Mindemoya Log - July & August, 2004

Because July and August are so hot and crowded in southern Turkey and because we were having work done on the boat, we spent that time land touring as the following highlights describe.

Izmir, Turkey We took the very last bus to Izmir otogar (bus station) and then a bus/taxi combination to airport. Waited from 1100 until 0330 when flight left. Tried to sleep as did all the clerks in the small stalls selling tourist souvenirs in the corridors. No problems leaving. Flight on time and plane nice and new. No frills but Germanwings is a cheap way to go.

Cologne, Germany Arrived Cologne 0630 and searched for a place to activate Eurail pass. Failed. Bought ticket to Cologne Hauptbahnhof (main railroad station) where we activated pass and headed to Berlin by 1030. Off to meet Sara’s sister and our German contact, a past foreign exchange student.

Berlin, Germany We had a great time in Berlin. Anne Vogeler, an exchange student who had spent a year with Sara’s sister, Cynthia, was our host and guide. Cynthia joined us here and we toured the new Reichstag building and the Boulevard Unter den Linden which had been in the Eastern Zone before the wall came down.

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw was completely rebuilt at the end of WWII and the architecture of the old city was retained. Even the palace of the Polish nobility was rebuilt and decorated faithfully to the original. The poignant monument to the Warsaw ghetto uprising as represented on the Warsaw Memorial gave us pause to remember.

Krakow, Poland Krakow is the only city in Poland whose old architecture survived WWII intact and thus was like walking in a medieval town. We sat in its square, the largest in Europe, and listened to the hourly bugle call from the steeple of the highest church tower. A day trip to Wieliczka Salt Mine was interesting and incredible. They computed that over a million meters of wood are used in the shoring of this century old mine. The underground cathedral is still used today. Another day we spent at Auschwitz and Birkenau, a truely horrifying and gut-wrenching experience but a reminder of history and the importance of not allowing the repeat such an atrocity.

Prague, Czech Republic Prague Castle included our favorite, St. Vitus Cathedral, with the tomb of St. Wenceslas and a tower, 287 steps to the top, with a spectacular view. We climbed many church towers this summer but none came close to this one. Charles Bridge, 1357, with its many statues and the clock tower on City Hall were delightful. In one of the old churches we listened to a string quartet play wonderful baroque music.

Bratislava, Slovak Republic We employed a guide through the tourist bureau and had a good walking tour of this small city. Judging from our hostel, a student dorm in winter months, all wasn’t the best in the socialist workers paradise.

Budapest, Hungary Buda is the west side of the Danube and has the medieval remains. We walked the castle area and enjoyed the art museums and old churches. One night we came to these hills to see the river and city twinkling in the dark. In Pest the Hungarian State Opera House and St. Stephen’s Basilica were spectacular. Several small art exhibits were well done including one depicting the Palastinian-Israeli conflict showing both sides in picture, video and computer presentations. We ended out stay by visiting one of the famous thermal baths where we likened our bath to soaking in a cathedral. Lovely Art Nouveau setting.

Vienna, Austria Cynthia left us here and headed back to US. We attended a Straus concert in a baroque music hall and spent most evenings at the Rathaus (city hall) where there were free movies, and many temporary restaurants offering a variety of foods with many vegetarian choices and a beer hall offering about 12 local products on draft. We saw a movie of a Natalie Cole concert and another of Gershwin. What a wonderful thing the city does for its populus during the summer. Great art in Vienna. Sara had her cruise on the Danube, actually a trip around a spur of the Danube on a paddle boat. It was all Doug could afford. On the train to Insbruck we met Florian and Marta from Aarau, Switzerland. Arrau is about 30 minutes southeast of Basel by train. They had bicycled to Vienna from Aarau and were on the way back.

Insbruck, Austria Arrived by train in rain and mist. Found Gasthaus and wandered town via trams. Next day it cleared to reveal mountains and great Alpine scenery. We went up mountain by funicular and cable car. Great views with some snow. We climbed around and managed to head down just as the clouds closed in. At Ambras Castle saw picture of Vlad the Impaler (prototype for Dracula), a really cute guy.

Zurich, Switzerland Arrived here so Sara could see the Lindt Chocolate Factory but it was closed. Instead took a wonderful walking tour of the city. Saw magnificent stained-glass windows by Giacometti and Chagall and an excellent collection of impressionist and modern art. From here we took the lovely night train sleeper to Bremen.

Leer, Germany From here we made day trips 12 km south to Ihrhove, a little village where Sara’s father’s grandfather lived. The village manager, Hermann Oorlog, spent hours looking up old records and Sara was able to take her ancestry back 2 more generations to 1762.

Hanover, Germany Met with cruising friends from Barcelona, Jan and Lotti on Tiara (a Dutch Canal boat.) Toured the lovely Baroque gardens of Hanover and spent time in the city hall comparing models of the city 1610, 1939, 1945, and present. Rode a curved- elevator to the top of the dome, one of 2 such elevators working in the world. The other is in the Eiffel Tower.

Munich, Germany Took bus tour to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Castles. Both built by mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Neuschwanstein has rooms dedicated to Wagnerian opera’s old germanic myths. Walls are painted on this motif. In Munich we enjoyed the art in the Neue Pinakothek and Pinakothek Modern. We strolled the Englischer Garten and watched and listened to the Glockenspiel. We walked to Konig Platz to see the remnants of the main staging area of Third Reich extravaganzas and the site of the book burning on May 13, 1933. It is now used as a concert venue. Each evening we enjoyed the lovely street music of a quintet from Russia.

Mainz and Koblenz, Germany Took boat from Mainz down the Rhine to Koblenz. Passed much barge traffic and many medieval castles. This is a world heritage site due to the castles and expansive vineyards. Found a Lebanese restaurant with good vegie food. Walked the banks of the Rhine watching many commercial barges passing the city.

Aarau, Switzerland Stayed with Florian and Marta and ate good vegie food. We used their home for a base to explore the area. One day we took a train to Lucerne, then a boat across Lake Lucerne to where we took a long cog railroad to the top of Pilatus Mountain where we heard an alpine horn seranade. We climbed around all day and took a cable car back down. Switzerland is small, but if you take an iron to it, flattened out it is probably as big as California. Another day we took the train to Berne and walked the old city in the rain seeing the colorful clock tower and the bear pits. Our last day we took the trains around the east and across the south through Italy on a clickety, 2-car narrow-gauge railroad and then around Lake Geneva to Lausanne.

Lausanne, Switzerland Stayed in a youth hostel and visited the Olympic Museum and grounds. Many interesting and varied sculptures. Visuals of the length of events like the long jump and the height of the pole vault were impressive. We watched the Wednesday night races with a beautiful spinnaker run into the sunset. The next day we left Switzerland on a fast train into France. It is impressive to speed along faster and smoother than the cars on the motorway.

Avignon, France Toured Pope’s palace and walked the Rhone River bank and old fortifications. Went to an evening concert in the palace with wine on the roof top overlooking the city at intermission. Crossed river to walk to large convent and fort on other side. Good art museum with exhibit of modern Japanese art and a collector’s home filled with impressionist paintings

Barcelona, Spain Stayed two nights with our friends, Cesar and Gemma and 2- year-old Pol, in an apartment on top of an 11 story building overlooking the city. They had a swimming pool on the roof and a terrace eating area; we used both. We visited Port Vell and saw some old friends. Did a little shopping and practiced our Spanish.

Castlesarracin, France We joined David and Mandy on their 60-year-old Dutch canal boat “Freedom” for a cruise on the canals. Doug got to steer a flat-bottomed, 18 meter steel barge into and out of locks that allowed 2 meter clearance on each side. We visited several small towns and ate well on our 3-day voyage to Toulouse. David and Mandy will join us for a cruise on Mindemoya in the spring.

Toulouse, France Enjoyed the art museums, a photographic gallery and the modern art museum with a very interesting special exhibit by Wang Du, a Chinese artist concerned with milatarism and ecology. David and Mandy took us on a day trip to Albi, home of Toulouse LaTrec and of the great Sainte-Cecile cathedral. Stopped at a winery and tasted and bought on the way back. There is nothing like French wine. We bid a fond farewell to our friends and took a fast train (TGV) to Cologne.

Cologne, Germany We visited the Cologne cathedral which survived Allied carpet bombing in WWII. Most of the rest of the city didn’t. Went to art exhibits, walked the town and took a walking tour of the sites in the rain. This is the main railroad crossing in Europe where the East-West lines cross the North-South lines. Every day 1400 trains pass through this station. It is a very busy city. We walked across the RR bridge to hear a jazz concert on the opposite bank of the Rhine. Then walked by a major park, well used, where lots of people were sunning and playing on a sunny Sunday. There is a great deal of commercial barge traffic on the Rhine. We saw Italian, Dutch, Czech, and German flagged boats, some with tows. Very often there was a play pen and cars on the back deck for the captain’s family and crew.

Marmaris, Turkey Arrived Marmaris Monday noon, after a late flight, a quick and cheap bus ride to the otogar(bus station) in Izmir, a 4- hour wait sitting on a hard bench, and a 4-hour bus trip to Marmaris otogar and a quick taxi to the boat. Boat all finished, weather hot and we relaunched the next morning.