This is the end of the Rhine. (I Rhisp a Rhittle!)

Here we are in Amsterdam at the end of a simply awesome cruise! Only way to travel.

A 135m long floating 5 star hotel. The comfort, food, views, - lifestyle are so relaxing and enjoyable that I am sure we will be doing likewise in future. Maybe the Nile?

The section of the River from Mainz to Coblenz had all the castles - well most of them. It is actually the Rhine gorge and the weather was warm and sunny so we were able to spend the afternoon on the sundeck to get the best views.

River got busier as we got further downstream. Sometimes three or four vessels across all passing each other. Wouldn't mind a $ for every ton of freight that goes up and down this River. even a few cents would make you very rich in a short time. Would you believe that the guys who built the castles did exactly that! You want to pass my castle then pay me the toll (tax) for your cargo. Today this is done by governments to stop the highway robbery (At least that is what they tell us)

We are going to use tonight to try and get our suitcases packed again. Been nice to actually live out of drawers and cupboards and use the same bathroom each day. Tomorrow is back to the change of scenery every couple of days. (Leave a light on so I can find the loo!)

Canal cruise this morning. Like Venice, some of the buildings have got a distinct lean as their foundations sink into the mud or the timber decays. There is one section that they call the dancing buildings because they are leaning at all angles.

Have checked out the Rail station and it is about 5 minutes walk from where we are docked so will stroll over there about the middle of the morning and get on our way to Berlin - and what ever comes next ?????????

I am having such fun Honey!

The way to go!

Here we are at Speyer in Germany on the Rhine. Off the boat (Sorry the Captain says it is a ship) for a walk in the town for the morning. It is 125m long and two decks of accommodation.
At the front is a lounge bar upstairs and a dining room downstairs that would compare very favorably with any 4 star hotel.
The Rhine makes me think of Crocodile Dundee's comment "That´s not a knife..." It makes the Murray look little. The locks are amazing - huge. Changes of level of around 20 metres at each one. We are at the 400 km mark heading downstream with the 1000km mark at Rotterdam.

Zurich was magic. Clean, old, friendly, efficient and weather was fabulous. A cruise on the lake for nearly 2 hours provided a real Swiss landscape / vistas. The cheese tart for lunch was special - a Swiss specialty. The airport at Zurick made us feel we had entered a hospital. It was so spotlessly clean and tidy. Driverless trains to take you to the luggage collection. A great intro for any traveller.

Night time in Zurich is party time in every little square. Thank goodness for double glazed windows and air conditioning. We could have joined in the party cos our room was large enough to have a dance. Full marks to the Wallenberg and to Chris our travel agent.

The whole group on board are either Americans or Aussies. There are people from Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, and Broken Hill so we are having a great time.

All aboard. Must go

Wales, Dartmoor and Beyond

Ferry trip back to Wales was smooth and enjoyable. Then it was off to Chester for the night. What a fascinating place. The old Roman wall still rings a portion of the city so we took a stroll along the top of that to work up an appetite. The buildings in the centre are mostly old and the streets are very narrow. Would never have got to the hotel without the say so of the little man on the gate that stops traffic into the centre during the day.
Next morning had a quick look at the Cathedral (about 13th century) and were most impressed with its structure and interior.

On the road then to Cardiff. Welsh signs are hard to read (thank goodness for English. We kept seeing signs with Allan on them and thought he was pretty popular until we worked out it meant OUT. No wonder Welsh kids can't spell; their school is a Sgkol.

Cardiff was occupied by a heap of German fooootball fans (yes Soccer). They warmed up for the match at any bar in town and they probably warmed down after it because they beat Wales 3-0.
Cardiff Bay is a bit like the Docklands, an old working port now being redeveloped into housing, restaurants, entertainment and marinas. Very nice actually - once we found it. Helps if you are travelling along the road in the same direction as the person who provided you the directions assumed you would be going. Improving my U turns!!

Cardiff Castle and the boattrip on Cardiff Bay were highlights.

Down the road to Plymouth via Bath. Morning tea in the famous Pump Room with a grand piano recital by a pretty good pianist. Would tell you more about the country along the way but the hedges are very nice and the views are limited. The Aussie farmers would go nuts trying to check the sheep and cattle from the road over here. Come to think of it we haven't really encountered any slow vehicles driven by men with a hat!!!

So today in Plymouth we have checked out the British Prison system at Dartmoor (from the outside), and the British Navy's fleet during a harbour cruise (gee it is a big harbour) and tomorrow we will be going further West just for a look before we finally start to head back towards London.

Whew!!

A lot of "killing" in Ireland!!!

Kilkenny, Kilarney, kil*&^%** - you name it they seem to have killed it.
Emerald Isle - to be sure to be sure! Plus a fair few Irish bogs. Seems there is nowhere for the water to run so it just sits and bogs and grows good tussocks. But it is a lovely country with terrific scenery.
Big event here today was the National Hurling final where Kilkenny beat Limerick. Could probably write a limerick about that. The fans from Limerick wouldn't think that was funny though. ALWAYS NEXT YEAR. HOPE THAT IS NOT AN OMEN FOR THE CATS.

In the Riverside Hotel at Kilarney tonight with the GLOBUS TOUR. Can't get away from them. Not as good a group as ours though. Miss our friendly travellers and my singing partner Steven. Ron and Donna, you would love Ireland.

The recent history and sights in Belfast were both amazing and a little worrying. We actually drove through and visited the Shankhill Rd area (Protestant) and ther Falls Road area (Catholic) (IRA) The walls of buildings are adorned with murals of all sorts and the wall dividing the areas is still in place. Police stations, courts and fire stations are all fortified and fenced with 20 ft high frnces because of the petrol bombs, grenades, etc that they were subjected to during the worst of the fighting. We actually drove down shankhill Rd as a procession of Orangemen was marching the other way to place a wreath. Eery feelings!

We are both enjoying the food but afraid to get on the scales. Always an opportunity to shed it when we get home.

Well, tomorrow we are off to the Ring of Kerry to see the scenery which is supposed to be fantastic. Will depend on the weather a little. Raining at present.

Little car is going well. VW Jetta diesel - Nearly 2000 miles so far. Maybe another 700 or so yet.

Until next time.