On Our Way To Nijmegen

  Good morning from The Viking Kvasir. We left Maastricht last night at 7 and are on our way to Nijmegen. Our sailing has been very smooth and we have met many very nice fellow travelers, primarily from the United States and mostly of a certain age, although some are on the younger side, meaning in their 60s, with perhaps a few still south of 60. The weather has been a mixture of rain and cold, so if you travel to Northern Europe at this time of the year, prepare accordingly. Today's forecast is for sun and clouds, no rain, and temperatures in the mid 50s, a virtual heat wave. The food onboard is good and plentiful, not non-fat, and presented very nicely. We both wish dinner were served earlier than 7 pm because we are both early dinner eaters and sometimes we have not left the dining room until close to or after 9 pm. Other than that, no complaints.

  Yesterday, we fell in love with the old part of Maastricht. We had a guided walking tour and were charmed by the medieval city with its narrow streets and architecture. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gracious and shared her love for the city. The old part is not completely medieval. There are numerous high end stores where you can do major damage to your credit card if you so choose. (I chose not to). There are stumble stones along the way on which are the names of the Jews who owned the property being passed and who paid the price for being Jewish during World War II. Maastricht is the type of city Patti and I would like to spend more time in.

  After lunch, we went on our afternoon excursion to Margraten where the Netherlands American Cemetery is located. There are 8,301 graves of American men and women who died during the liberation of the Netherlands in World War II. There are also walls on which the names of those whose remains were never found are inscribed. This was a very moving tour. The Dutch are extremely grateful to the Americans who paid the ultimate price. Every grave and every name on the wall has been adopted by a local Dutch family that leaves flowers on the grave or by the wall where its adopted deceased soldier lays at rest or is memorialized in stone. By some of the names on the wall are small rosettes that are placed by the name of a soldier whose remains have been positively identified. Remains are still being found. Our guide A.J. is a very dedicated volunteer who is heavily involved with an ongoing project of trying to contact the families of those buried or memorialized there. The result has been an ever increasing photo gallery of the men and women buried or memorialized at Margraten. He shared stories of some who are so lovingly remembered by the Dutch. When we arrived he asked if there were any veterans in the group and another gentleman and I raised our hands. We were honored to be asked to lay the wreath and to give a salute to our brothers and sisters. It was a wonderful and emotional tour and we are so glad we went on this excursion.

  Today we are scheduled to arrive in Nijmegen at 2:00 and have another walking tour scheduled. We need to keep walking so we can burn off some of the calories we are consuming. Have a great Thursday, everyone.