August 13, 1984 - Day 13
HOLLAND - GERMANY
Amsterdam, Holland - Euromotel E.9
An early wake-up call found many of the group members gathered in the lounge to watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, which was an impressive sight. Some of the group had gone in to breakfast early, and tried to smuggle out some makeshift sandwiches, however these “smugglers“ were caught and had to eat what they had wrapped as penance. Ma and I managed to get away with the same tactic, having arrived after this mass movement to convert the buffet into take-away: two slices of ham into a croissant, the whole bundled into my overcoat pocket (not without pangs of guilt, mind you).
Earl mentioned at the foyer and on the bus that we weren't to think that today's breakfast was the real Continental service, and that we'd actually been spoilt by the hotel by the variety of foods available at the buffet.
Amsterdam, Holland - Cologne, Germany
There was a great deal of good-natured banter all the way to Cologne about who came in late from the red-light district last night; everyone knows everyone else's name now. When Earl brought up the subject of the optional Rhine cruise, he met with universal agreement from the group.
At the border stop, we were let out to change money and use the washrooms. Since the comfort room for the ladies was crowded, the OIC (an ex-prison matron, for sure) sent some of the women into the *men's* room! As is the custom in Europe, we had to pay a nominal fee for the use of the washrooms. I guess this is for the upkeep and augments the salary of the “Madame”. Back in Brussels, though, we women used the tactic of one coin, taking turns keeping the door open upon exiting from the stall, while the “Madame” was occupied elsewhere.
We pulled into Cologne with strict instructions about getting back to the bus within two hours, so that we could catch the 1330H Rhine River cruise. That meant very little time to check out the cathedral and have lunch. The cathedral, we were told, was very nearly the only structure left standing after the carpet-bombings of World War II. The Allied pilots were under strict orders to spare the church and its beautiful twin spires - such an obvious landmark!
Ma and I literally nipped into the Cathedral and kept to the main aisle. One quick look at the vaulted ceiling and the stained glass windows; then out to the closest place to get a fast meal - the local McDonald's! I practiced my basic German with modest success, and we made an al fresco meal of it, watching all the people go by. Then, after bolting down our meal and a quick trip to the washrooms, we got ourselves back on the bus.
Unfortunately, this is where it was discovered that two of our Taiwanese girls were missing. When Diana and Francy didn't show up after more than 15 minutes, everyone on the bus started worrying about where they could have gone. We were not to know until later that Diana decided she wanted a panoramic view of Cologne, so she climbed up the cathedral spire (!!) to get it, dragging unwilling Francy along with her for company. On their way down, Diana got totally disoriented and couldn't find her way back to the bus!
Earl, bless him, was *extremely* calm about the whole situation. There was no lack of volunteer effort to help him find the lost ones; Frank, Basil, Joe and Keith offered their services to help search the square, rightly reasoning that there would be better progress with more of them involved in the search. Earl went off with Basil while Bart took the rest of us, round the block in the bus. After completing one full circuit, Earl arrived with Diana and Francy, who was weeping in embarrassment as the bus heaved a collective sigh of relief and clucked in disapproval, There were cooing sounds of consolation for Francy, profuse with apologies from underneath her overcoat; while Diana could hardly say a word and thus got hardly any sympathy at all on the way down to the Rhine.
Rhine River Cruise - St. Goar - Koblenz
Naturally, we missed the first boat. We did manage to get on the 1500H boat, thanks to providence and some persuasiveness from Earl's end. After all the excitement, it was a lovely afternoon on the river. My favorite spot, strangely enough, was not the Lorelei Rock. It was the little church that actually had a working pub attached to it - one presumes that after the good dominee gave thundering sermons, the men would then sink into contemplation over their steins of lager beer.
Earl spent most of the cruise solacing himself with a bottle of delicious Rhine wine belowdecks. Naturally, as tour director, it was supposed to be his quiet time; but everyone took turns helping him unwind, and it wasn't long before his soft chuckles filled the room as folks commended him on his calm way of handling things.
We disembarked at St. Goar, re-boarded the bus to follow the Rhine banks past Koblenz, which is German for “confluence“. It's the point where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers meet, and just a little distance from Mannheim, where we would be spending the night.
Mannheim, Germany - Novotel
Earl had us on the lookout for the hotel, and no sooner had the words left his mouth when Bart turned into the driveway. Basil, Joe and I took a little time to thank Bart for playing “Hooked on Classics“ on the drive down to Mannheim - one of my personal favorites in music. This was the point where Bart managed to mellow out enough to mingle and crack a few jokes before we were called in to dinner.
Dinner : chicken, again! But served hot and with generous sidings, so not a disappointment after a long day.
For the record, this hotel serves *humungous* dessert cups! At least a quarter-kilo of ice-cream in each cup - no, *bowl* is more like it - and that doesn't even include the syrup and barquillos. Shirley, Evelyn, Ma and I watched the waitress go by with TWO, and burst into giggles as our eyes met; we had seen the generously-built German man who had ordered one, and marvelled at his capacity. Serious thought was given to buying one and sharing, but the suspected calorie count was formidable, so we discarded that notion.
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