Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    So cold today! It feels like Fall and the wind is very strong. I definitely didn't venture into the pool. In fact I was indoors most of the day watching the World T & F events from London. Poor old Bolt, he almost made it a clean sweep of wins.

   Last stop on the cruise was Amsterdam with a visit to the Reiksmuseum. It was all it is cracked up to be with virtually hundreds of remarkable paintings - really too much to see in one day. It was extremely busy but we had an excellent guide who made sure  we saw the most important works. A canal tour in the evening with historical highlights rounded off our visit and then it was off to the airport in the morning. We had to fly back to Munich before getting our flight home but not too long a wait in between flights. The end of a stellar trip.

"The Night Watch"

Rembrandt "Self Portrait"

Van Gogh "Self Portrait"

Colonge, Germany

   A very changeable day but I managed to fit in everything I wanted to do. It was spitting when I left for tennis and the courts were damp but we played anyway (carefully!) until they dried properly around 9:00. People started to trickle in once the sun came out but it had gone again when I arrived to pick up the grandkids. They were helping Judy set up her classroom (who says teachers have summers off - she's in there at least once a week!) and were quite happy to come home with me. Elliot cleaned the pool almost single handedly, a job I hate, and James helped too.

   After lunch they were in the pool despite it still raining and flooded the deck with their shenanigans. Never mind, we had a torrential storm later which filled it up again. As I said, a very changeable day!

   Our last day in Germany found us docked in Cologne and taking a leisurely stroll around down town with a very knowledgeable guide. What a difference from the previous one! It has a fabulous cathedral, many old historic buildings and new, interesting parks. Well worth the visit. We had been bussed into town but Kathie and I walked back although it was getting quite hot by then. Lunch, a nap followed by an ice cream social on the sun deck. Then I watched the French Open men's final in the lounge. There were a couple of other fans watching too so we had fun. Finally a tour of the galley with the head chef - hard to believe all the wonderful meals we had came from such a tiny space!

Koblenz and the Wachau Valley

    It has been a funny week so far - starting off warm and sunny, then clouding over in the afternoon with quite heavy rain. Today's shower was short and sweet but thunder was rumbling so somewhere got a soaking.

   Early tennis but we were done by 10:00 - just three of us and that is always more tiring. Bridge at noon, some good hands although I underbid a couple of times to my partner's annoyance. C'est la vie!

   Salmon for dinner tonight so that will be my serving of protein today. Just an apple for lunch. My appetite is slightly improved. I should weigh myself tomorrow.

   Next day on the cruise the morning was spent steaming up the Wachau Valley with wonderful views from the sun deck of at least a dozen castles high on the sides of the valley. We were given a running commentary of all the sites and were kept busy running from one side of the sundeck to the other as each new castle appeared. We saw the famous "Lorelei" cliff and sailed by several small picturesque towns. We didn't arrive at Koblenz until 2:30. and by then it was very hot. The guide for the walking tour was rather poor so I bailed half way through and walked back to the ship to watch the French Open women's final - much more interesting! In the evening we had the "Battle of the Universities" and U of T tied with Smith College for first place - another bottle of bubbly to share.

Not everyone was interested in the castles!

At the entrance to Koblenz.

Miltenburg and "Fruhschoppen"

   Still not much appetite but I have an appetizing dinner planned for tonight - tomato, olive and feta salad with lemon juice and some of the real olive oil, that I bought in Spain last Fall, as a dressing. It will also have cucumber and red pepper - that should tempt me to eat. There's nothing wrong with keeping meals light but I am missing protein so will have to think about that tomorrow.

   Fitness class this morning but I came straight home after, had a nap and a swim before going back to work in the coffee bar. Another nap after that then cut the front grass just before thunder started rattling around. This was followed by a very heavy downpour - good for the garden and the pool is filled again!

   I can't for the life of me, recall our walking tour of Miltenburg but the highlight of our day was Fruhschoppen on the sun deck. This is a Bavarian Sunday morning custom - white sausages with mustard, potato salad, sauerkraut and giant pretzels and, of course, big glasses of beer! and then there was lunch. Even after all that food we were still ready for dinner which that day was Osso Buco, tender and delicious. All in all, the food on the cruise was outstanding.

Food set out on the sun deck.

This MAY be Miltenburg!