Dutch Gin and Jelly Donuts

DUTCH GIN AND JELLY DONUTS: CATCH UP BLOG

HE SAYS:

We are now sailing down the Rhine after a lovely afternoon of castle watching. This allows me to put together this catch up blog, and to expand on a number of meandering thoughts. A stream of conscious approach will capture my mood.

Time moves on. In Holland, Amsterdam has been transformed from a nascent capitalist economy based on the early frenzied speculation in tulip bulbs to the leading major economy of the 18^th century.  Subsequently, continental countries such as Germany and France surpassed Holland, and Europe’s history was sealed. The late US president John F. Kennedy went to the Berlin Wall and pronounced, “I am a Berliner.” The Berlin citizens cracked up  because in slang what he had said was, “I am a jelly donut.” He certainly caught the spirit and absurdity of the Cold War.

As we make our way through the Dutch canal system towards the Rhine and Main  Rivers I am struck by how industrialized both countries are along this waterway. On one side of the river there is lush vegetation and rolling hills, and on the other side many modern factories and a railway line. What is interesting is that there isn’t a clear or decisive break in the geography and flora between Holland and Germany. It is a rolling continuum. The silence of the scenic countryside is only broken by the sound of a speeding freight train.

Viking Tours is marvellous and has thought of all the mod-cons. The meals are haut cuisine with great regional wines; quite to my surprise I learned that Austrian reds are robust and bold, while their whites are smooth and rounded to the tongue. Their cuisine is as good as or better than Beckta in Ottawa, and we’ll be offered this 3 meals a day for 14 days.

Our Viking river boat, the Prestige, is 132 m long and 12 m wide; it holds 190 passengers and costs a cool E 28m. This is a far cry from the 30 foot barge tour with 30 vacationers that I remember in central France in the late 70s. Our state rooms are in a modern Scandinavian style. Being in steerage class and below the water line, it is an eerie sensation when one sees that the river is at the same level as the large porthole in our wall.

All that said, the demographics of our fellow passengers is of interest .There is a decided feeling by some unnamed cynic that this is a very elegant and expense floating geriatric facility. The one drawback for this guy is that I feel over-managed, and that everything is too scripted. I desperately need some time to myself !!! Crowds always bring out the misanthrope in me. As a good friend said before we left, “remember who your fellow passengers are.” In general they are very well- heeled, and hail, “you all”, from Texas, Florida or California, are former corporate executives and are Republicans; the average age is probably 75-80. We do not talk about health care. Definitely my type of folk.  Blessedly, we have met a group of about four women who are sympatico.  (She says: and Richard seems to enjoy being the only male at a table of six!)

Our first port of call after we left Amsterdam was Kinderdijk, which we went ashore to visit. This world heritage site is a quaint community of about 20 ancient windmills. They are operational and have families living in them; they are rented for E100-200 per month. Notwithstanding the quaintness, there was a certain theme park quality about it all. That evening we had a lecture on Dutch cheese and Jinever, that is, Dutch Gin. This clear sterno-like liquid was enough to wash away the day’s weariness, even of this cynic. (She says: And after three shots of Jinever he had enough energy to hang out in the lounge to listen to the pianist play old ‘60’s tunes, and even danced!  I keep threatening to buy some of the stuff when we get home and hold regular Jinever and dance evenings.  We’ll dust off the Rolling Stones CD’s and party!)

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in Cologne. It was largely destroyed during WW II, with the notable exception of city center with its large cathedral.  Its famous Cologne Cathedral is a massive structure which took 800 years to build. Its architecture is dark, brooding and uninspiring, enough to turn the most faithful into non-believers. Its Romanesque architecture is the antithesis of inspiring the English and Spanish Gothic church architecture, with its upward lines, that sing the glory of His Kingdom. The cathedral is considered to be Germany’s main tourist attraction and some 22, 000  people visit this church every DAY! Clearly, the God business is profitable.

Today we had a morning tour of the Koblenz castle which was built around 1230 AD and which, over the years, was owned by a number of noble families. This afternoon we continued our journey, and almost relaxed, going down the Rhine River looking at lush hills (and expecting Heidi any minute to yodel), vineyards planted on sharply sloping hills and watching more castles pass by. Most of these castles date from the 13-14^th centuries. Ho, hum…. Sad to say, no matter how spectacular they are, by the end of the afternoon, their sightings become commonplace, and we stop running from one railing to another to take photos.

The date of these castles, of course, reflects the extreme regionalization and fragmented nature of social stratification in Germany until it was unified under Otto Von Bismark.

Tomorrow we continue our voyage down the Main River, with its vineyards and 60 some odd locks. Thankfully, we have had a chance to sleep in before we go off on a well-managed tour to see the countryside and, of course, another castle.