Day 9

 Keukenhof Gardens

The Final Day

Today was the final day of our adventure and as the saying goes, they saved the best for last.  The itinerary is called "Tulips and Windmills" and boy did we see some tulips today!  The good news is that I've got some great photos of the vibrant colors of the flowers (at least I think so); the bad news is that there really isn't a story to tell today......we were up by 7am.  On the bus at 8:30 for an hour drive.  As we approached the gardens we saw several fields of tulips, but two in particular caught my eye.....

Our "guide" - who didn't have to do much "guiding" today, a little narration on the way there and give us an orientation inside the gardens - pointed out (as we already knew) that when these tulips were "ready" they would have their "heads cut off" as they cut all the flower parts off and discard them.  YES, that's right....pitch them all.  The money is in the bulbs they dig up!  Within minutes we turned into the drive, parked and walked from the bus to the main entrance of Kenkenhoff's.  Lots of visitors there but we were told it was really that busy by the garden's standards.  And...because of the "life" of the tulips, it's only open for eight weeks.  Our guide did tell us that the difference from last week - the first week of the itinerary - to this week was dramatic, so we picked a good date to come!  For the next two and a half hours we walked around admiring the colors and looking for photo ops.  

Below the flower photos, two quick, short stories before we sign off on another amazing trip!

Collage of tulips in the greenhouse

Seemed like the right thing to do :)

As you know, if you follow us, we are big hockey fans.  And yesterday I mentioned we have one game left, which we get to go to after landing tomorrow.  But last night two of the teams battling with us for the final two playoff spots both lost and so we are IN THE PLAYOFFS - very exciting for us....we love our Panthers!  On January 1st we were nine points out of a playoff spot - a nearly impossible position to be in with only a quarter of the season remaining.  AND we'd never won more than two in a row through the first 58 games.  We needed in all likelihood to go 18-4-2 over the last 24 games, very unlikely and we were all but certain we'd miss the playoffs as we prepared for the trip.  But our boys never gave up the fight and we're so happy.

The second story is that our transfer from the ship leaves here at 4 am, oh my.  But the good news about that is we'll get back before 5:30 pm.  Rather get going and head home than to wait around and get home at midnight.  And we loved this adventure with our great friends Claudia & Gary.  Already talking about the next adventure together!

Day 8

 A Sunny Day In Veere

Woke up this morning to a gorgeous sunrise around 7 am and were off the ship at 8:30 am for the one hour bus ride to Verre, a quaint little sea-faring town.  Probably the most picturesque town we've seen, and as much as I may hate to admit it, maybe more so than Bruges.  Of course today it was a clear, sunny day and it was raining all day yesterday in Bruges.  The pics before the story of the day.....

The cathedral and city hall

Quaint street in Veere

Hundreds years old city/garden wall

Home built in the 1500's now a hotel/restaurant

City Hall from the front

So the guy above is NOT our guide......and this is the story - when we arrived in Veere our guide informed us that he was told NOT to take us on a tour of the town and was to simply take us to the central market square, drop us off, and come back two hours later to take us back to the bus.  This seemed awfully odd to us but he began leading us at a rapid pace until asked to slow down.  As he waited for the rest of the group he was explaining something simple, but without his microphone.  When asked to turn it on so we could all here, he said he was sorry but was told NOT to guide us but simply take us to the central square.  Got to the square, he looked at his watch and said I'll see you at noon (in two hours).  Most shops were not even open yet and we had no idea what to do!  What made it even more odd was that there were three other groups from our ship walking around the town with a guide explaining things to them!  So Kim, Gary, Claudia & I all dropped into the back of one of them and turned on our listening devices to their channel :)  We got about a 15 minute tour (better than nothing) from the guide pictured above.  And the one interesting thing he pointed out is pictured on the right.  These were hanging on the right side of city hall and were called the "Naughty chains."  Anyone who was "naughty" could be sentenced to wear these around their neck and walk the streets while others threw vegetables, etc. at you!  The guide then pointed out a restaurant where his guests could go for coffee and added they had delicious apple pie.  So we headed over.  When the waiter came Kim & Claudia just wanted tea; Gary took hot chocolate (with whipped cream) and the apple pie.  When the waiter asked what I wanted I asked if he had a Belgian waffle, which I've been in search of for days.  He replied, "I do, I only have ONE left."  I shot my hand in the air and said, "I'll take it .... with whipped cream!"

I claim ths waffle!  (note my "flag" planted mid-waffle!)

Enjoyed every bite, but didn't finish....shared the last quarter with Claudia :)

We wandered around for another hour or so until the appointed time came.  We walked to the bus and made a brief photo stop at the Delta Water Works which opens and shuts off the interior from the North Sea, then returned to the ship.

There was much chatter amongst the guests about our lack of tour and what to say.  Not a single person was satisfied but to be fair we ALL agreed it was a great day, sunny, crisply comfortable, and it was a cute town to walk around in.  Upon returning to the ship our program director passed Kim and I and said, "Welcome back, did you enjoy your day?"  Kim emphatically said, "NO" and continued walking.  Emilee (our PD) stopped with a horrified look on her face and asked what was the problem.  I explained  - and did say we had a good day but....and as soon as I said our guide had said he would not be giving us a tour Emilee literally jumped back, apologized multiple times and said she would speak to him and made a bee-line to corner him.  The last highlight was going through a lock.....though as locks go it had to be one of the least impressive as we lowered maybe five feet, still, was fun to watch.

One last story.....when we left our Florida Panthers hockey team was on "life support" to make the playoffs, but there was a chance, so we packed our jerseys and when we land we will go directly to the arena if they are still alive.  Well they won six in a row and with a win in the season finale, when we arrive back we will make the playoffs!

Day 7

 Flanders Field & Medieval Bruges

What An Amazing Day!

Warm & Dry on the Viking Einar

We were up by 6:30 am (to an alarm!) and after breakfast on board a mini-bus where fifteen of us joined our exceptional guide, Marshall for a 10 1/2 hour adventure to explore historic World War I (The Great War) battlefields & cemeteries, a castle, and medieval Bruges.

Marshall addresses our small group as we begin an exceptional day

We drove for an hour before a break and then on to the largest cemetery in Belgium where over 12,000 allied soldiers were laid to rest following the multiple battles at Ypres.  Let me tell you....I taught World History and the First World War.  Did a lot of research, saw films, read books, etc.  And though I knew a lot of the history, seeing where it took place and imagining what happened on this spot was truly a moving and educational experience....for everyone.  We left the first cemetery and headed to a second one.  Here we walked right up and into the bunker which served as John McRae's field hospital where he eventually penned the poem "In Flanders Field" and walked through the grave sites.  Everyone was truly touched when we stopped at the grave side of a 15-year-old British solider who made the ultimate sacrifice.

A corner of the upper level of the cemetery

Narrating the highlight video (published upon our return home!)

WW I Memorial to British soldiers (L) / German cemetery (M-top) / John McCrae bunker/hospital (M-bottom) / Cemetery - 15yo soldier marker (R)

Then it was on into the town of Ypers.  The first stop was the Menin Gate which was erected as a tribute to the thousands who gave their lives and were never found.  ALL the names of those missing who died in the battles here have their names engraved on the gate.  Impressive.  Then we walked into the town square of medieval Ypers.  You'd never know looking around that this was all re-built in the 1920's.  The town was just completing a five-year restoration project in 1914 when the first wave of German bombs and attacks began.  The collage below shows then & now pics.  We moved on to a scrump-dil-e-i-cious lunch at a local restaurant provided by Viking (big thank you!) which was highlighted by "Belgian Fries" - if you don't know this story refer to my Christmas Market trip! - and the best....THE BEST ice cream dessert of the trip.  Kept thinking I'd enjoy finishing Kim's but she inhaled it all :)

Menin Gate

Top L:  Today / Top R:  same shot in 1914 weeks before bombing
Bottom L:  midway through attack / Bottom R:  following all bombings

Lunch highlights

After lunch we were back on the bus to head to Loppem Castle.  The family had acquired the property and in 1600s destroyed the original chateau to build this castle.  Only about half of the massive home is open to the public and much of it is displays of the family's gigantic, and I mean GIGANTIC collection of art, sculpture and archeological finds.  Just to give you perspective of this family's wealth - they owned 130 homes - yes, one-hundred-and-thirty - and this castle was simply their "summer home."  Oh.

Loppem Castle - the main hall - two tourists :) - and the main gathering room

Two of the most impressive (to me) pieces of their collection.  The top is an original painting, done in the 1500's (WOW) and painted on copper!  The bottom is an archeological find that is dated 3 B.C. - for those of you without a calculator, it's 2,026 years old.  WOW, squared!

It was just a short drive to our final stop of the day, the medieval town of Bruges.  I'd been here in December with my niece on a bright sunny day (ok, so it was 20 degrees!), but today as we exited the mini-bus it began to rain/drizzle.  Kim and I - oh, we are so clever - had grabbed Viking provided umbrellas before leaving the ship and were more than ready for the "liquid sunshine."  

Who has umbrellas?  Only three of the fifteen, hands up - oh that's right, me & Kim make two of the three!

The many canals of picturesque Bruges

Bruges is known for it's beer.  The plant became so big that they needed to build a separate bottling plant.  To avoid tying up the UNESCO-protected medieval city the company was permitted to construct pipelines from the brewery to the bottling plant on the outskirts of the town!

"The most romantic spot in Bruges" and if you "Google" Bruges, the image that comes up is this shot

Bruges City Hall

At the end of the walking tour we were met by two taxi's to take us to the mini-bus - when my niece Khloe and I were here we walked the nearly 40 minute trek back to the bus....after the 9+ hours we'd been on the move, and with the rain, we were all appreciative of the Viking-provided rides back.  Had yet another wonderful meal with our great friends Gary & Claudia and were ready for bed by 10 pm.  Two more days of our adventure before heading back state-side!

Day 6

 Antwerp, Belgium
Happy Easter!

This morning we woke up docked in Belgium and were off the ship by 8:45 for our two hour walking tour of the Old Town of Antwerp.  In December my niece Khloe and I had finished our pre-cruise extension with a tour of Antwerp and I was anxious to show Kim (and our pals Gary & Claudia) the highlights of this cool historic city.  The weather was much like yesterday only a little warmer and we enjoyed walking around listening to the stories our guide Martin was sharing about his hometown.  Several of the places we saw reminded me of when I'd been here in December with my niece Khloe on a Christmas Markets cruise pre-extension.  I almost said something to Kim, Claudia & Gary about what I considered the highlight of the city walk, but thought better of it.  Why?  Because just last night at Happy Hour I'd been explaining to another new set of friends (Theresa & Bob) that we'd found when we re-visit a city and redo a tour, it's never the same because of a different guide.  And in talking about that I mentioned that upon a return trip to Budapest I'd remarked to our friends that day that the "best part" of the excursion was coming up and our guide didn't mention a word of it!  We had a short ride into the Old City by bus and shortly after arriving and beginning our walk we came to what residents call "The Stone," or the big castle that sits near the harbor.

"The Stone" from the back

"The Stone" from the front

At the base of the castle is a statute of a giant who has quite the legend.  This particular evil giant had purportedly been seen many times by residents.  BUT, the legend goes that he loved to prey on people who'd had too much to drink.  So it's pretty safe to assume that those who claimed to have seen him maybe, JUST MAYBE had had a little too much alcohol upon "seeing" this mythical giant.  I always enjoy walking through the narrow, winding streets of the old towns of Europe and this one was no different.  And at the end of one of them we could see the majestic cathedral towering above the buildings in front of us.

The narrow, cobblestone-covered streets of Antwerp

The Cathedral - tallest tower at left AND 2nd tower mid-photo

We headed around the corner and came to the Butcher's Guild building, which if you look at it, you just might think it looks like bacon - just a coincidence!  And around the corner was the main town square.  This I definitely remembered - as I had "The Stone" from our December stop.  And it was near here that I thought was the "highlight" of the tour.  The buildings were all very ornate and cool to look at as was the city hall which is still in use as the city hall (where the mayor & parliament still meet & have offices).  Also in the middle of the square is the second statute of a giant.  This giant has an even more interesting legend.......

The Butcher's Guild building

Buildings on the main square

City Hall selfie :)

City Hall

As the tale goes, back in Roman times there was a giant who lived along the river.  And when ships would sail by he'd demand a tax to pass in the amount of 50% of their cargo worth.  If you did not pay he'd cut off the hands of everyone on board.  So, the story goes, one day a brave Roman sought out the giant and beat him in a fight.  In victory the Roman gave the giant a taste of his own medicine and cut off HIS hand and tossed it into the river.  This is a "significant" story because in Dutch to toss an hand is "hantwerp" with a "silent h" - so the city, as the story goes, provides the city's name:  Antwerp!

The giant in the central market square - note the illustrations on the construction coverings

One last stop our guide said, at the Cathedral.  It was massive, even drawing from me as we rounded the corner an "Oh My" out loud, to which Martin (our guide) replied, "I've lived here for years and I'm STILL impressed!" Because it was Easter Sunday and masses were going on we could not go inside, and I was disappointed for everyone on the tour because I'd seen how beautiful it was inside in December with my niece (photos from THAT visit follow).

The Cathedral Tower

The massive Cathedral doors

Two shots of the inside of the Cathedral from December visit

As we headed back to the bus and to the ship I remarked to Kim that I was 99.9% sure that we'd missed out on what I thought was the coolest part of the walking tour.  And once we returned to the ship I pulled up the files from our Christmas Market trip and yes, I was right.  In Antwerp they have a series of hidden passages that connect buildings and courtyards much like the "tribuels" in Lyon.  I thought, in December it was so interesting to wind our way around through these passages.  But no mention of them at all today, sigh..... never know what the day's guides will and will not think are significant.

The "secret passages" of Antwerp - from our December visit

Tomorrow we have an ultra-full day ..... more than ten hours as we visit Flanders Field in the first part of the day, stop for lunch, and then visit medieval Bruges, Belgium which was one of my favorite stops on the Christmas Markets trip in December - anxious to show it to Kim!

Racing Recap

Yesterday, Saturday April 8 was a big day of racing with key prep races for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.  My initial thought was to handicap Keeneland - with their Grade 1 Bluegrass as the feature, Aqueduct - with their Grade 2 Wood Memorial featured, and Santa Anita - with the featured Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby.  But once we were in Europe I was not nearly as interested in devoting that much time to racing while "on holiday."  So, I then decided I'd bet just a couple of the big races based on horses I was familiar with.  Finally, on Friday we had all afternoon off basically so I decided to handicap both the Keeneland and Aqueduct cards, and play a single race from Santa Anita.  You probably are wondering......if this all took place on Saturday April 8th, why is this part of the journal for Sunday April 9.  How many of you are clever enough to know the answer....raise your hand!  Well, it's because when racing began at around noon on Saturday it was dinner time here and by the time the big races were running it was after midnight (on April 9th for me) here in Europe.  So I didn't know how the races turned out until today!  I'd selected fourteen races that I was interested enough to place bets on through my TwinSpires account (using this platform for the spring-summer-fall after using Xpressbet for the winter meet where my rewards card is good AT Gulfstream).  In three of the first five races I'd made a selection I was my pick run 2nd.  11th and 5th in the other two, the latter the Grade 3 Gazelle at Aqueduct as a prep for the Kentucky Oaks where the winner was $55 payoff for a $2 bet - shades of the Gulfstream winter meet!  Is this how the spring & summer are going to go I wondered.  I was fifth in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland after setting the pace through the opening half mile.  The sixth at Aqueduct was the Grade 3 Bayshore and my choice pressed the pace, got briefly to the front but was outfinished and ran fifth.  Back at Keeneland I ran a non-threatening fifth in the Grade 3 Appalachian on the turf for 3yo.  My first score of the day came with my BET of the DAY in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland which marked the return to racing of Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint champion Goodnight Olive.  It seemed clear to me that trainer Chad Brown had circled this date right after winning the World Championship prize that cinched the Eclipse Award for Best Female Sprinter.  Broke sharply but settled back off the dueling leaders to the turn.  Shifted three-wide into the clear on the turn and inhaled the front runners to open a clear lead turning for home.  Drove home while holding the closing runner-up safe with my big bet on board and I had my first winner of the spring season!

By the time my next selection was heading to the gate I was fast asleep after 11 pm Europe time.  So I went to bed with nine races in the books and a single win (at least it was the BEST of the Day), three seconds and a third.  A less than auspicious start to the spring season.  We were up around 7 am Europe time (which would be 1 am EST) and the first thing I did was check the Florida Panthers score - won for the SIXTH straight time and with two games remaining are in control of our own destiny to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.  It just may come down to the final game on Thursday which will be home, on the day we arrive.  We have plans to go directly from the airport to the game!  At any rate the second thing I did was check the racing results.  Next on the sheet was the 9th from Aqueduct, an entry level turf event.  Veronica Green from the Chad Brown barn was my pick.  These kind of allowance races are difficult to win, but the prototype of the most common winners is one that won their maiden early and then have a good effort against winners.  'Veronica had been a just miss 2nd in her turf debut (after two "ok" dirt sprints), then won decisively.  Her first try against winners had been a sharp try 3rd in the Winter Memories Stakes behind a filly that exited to run well in a Grade 1 out west.  Made her on the turn some four wide....five wide into the lane and drew off through the final 16th for my 2nd win.

Next up was the big one at Keeneland, the Grade 1 Bluegrass, a key Kentucky Derby prep.  Todd Pletcher's Taprit Twice has looked very sharp in an allowance win and then in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby.  But (a) his speed figures didn't give him a decisive edge and he's got a habit of starting slowly and rallying from far back.  I felt he was clearly the one to beat but didn't have enough of an edge to make him more than a minimum bet.  Moved early to reach fourth heading into the far turn.  Collared the leader turning for home and the two dueled the length of the stretch before edging clear late to score for my third victory in a row!

The tenth at Keeneland was another entry level allowance, this one a six furlong sprint for 3yo.  Nearly always when a thoroughbred wins at first asking, going wire-to-wire and draws off impressively they are over bet in their first try against winners.  Facing pace pressure and a faster early pace almost always does them in unless they are very talented.  Such appeared, at first glance to be the case with Brad Cox's Squire Creek who'd drawn off impressively at the Fair Grounds with a stakes-like speed figure of 89.  I was debating about the bet when I read the DRF analysis and the handicapper noted that trainer Cox was 13/9-1-0 with second time starters in a dirt sprint....and he'd won five straight like that of late.  And over the last two years he was 5/3-1-0 with that kind of runner here in Lexington.  Right to the front to a daylight lead and held the field safe by a little more than a length under the wire....make it four in a row!

Finally missed when Dreamlike ran 3rd in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial for 3yo on the Derby trail.  Closed out the day with the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks.  Interestingly, this race - because it was out west went off at nearly 8:30 EST which was 2:30 am here in Europe.  Bob Baffert's Fazia was unbeaten in four straight starts, but her Beyer figures were not anything special.  Still, she apparently just loves to win.  Tracked the leaders to the far turn, swept to the front and turning for home opened up to win by nearly a pole while under wraps.  She's on her way to the Kentucky Oaks for sure!

So for the first day of the Spring season I was 5-for-14, an excellent 35% but I had fallen short of breaking even by $1.50.  BUT WAIT......now that I'm using TwinSpires for my online betting, they often offer promotions with a money-back if you run 2nd or 3rd.  Such was the case with most of the stakes races around the country today.  In both the Grade 3 Bayshore at Aqueduct and the Grade 2 Wood at Aqueduct my horses qualified (3rd in both) - so I got my money back!  So the final stats for the day saw me CASH tickets in 7-of-14 selections, a superb, 50% and showed a flat bet profit of a little under $10 on the day!  WHOOO HOOO.

There are some good races at Keeneland next Saturday so I'll have some bets as we now look forward to the first Saturday in May!