Cologne and Koblenz, Germany

We have been sailing on the Rhine and then the Main Rivers for the past several days. By the time this journey is over we will have passed through 68 locks. It is a time consuming process. As our Program Director Joey (Jochgum) says, "Ve haf to go through every one of them".  

The rivers are wonderful. We pass town after charming medieval town, hilltop castle after castle, medieval church after church. In view are vineyards that cover the steep slopes of the hills by the rivers. High speed trains run along the Rhine but many of the towns are frozen in time. We have also passed many areas of industrial Germany and products that we all benefit from. Everywhere we have been is very very green and lush. 

We stopped in Cologne and saw the cathedral, at one time the tallest building in Europe. Cologne was virtually destroyed in WW II. It was rebuilt fairly quickly after. A history lesson we had reminded me of the rebuilding that took place through the US initiative to rebuild Europe following the war (the Marshall Plan). The cathedral at Cologne was one of the few buildings not totally destroyed. But we saw and were told about how the rebuilding took place. 

Here are some representative photos. 

Cathedral at Cologne, Germany: 

Marksburg Castle near Koblenz, Germany. This is the only original completely intact castle along the Rhine. 

Looking down at the River from the castle. 

Kinderdijk

This is a World Heritage site. We toured a mill today, and saw a system of old mills to manage the water in the areas below sea level in The Netherlands. They are fascinating and beautiful. 

Amsterdam

What a wonderful city! After a LONG airplane flight and a ride on several trains to get from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam (several minor mistakes made getting to the right track), we had a lovely walk yesterday (a little sleep deprived) and another today ( great night's sleep last night). We figure we walked at least 6 miles yesterday and at least 5 today. 

This is a fascinating old city of old leaning brick and stone buildings along many canals. It is full of young people and lots of tourists. We happened to hit a holiday weekend unbeknownst to us: WW II Day of Remembrance yesterday and Victory Day today (liberation day over the Nazis). Tons of people everywhere! So many bikes it is hard to describe. They are the preferred mode of transportation. You really have to watch out for them!  (We think we have bikes in Minneapolis... We are small potatoes compared to this!)

I snapped some photos around the city. 

We went to the Hortus Botanical Garden yesterday...

And the Rijks Museum today - the tulips in the adjacent garden were almost gone but still pretty. 

Saw many Rembrandts and a few Van Goghs and Vermeers today in the newly renovated museum. 

Saw the church where the English Separatists worshipped for a time before they eventually set sail for the new world. Really cool to see this very old building and to read of its Catholic history prior to the Orange time when Catholicism was banned and properties confiscated. 

Much more to tell but we have to go get dinner now at one of the MANY restaurants in the area. 

Easter 2014

Easter Sunday was a warm, spectacularly beautiful day. Here are Mark, Kristi, Chip and Penelope, just after the service at Plymouth.

Happy to say that the ice is officially out of Lake Calhoun completely as of mid-day Easter Sunday!

More Wildflowers

As we were leaving Fredericksburg today, we stopped at Wildseed Farms. On previous days as we were driving by, we saw their huge fields of cultivated wildflowers - flowers in rows and the huge fields of flowers from scattered seed. Their Web site says: "The farm has more than 1,000 cultivated acres in Texas and over 200 acres of wildflower fields at its Hill Country headquarters outside of Fredericksburg."

It is just breathtakingly beautiful. We parked and walked through their shops, their garden plants for sale, and then you reach the fields. As you stroll by it looks like solid color with flowers so dense you can't see the earth. They let you walk in one section of the blue bonnets, stepping carefully between the rows. 

Here are a few photos I took, which really do not do this beautiful place justice. As we continued our drive today to Bryan/College Station, we saw even more roadsides lined with color - reds, blues, yellows, pinks, white. I read somewhere once that the Texas Highway Department is the largest landscape gardener in the world. They scatter tons of wildflower seeds along the roadsides of Texas every year. It is really remarkable. 

Texas Hill Country

We have been in Fredericksburg, TX, for the past several days. This is a charming town in the heart of The Texas Hill Country. Not far from here is the Lyndon B Johnson ranch on the banks of the Pederales River, a place he and Lady Bird dearly loved. 

When we were here before people could tour the ranch, but Lady Bird was still living in the house (she outlived him by over 30 years), so it was not open. After she passed away in 2007, the house passed to the public and to the National Park Service which was what LBJ and Lady Bird always wanted. 

No photography is allowed in the house, but is allowed outdoors. We can easily see why they loved it here so much - it is beautiful property. The house is virtually unchanged from the 60's so is frozen in time. 

I snapped some photos around the property, including the main house, the house where LBJ was born (also on the ranch property), the plane he flew in to get to the ranch which has a landing strip, the River, and the cemetery where they are both buried.

LBJ birthplace

Cemetery

Today we did a long drive in the area northeast of Fredericksburg. There are blue bonnets and other wildflowers all over the place, just beautiful!  In some places we could see solid fields of blue bonnets, this in spite of the fact that it is extremely dry here. Here is one roadside display. 

We also walked in the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. We were looking for a black capped vireo and a gold cheeked warbler. Naturally we didn't see either. I am sure our friend David could have seen them!

Last Spring Training Game

I tried to post this photo at the ballpark last week but there was too much traffic on the network. 

I took this photo last week of Gary at Cubs Park in front of their iconic sign that normally displays various information.