THE VIKING JARL RIVERBOAT
Our
dinner companions included 88 year old Margaret and her daughter, Linda, a recently
retired teacher. Those two women are taking several cruises this year and did
the same last year. Then, next year, per Margaret’s request, they hired 18
“Sherpas” to carry their stuff and lead them into gorilla territory in Uganda.
Speaking of bucket lists! Margaret’s secret to her impressive vitality? A shot
of extra virgin olive oil each day (She did two full shot glasses this night to make up for a miss).
My dream come true, we danced in the lounge while Tony
played our requests on the keyboard. We were the first to the dance floor, so
they offered us free drinks. Dancing lessons have been requested by some of the observers. It’s lovely being so indulged.
Rain raised our boat in this canal, so we’ll be on our way back
to Nuremberg. Our cabin is comfortable and roomy with fresh flowers! It comes
with gingerbread cookies, fresh pears, and Champagne.
Our guide for the historic Nuremberg walking tour is a
sociologist who earns more money as a tour guide than teaching at university.
We rode on a bus through outlying neighborhoods to the grounds where the Nazi
rallies were staged. It sends a chill through us to recognize Zeppelin Field
and the austere building where Hitler stood to address the people. We drove
past the building where the Nazi trials took place. Nearby streets are renamed for famous
Israelis and Israeli Presidents.
A huge complex once the Headquarters of the SS is now housing and helping refugees. Another Nazi building was bought by
Burger King! German children study the Nazi years in 7th and 8th
grade and are required to visit the famous Dachau concentration camp.
We visited the Imperial Castle, then
walked down to the KinderMarkt , a Christmas Market with children in mind. It
is charmingly decorated with articulated figures. There is a two-story
merry-go-round, a wooden crèche scene, a child-sized ferris wheel, and children
excitedly dashing from place to place. This provided some relief from our
somber contemplation of the Nazi horrors.
There are Christmas Market booths selling goodies from each of
Nuremberg’s Sister Cities. It was pleasant and surprising to see Atlanta
Georgia amongst them! As we strolled towards our bus, just in case I might
never see another white chocolate and milk chocolate covered banana, I had
another one today. Mike lost his cap somewhere in Italy so purchased a new one at the Schottland (Scotland) Booth.
The sunset colors shone in between the lacey woods along the
canal as we left Roth and sailed along, watching a gingerbread making lesson
and sipping tea or hot chocolate with a few drops of schnapps. Tough life,
this!
Another romantic night dancing with Mike and admiring the other dancers- one whose family business is dance school. Tony, the pianist, has 40,000 songs on his computer. He plays along and sings.
Another romantic night dancing with Mike and admiring the other dancers- one whose family business is dance school. Tony, the pianist, has 40,000 songs on his computer. He plays along and sings.
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