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A 25-day adventure by Olddustyboots.com Read more
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  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 5

    Amsterdam, Netherlands

    April 7, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    After a long day of driving, our bus arrived at Amsterdam and wound its way into the industrial area looking for our docking spot. A police officer stopped us and then had our bus follow him to the proper entry to find the Monarch Queen.
    Because we had left Paris 45 minutes late due to a battery problem, and then hit heavy traffic which delayed us even more, we arrived at our cruise ship during the dinner service. They whisked us into the dining room with our backpacks and had us join any table in order to get us fed
    Doug and I ended up at a great table where we discussed traveling and traded stories of destinations that were "can't miss" places to go see. We were having so much fun that eventually the Maitre D had to ask us to leave!
    Bon nuit!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 6

    Antwerp, Belgium

    April 8, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    This morning we arrived at Antwerp Belgium where we docked near the old part of the city. After an orientation meeting with our cruise director, Martin, Doug and I signed up for a dart tournament. The game was around the board, so we had to hit a 1, then 2, 3, etc. From the 9 teams that played, we came in second. The game was filled with laughter as most players were not experienced in darts. Luckily there was a backdrop or there would have been dart holes everywhere.
    After lunch, we gathered our "whisper" devices, and jackets for our afternoon guided tour of Antwerp. Miek led us away from the dock, through a yellow diamond shaped gangplank, and around the stone castle to the large green statue of a giant, named Lange Wapper, He is a trickster that tormented drunks, stole the baby's milk and generally bullied the townspeople. The people learned that Lange Wapper didn't like the Virgin Mary, so they put up statues of Mary everywhere and Lange Wapper fled the town for good.
    As we wound through the old part of Antwerp with its stone buildings and churches, we did indeed see statues of Mary everywhere. The buildings were ornate and the rooftops are decorated with carved figures and gold leaf. The symbols of various guilds, such as the weaving guild, are seen on the fronts of buildings as a way of advertising the trades.
    In front of the ornate city hall is a large statue of Silvius Brabo, a soldier , who killed the giant who demanded money from people wanting to cross the river using the bridge. If they couldn't pay, he'd cut off their hand. Brabo fought the giant, killed him and threw his hand away. This is how Antwerp got its name, from a Dutch word meaning hand throwing.
    Then I visited a Belgium lace store where the items are handmade using fine thread on individual bobbins that are woven into intricate patterns. The ladies explained that the family had the lace store for 150 years and 4 generations of lady lacemakers. I bought a couple of pieces of lace to take home along with a postcard that showed how they make it.
    Vivre l' Art!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 6

    Cathedral of Our Lady

    April 8, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We wound our way down to the Cathedral where we saw a white statue of a boy, Nello, and his dog, Patrasche, lying in front of the church. The 1872 story is about an orphaned boy who wants to be a painter. He and his dog go to the Cathedral to see the works of Reubens, but freeze to death under the painting .
    Inside the Cathedral, we admired the architecture and the paintings that featured bright reds and blues and the celebration of light on the figure of Jesus. There were two large paintings by Reubens on either side of the altar the were amazing in their detail.
    In front of the Cathedral was another Camino shell as pilgrims can pass by this church on their way to Santiago. It warms my heart to see the familiar bronze shells on the ground.
    Afterwards, Doug and I bought a dish of Belgium fries which came with spicy ketchup, sweet mayo and chopped onion and it was delicious!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 7

    Ghent, Belgium

    April 9, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    We started off our visit to Ghent with a walking tour of the city centre, guided by a lady named Annamaria. She brought us to a square with a statue of the King that United the Belgium provinces. Surrounding this square, were buildings that were owned by the different guilds. The builders and weavers were starving, so the guilds opened stores in their buildings where the workers could buy food and supplies at a cheaper rate.
    On we walked, over canals and through the streets lined with medieval buildings, until we came to a large castle that was inspired by Morocco. This building is now a museum, but it used to house the king of Belgium who was Spanish. We learned that the north of Belgium is mostly Protestant while the south was controlled by Spain and remained Catholic.
    We walked along the cobblestone streets to the canal lined with historic buildings and then climbed the bridge where we saw the three famous Ghent towers lined up in a row. The clock tower, a church and the Cathedral form a pretty picture that has become the iconic image of Ghent. As we stood in front of the Cathedral, mass let out and the bells began to ring. We had learned that the bells are not rang throughout Lent and the parents tell their children that the bells have gone to get the eggs and chocolate. So on Easter Sunday, they ring joyously and extra long to celebrate their return.    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 7

    Our Belgium Family

    April 9, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    We had arranged to meet our niece , Liz, and her family in Ghent, but when our tour ended we still had spare time before they'd arrive. So we ended up in a local pub where Doug sampled the craft beer. Belgium has over 4400 types of beer and that's not counting the beer that's made within families. Doug had a 5%, a 6.25% and 8% beer which he seemed to enjoy.
    At noon we were standing in front of St. Bavo's Cathedral with our red Roots Canada backpack looking for Liz, her kids and Victor, when a couple approached us and asked if we were from Canada. When we responded "yes", they then asked if we were related to Elizabeth Thomas. It turns out that they're Victor's parents, Els and Thomas. We had a great visit with them while we waited for the young family and we discovered that they are great, friendly people that made our time waiting fun.
    We had a lunch and a stroll with Liz, Victor, Els, Thomas, 2 year old Titus and baby, Gustav. I even got Titus to sit on my knee for a bit! Somehow we ended up at a pub with an outdoor patio where Doug traded smoked meat stories with Victor and Thomas while trying another kind of Belgium beer. Now he only has 4,396 more kinds to try.    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 7

    The Lamb of God

    April 9, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After hugs goodbye, Doug and I entered the Cathedral for our Altarpiece tour in the crypt. We were fitted with goggles for an AV section of the tour and were suddenly transported into medieval times, watching the Cathedral being built and the people going about their lives. We followed florescent arrows directing us to each new AV station while the "monk" narrated our tour. We learned so much in a very entertaining way.
    At the end, the monk explained the different parts of the Lamb of God altarpiece and the significance of each. After handing in our headsets, we headed upstairs to the church altar, the cloisters, the art and the actual Altarpiece art that we came to see. It was beautiful! We walked closer to it to take some photos and then we sat down to just sit in its presence and absorb. My eyes didn't know where to look as there was so much detail in the painting.
    After buying a small version of the Altarpiece, and our obligatory fridge magnet, we walked back to our bus and returned to our shop. This visit meant a lot as seeing this piece of art was on Doug's bucket list.
    Vivre le Lamb of God!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 8

    Delta Works

    April 10, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We traveled by bus this morning on our optional tour of the Delta Works at the Delta park, Neeltje Jan's. This southern part of the Netherlands is a huge delta and the Dutch have reclaimed huge portions of this land from the sea by using dikes and pumping the water out.
    But over the years, dikes have broken and floods have occurred. In 1953, a huge storm brewed off the shore of the Netherlands and when the vicious northwest winds combined with higher than usual tides and driving rain, over 1800 people lost their lives.
    Then the government started building a series of dams to prevent such a disaster from ever occurring again.
    They started by vibrating the sand at the bottom of the sea to compact it. They covered the sand with blankets filled with gravel and rocks that became the foundation to hold up the pillars of the long dikes. These dikes have gates in them that can open to let the salt water through, or closed to stop surge waves and prevent floods. It was an amazing engineering feat and so far it's worked perfectly!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 8

    The windmills of Kinderdijk

    April 10, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Amidst rainy and windy conditions, we journeyed to the Kinderdijk park where we walked among windmills built in the late 1600's. The Netherlands used to have 10,000 windmills, but now they number around 1,200, 19 of which stand in this park. Many of these structures have people live in them and they're still working at pumping water out of the poldir or flat land.
    One windmill is set up as it would have been back in the 1700's, and we were able to go inside to see how it's family would have lived. There isn't a ton of space inside a windmill, but what room they had was used efficiently, with beds touched into the walls and storage tucked into every corner.. Steep stairs led up to each new level and I had to descend backwards like climbing down a ladder when I returned to the lower floors. It would have been cosy for a family and I think the parents would be telling their kids to go outside to play every chance they got.
    We learned that we have incorporated windmill sayings into our language. For example, the sails on a windmill have to be opened in pairs or the windmill is off balance. Thus the saying that someone who has drank too much is wobbly and "3 sheets to the wind". Another example is crazy people were said to have been hit on the head by a windmill and then the person makes a circle with their finger, mimicking the rotation of the windmill sails.
    What an experience! We returned to our bus soggy, cold, but happy!    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 10

    Tulips, tulips and tulips!!

    April 12, 2023 in the Netherlands

    In order to have a great experience at the Keukenhof Gardens, we left our ship at 7:00 am. This meant we got to the gardens before the general public opening so the gardens were quiet and it was easier to get good photos. By the time we left the park, the immense parking lot was packed and we had noticed a significant increase in the number of people wandering through the tulips.
    We spent 4 hours walking through the different gardens that were full of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, crocuses and even orchids. There was every colour imaginable, varying heights and sizes, and the garden designs were intricate.
    The foundation plants 7,000 tulip bulbs every year and they ship tulip bulbs all over the world. They're only open to the public for 2 months each year while the tulips bloom which explains the crowds. They also plant the tulips in 3 different depths so they stagger their blooms and can last for the 2 months. I could have spent far longer at this amazing botanical site, but Doug played out so we returned to our ship.
    This is a Spring Tulip cruise and now it has lived up to it's name.    Read more

  • Olddustyboots.comBelgium, France and Holland
    Day 10

    Silken tones of Dutch Quartet

    April 12, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    After our Farewell dinner, we were entertained by 4 Dutch men who are award winning quartet singers. I secured seats right at the front of the lounge so we would have the best view of the group and we sure did!
    The group has been together for 15 years, and they sang everything from Mozart opera to Elvis. They serenaded me with "Love me tender" and serenaded our friend Margaret with "Marylou".
    What a way to cap off a perfect day!    Read more

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