nijmegen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nijmegen is only about 10 miles south of Arnhem by highway and lies on the Waal River.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We dock below the old town and the cruise director conducts a walking tour up through the old town to the Grote Markt Square. A large street market is just breaking up and, after walking its length, we break off and explore the site of an old church and Medieval fortification ruins overlooking the river and the General Gavin Bridge.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We find our way down off the heights above the bridge and stroll along the riverside walk back to the boat with our sore feet reminding us our walking days are pretty much over. It is has been very interesting to see Arnhem and Nijmegen and to add them to our list of historic places visited.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We enjoy our cocktails on our balcony as we sail past Nijmegan and the along the river dotted here and there with farms and windmills. We are sailing for Antwerp, 136 miles away, at 6PM while we enjoy an entertaining talk by our very funny cruise director over more cocktails and then another tasty dinner. Tonight there is a 60's dance in the lounge, but we past and retire to our comfortable beds!</span></div>
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cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-57829532254298708492013-06-27T22:27:00.001-07:002013-07-01T20:44:42.909-07:00APRIL 21<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SUNDAY <strong>-</strong> Amsterdam, Volendam and Edam</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dick is up early and looking for coffee. The ship has coffee and pastries set out in the front, lounge area and, with coffee in hand, he watches the sun rise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After breakfast, we take a very short bus ride to another dock area where we board a boat for a canal tour. We did a canal boat tour last Fall and it was fun so we are going to do it again. This tour covers some spots we did not see last time and does some different canals too. We sail through the old shipyard area from the 1600s and see a replica Dutch East Indiaman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The tour takes about two hours and the day is bright and clear. We thoroughly enjoy our ride.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the canal boat ride, we are given a bus tour through the downtown area past Dam Square and the Palace and stop near the Begijnhof. Here we walk through the small square where an antique book market was set up last Fall to a hidden square. The entrance looks just like a door into someone home, but inside is short walkway that opens into a beautiful courtyard style garden with a small, old church surrounded by what was once a convent and is now homes....neat! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that visit we are given a few minutes to shop the market. Carolyn finds a couple with some beautiful handmade jewelry and buys a wonderful necklace in gold, crystals, turquoise and pearls that she can't live with out! Well it will look great with the earrings from India! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Returning to the boat for the noon sailaway, we enjoy a light lunch in the lounge watching the sail to Volendam. To get there we traverse some locks and go out into what used to be part of the Zuidersee. Now it is an lake called the Markemeer. The whole trip is only about 15 miles but it takes three hours including the time in the locks. We arrive in Volendam at 3PM. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Volendam is a very traditional fishing village and it is Sunday afternoon. It is a popular destination for the locals and the village is set up to cater to the tourist trade. We are met by a young lady who will be our guide for a walk through Volendam, with a running commentary on what we are seeing and the inbred social order of the town. After a lengthy stroll, including a visit to the local churchyard cemetery, we board a bus for the short drive to Edam, home of the famous cheese.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There is not spare land in The Netherlands and it is quite crowded with the houses being quite small. But, all is neat, clean and well maintained. After a 15 minute drive of only some three miles, we come to Edam and get out for another guided walk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We see some of the old locks and wharfs from the 1600s and stop at the "weighing house," where, in times past, the round Edam cheeses were brought to be weighed and sold. There is a large crowd here but we catch a break in the action and see the museum displays and buy some cheese for ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We end our tour by walking on through this tiny town to the parking lot where we reboard the bus and head back to Volendam. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Have some time to spare Dick stays in town to do a little shopping but the offerings are all tourist stuff however he does buy Jack a pin! Carolyn goes on back to the boat. When Dick returns, we enjoy cocktails and nice music by the resident pianist in the lounge. Sail away is at 7:30PM as we enjoy a good Dutch dinner. Tonight we sail overnight to Arnhem. The entertainment is a Dutch clog making demonstration and Folklore dances. Carolyn would like to go but we are both very tired still and decide the comfortable bed sounds better.</span> cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-69305286858326873602013-06-27T20:25:00.000-07:002013-07-01T20:48:47.979-07:00APRIL 20<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SATURDAY - Boarding the AMAVerde</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Today we board our boat but we can’t do that for several hours. Once again, we enjoy the nice, included breakfast and pack our bags. That chore finished, we walk down over to an area called Jordaan. It is noted for its Saturday morning street markets. It is a beautiful day but almost cold. It feels good to stretch our legs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The street market is interesting and is one of those in which you can buy a weeks worth of fresh meat, fish, octopus, squid and cheese plus flowers, underwear, books, sunglasses and shoes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What fun! Carolyn toys with buying some more of the beautiful tulips, but decides that might be a little much to get to the boat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The city is alive with bicycles and people on foot. We think that this would be a very pleasant city in which to live providing you could afford to live in the inner-city along one of the canals. Fat chance!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After leaving the market, we stroll along the canals examining the house boats that line both sides of most of them. We later learn that it is very hard to get a canal houseboat permit. Most of the boats are decorated in a very eclectic style. One is covered with bottle trees!</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our feet are beginning to complain so we hail a taxi, return to the hotel and check out about one. We wait in the lobby until about 2 when we can call a taxi to take us to our boat, the <i>AMAVerde.</i> It is not far to the quay where the river boats dock and it only takes about 15 minutes to get there. Crew members are waiting to help with our luggage and we head on to the boat. We stop at the desk to check in and are soon in our very nice suite.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We spend the afternoon getting moved in and unpacked. Dick walks to the train station and hits an ATM machine for some more Euros. We enjoy our first dinner on the ship of prime rib and all the trimmings with some new friends and overnight on the ship at the dock.</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-59703773747097956872013-06-27T19:47:00.001-07:002013-07-01T20:48:00.927-07:00APRIL 19<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">FRIDAY - Amsterdam</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We awake to find overcast skies about 8AM. The hotel breakfast is very nice with lots of choices and of course the wonderful hot chocolate and coffee from the great machine! Carolyn makes up a doggie bag from the cold cuts, rolls and fruit on the buffet for our lunch and we head back to the room. We are really jet lagged this morning and decide to just enjoy the view from the room and work on our blog, we are really far behind on this whirl wind trip.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">About 1PM Dick goes to look for a place to buy some coke and liquor (€23.50 for a liter of Jim Beam and €3.45 for a six pack of Coke) for the river boat. That done, we have lunch in the room and then head out to explore. It is cool with a little sun, but still windy. We walk along the Singel Canal up to the Flower Market. The stalls are full of tulips and bulbs in every color including black. Carolyn buys a bunch of yellow tulips and Delft style vase for them for the cabin and Dick buys some cheese.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As we head back to the hotel we read menus. Ludens’ looks the best so we pop in and make reservations for dinner at 8PM. Back in the room we have a cocktail and try some of the cheese.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dinner was not as good a the menu sounded. Carolyn has quiche and a spinach salad that is very good, but Dick’s lamb leaves much to be desired. Back at the hotel a shot of the great hot chocolate and some cakes from the tray of sweets in the lobby fills the bill and we head off to bed happy, relaxed campers!</span> cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-83190464906259228732013-06-27T19:11:00.002-07:002013-07-01T20:09:40.461-07:00APRIL 18<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">THURSDAY - Travel Day, New Delhi to Helsinki to Amsterdam</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We wake up before the 6:30 wake up call and get dressed and packed before heading to breakfast. The Oberoi package has been a wonderful experience well worth every penny. Each hotel’s staff has been wonderful, truly a luxury experience at every property. It is amazing that four different hotels would all have such consistent excellent service. We will try to visit more of the Oberoi properties in Asia in the future...they are a destination in themselves!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The hotel car takes us to airport at 8 as the final part of our Oberoi package. It takes about 30 minutes in moderate traffic. We see a lot more of the airport this time and think it is probably one of the nicest we have been in. We like the idea of only allowing people with tickets in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After all the worry about the carry on limit there is absolutely no issue at check in except that everything has to have a carry on tag including our canes and Carolyn’s passport pouch! Since Carolyn is using her cane, they call for a wheelchair which makes thing simpler and we are off on our all day of flying!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Security is no problem, no line and very fast then we are taken to a nice BC lounge where we wait for about an hour before being taken to the plane. The BC section on the FinnAir is nice and the seats are the lay flat type. About half the BC seats are empty. We can’t see the back of the plane though there didn’t seem to be many people waiting to board. The flight is smooth and uneventful, the service is good though the food choices are not to our liking.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We arrive in Helsinki a little early and are met with a wheelchair for Carolyn thankfully because it is a long walk across the airport to our departure gate. We have to go through immigration since this is our entrance point to the EU and even thought we do not ever leave the secure area we have to go through security again. They do the strip search routine and take the hand luggage apart checking all liquids in the little baggies and all the electronics. This sends Dick in orbit since we have just gotten off a 7 hour FinAir flight, where do they think we could have gotten a bomb!! Oh well, the joys of travel!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There connection time is 55 minutes which is a legal connection, but it is really tight. They are beginning the final boarding call for our flight when we get there. The young man pushing the wheelchair is not concerned and keeps telling us all is well, but we are a bit stressed. This is a commuter flight on a A318 and is the 3-3 configuration with BC having the middle seat free. Fortunately it is only a little over two hours. We could have flown on KLM direct for $2000 more each, but it really wasn’t worth it in Carolyn’s mind since the flight left at 1AM and the total travel time was only 90 minutes less. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We get to Amsterdam about 6 PM. It is cool and very windy. We are very tired and ready to get settled so we head direct to the taxi stand instead of using the much cheaper shuttle that we used last time. There has been to major pile up in two different places on the major ring around Amsterdam so traffic is a mess. The driver winds up giving us a tour of the harbor area before getting us to our hotel, 75e later. We get checked in and are taken to our room on the 4<sup>th</sup> floor, it is next door to the one we had in the fall, but is a double not the twin Carolyn requested. Back down to the front desk, the lady checks and there are no twins with a canal view open tonight (the draw back of a late arrival), but she can change us tomorrow. For tonight if I want they will make up the day bed in our room. Carolyn agrees to this as there is no way she and Dick will get any sleep on a old fashioned double bed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We have had a very long day and are really hungry. So we get cleaned up and head to Noock, the Asian restaurant we discovered last fall. We have rally been looking forward to eating here again. It is about three blocks from the hotel and has table available when we arrive. We order a bottle of rose wine, a bowl of Pho Bo and to dim sum sample platters that have the wonderful shrimp spring rolls on them. Heaven!!The wine is cold and the food is fresh and hot! We have a delightful dinner. It is good to be back in Amsterdam!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">A</span> bracing walk back to the hotel in the cold night air and we fall into bed and sleep the sleep of the well traveled!</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-666263905837713642013-06-27T18:58:00.004-07:002013-07-01T21:07:23.691-07:00APRIL 17<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">WEDNESDAY - Explore Jaipur then onto Delhi</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Breakfast is the same as yesterday. We check out and are picked up, along with our luggage by a delightful young lady named Jyoti. She had driven us in the cart last evening and she says we make her laugh and remind us of her parents. She is from Luknow and moved to Jaipur as part of her Oberoi training one year ago. We make a point of commending her in our hotel evaluation and speak to the hotel manager about her qualities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our first stop of the day is the City Palace where the current Maharanee lives. Part of it is open to the public and we take our usual self-guided tour after the usual 400 rupee admission.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Leaving City Palace we go to the Rambagh Palace Hotel where we plan to get a noon time libation. We are directed to the dining room as it is just before noon. We do not want to order the one price for all meal and talk the waiter into two strawberry milk shakes for, ultimately, 1,050 rupees ($21). Very expensive milkshakes; but good!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rishi has offered to take us to a textile store he knows of and, since he has been such a good driver, we let him do so. This is a case where he will get some commission on anything we happen to buy. Here we see the block printing technique demonstrated in a rough form and Carolyn ultimately purchases a hand painted, silk pillow cover for $30US.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We now head out for our 200+km drive back to Delhi. At first the road is fairly good and the terrain reminds Dick of some areas in the Hill Country of Texas. We make good time as long as the road quality holds out. At one point on our drive, we are in an area of divided highway with a fairly high berm that has been planted so it is difficult to see the traffic heading the opposite direction. All of a sudden, as we are in the lane nearest the berm, a donkey leaps into the road in front of us from the median. Rishi brakes hard and swerves to the left missing the suicidal animal by a foot or so. He just laughs and says it is not uncommon and one reason he never takes his eyes off the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Further along, as we transit a small town, we note dozens of trucks alongside the road with wheels off, hoods open, etc. We ask what is going on and Rishi points out the rude shacks and small buildings back from the road. He tells us this is a repair and parts center and the trucks are undergoing repairs or maintenance. Let us point out that most of the trucks are simply stopped in the left most lane of the highway, effectively reducing it to one useable lane heading our way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As we stop and go through one town, with highway construction making everything all the worse, we are forced to stop by a procession of men, some carrying bundles of sticks or brush, as they pass across the road and up into the highway construction area. Rishi says this is a funeral procession escorting the deceased to the traditional cremation area for this community. It is men only as women are not allowed to participate. We wonder what the rules are if the deceased is a woman but do not ask.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another time, we come upon a WIDE LOAD of heavy machinery on a laboring truck. The road is already narrow and this truck is taking it all. We follow him for some distance before we can get around. We try to explain wide load permits and escort vehicles to Rishi but the concept does not take and we move on down the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the longest drive of the trip...at least it seemed that way as the road was very rough and there was constant stop and go, we arrive at the Oberoi Gurgaon, a beautiful modern oasis near the Delhi airport. Once again we enter through guarded gates and are treated like royalty as we enter the hotel. We find we have been upgraded to a fabulous three room suite. It is beautiful...too bad we will only have one night to enjoy it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are tired of traveling, so we get cleaned up and go to the bar for a cocktail and then walk around the hotel’s nice up scale shopping mall. Carolyn finds a small enameled sterling silver box to add to our collection from around the world and we head back to the room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Once again we order a room service dinner of club sandwiches...the ones we have enjoyed so much of the trip. Well, these are huge served on big slices of focaccia bread. We can’t do them justice, but enjoy the nice bottle of red wine that was a gift of the hotel and eat what we can. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are flying FinAir back to Amsterdam tomorrow. Dick checked in on line and found that the carry on weight limit is much less than what we are used to in Business Class. Not knowing how strict the check in will be, Carolyn spends time repacking so we hopefully will not have any surprises in the morning at check in. Satisfied that the luggage is ready to go we fall into bed.</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-78186349757012033042013-06-27T17:52:00.001-07:002013-07-01T21:06:47.042-07:00APRIL 16<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">TUESDAY - Exploring Jaipur</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our clocks are still suffering jet lag and Dick is up by 6AM. This is not so early for him as he is a morning person and enjoys the early morning most of all. He works on this blog; as usual we are behind. We are to meet Rishi at 9AM so we head for breakfast about 8AM. This buffet is nothing like the one in Delhi but we order a hot breakfast off the menu and enjoy glasses of watermelon and orange juice along with fresh breads and fruit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rishi is waiting for us and we head out for our day of exploring Jaipur. Rishi grew up about 20km outside Jaipur and lives here along with his wife, daughter (17) and son (15). Our first stop of the day is the Amber Fort. This was the seat of military and court power for the Maharaja of Jaipur from 1592 to 1728. It is an imposing sight as we approach it reminding us of some parts of the Great Wall of China as ramparts ascend and descend the hillsides around it. We see the elephants taking the visitors up to the fort as we approach and Rishi says he will try to drive us as close as possible to the entrance but how close will depend on the guards. We are stopped by a barricade that is manned by the usual soldier/police types sitting in the shade. Rishi rolls the window down speaks to them and shows Carolyn’s walking sticks. He thinks he has a deal to drive us to the next level but the guy on the gate refuses to lift it. We don’t speak the language but we understand him to say that the other guy said it was OK. The guard says so what. Back and forth a few times and the gate guard reluctantly raises the bar. We ascend a very steep, stone-paved switch back to a level area. Rishi has to shift into 4-wheel drive about half way up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here we must get out for another steep climb of some 30 yards into the main courtyard of the fort in front of the Palace. The courtyard is, perhaps 150 yards on a side and some sort of festival is just cranking up. There are tents set up and blaring Indian music flooding forth from an over cranked amplifier. There is an active Hindu temple within the complex and a steady stream of worshipers is heading for its entrance in the corner. The entrance there is well guarded and people are having to pass through metal detectors before entering. Terrorism must be a constant and real threat here in India.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The heat is building as we climb some steep, stone stairs to the palace level of the complex. Here waits the ticket seller and 400 rupees ($8) later we are in an area used by the Maharaja for public functions. Once again, the architecture and the view down to Maota Lake, formal garden and town we came through are impressive though Amber Fort is not as nicely restored as Fatehpur Sikri or Agra Fort. The highlight of the fort is the detailed mirror work, carvings and mosaics of the chambers and hallways. The photos can speak for themselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We head back down and call Rishi on the cell phone he has provided. He meets us where he let us out and we head back down the hill, a different way. Our next stop another step well that is located near the Anokhi Museum of Block Printing inside the gates of the small village of Amber. There is no one around the well and we get some good photos of the light and shadow play on the well’s walls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From the raised area around the well we also get some good photos of the formed cow dung patties commonly used for fuel that we have seen piled next to many of the homes. Also from this vantage point we are able to watch the women around a village well doing laundry and gossiping while a young man strips, soaps up and rinses himself with buckets of water from the well.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There is also an old Meera temple across the alley way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">his is delightful quite area with people going about their daily routine is probably one of the most memorable stops of the trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A few yards beyond the well, we come to the Anokhi Museum of Block Printing. Hand block printing on fabric is a very difficult and time consuming process that is traditional to India. It nearly died out as an art form in the 20<sup>th</sup> century but the government and the Anokhi organization have managed to revive it as an art form and as a viable source of revenue to the craftsmen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The museum is in a restored 16<sup>th</sup> century haviel, a merchant’s home and place of business and part of the city wall when built. It sits in what was a place of honor at the time, by one of the old city wall gates. We take photos of photos of the building prior to restoration and it was in a deplorable state. Talk about a handyman’s dream! Anokhi found and used traditional craftsmen to do the work. They worked without plans and used there traditional understanding of building techniques to determine what went where and how to proceed. Now, restored to its near original condition, it is a home to the museum.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We pay 120 rupees ($2.40) to enter plus 60 rupees as a camera fee. The museum displays various regional costumes made from block printed fabric in glass display cases along with displays showing how the process is done. A local, familiar with the local traditions of a particular village or area, can tell the age and marital status of a woman by her dress. This is shown in photos. Fortunately, all signs and explanations are offered in English so we understand what we are seeing. In addition, the man selling tickets joins us and walks us through. His English is understandable and he adds to the quality of our visit. Dick given him 100 rupees ($2) as we leave and he is most appreciative. A little, by our standards, goes a long way in India.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Prior to leaving, Carolyn purchases a block printed double bed spread to be used as yard goods for recovering two rockers in our home. She also buys two hand-carved printing blocks. These purchases total 3,180 rupees ($65.83) and are capped off by the free, block printed, cloth carrying bag into which her purchases are placed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Carolyn now wants to go to Fab India and we proceed there for some shopping. She purchases two large silk stoles like the Indian women wear. We stop at the Gem Palace jewelry store but it is way too crowed and they are intent on showing off their letters from old English royalty. We are politely ignored and do not see anything we need and soon leave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From here, we have a little tour then head for the office of India by Car and Driver to settle our bill. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The office is on the 5<sup>th</sup> or 6<sup>th</sup> floor of an office building that is virtually unoccupied. Across the street, two more high-rise buildings are going up. It is lunch time and we can see workers on several floors of the construction site sitting around eating and brewing tea. In the open area around the new buildings, an area covered in debris and rubble, the families of the workers have erected make-shift cloth shelters in which their families are living/existing. Rishi says this is common as there is no work in the countryside where these people actually live, so they set up temporary shelter where ever the work is and the workers and their families will stay as long as the job is there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How sad!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The office of India By Car and Driver is cooled, somewhat, by a laboring window type AC unit and in the outer area several men are sitting around talking. Ramesh greets us and we pay him the 50% balance due for his service. It has cost us $387US for a car and driver for six days. We will drive roughly 1,000km and all tolls and fuel costs are paid by the company. We do not see how he makes any money but we are very satisfied with Rishi and India By Car and Driver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We now ask Rishi to take us back to the hotel and we turn him loose for the rest of the day. He is obviously pleased as he lives in Jaipur and we will enjoy a quiet afternoon enjoying Oberoi Rajvillas, a world class hotel property. At sunset, we dress up a little and walk over to the main building. During our stroll we take photos of the property and explore a bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Carolyn hits the hotel shop and buys some camel bone drink coasters and a pair of earrings from the hotels branch of the gem Palace. It is now dark and we walk back to the room while taking photos of the beautifully lit property.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Tonight we order room service spaghetti Bolognese and caramel custard for dinner. Tomorrow is our drive back to Delhi and the bed calls.</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-55730975515829915622013-06-27T14:40:00.001-07:002013-07-01T21:06:04.485-07:00APRIL15<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">MONDAY - Taj Mahal and on to Jaipur</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We walk out the door right on time, 5:45AM, and are met by our guide. We climb into a hotel provided golf cart/club car along with another couple and head for the World Heritage Site, theTaj Mahal... the unbelievable white marble tomb built by Emporer Saah Jahn for his third and favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Our guide has already purchased our tickets, 1,500 rupees or $30, and we are among the first through the gate when it opens at 6AM. Security is tight with scanners and a hand body search. Ladies are segregated and examined behind a bamboo screen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From here, we will let our photos tell the story of our visit to the Taj Mahal at sunrise along with a few captions for the pictures. The one thing that must be told is that before the British came and took over, the ceilings inside the Taj’s rooms were covered in gold leaf and semi-precious stones. We are told that the British set fires inside the various rooms to melt the gold leaf and then pried out the stones. Those ceiling are now just white plaster. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The visit is everything Carolyn hoped for. We spend some time just sitting at the back (river side) of the Taj Mahal on the balcony over looking the Yamuna River watching the egerts fishing from the sand bars and enjoying the view of the Agra Fort in the distance. Was the effort to get here worth it....that would be a YES!. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By 8AM we are back at the hotel and head for breakfast. We have agreed to a 9:15AM pickup time and, once loaded, we are off on the day long drive to Jaipur. It is a good thing we do not know just what a beating this 288km drive will be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We thread our way out of town on this Monday morning with the streets teaming with people and all the various conveyance previously described. We cannot begin to adequately describe the chaos and filth of this place so we will let our photos do the talking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">No more than 10-15km out of town, we come to a road intersection shaped like a <b>#</b> sign. We are heading north on the right hand down stroke. The left hand down stroke is a 1/4 mile to our left and is a train track with, when we arrive, a stopped train blocking both east-west roads. The roads are all two, "ha-ha", lanes wide with bar ditches on both sides. Traffic, consisting mostly of large trucks, has come to a complete halt where the north-south bound road and the two east-west bound roads meet. It is grid lock with everyone jostling for position and with many vehicles facing the wrong way for their lane. The concept of a lane of traffic is foreign to India. It takes 45 minutes to work our way through this mess and we are not really sure what broke the log jam and got us moving but once free we move right along and pick up a four lane divided toll highway after another five kilometers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now here is another adventure in driving. This is a toll road but is not limited access so the locals use it as they see fit. The opposing lanes are divided by an impassable median with concrete curbs and wire fencing. There are very few breaks in this median and those that do exist are several kilometers or more apart and mostly formed from the barrier having been destroyed by the locals. So, human nature being what it is, we are constantly meeting traffic coming our way on the wrong side of the road. Oh, they are nice enough to continually flash their lights but the oncoming cars clearly expect to be given room in which to drive on the wrong side of the road; none of this driving down and finding the next break in the median for them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our next Indian traffic adventure comes at a toll plaza. Traffic is heavy, mostly trucks, and is backed up 10 -15 units deep at all toll booths. Now, one must understand that you don’t just get in line as you approach and wait your turn. No, everyone jams up as tight as possible, like sand in an hour glass, and then tries to squeeze into a booth as they creep forward. This is bad enough, but the booth Rishi is heading for is suddenly closed with 5-6 trucks and cars already committed to use it. They just shut it down and walk away!! After much backing and filling, laying on of the horns, hand gestures, and conversations in multiple languages this mess also gets sorted out and we make it through after paying our toll. This took another 45 minutes. of course there are the camels using the toll road also!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By now, it is late morning and we stop at the beautiful hill top city of Fatehpur Sikri, a World Heritage Site, started in 1571 by Emperor Akbar. He built this city on the site where his future son was predicted to be born. Entrance to the site is a very organized with a car park and a bus stop with buses running continuously. Rishi has arranged a guide for us who joins us at the car park and with a minimum of fuss we board the CNG powered shuttle bus for the ride from the parking area up to the entrance gate. It is midday and out of the shade, the sun is bright and hot. We get the usual genealogy of the ruler who built this city and learn that it was only occupied for 14 years as the lake that had been the water supply dried up. We visit the grand audience hall, the small palaces of two of the wives, one Muslim, one Catholic and the main palace of the emperor and the third wife who was Hindu and provided the only son. Again we find a shady spot to people watch. As usual there are many Indian families dressed to the nines exploring their heritage and it is quite a show. It is all interesting and the city is beautifully restored, but to Dick these forts of red sandstone are beginning to all look the same. This also happens with the temples in Southeast Asia and castles and churches in Europe, but Carolyn is happy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fortunately, the downhill bus is waiting at the entrance to the mosque where our interest and desire give out. After a few pictures of the mosque area, we climb on and find a seat. A miracle! The bus is now full and we wonder why we do not start. It is a matter of definition. The seats are full so to us the bus is full. We have the 36 people the bus is designed to carry. We are FULL. NOT!!! As we sit there, more and more people climb on. Whole families including kids and grandma climb on. We take it in stride and Dick befriends a small child sitting across from him along with its father, mother and three siblings. Smiles and finger shakes illicit a grin and then a smile. Standing by Dick, in the aisle, is a beautiful girl of around 16 who speaks English. Her father tolerates a little small talk about where we are from before we arrive back at the parking area. We both attempt to count the people as they get off and agree that there were about 60 people crammed on the bus. At least we only had a five minute ride once we got started!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Returning to the parking area, Dick pays our guide a 500 rupees ($10) tip and we head out down the road toward Jaipur. The highway quality varies from four lane divided with the berm median, as described earlier, to a two lane, very rough and worn blacktop. It switches back and forth as we go and is usually roughest going through the small towns where the traffic increases from heavy to chaotic with pedestrians, animals (yes, herds of camels!), carts, bicycles and motorbikes fighting for space on the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Around 2PM Rishi pulls into a roadside restaurant for his lunch. He has previously asked us if we want to eat but we have brought lunch from the hotel. He indicates we should go in and sit down and that he will not be long. Drivers, in our experience, always head somewhere other than where we are directed for food, toilets and other services. We go in and find an open air, completely empty restaurant area that reminds us of a large Mexican restaurant. A man comes out from the back and invites us to sit. He brings us menus but we tell him we just want something to drink. Carolyn orders a coke and Dick orders a beer. The beer turns out to be a large Kingfisher, the local Indian brew, and quite good. We break out our sandwiches and the man brings us two plates which is certainly not necessary but very nice. The bill for the drinks is 375 rupees and we pay him 500 ($10). Rishi is waiting as we walk out and we load up and head out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mid afternoon we turn of the main road and head to the small village of Abhaneri. Here we visit the Chand Baorior, the 9<sup>th</sup> century step well. It is 100 feet deep and 35 meters on each side. There are 3500 steps scaling 13 stories...the perfect symmetry is a delight to behold. We are escorted around the well by a local who in broken English explains points of interest around the site. Dick gives him a small tip for his effort and we head to the Harshat Mata Temple across the street. This 10<sup>th</sup> century temple is still an active place of worship for the locals and though it is mostly in ruins we can still see the detail of the stone work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The rest of the trip to our hotel in Jaipur is uneventful if constantly cheating accident and death can be called uneventful. We continue to experience cars and trucks on the wrong side of the road, yes that truck is driving on our side </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> of the divided highway, flashing his lights to let us know that he is going the wrong way, aggressive drivers and the constant honking of horns. Evidently, you can’t pass a car without blowing your horn from 50 yards back to some point in front of them. This is just for the normal, uncontested passing situation. For one where you are asking them to move over or are defending your own space the honking is virtually constant. The funny thing is that the horns are high pitched and tinny sounding. We would love to have a deeply noted, 18-wheeler air horn and see what that would do to our driver’s opponents. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The many villages we pass through are a trip in themselves. The main street is lined with many stalls/stands loaded with fresh bright colored produce both fruits and vegetables. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are also small stalls of every other commerce needed to make a village work. The stalls are all crowded with people shopping and talking. It is really quite a show! Between that and the traffic dance we are enthralled!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our hotel is on the east side of Jaipur, before driving through the tunnel into Jaipur proper. We turn left and then left again through the usual chaotic congestion of an Indian town. Trash is everywhere as are buildings in semi-ruin. This is the location where we see a camel pulling a dump truck along the street. We can only hope that it is the local tow service taking the truck in for repair!</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While driving through this mess, we suddenly turn left into the Oberoi Rajvilas Hotel, rated one of the best in the world. As with all the other hotels, we are stopped by uniformed guards, the hood is opened, the back of the vehicle and its contents, our luggage, inspected and a mirrored roller run under the car from all sides and ends. Satisfied that we are not carrying and IED or car bomb, they check our names off of an expected arrivals guest list and the gate is opened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We proceed up a beautifully landscaped drive into a 32 acre oasis of luxury and calm. As usual we are met by a liveried doorman dressed in the costume of the area. This is usually white pants, tight in the leg, a white or black jacket, red cummerbund with sash and turban. Invariably, the man has a magnificent mustache and, usually, a gloriously trimmed and formed beard. We are greeted by name as our doors are opened, checked off a list and escorted into the hotel. By now we are confident that our luggage will appear in our room within a very short time. Check-in here as elsewhere is conducted in our room. We are escorted to club car golf cart and driven to our room, #130. The rooms that we see are all built as four to a unit opening off of a courtyard with a flowing fountain. Our room is large and comfortable with king bed, desk, comfortable window seat and large bath and dressing area. The bath has a waterfall shower and glass walls with a locked door opening onto an enclosed garden area. It feels like you are showering outdoors.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It has been a long day and we are very tired. We get cleaned up, mix a rum and coke from the room bar and relax. The dining room is al fresco and it is too warm for us to eat in the open air. The daily temperatures are running in the low 100s and by dinner time they are still in the mid-90s. For the natives, a fan makes this comfortable and perhaps we could learn also, "but not today." We finally order club sandwiches, a wonderful homemade tomato basil soup and a delicious cream camel from room service, mix a second cocktail, eat and go to bed.</span>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-52230214379060384582013-06-27T11:55:00.000-07:002013-07-01T21:04:04.729-07:00APRIL 14<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SUNDAY - Delhi to Agra</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Today we move on to Agra for our visit to the Taj Mahal, the driving force for the whole trip! We are at the dining room when it opens at 7AM and enjoy<b> </b>another good breakfast buffet. We are loaded and on our way with Rishi by 8:15AM<b>. </b>Being Sunday, the traffic is noticeably reduced and we pick up a new freeway quality road with very light traffic heading South. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The first thing of interest is a huge sports complex being built by private money. This thing has multiple stadiums to include soccer, track and field, horse racing, auto racing and more. This complex runs for miles down either side of the highway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The poor of India work constantly and we pass many miles of wheat fields being harvested by hand in the biblical way. Both men and women, most dressed in colorful saris, squat with a hand sickle cutting the grain stalks and tying them into bundles or sheaves. These sheaves are left in orderly rows behind the workers as they progress slowly into standing grain. The only other place we have seen this done is along the Nile in Egypt. In fact the farming and the building style remind us of Egypt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Interspersed among the wheat fields are smoke stacks that mark brick making kilns. The wheat straw is used along with dirt that is carefully removed from the land in geometric patterns. They then plant the bottom of these dirt excavations with more wheat as they don’t just dig out a pit but scrape off the land and leave a flat bottom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The drive to Agra is an interesting and uneventful 200 plus kilometers with only one stop for a bathroom break. Dick uses the facilities and they are no better or worse than similar rest stops along US highways. Once off the main highway, we make our way toward Agra and, perhaps, the true India begins to emerge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Chaos Thy Name Is India."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We drop off the new highway into a traffic nightmare consisting of every known land conveyance used during the last 5,000 years; camels, bullocks, animal drawn carts, human push carts, bicycles, motorbikes of all descriptions, tuk-tuks, cars, trucks, tractors, feet, etc. This would not be so bad, but there are, literally, no rules of the road! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Agra is an ancient city and the roads, streets and alleys follow paths set down over 1,000 years ago; i.e., no rhyme nor reason for modern traffic. Trash and garbage burns in the streets or blows about in the hot wind. Animals wander on and off the roadways and little children seem to dart everywhere. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our first stop is the Itimad-ud-Daula or "Baby Taj," the tomb Mirza Ghiyath Beg that predates the Taj Mahal. It is a bejeweled marble box on the Yamuna River, but much less grand than the Taj. Dick pays for tickets and gets back some small change bills that are filthy. He carefully segregates them in his pocket and, for the first time, hopes for a beggar to appear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We walk into the complex and view the city from the wall above the river. Across lies old Agra. Children are playing below the wall in the filthy water and heaven only knows what is floating by in the stream. Shoes must come off to go into the tomb and Carolyn elects to watch Dick’s shoes, his only pair on the trip, while he climbs the steep stairs and goes inside. A self appointed guide immediately begins pointing out the best photo spots and does a good job. Dick tips him 100 rupees ($2), and receives blessings on his house and family forever. Dick gives the filthy rupees he received earlier to a little girl of nine or ten and receives a beautiful smile and bow in return. Money well given and it is no longer infecting his pocket.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Next we stop at the Agra Fort another World Heritage Site and wade into the throng, after paying 400 rupees for the privilege, to see this seat of power during the middle ages. The fort was built originally of brick and is mentioned in history for the first time in 1080 when it was captured by a Ghaznavide force. In the 15<sup>th</sup> century Lodhi governed the country from Agra fort. When in the 16<sup>th</sup> century the Mughal’s assumed power, Agra and its fort came into its heyday </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Once inside it is not as crowded as at the entrance area but it is very hot, 102<sup>o</sup> or so, and a hot wind is blowing. Surprisingly, it is not too bad in the shade. Dick observes that being Mughal was good but you were still hot! We explore this massive complex and enjoy our first real view of the Taj Mahal. Again there are many Indian families out today and the grounds are a riot of color...it is worth it to just people watch for a few minutes from shaded park bench.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rishi picks us up at the gate and we head for our hotel. We finally make it to the Oberoi Hotel AmerVilas and enter an oasis of calm and green in the middle of the brown dirt and chaos. As in Delhi, we are met in high style by liveried doormen, a lady in native costume, who is the services manager, and the hotel chef complete with toque. As promised, our room is lovely, without a balcony, and looks out over the hotel pool and gardens to the Taj Mahal in the middle distance; about 1.5 miles or so. To the left beyond the hotel grounds are the hovels of Agra, but the view from our room is as promised and worth the price.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a restful afternoon, our driver, along with a Taj Mahal guide we requested, picks us up for the drive back across the river to view the Taj at sunset from a public garden area. This is a holy day holiday and the road to the gardens goes through a small village that is gearing up for an evening of partying..the road is packed with revelers and we creep along to the gardens. Once there, the guide does a good job of explaining the history but we make a note to cut off the genealogy lesson if it starts again tomorrow morning. There is a thundershower in the area and the wind kicks up as we are looking across the river at the Taj and at the place where Hindus cremate their dead. As we watch, the cremation flames begin to grow and climb as another soul is sent on to the great beyond. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Between the music for the festival, the smoke, dusty wind and just what is actually going on in the distance, it makes for an ethereal scene and experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We return to the hotel right at good dark and head for our room where we scrub some of Agra off our bodies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The hotel bar is closed tonight due to the holy day holiday and there is no bourbon or rum in the mini bar so we have a light dinner and cocktails of coke over ice in the room! We are to meet our guide at 5:45AM to head for the Taj Mahal at sunrise.</span><br />
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</b>cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-68141817275319586102013-06-27T10:49:00.003-07:002013-07-01T21:02:50.295-07:00APRIL 13<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SATURDAY - Delhi Day 2<br />
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We really are half way around the world as we are 10 ½ hours ahead of home on the clock. Sure enough some time after midnight we both wake up hungry! Dick makes some hot tea for us and we eat the rest of our sandwiches...our body thinks it is lunch time! Fortunately with the hunger pains fed we go back to sleep, waking a few minutes ahead of our 7:30AM alarm. We are meeting Rishi at 9AM for our second day exploring New Delhi.<br />
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After another excellent breakfast, we are out the door a few minutes after 9AM and off for the World Heritage Site, Lal Kot, the first of the seven cities of Delhi and the oldest part of Delhi established by the Tomar Rajput ruler, Anang Pai in 1060. It is Saturday but the traffic is still very heavy and we find that India has a six day work week except for government employees. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the site. Rishi drops us at the parking area and we buy our 250 rupee each ticket. This is the price for foreigners as the Indians only pay 10 rupees. They even have a line for foreigners so, at least we don’t have to wait in the long line of the locals.<br />
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Inside we find a beautiful well kept uncrowded park area. The Qutb complex consisting of the Quwwatu’l-Islam mosque built 1192-98 from demolished remains of Hindu temples is the main feature of the park and we spend a good bit of time exploring the ruins. The main point of interest is the Qutub Minar started in 1202. It is 72.5 m tall and ranges from a diameter of 14.32m at the base to 2.75m at the top and is made of red and buff sandstone. Another interesting site is the Iron Pilar, though not part of the original site it was moved from elsewhere in India and set in the courtyard of the mosque. Bearing a 4th century inscription of the exploits of a ruler named Chandra, it is built of hundreds of small wrought-iron blooms welded together by hammering. We enjoy wandering through this interesting park and spend some time just sitting and people watching as there are large numbers of Indian families gathering at the park. Many of the women are in beautiful saris and the young girls are in fancy party like dresses....a very colorful scene.<br />
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Next we head for Haus Kaus, an upscale shopping and eating area built around the ruins of the second city of Dehli and an old lake that was built as a water supply in the 1400s. This proves to be less than wonderful as a shopping area but the old madras school and tomb located there are worth a picture or two.<br />
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Finally, we head for a craft area know as Dilli Haat. It cost 20 rupees ($0.42) each to get in but it has the best shopping of this type we have found so far. Carolyn buys her obligatory ornaments, 1,150 rupees ($23.80), for some fancy little cloth elephants and some paper-mache hearts that will go on our Christmas tree and then begins looking for other items. Meanwhile Dick has struck up a conversation with a man from Kashmir who is part of group selling scarves and other cloth craft items. When Carolyn does not find the shirts and tops she seeks, we go back to his stall. We are seated under the fan and given cold bottled water to drink while we are shown all qualities of silk and pashima scarves...both large and small. Carolyn ask specifically to see the ones with bright reds and purples. After about 45 minutes she has culled the offerings to four large scarves...more like a stole, including one we think Celia will like. Probably the high light of the whole shopping experience is paying for the scarves. <br />
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We owe 10,000 rupees or $207 and Dick does not have this much in his pocket. They will take a credit card but the machine is in another stall some distance across the market. Dick walks there with the man he first visited with and, once there, the fun begins! The card reader is in a suitcase under a table. Once retrieved, it must be plugged into an electrical outlet. The only one visible is attached to a hanging light bulb fixture. One of the minions in the stall climbs up on a table, plugs in the cord to the card reader and then sticks the bare wire ends of two wires into some socket that Dick cannot quite see. Anyway, the bare ends of the wires make contact and the light comes on and the card reader chirps. The readers is attached to an old style telephone modem where you lay the phone handset in the cradle and dial your number. Surprisingly, all this works and in short order, after triple verifying the amount with Dick, the little machine spits out a receipt for Dick to sign and one for him to keep. As a matter of interest, the charge hits our credit card the next day as a payment to Khushboo Embroideries at $183.28US.<br />
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Returning to the stall where Carolyn is waiting, we spend another 15 minutes declining to look at or buy additional goods. Everyone understands this is a game and we finally part amidst smiles and good cheer. They made a decent sized sale and we had a good time bargaining and shopping.<br />
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We go back to the hotel for a rest in the heat of the day. Rishi picks us up at 5PM for further adventures. He drives us over to the Indian Parliament building area and we drive the long beautiful boulevard from there to the India Gate. From the hill on which Parliament and the President’s house sits, the view down toward India Gate is quite impressive, a testament to the days of the British Empire building.<br />
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Next we stop at the Imperial Hotel to have a drink in its bar. This bar is very old English from the days of the Raj and very clubby. Carolyn has a Mojito and Dick has a Manhattan on the rocks. They are good but certainly not worth the 2,000 rupees ($41.40) they cost. India’s equivalent to a sales tax is roughly 25% and the drinks were high to start. Oh well, we had the experience and that was the point of the exercise.<br />
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We now head for India Gate to take some sunset pictures. India Gate is a memorial to all the Indian soldiers who died fighting with the British in the First World War. When we get there, it is closed and cordoned off. Police are at all the entrances to the large circular park area and they have evacuated the area. All we can do is drive around the outside road and take photos from a distance. We never do find out what has caused this shut down.<br />
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We return to the hotel and order pizza from room service, pack for our trip to Agra tomorrow and head for bed.</span><br />cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-85912023273390701712013-06-26T22:03:00.002-07:002013-07-01T21:00:26.595-07:00APRIL 12 <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">FRIDAY - First Day in INDIA!</span><br />
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Indira Ghandi International is fairly new and seems quite nice and well run. At "O-dark-thirty" we move through immigration and customs with no fuss and the hotel representative and driver are waiting for us as we exit the controlled area. We note that we that we are in the car and heading for the hotel less than 50 minutes after landing.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Of course, by now it is pushing 2AM but the streets are relatively clear of traffic and we are at The Oberoi, New Delhi after a 30 minute drive. Our driver tells us that big trucks are banned from the streets during the day but they are sure out at night. Also, we go through several police check points where the car has to navigate an obstacle course that slows it to a crawl. Our driver is never stopped or questioned by the police manning these posts but we do see one car pulled out of line just ahead of us. Also, all but the main boulevards seem to have "axle-breaking" speed bumps for which our driver slows to a dead stop before easing across them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We don't see much in the dark but the gate to our hotel is guarded by 6-8 uniformed men and they let us through without stopping as we are in a hotel car. We are met by hot and cold running hotel staff and whisked into the lobby. We change some large currency bills for small ones, get the red dot on our forehead and are escorted to our two room suite on the second floor. It is similar to an Embassy Suites room, but more formal in design and very comfortable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are both wired and it is after 3AM before we have had a hot shower and go to bed. Dick sleeps poorly and is up at 6:30AM working on this blog. There is a coffee making set up in the room but the coffee choice is instant Nescafe so he opts for Twinings English Breakfast Tea and goes for a short exploration of the hotel after his first cup. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By the time he gets back and brews a second cup, Carolyn is stirring and as soon as she is ready we head down for our included breakfast. We are greeted royally and seated by the window. While the waiter is preparing mint tea and a cup of very strong, freshly brewed coffee we head for the buffet. It is quite extensive and includes eggs and omelets cooked to order. Dick enjoys a fruit and yogurt smoothie poured from a pitcher into a tall glass, smoked salmon, fried eggs, hash browns, sausage and croissants. Carolyn has similar fare including crisp English style bacon. The hotel has a great selection of breads and pastries also. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our car and driver, Rishi, from India by Car and Driver picks us up at 10:45AM and we head out for our first day in Delhi. Our first stop is the Red Fort, a world heritage site, for a bicycle rickshaw ride down Chandni Chowk the famous Mughal thoroughfare of Shah Jahan's walled 17th century city, Shahjahanabad or Old Delhi, the 7th city of Delhi. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After negotiating the teaming through a fare, we take off through the warren of small crowded market streets. Hope our of pictures do this experience justice. The negotiated price between our driver and the rickshaw boss man for the ride is 300 rupees or $6US for an hour ride. The rickshaw driver assigned to us works hard with our two large bodies crammed in behind him and he does a good job of telling us what we are seeing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The first sites are the Red Fort then Lal Mandir with its red towers, the Jains temple built of red stone by Shah Jahanand and Gauri Shankar Mandir, the lovely white Hindu temple. We then pass by Sunehri Masjid with its three gilded domes, the Mughal mosque built in 1721. After a peak at the town hall, we turn into the narrow streets each with a different market. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We end up at the western gate of Jama Masjid the largest mosque in India, built in 1656, in time to see the local school bus turn the corner in front of us. It is a great ride leaving us wishing we had time to walk around on foot and explore some of the wonderful little "hole in the wall" shops!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dick slips the driver a 500 Rupees bill while we are heading back to the car and then the agreed 300 Rupees plus a 100 Rupee tip when we get back to our car. The 900 rupees or $18 was worth every penny. What a great introduction to India!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shopping is high on Carolyn's list so our second stop is Cottage Industries Exposition where Carolyn buys a beautiful, colorful silk sari for the fabric, a neat tie-dyed silk scarf for Dana and a ready made silk caftan style top for herself for $260US. She manages to resist a pair of antique gold earrings for $1,850US and refuses to let Dick spend $7,650US on a Kashmir silk-on-silk rug in the "Tree of Life" pattern. It has 900 knots to the square inch and is stunningly beautiful but we probably can do without it. Bummer!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We next spend some time looking for an outlet store that Carolyn has heard about on-line. We finally find it on a back street but they do not have anything she likes so we move on for a walk through Lodi Gardens, the 15th and 16th century burial grounds for the pre Mughal Delhi Sayyid and Lodi rulers of one of the seven cities of Delhi, now a garden oasis in the city. There are several tombs, parts of a mosque and the interesting Athpula ( Eight Piered ) Bridge. We are both under whelmed with the area as it is not very well cared for. The highlight of the stop is our discovery of a small animal that looks like a cross between a chipmunk and a squirrel and a Indian family enjoying their afternoon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We end our first day in India paying 500 rupees to enter Humayun'‘s Tomb. This is another world heritage site, the tomb of the first Mughal Emperor, Humayun who ruled from 1530 to 1556. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It is after three when we get there and it has become quite hot in the direct sun. We walk about a mile, round trip from the car. The tomb with its gardens and massive walls is very impressive. However, Carolyn passes on climbing the steps up into the tomb and tells Dick he will have to go it alone to take photos. It is worth the effort but the steps are very steep and each step is about a step and a half high. Dick has some trouble doing it and declares himself ready for a cold shower upon his return to Carolyn. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We return to the car and during our walk back take photos of a crew of women planting grass by hand and men unloading a truck of mud to make bricks by hand. Labor is cheap and everybody appears to be working. Beggars, <br />
Beggars, including children, on the street corners testify to the lack of a social safety net.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Back at the hotel we get cleaned up and head down for a light supper. The several days of travel and lack of sleep has caught up with us. Dick is not feeling well and neither of us eats all of our club sandwich. We split three cans of coke and even manage two glasses full of ice! Knowing we will be hungry later and refusing to waste the remains of $54 worth of sandwiches, salads and drinks, we take half of the sandwiches back to the room in case we wake up in the middle of the night hungry, plug in our electronics, including the cell phone our driver has provided and head for bed about 7PM. Hopefully we will feel better by morning and will have adjusted our body clocks to an acceptable level.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-89117306642697495342013-06-26T21:15:00.001-07:002013-07-01T15:52:57.646-07:00APRIL 11<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">THURSDAY - Second Travel Day </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After an uneventful flight we arrive in Frankfurt, Germany an hour late due to the late departure, half way through our seemingly endless flight to India. We have plenty of time between planes but mess up and manage to get outside of the secured area when trying to find our connecting flight and have to go through security again. This team wants to strip search our computer bag but all is well and after another bobble as to best location, we find the right Lufthansa Business Class lounge in which to wait for our 1:45PM flight to New Delhi. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We did have a nice hiking tour of Terminal B from Gate 28 where we arrived to Gate 48 and back to Gate 23 where we took off from. After drinking a lot of water and eating a little food, we board a Boeing 747 and take our seats, 6A & C. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This passenger area is not as nice as the Airbus but the seats are much more comfortable. The staff is attentive but the food menu is Indian in deference to our destination and the make up of the passenger list. We verify that Indian cuisine, so far, is not to our liking and we eat and drink sparingly on this flight. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our flight takes us in a East South East line between Frankfurt and New Delhi. We fly over the Black and Caspian Seas, Kabul, Afghanistan, Pakistan various desert areas and bald snow capped mountains, and into New Delhi a few minutes late at 12:45AM, Friday, April 12.</span></div>
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cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873233572366114470.post-17016012142938663592013-06-26T21:03:00.000-07:002013-07-04T08:01:21.161-07:00APRIL 10<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">WEDNESDAY - Travel Day </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The long awaited day has arrived to begin our trip to India, Holland and Germany. Our friend, JW, is to come get us and our car at 11:30AM to drive us to Houston Bush Airport to catch our 4:10PM flight on Lufthansa to Frankfurt, Germany. We hurry to finish our last minute packing and house preparations. A cold front is blowing in and it begins to rain about 10:30AM and the temperature begins to drop. JW is right on time and </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">we leave in a steady rain with the temperature in the upper 40s. By the time we get to Hempstead, we drive through the front and into warm, moist air. The temperature difference is some 30 degrees! We arrive at the airport, check in, get our boarding passes, go through security and find the Lufthansa </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Business Class lounge with a minimum of bother, especially compared with some other flights we have taken. Unfortunately, the front has reached us, it is raining with severe weather in the area so the plane is delayed an hour. Finally boarding shortly after 4PM, we take our seats, 12A & C, in Business Class of an Airbus A380. This is a fairly new, double-decker, monster with 500 plus passengers. The seats and area around them for our use seem quite nice. There is a ledge under the window that Jack claims as his own for his bed. The seats are roomy and comfortable with various positions for reading and TV, but unfortunately, though they are lie-flat, they the angled kind and it is difficult to find a comfortable position once we are ready to get some rest. Everything else about the flight is quite nice with good food and excellent service.</span><br />
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<br />cwn and rnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14720001800473950926noreply@blogger.com0