Travel Blog: Rhine to Arnhem

We began the day in typical fashion. After checking out, we walked down to the boat landing where our river cruise was to depart. We had about an hour to kill, so I tried to snatch WiFi in the same spot we had snatched it yesterday. The network was nowhere to be found.

We boarded our cruise ship and grabbed a couple sunny spots on the deck. It was quite a bit chillier on the water. I forgot that the Rhine flows north, so we will be traveling downstream toward Cologne.

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Our ship departed Bacharach at 10:15 am, and it is scheduled to arrive in Cologne at 8:00 pm. Hmmm… that might be a little too much boat cruise for me. We may get off at Koblenz instead and take a train from there. Our boat is scheduled to arrive in Koblenz at 1:10 pm.

On the stretch from Bacharach to Koblenz, we saw numerous castles, vineyards, and a hang glider. We also passed by the famous Loreley Rock.

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At Koblenz, we got off the boat. There were too many picture-taking tourists (like me) and silver-haired folk for my liking.

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By this time, we were quite hungry. We stopped at a nice sit-down restaurant and sat down on the patio. The server came by several times, tending to other tables. We sat there for about 15 minutes until another couple sat down at a table near us. They were greeted and presented menus within minutes. What is up with that? The server must not have liked the looks of us with our backpacks and my scruffy beard. I sense that we are not wanted here. We got up and left immediately.

The train station was a short bus ride away. Near the station were several casual restaurants. We found a place that was more our style. We ate lunch, then looked around for an Internet café. It is like a never-ending quest, trying to find Internet.

We never did find an Internet café in Koblenz, so we hopped a train for Cologne. At Cologne, we immediately hopped another train toward Amsterdam. Today is April 29, so it is the eve of Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day) in the Netherlands. Our goal is to make it to Arnhem or Utrecht before dark.

Our train to Amsterdam was very large and nearly full. Right near the Germany, Netherlands border the train stopped. After a few minutes, an announcement was made that there were some battery problems, but we would be on our way in about ten minutes. Twenty to thirty minutes passed and another announcement was made. We were told that the train we were riding is not allowed to enter the Netherlands, so we have to disembark and board a different train that they are sending. That train wouldn’t arrive for another twenty minutes. As an alternative, a smaller local train will be coming by shortly that will go to Arnhem, then we can make connections from there. Of course, everyone wanted to get on the local train, so it was packed. Fortunately, Arnhem was only a short distance away.

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We decided to stay in Arnhem for the night. We checked into a hotel right near the train station then went out to soak up the festivities on the eve of Koninginnedag.

Wow! This is awesome! There is music and people everywhere. It looks like the entire city is taking part in the festivities. Darcy and I walked through the city center and there were probably seven different musical acts or DJs that we passed by. There was everything from pop to techno to disco to folk.

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I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like this in the States. Yes, I have seen large parties and festivals, but they are usually concentrated at a single venue. This party stretches through the streets of the entire city. I guess you probably would never see anything like this in the States simply because we do not have compact walkable cities. A party like this would require shutting down an entire downtown to auto traffic. Not likely, and even if it happened the setting would not be the same. In one of my favorite locations, a small stage was set up in a tiny street about fifteen feet wide. It was like a little alley concert.

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We walked, we drank, we watched a lady in white tights dance to funk music, we listened to a band cover the Bee Gees, we listened to another band cover Bob Dylan. It was a great time. I also had my first experience with a portable urinal device. Pretty gross, but very utilitarian.