Rhine Getaway Day 7

Day seven was the last full day of touring and perhaps the most emotionally and spiritually moving day of the trip.  We docked in Breisach, Germany, in the early morning, disembarked and boarded buses.  I should note here that the tour buses were brand new, comfortable and fully appointed Mercedes top of the line.  Our bus excursions were very pleasant.  We rode for about 40 minutes through beautiful countryside and charming towns into the Black Forest of Germany.  This is the land of so many legends.  It was obvious to us why this lovely area was beloved by Wayne's parents.  The vegetation is so thick that the woods do, indeed, appear black, even in full sunlight.  The farms were neat and well groomed with tall stacks of perfectly cut stove and firewood.  The woods surrounding the farms were cleared of brush and downed trees, which were the source of the firewood.  We were impressed at how well managed the countryside is.  There seemed the perfect balance and coexistence of man and nature, conservation of resources, preservation of beauty and wildlife, and prevention of deadly forest fires by keeping the ground clear of dry brush and dead trees.  This system has obviously worked for centuries, and the beauty is unsurpassed.  Leave it to the Germans to properly engineer all of this.  Seeing their tidy and practical stewardship of natural resources and their care of their homes and farms made us proud of our heritage.  I couldn't resist pointing out to Wayne that in spite his German war bride mother, there is more German blood in my veins than is his.

Our first stop in the Black Forest was much too short.  We visited the tiny town of St. Peters.  It is home to a monastery and cathedral.  Monks no longer live here, but it was interesting to me to imagine them living there in a former day, studying, worshiping,  farming, and most importantly, copying scripture.  The best part of the visit was seeing the cathedral.  On the outside, it looked quite ordinary, and we wondered why it was selected as a site seeing stop.  As soon as we entered, we knew why.  This astonishing edifice is an incredibly beautiful example of a Baroque cathedral.  It is full of light, so unlike its Gothic predecessors.  The combination of light, gold, tall open spaces, beautiful frescoes, ornate altars and organ pipes, statues, and windows, were more than we could take in during our short twenty minute visit.  It would have been much better if we could have spent an hour or two in this glorious spot.  Even better would have been the opportunity to hear a Bach prelude and fugue played on the organ.  The combination of sight and sound would have felt like a bit of heaven on earth.

We were quickly hurried away to board the buses for another stop in the Black Forest.  This time it was a more disappointing tourist trap.  We saw hundreds of cuckoo clocks, and it was interesting to see a brief demonstration on their construction.  The many varieties were interesting to see.  While Wayne took a short hike in the woods, I shopped for a couple of Christmas ornaments and German music CD's.  I tried to attend a baker's demonstration on Black Forest cake.  It was a disappointing scene of American tourists chowing down the gooey confection while a rather surly culinary school intern type of young adult hurriedly assembled a cake for our edification and entertainment.  I picked up a copy of his recipe and left wishing we were back in the St. Peters cathedral.  I realize that group tours need to cater to all interests, but this one wasn't ours.  So, no, I did not eat Black Forest cake in the Black Forest.  I might have tried it, but in its authentic style, it contains plenty of alcohol, which I don't eat or drink.

We returned to our ship for a quick lunch and then departed for an optional Word War II tour into the Colmar Pocket of France.  This area was fought over extensively, and it was the site of heroism for many great Americans including the celebrated and decorated Audie Murphy, and the much lesser known but beloved to this family, Thomas B. Abernathy, Jr., Wayne's father.  As I've mentioned in an earlier post, it was amazing to us to witness the scope of damage and human suffering that were caused by the war.  We drove through villages that had been entirely destroyed except for one small statue or one wall of a building left standing.  While rebuilt to look like the originals, these towns still inspire both horror and reverence.  There are many markers and memorials erected in gratitude to the American soldiers who sacrificed to liberate these towns.  We saw remains of bunkers, now 70 years old, and even a portion of the famous Maginot Line.

One of the stops on this tour was in the French town of Turckheim, which housed a small museum dedicated to the area known as the Colmar Pocket.  There were many artifacts and displays from the war.  The area may be best known for its American hero, Audie Murphy.  As a young 19 year old, he made a one man stand against of group of German soldiers and tanks that was influential in the eventual Allied victory.  We had seen the movie "To Hell and Back" about Audie Murphy and had also visited his grave in Arlington Cemetery.  Recently, the exact area of his one man stand has been identified, and the French have erected a small monument to Audie.  We walked into the woods and saw the monument.  We felt the reverence and respect for this very young American hero.  I could not help but think that we have a son nearly this same age.  I am so very grateful that he is able to spend his nineteenth year as a peaceful messenger of the gospel of Christ in Brazil.

After a long, but meaningful day, we drove through the French countryside and took in as much scenery and history as we could.  When it was time to meet our ship, we discovered that it had been delayed in a lock and had not yet reached our meeting point.  After a short wait along the river, we were happily reunited and enjoyed a final captain's dinner before packing our bags for our trip home the next day.

Wayne and I standing at the Audie Murphy Memorial near Ostheim, France.

Rhine Getaway Day 6

This wonderful day was a blend of old and new, France and Germany, crowds and solitude.  We docked in Kehl, Germany and took a bus ride to Strasbourg, France.  It is a very modern city and the seat of the European Parliament.  There were huge contemporary steel and glass high rise buildings with their clean lines and sparkling facades.  One very charming feature in the midst of the modern city was a residential street lined on both sides with trees.  The trees had been groomed flat on the tops, and each and every tree had a huge stork's nest on the top.  By huge, I mean several feet in diameter.  To our delight, the young storks had recently hatched, and we saw their cute heads peaking over the tops of the nests.  Their parents took turns guarding the nests and flying off for food.  The storks are very honored residents in Europe, perhaps still symbolizing wealth and fertility.

After seeing the very modern parts of Strasbourg, we walked to the Medieval section known as "La Petite France."  This was an amazingly beautiful area of very old row houses along picturesque canals.  In the Middle Ages, this section of town housed the merchants and tradesmen.  Their houses were lovely with window boxes of flowers and timbered walls with the famous exposed beams.  We were told that although beautiful, it was very smelly in olden days when tanneries were full of rotting livestock.  Some of the oldest houses are still standing, but most have been rebuilt since Word War II.  The reconstruction has been so good, that it is often difficult to tell which houses are authentic and which are reproductions.

The grandest structure in all of Strasbourg is the incredible Gothic cathedral.  Its detail and grandeur are truly indescribable.  One could study the millions of intricacies for years and never capture all of it.  The sculptures, carvings, stained glass, paintings, organ pipes, columns, spires, and shear loftiness are more than a mortal can absorb.  Perhaps the excess to mortals is an attempt to reach God.  I have to admit that it is quite an impressive attempt.  At the same time, I know that God is pleased with the humble and pure in heart and does not require ornamentation of this scale.  While all of this is beautiful, it cannot replace obedience to the laws of God nor does it forgive disobedience.  In terms of pure religion, the grandeur of the cathedral can miss the mark.  In terms of human artistic accomplishment, it is probably unmatched and is certainly a thrill to behold.

It was interesting to note the many merchant stalls that were mounted on the exterior walls of the cathedral.  The entire building is surrounded with ordinary or even tacky tarps and trinkets. I couldn't shake off the image of Jesus making a whip of braided cords and overturning the money changers' tables outside the temple in Jerusalem.  If this grand structure exists in praise of God, the retail establishments anchored to its walls seem out of place.

We were delighted to discover Gutenberg Square in Strasbourg.  We were grateful to stand on the spot where the inventor of the printing press is remembered.  Our love of reading and our extensive library may be attributed to this man.  Moreover, we thank him for allowing the Holy Scriptures to finally be in the hands of the common man.  On a less spiritual note, I was able to fulfill another dream.  I bought a baguette in a French bakery.  It was delicious!

Strasbourg is a lovely city, and it is full of delightful sights.  It was a very warm day, and after several hours of walking in the heat and crowds, we were ready for a slower pace.  After lunch onboard the ship and a much needed nap, we decided to use the late afternoon to walk across the footbridge over the Rhine that spans the border between Germany and France.  To our surprise, there is no border patrol, no guard house checking passports, and not even a visible boundary marker between the two countries.  One may walk or bike or drive from Germany to France and back without any notice at all.  This is historically amazing.  For centuries, there was war between Germany and France, and the border was constantly shifting.  This is still evident in the border towns where there are German place names in France and French names in Germany.  The Alsace was a much fought over region for ages.  In our day, we peacefully strolled between the two without a trace of obstacle.  The Rhine is fairly narrow at this point, and it was interesting to hear a different language spoken on each bank.  We walked from Germany to France and sat on a park bench at the spot where the French first crossed the Rhine into Germany during WWII.  At the now tranquil spot we enjoyed a cup of ice cream on the French bank and watched the river traffic on the breezy late afternoon.  When we crossed back into Germany, we paused to listen to a Celtic piper playing in the center of the bridge, right on the border between the two former enemies.  It was both poignant and pleasant, and quite private.  The crowds from the city were not here on the bridge.  We could stroll and reflect at our peaceful leisure.

Back on board the ship, we enjoyed a German meal and entertainment.  It was much better than what we had experienced earlier in the trip in Rudesheim.  It was a pleasant ending to a wonderful day.    

Rhine Getaway Day 5

Rhine Getaway Day 5

It is hard to choose a favorite day, but this one may  have been the best.  We docked in the morning and rode buses to Heidelberg, Germany.  I had always wanted to see this beautiful city because I had been accepted at Heidelberg College in the US, and although I did not choose to attend that school, I always had dreams of seeing the original Heidelberg.  I was not disappointed!

Our first stop was the Heidelberg castle, which has been abandoned for three hundred years.  That is, it has not functioned as a castle for three centuries, but the structure has seen other uses.  Currently, its central courtyard is used as an outdoor amphitheater for musical productions.  It is a grand castle, incorporating several architectural styles.  There are many beautiful statues and sculptures, including one lovely sculpture of two children's faces.  These little ones were the children of one of the sculptors in the original construction of the castle.  They were tragically killed in an accident at the castle, and their father was given permission to sculpt a memorial to them.  They are the only statues that are not some kind of royalty, although to us, they seemed like a little prince and princess.  

I took dozens of photographs of the many faces and walls of the castle.  We spent most of the tour outside the castle walls peering at the ruins from without, but at one point we descended a long slope to the wine cellar.  We were met by a very large wine barrel that was about 12 feet in diameter.  As we gasped at its size, we were informed that this is the “baby barrel.”  We rounded the corner and saw the world’s largest wine barrel, which was about 30-40 feet in diameter.  It is about four stories high.  An entire dance floor sits on top of the barrel.  I think it held about 66,000 gallons of wine.  We learned that when the castle was built, wine was the safest drink available.  It had an alcohol content of about 5%, which was mild by today’s standards but was was strong enough to kill the bacteria that made the water much more dangerous.  It also tasted better than the water.  The castle tour was very beautiful and enjoyable.  

We then drove to the center of the old town, which was very beautiful.  We were surprised to learn the university has an urban campus and that most of the academic buildings were rather unremarkable.  The most beautiful buildings were the historic fraternity houses.  They were magnificent.  We had only about one hour of free time in the city.  We had to choose between shopping or eating.  I would have preferred the shopping.  Wayne wanted to eat authentic German food, and this was the place to do it.  He enjoyed a huge plate of German sausages and sauerkraut while I sampled the German bread and cheese.  We caught our bus back to the ship and sailed a short distance to Speyer, Germany.

It was an easy and lovely walk through several parks to the Speyer Cathedral and the lovely center of town.  Outside the cathedral there was a beautiful pavilion with a huge sculpture of the suffering in Gethsemane.  The figures were full of emotion and detail, and spiraled up to the central figure of Christ taking upon Him the sins of the world.  All about were the soldiers, the apostles, and the slumbering figures of Peter, James, and John.  I very poignantly remembered the plea, “Could you not watch with me one hour?”    

After touring the cathedral, we set out on our own to stroll the beautiful main street of the town.  At the far end of the street, the tower the once guarded the Medieval town, still stands.  It is the tallest remaining gate tower in Germany, and possibly in all of Europe.  Buses and cars now pass through it.  We walked through it and tried to breathe in all of the history that it has seen.  During our stroll, we played out one of my lifelong dreams, which was to sit at a street cafe in Europe while enjoying a treat on a lovely day.  Chocolate and cherry gelato was the perfect treat.  The sidewalk cafe was charming, and the weather was perfect.  The only thing not shown in the idyllic photo is the ever present smell of cigarettes smoke, which is much more common in Europe than in the US.

We enjoyed a long stroll around Speyer, cut short only by a threat of rain, which never came while we were out.  The whole day was every bit as wonderful and charming as my thoughts and dreams had always imagined that it would be.  Now it all seems like a dream, but it really did happen, and I have the photos and the happy memories to prove it.    

Rhine Getaway Day 4

Day four of the Rhine getaway was the most beautiful and probably the most physically demanding.  This was the day when my past six years of faithful gym workouts and neighborhood walks paid off with huge dividends.  We docked in Koblenz, Germany, in the early morning, and we departed by bus to the Marksburg Castle.

Marksburg is the best preserved castle in Germany and probably in all of Europe.  It was never destroyed in battle, for the simple reason that was never attacked.  Its commanding view of the Rhine, located high above a bend in the river, was certainly formidable to potential attackers.  The bus ride took us higher and higher up the mountainside, but we knew we would have a substantial climb on foot after leaving the bus.  The climb using gentle switchbacks was not as bad as I had expected.  The most difficult climb was on the inside of the castle.  After passing through an impressive portcullis, we encountered a winding passageway that was roughly hewn from the rock.  It was jagged, uneven and fairly steep.  While difficult for humans to climb, it was much easier than stairs for horses.  It seems that the knights of old rode inside to the stables, and the horses could easily ascend the jagged rocks.  Stairs would have been much more difficult for them.

Once inside, the castle appeared much like those we have seen in photos and books.  We visited the kitchens, living quarters, great room, armory, music room, chapel, wine cellar, and other areas of delight to our modern eyes.  On a warm June day, it was pleasant in the castle, but our guide repeatedly told us how cold and miserable it was to live in a castle for most of the year.  With the invention of gun powder, castles were soon abandoned in favor of more urban palaces.  We enjoyed our tour very much and left feeling edified by the many features that we had previously only read about.

When we returned to our ship in Braubach, Germany, we began the most scenic part of our voyage through the Middle Rhine.  Throughout the afternoon, we sat in the bow of the ship and photographed one castle after another as they appeared on both sides of the river.  It truly was more beauty and history that we could fully absorb, but we tried.  At one point, three castles were in view at once.  We passed the famous Loralei Rock, jutting out of the middle of the river.  Many of the castles now lay in ruins, but many of them have been renovated and repurposed as hotels, restaurants, and private homes.  They displayed several architectural styles, even multiple styles in the same castle.  They took so many years to build that styles changed from start to finish.  

Perhaps you remembered this fact from school, but even though I pride myself as a good student, this fact had escaped my memory.  That is that the castles were military installations.  They were built and owned by the local titled land owners to house their armies of knights who protected the lands and, to some lesser degree, the people.  The fact that the castles were relatively close together along the Rhine showed the sizes of the land tracts owned by the various titled gentry.  I wondered which of these castles protected the lands of my ancestors, who were most likely peasant farmers or merchants.  It was incredible to me to pass through so much history in one short afternoon.

In addition to the many castles, we also passed through lovely villages.  We regretted that our ship did not stop to allow us to explore more of the towns.  When we did stop in the evening in the town of Rudesheim, Germany, we quickly learned that it was not a town where we would have chosen to stop, if the decision had been left to us.  Fifteen river cruise boats were docked at Rudesheim.  It was a crowed tourist trap.  We had naively purchased an optional excursion that included dinner and a show.  This was our only major disappointment with Viking.  We fought our way down a narrow crowded street, the famous “Drosselgasse,” filled with shops offering overpriced Chinese reproductions of German handicrafts.  There were a few more authentic shops, and we purchased several Christmas ornaments.  How can one visit Germany and refrain from purchasing Christmas stuff, especially in this household?  The disappointment came in our dinner.  It was al fresco in what may have been a pleasant courtyard in cooler weather.  The food was not quite as good as ordinary, and the entertainment was a three person band, playing a combination of American pop and German oompah band selections.  We didn’t even stay for dessert.  Our 170 Euros could have been much better spent elsewhere.

Perhaps this is a good spot to remark on how freely the wine and cocktails flow on a river cruise.  The fact that we never had a drop contributed to the funds that paid for all of the generous imbibement of our fellow passengers.  We never saw rowdy drunkenness akin to a frat party, so other than knowing that we were subsidizing the drinks, we weren’t bothered by the free flow of Rieslings.  

All told, the fourth day of our adventure was wonderful.  The beautiful parts far outweighed the disappointments.  This was a day of magic and dreams fulfilled for me.

   

Rhine Getaway, Day 3 Cologne Germany

     Day 3 of our Rhine Getaway was in Cologne, Germany.  I was surprised that many German towns had French sounding names and vice versa.  This visit began early on a Sunday morning with a walk into the old section of town and a tour of the beautiful Cathedral of Cologne.  The beauty of the cathedral is magnificent.  It was hard to absorb all that our eyes were seeing.  These grand buildings would be amazing feats of skill even with modern engineering and hydraulic equipment, but to consider that they were made with hand tools is incredible.  
     During our many visits to the cathedrals and churches, I found my thoughts poised somewhere between two positions.  One was awe at the incredible architecture, art, sheer size, devotion, and reverence.  The other was the disproportionate expense of human sacrifice and deprivation caused by taking so many resources out of the hands of the common people and into the coffers of the churches. This was one of the tenets of the protestant reformation, and it is still evident today in the differences between the European Catholic and Protestant chapels and cathedrals.  The only way I can reconcile both positions in my own mind is to hope that these splendid buildings were indeed monuments to God and not to mortal men.  If they were truly dedicated to God, then they are indeed monuments of devotion to the Most High, in the most beautiful ways known to all of mankind.  If they were built in praise of mortal men or to show off the wealth of local nobles, then it is a shame that such grandeur is misplaced. 
     Cologne was also the center of a large Jewish population in the Middle Ages.  Currently, archaeological excavations are under way to show ruins from the Middle Ages, and even from the Roman Empire.  One site that we were privileged to see was an ancient Jewish "mikvah," or ritual bath.  Having studied some of these Old Testament rites, this was of tender interest to me.  Our tour guide explained to us that during the horrible black plague in the mid fourteenth century, Jewish citizens were protected from illness by the cleanliness standards they observed through these ritual baths. Envious and suspicious of the Jews' good health, some early Christians who were terrorized by the plagues, accused the Jews of causing the illness or "curse."  Tragically, they ordered the mass slaying of thousands of Jews.  It sorrows me to know that the Holocaust of the twentieth century was not a new concept for Europe, but a continuation of human suffering that had endured many centuries.
     Since it was Sunday, we did not shop or eat in restaurants in Cologne.  I regretted missing a chance to purchase authentic cologne in Cologne, but such it is.  Instead, we visited as many of the old historic churches as we could find.  We did a lot of walking, and it was an unseasonably warm late spring day, but we enjoyed the cool and quiet of many beautiful sanctuaries.  Most of the churches had posted photos that showed the damage that the buildings had suffered during Wold War II, and the reconstruction that had been done in the past seventy years.  Some stained glass windows had been removed and protected during the bombings.  Others were not spared.   The huge Cologne Cathedral was not hit with bombs, but rather was purposefully left untouched to act as a visual landmark for the bomber pilots who flew over the city.  The building was preserved for grim reasons, but gratefully, it was preserved.
     We walked in both the old and new sections of the city.  The older sections were mostly rebuilt to recreate their former medieval splendor.  The work of restoration is impressive and beautifully authentic .  The modern sections were quite urban and not unlike parts of our own cities in the United States.  A major difference was that there were fewer visible cars.  The apartments had hidden driveways and garages that seemed tiny and difficult to access.  The old and the new elements were mixed in the cobblestone streets that ran between beautiful old buildings but were sadly littered with trash, beer bottles and used drug syringes from the parties of the previous night.  The revelers had gone home to bed, and we tourists enjoyed the quiet, if dirty streets, in the early Sunday morning. 

Rhine Getaway, Day 2

Kinderdijk, Holland

               

                The Viking Gullveig sailed during the night.  We were pleased that a river boat is so smooth that we could feel no seasickness or ripples at all.  The ship moved at about eight miles per hour, on average, during our journey up the Rhine.  We were surprised that the Rhine is such a busy working river.  Large industrial barges passed every few minutes, carrying loads of chemicals, fuel, minerals, scrap metal, and all sorts of other products.  We were also surprised to see the river was busy with the traffic of many pleasure boats and cruise ships similar to ours.  I don’t think I have ever seen a river in the United States that had so much boat traffic, not even the mighty Mississippi.

                On the morning of Saturday, June 7, we were docked in Kinderdijk, home of a large number of Dutch windmills.  We walked along the large dike and heard our guide explain the process of pumping out water to drain and reclaim land that is well below sea level.  The many windmills were operational, but they no longer pump water.  That job is now done with much more powerful coal fired electric power plants.  We were impressed with the size of the beautiful mills.  I learned that in a former day, the miller and his wife and family of 10-12 children lived inside each mill.  In fact, so many children lived in the area, that the millers named it Kinderdijk.  Even today, adventurous renters may lease a windmill for the summer and live inside.  We toured a mill and climbed the steep narrow stairs.  The families learned to use the limited space very efficiently.  We learned that the millers used a method of communication that involved moving the huge blades of the mill into certain positions to indicate news to the distant millers.  One position showed good news – births, marriages, etc.  Another indicated a death or serious illness.  Yet another indicated the time to co-ordinate the timing of the pumping. 

                We discovered the mechanisms of the windmills and how the millers regulated the speed of the blades by adding or removing canvas coverings on the blades.  They were also able to move the top turrets where blades were attached by using a system of chains and posts or rocks on the ground.  The entire top of the mill could turn to catch the wind from any direction.  It really was a marvel of engineering in spite of very primitive tools and technology.

                The area of Kinderdijk is preserved as a United Nations UNESCO World Heritage site.  This is a special and coveted designation for tourism.  The UNESCO folks made a grand tribute to the ingenuity of the original builders of the dikes, mills, canal systems, and adjustable waterways.  I fully agree with the UNESCO tribute.  The entire operation is an amazing show of man’s ability to manipulate his environment to create a better place to live, to work, and to grow food.  I was duly impressed, but at the same time I couldn’t help noticing the double standard on the part of the UNESCO folks who blanch with horror at the thought of a modern community who would drain a swampy lowland and disturb a prized wetland.  The pendulum of prosperity and priority does swing to and fro through the ages.  Those primitive engineers would not be welcomed among today’s environmentalists.

                After a very pleasant tour, we reboarded our ship and began sailing for Cologne, Germany.  We enjoyed watching the many passing ships, and I took lots of photos in the area of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, which was the scene of much fighting during World War II.  The bridges over the Rhine were fiercely defended and fought over.  I stood on the top deck of the ship shooting photos and emailing them to Peter, who was online in his mission office in Brazil.  I truly marveled that the scene before my eyes was almost instantly in front of Peter’s eyes, many thousands of miles away.    What a miracle!

Day one of our Rhine Getaway

I hope this to be the first in a series of eight posts.  Before the wonderful experience fades from my memory, I want to write about it, namely, our long anticipated Rhine Getaway.  Wayne and I  sailed up the Rhine River from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Basel, Switzerland on the Viking Gullveig from June 5-13, 2014.  I’m not sure if my recollections will be of interest to anyone other than myself, but I will write so that I may enjoy my memories for many years to come.  I will try to record our daily adventures as well as my reflections along the way.

                 We arrived in Amsterdam on a direct flight from Washington Dulles airport.  We were in the air all night and arrived quite tired with a full day ahead of us.  We tried unsuccessfully to rest a bit in our stateroom, but excitement and eagerness to see the city won.  Let me briefly describe the Viking Gullveig.  It is a brand new long ship that had only been in service for seven weeks.  Everything was sparkling new and shiny clean.  Our stateroom was a “veranda suite,” meaning we had one of the few rooms with a separate sitting room.   While not large, our space was ample and most pleasant.  The ship’s crew kept everything in order, and we never lacked for any comfort nor even for any luxury.  The ship had only 188 passengers and a crew of 54.  There was a large lounge and informal terrace restaurant on our upper level.  Above us was a rooftop sundeck with a walking track and the ship’s pilot house.  The pilot house could actually retract into a lower level, if the ship needed to decrease its height to fit under a bridge.  One level below us was the main dining room, reception area, and additional staterooms.  The bottom level housed the ship’s crew.  It was so nice to be able to unpack our luggage and to know that we would remain in the same floating hotel room as we moved from city to city throughout Europe.  

                 As the ship filled with passengers, we had a day in port to visit Amsterdam.  We walked into a central area past the bus and train terminals, and we dodged the many cyclists that fill the streets of Amsterdam.  After quite a long and somewhat confusing walk, we caught a tram to the famous Rijks Museum.  In this splendid building we saw the works of the Dutch masters, including Rembrandt and my favorite, Vermeer.  It was amazing to think that we were standing inches away from these famous masterpieces that we have admired only in books and photographs throughout our school years.  The museum allowed guests to photograph the paintings, which surprised me.  I don’t remember an art gallery in the United States that allows photography.  After seeing as many beautiful paintings as we could absorb in our tired brains, we took a canal tour of Amsterdam that concluded near our ship.  After a shower and a change of clothes, we joined our fellow passengers for our first dinner on board the ship.

                 The other passengers were mostly Americans with a few guests from Great Britain, South Africa, and Australia.  I don’t think any of the passengers were non English speaking.  Nearly everyone was retired and white.  I may have been the youngest passenger.   I noted that we all seemed to be from a very similar demographic.  This could be seen in the women’s clothes.  Nearly every outfit I saw on the women was clothing that I either own, have tried on, or seen in the stores that I frequent.  The dress code was casual and comfortable.  The other passengers were very friendly and interesting to meet.  Each evening we sat at a table for six, and we met different folks each night.  Their stories were interesting and entertaining.  I think we may have been the only passengers who never drank a drop of alcohol.  We were surprised at the consumption of our fellow passengers.  Wine was poured at every meal and frequently between meals, in generous quantities.  I didn’t notice any drunkenness, but there was an atmosphere of relaxation all about us. 

                 I couldn’t describe a Viking cruise without mentioning the exquisite food.  Whether in the informal deck terrace buffet or in the formal dining room, every dish was delicious, mostly healthy, beautifully presented, and very politely served.  Special consideration was made for Wayne’s gluten free diet, and he was able to eat as grand as the rest of us.  The portions were adequate but not excessive.  It all seemed very tasteful and classy, with never a glimpse of junk food.  Our chef was a very skilled artist.

                 My first impressions of Europe were through very tired eyes, but I did note some differences from the United States.  While the cities were mostly modern and very beautiful, there seemed an overall lower standard of living.  Many people travel only by bicycle or mass transit.  That may be handy in the big cities and picturesque in the pleasant weather, but I shudder to think of how miserable it would be to carry children and groceries on a bicycle in the rain or snow.  I’m grateful that I’m able to do my traveling at home in the comfort of a mini SUV.   Bicycles are fun for sport, but I would not want to have to rely on them as my principle means of travel, other than mass transit.  The highways in Europe have narrower lanes and slimmer vehicles than those in the US.  Also, the personal space buffer around vehicles is much closer than I am accustomed.  It seemed that cars and trucks were speeding past each other with only a couple of inches between them.    Europe was magnificent to visit, but I’m not eager to change my home address to some new location across the pond.  On the other hand, there was unmatched charm in moving about in cities that are many centuries old.  To think that the buildings before my eyes were constructed during the Middle Ages, is awe inspiring.  It is amazing to feel so much history.  Places that had previously been known to me only in books and movies were actually before my eyes and ears and nose.  That is an incredible feeling, and I found myself thinking of my ancestors that lived here many generations ago.

Every Day is Christmas

                The Christmas decorations are packed up and stored for another year.  But only the decorations, the Christmas CD’s, DVD’s, the tree, the lights, garlands, toy Santa houses, wreathes, gingerbread, advent calendars, and an over abundance of chocolate and goodies are put aside.  We may pack up lots of tangible stuff, but Christmas cannot be boxed away in the attic.  For faithful followers of Christ, Christmas is a way of life that is never sealed up in packing tape and stowed away.                   

                 Seasonal trimmings, gatherings with friends and family, cards, gifts, increased charity and the many other symbols of peace on earth and good will toward men are all good things.  Turning one’s thoughts to God and our fellow men are commendable efforts and worthy of our time and attention.  Do we practice those things for a few short weeks and then box them up, never to be thought of for another twelve months?  It’s true that the decorations would become tattered and worn with constant use.  I might even tire of fancy chocolates, although I doubt that.  Which pieces of Christmas can and should we pack away and what should we keep in our daily routines?

                I recently read a quote that described success as achieved only by making changes in daily life.  In others words, we have not become successful at anything until we have incorporated it into our everyday activities and thoughts.  Singular events usually do not have staying power.  One good gym workout does not make me strong.  One foregone dessert does not make me thin.  A one hour practice session at the piano does not bring about mastery of a great composition.  A single cheerful greeting at the door at the end of just one day does not make me a beloved wife or mother.  However, daily repetition of any of the above activities over weeks, months, years, and decades has the power to shape extraordinary characteristics. 

                We should never grow weary of truly good works.  Kindness, tenderness, patience, loyalty, devotion, and honesty should never be packed away.  We can never tape shut the box of charity and acts of compassionate service.  To give an example, I recently witnessed a wonderful scene at the Washington, DC, temple where I have the privilege of working each week.  In that beautiful edifice, sacred ordinances are performed that bind family and marriage relationships for eternity.  One happy and grateful temple guest recently remarked, “If this is what you do here every day, then every day is Christmas for you.”  Indeed, it is.  The temple is open and operating all year.  I have frequently pondered that comment and evaluated my daily activities to see if they include the things that I want to keep open all year, every year.

                How is it possible to keep the symbolic Christmas boxes open and vibrantly beautiful all year?  Does one grow tired of giving or even confused as to which boxes are good?  After all, there are a lot of tacky decorations and cheap substitutes for happiness out there.  How does one know what to keep and what to toss?  Fortunately, there is help.  First of all, there is a God who “slumbers not nor sleeps.”  His example is ever present, and He is always accessible through sincere prayer and study of scripture.   He has organized a church and called both ancient and modern prophets to continually guide us.  He has put us together on the earth to allow us to love and serve one another.  Through revelation and the witness of the Holy Spirit, He personally guides us.   He has given us the freedom to act for ourselves and to experience joy.

                Christmas came over two thousand years ago with the birth of Jesus Christ.  There is no sadness at the close of each annual celebration, for Christmas can never be put away.  It can be our daily walk, if we choose every day to spend our time and energy on the happy things that can never rust, fade, or wear out.  May you be found so doing, and every day will be Christmas for you.