14 July – Hamburg, Germany
Happy French Independence Day!
As we approached our first European stop after the Atlantic crossing and extended stay at the dock in Vlissingen, it would appear our on-board food supplies dwindled, certainly fresh fruit and vegetables – and Henry enjoyed sampling the fare favored by the Filipino crew:
Antwerp by cargo ship is accessed through a lock in the heart of a huge industrial shipping center:
Finally we arrived in Europe on the 6th of July and found accommodations in a 16th century house near the city center (that’s Henry grappling with the ancient lock and key). Hard to tell from the photo, but past this door is a narrow garden leading to a charming B&B with all the modern conveniences except air conditioning…..
Although not too close to the G-20 action, Antwerp was nonetheless under heightened security, both military and canine:
Antwerp has some interesting folk heroes. A Roman soldier named Barbo faced off with a mean giant who was restricting trade on the river. Barbo ended the giant’s domination by cutting off his hand and throwing it in the water; the name Antwerp means “hand thrown”. They sell Belgian chocolate through-out in the shape of little hands, and this depiction of the incident is in the town square:
Another local folk hero is a character whose mischievous antics included interfering in children’s games and stealing breast milk (!). His name is Lange Wapper. ‘Nuff said.
We rented a car and drove to Bruges, a lovely town but a little too full of tourists for our taste.
From there we elected to travel back roads, enjoying the countryside with cultivated fields and livestock. We stopped in Godinne, Belgium, along the banks of the Meuse River, the site of a major battle of World War I:
Our home there was a B&B that once belonged to the prime minister of Belgium who is credited with master-minding the concept of the European Union back in the ’50s.
Vianden in the small country of Luxembourg was our next stop; it has a complex World War II history; the inn where we stayed served as headquarters for the Nazis and later the Allies in the area as well; resistance fighters made a stand at the local chateau:
In the Netherlands, we stopped in Baarlo (near Venlo), then Urk on the coast (with a lighthouse literally just outside our B&B):
The weather has been very nice for this part of the world, and the countryside with cultivated crops and livestock provided wonderful viewing.
This part of the world is really made for bicycling; some of the back roads we took are not maintained nearly as well as the bike trails!
We finally arrived in Hamburg, where we were to re-join the ship, which has been delayed for a few days. We finally rented a couple of bicycles to look around; even the city is well adapted for bicycling; we were not afraid of being mown down!
Although we have had the best possible place to view shipping activities from our freighter, we nonetheless elected to stay in a Hamburg inn with an incredible view of the boats plying the River Elbe
Upon learning of an additional delay in the Rickmers New Orleans schedule, we have decided not to re-board the ship here in Hamburg. Instead, we will drive to Genoa where we will eventually board the containership Vela for our onward journey on 31 July; in the meantime, we will meet up with Henry’s daughter Holly and her family in Italy for a week near the Alps!
Will post again from somewhere along the road from Hamburg to Genoa. We will miss our Rickmers freighter “family”; will not see them again until Shanghai in September!
Alles gute!
Emerald Isle to the Norse Lands 