2019 - Barcelona

 Port of Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

BARCELONA! SURELY one of my favorite places in the world. Fun. Lots to do. Lots to see. On this cruise, we had an overnight stay there. Even better. In 2015, we spent several days in Barcelona. We got to see and do almost everything we wanted to. Our only negative on that visit was Parc Guell. We had tickets and on the day we went, within minutes of our entering the grounds, we got absolutely hammered with a rainstorm. Not just a short one. After attempting to wait it out for while, we gave up.

Parc Guell - Barcelona, Spain
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SO, ONE of our primary planned events on this trip was a "re-do" of the Parc Guell excursion. This time, we booked a guide to take us around as part of a small group. Ironically, I took a few more "meaningful" shots of the park on the "rain-soaked" occasion than on this one. The "park" is kind of unique architecturally, but the parts that are remarkable and photogenic are somewhat limited - mainly to the buildings at the entrance. Eusebi Guell was a wealthy Catalan industrialist and patron of the arts in Barcelona. A contemporary of Antoni Gaudi, he contracted with Gaudi to develop a private housing development on a hill overlooking Barcelona. Originally, 60 housing lots were planned. Aside from a pre-existing home (which Guell purchased and moved into), only 2 other homes were ever completed. The idea (and rationale for calling it "Park") was the English Garden City urban planning movement, which included parks and gardens as part of the planned ("utopian"?) urban environment. Park Guell incorporated a library, park, sporting event facilities, interspersed with gardens and landscaping elements.

Architectural artistic elements in the design of one of the main building in Parc Guell - Barcelona, Spain
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WHILE THE first glance reveals an almost "smurfish" look to the buildings, in my view, it is often in the fine details that Gaudi's genious comes out. All of Parc Guell - much like a substantial part of Barcelona - was designed and created in Gaudi's unique style incorporating the shapes and materials of nature, sprinkled with bold colors. It was only when I started looking more closely at some of those details, that an image like the one above revealed itself to me. Today, Parc Guell is a municipal park/garden and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Port of Barcelona
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FOLLOWING OUR afternoon at Parc Guell, we headed back to the cities old Gothic Quarter, just a short walk from the cruise shuttle drop off point (all within easy view of the our cruise port/ship). We had scheduled a walking/food tour of the quarter, which involved our guide taking us through 500 years of history and ending at a couple local spots to try some of the local tapas foods. Lots of fun, and kind of cool to walk around the almost eerie lamplit narrow streets and alleyways. Being a night, walking event, I didn't really make many photographs of this one. I did, however, find some time to dig out the travel tripod, and make some night images of the Barcelona Cruise port from the deck of the ship after we returned from the day's events.

Magic Carpet - Celebrity Edge - Barcelona, Spain
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I WAS up and out on deck before sunrise the following morning, too, to make an image or two that I had imagined the night before.

Sunrise, Port of Barcelona
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THINKING THAT we had seen an awful lot of the city, my wife found - and booked - an excursion that would take us out of the city some 30 miles north and into the mountains: Montserrat. Montserrat is a mountain range ("Montserrat" meaning "serrated mountain"). All by itself it is a popular climbing and hiking destination.

Montserrat - Barcelona, Spain
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BUT PERHAPS the real attraction for some 2 million annual visitors is the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, a renowned Benedictine Abbey and mountaintop sanctuary surrounded by the gorgeous Montserrat Natural Park.

Basillica - Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey
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THE SETTING for the Abbey could not be more dramatic. On the grounds there is a beautiful basilica, that houses one of only a very few rare black madonnas in Europe. Visitors line up to see it. The other attraction is Escolania de Montserrat one of the oldest (and very talented) boy's choirs in Europe.

Santa Maria de Montserrat
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OUR EXCURSION that day was planned to include a visit to a nearby Catalan vineyard for some wine tasting. Unfortunately for us, that didn't happen. Spain is unofficially divided into several of what they denominate: "autonomous regions." A couple of them, for lack of a better word, I will call "ethnic" regions. The two perhaps best known are the Basques and the Catalonians. Barcelona is the main city of the Catalonian (once the separate kingdom of Catalan) region, probably the most economically powerful of them. Over the years they (like the Basques) have fiercely maintained their individualism, including having Catalonian one of two "official" languages of the region (the other being Spanish, of course). During the two-day period we were in Barcelona, as they do periodically, the Catalonians were staging a demonstration in the central part of Barcelona, which is also immediately adjacent to the cruise port. This demonstration involved Catalonian separarist supporters walking into the city from far and wide (in some cases a multiple day walk), and it was planned to culminate in the afternoon of our second day there. It was making our tour guide (understandably) nervous, as our ship was to leave the port that day and we had an all-aboard time. He had been watching traffic and communicating with his company and other guides all day. As we boarded our vehicle for the next stop, he informed us that he had made the difficult decision to cancel the rest of the tour and make our way back to the port as fast as possible. A lot of us thought he was being hasty. It turns out his judgment was spot on. We did get back - in heavy traffic - to the port in the early afternoon. These demonstrations have always been peaceful, so he had no concern for our saftey. His concern was that the roads and streets would eventually be so clogged with demonstrators that traffic would be at a standstill. His prediction was correct. We headed back to our favorite Sunset Bar smoking area and were joined by some of our new "friends." But not all of them. As we sat and watched, we saw the streets become mobbed with people and realized we were fortunate. A couple of folks who showed up much later, told us they had to abandon their transport and walk back to the ship - in some instances a couple miles or so. The ship was late to leave port that evening. For us - safely back aboard - it was fascinating and almost kind of a party. Certainly a memory.

2019 - Mallorca

Early Morning Dawn - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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MALLORCA IS, as the crow flies, some 500 miles across the sea from Naples. The crow can fly right over the center of Sardenia. A cruise ship cannot. 😊 We had to jog south and then back north to miss Sardenia. So a couple of "at sea" days were in order. By the time we arrived in the early morning 2 days later, we were rested and ready for another port adventure. We had signed up for an excursion that would take us first to a short tour around Palma, stopping at the uniquely circular, Castell de Bellver, high above the cruise port. I made the opening image here from up at Castel Bellver. The Gothic Style castle was built for King James II (son of King James I of Aragon), of Mallorca in the 14th Century. It was later used for a Military Prison. Today it serves as the history museum for Palma.

Castell de Bellver - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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AFTER SPENDING some time walking around the Castle, we headed up into the mountains, to the very old village of Valdemossa, and The Royal Carthusian Monastery. Valdemossa is about 10 miles north from the cruise port, nearly to the northern edge of Mallorca. Originally settled by the Moors, the Monastery and the village came about after the Romans re-captured the island from the Moors in the early 13th Century. Mallorca was thereafter ruled by the Kingdom of Aragon and later Aragon and Castile. The Monastery was originally a Royal Palace, but was donated to the Carthusian Order in 1399.

Valdemossa - Mallorca, Spain
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THE BUILDINGS in Valldamossa range from Medieval Gothic to Gothic Revival during and after the Rennaissance.

Monastery at Valldemossa - Mallorca, Spain
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MALLORCA, AND especially Valldemossa is also known for its unique pastry: a Potato-flour sweet bun known as Coca de Patata. There are a couple cafes in Valldemossa that are famous for the pastry, and our tour guide took us to the one below, where we tried them, along with a cup of coffee. Pretty good.

Sa Foganya Cafe, where we tried the Coca de Patata
Valldemossa - Mallorca, Spain
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PERHAPS THE most famous thing about Valldemossa is the residency of George Sand, one of the world's earliest celebrated feminists. The French citizen Sand was a prolific writer and critic of the institution of marriage, among other things. She was an early adopter of "non-binary" pronouns. But it wasn't even really her that is what is famous about Valldemossa. It is her perhaps more famous partner and presumed lover: composer Frederic Chopin. The Polish born Chopin was a celebrated composer and pianist. He suffered from a chronic respiratory condition (at one time misdiagnosed as Tuberculosis - it is historically probable that he never had TB). Physicians of the time strongly suggested that he reside in the temperate climate offered by Mallorca - particularly during the harsh winter months. He spent several years living and composing at the Monastery. While we were there, we were treated to a 15 minute concert using Chopin's piano and a pianist in period costume.

Inside the Monastery - Valldemossa - Mallorca, Spain
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BACK IN Palma, our tour dropped us off near the huge, statuesque Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, and we walked around the grounds and inside. The cathedral faces the ocean, adjacent to the Port of Palma. Fronting the massive church is a rather large reflecting pool, making for a majestic view from and around the church grounds. Originally built around the early 13th century, the Cathedral was renovated in the early 1900's, resulting in the impressive, modern-day, neo-Gothic facade.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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THE INTERIOR of the Cathedral is very ornate. At some point during the reconstruction of the church the original architect hired for it found himself at odds with the church and ultimately, they hired famed Catalon architect from Barcelona: Antoni Gaudi to finish. We learned a lot about Gaudi on our "Gaudi" tour in 2015 and you can really see his nature mixed with Art Deco and Neo-Gothic touches in the churches interior spaces.

The interior of The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma
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NOT KNOWING much about Mallorca, I didn't expect much from this stop. But it turned out to be one of the more interesting ones. That evening, we would make the short cruise over to Barcelona, where we would have one of the relatively rare overnight stays.

2019 - The Isle of Capri

Capri, Italy

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THE PORT of Naples is one we have become quite familiar with. Ironically, we have never really explored the city of Naples. I am confident that we will land there again one day, and maybe we will make it a point to explore Naples then. But in the meantime, Naples is downcoast from Rome/Civitavecchia about 150 miles, and is one of the ports along the Italian coast that offers the most alternative excursion and exploration opportunities. The Amalfi Coast, the ancient ruins of Pompei and Herculaneum, the Isle of Capri, are all popular points of interest that are easily reached from Naples.

Funicular Piazza - Capri, Italy
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OUR FIRST time in Naples was in 2013. It was a planned stop on our Royal Princess Cruise that was aborted just before that stop because of serious mechanical issues. We had a private driver/tour of the Amalfi Coast scheduled. As a photographer, having done my research, I was really looking forward to that day! As things turned out we instead, limped into Naples at midnight a day late, and our tour operators could not accomodate us the next day on such short notice. However, we did get find a way to get down the coast, hiring a taxi for the day. Perhaps not as good as we had hoped, but nonetheless a memorable experience. Then, in 2017, we made it back (with our good friends, Paul and Linda on the Celebrity Reflection) and got that guided tour. So we had already seen the Amalfi Coast two times. For some (inexplicable) reason, I had never been warm to the whole Pompei thing. So, hearing that Capri was beautiful and a destination for the "rich and famous," we bought a ferry ticket and headed over there.

Capri Seaport - Capri, Italy
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IN SOME ways, Capri reminded me a bit of Santorini, in the sense that the port was at sea level and the main part of the island was high about the port. You take a funicular up to the main "funicular piazza," which serves as the main center of Capri, housing, among other things, its municipal headquarters.

Capri, Italy
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FROM THERE, there are many footpaths (there did not appear to be any private vehicles) to different spots. All are beautiful. All are "ritzy." There are hotels and cafes and shops and none of them were the cheap souvenir shops you often see at these kinds of places. It was also tranquil. We spent a nice day walking around, had a nice light lunch at a sidewalk cafe, took a whole bunch of photos, and eventually made our way back to the funicular plaza.

Capri, Italy
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ONE OF the consistent facets of cruising is that when you land in a port, there is an "all aboard" time that is pretty firm. If you don't make it back to the ship (unless you are on a cruiseline sponsored excursion), they will not wait for you. We have had a couple what felt like to us at the time, "close calls." The first one was one I mentioned with our Celebrity Reflection cruise with Paul and Linda at Malta. This time it was a bit more nerve wracking. It is generally pretty easy to get ferry tickets in these Mediterranean spots. We just walked up and purchased tickets for the trip over to Capri. The tickets were timed, and knowing we had the whole day ashore, and not knowing how long we might want to stay, we did not purchase a return ticket. The boats left for the mainland (Naples) at regular intervals (every 30 minutes or so). We got off the Funicular with 20 - 25 minutes to spare before the next ferry and I got in line to get our tickets. As I reached the front of the line, they put up the sold out sign. We would have to wait 45 minutes or so for the next one. Add the approximately 1 hour ride back to the mainland and we were cutting it awfully close to the all aboard time. Like within minutes. All we could do was wait and hope the next one was on time and there were no delays. As it turned out, things ran on time and we landed and were walking toward our ship with about 10 minutes left. Fortunately, the ship was only about 5 minutes away from the ferry landing. As we walked toward our ship we could see we weren't the only ones in that predicament. Those times have taught us to be a bit more aware of the timing of things that may or may not be within our control. It simply hadn't occured to us that the later ferries would begin to sell out.

Capri, Italy
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ALL WORKED out in the end and we were back aboard in time to join our newest friends, Rob and Carol for dinner. The next couple days would be relaxing days at sea, with the warm, Mediterranean sunshine keeping us comfortable. Next stop: Mallorca.

2019 - "Italian Riviera"

Celebrity Edge
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MY WIFE rarely makes an impulsive decision.  She is, however, always on the lookout for a good cruise and - if possible - combined with a good deal. And if there is an area where she might be impulsive from time to time, it is travel and particularly, cruising.  There have been 2 times when she has kind of "surprised" me with a major cruise. I haven't regretted either. The first time was our first Celebrity cruise, to the Caribbean, with the O'Brien Estate wine group. It was not only our first Celebrity Cruise (The Celebrity Reflection - which we have now been on 5 times - has taken its place as my personal favorite cruise ship), but our first cruise on our own. We had planned our previous two cruises with family members. We would continue to cruise with family or friends whenever we could. But we learned from that one that we were perfectly fine to venture out on our own, making a couple permanent new friends, and firming up relationship Bart and Barb O'Brien, who we would travel with again a couple more times (including two more upcoming trips in 2027 and 2028).

The Magic Carpet - Celebrity Edge Class Ships
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THE SECOND "surprise" was this cruise. We had developed a pattern at first of a cruise every other year or so. Sometimes 2 in one year (a warm-weather Caribbean and someplace in Europe). Even then it was not an every year kind of thing. We had never done two (in either venue) in the same year. This time, I came home from work one day and she put it in front of me and said "I signed us up for this one." I looked at her with some surprise. We had just finished one in June, and this would be October. Of the same year! That kind of thing no longer surprises me, but it was a first for us in 2019. It was also the third time we would head out for a cruise on our own.

Capri, Italy
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THIS WAS our first time sailing on Celebrity's "Edge" class ship, their newest class. The first in the class was The Celebrity Edge, which had been in service for just under a year, having made its first voyage in December of 2018. We have, since then, sailed on Edge Class ships many times, including the Edge, Apex, Beyond and Ascent (and will do so again for sure). We have gotten pretty familiar with this class of ships and feel very comfortable sailing on them. There were a couple major changes from the prior Solstice Class (itself considered a unique and modern class of ships - which included my favorite: The Celebrity Reflection). It was considered an innovative design. The most prominent feature is the orange "elevator" on the outside starboard side of the ship, just about amidships. Sharing duties as an outside bar and occasional tender point (when the point of exit or entry was not on the primary tender/entrance deck), it is a feature that makes any Edge Class ship immediately identifiable, even from a distance. Called "The Magic Carpet," this feature hangs around on the pool deck most of the time when not being used as a point of ingress/egress.

Manarola (Cinque Terre) - Italy
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ONCE AGAIN, that cruise proved to be a great friend-making opportunity, and a whole lot of fun. We met an handful of other couples, several of whom we have kept in touch with. Perhaps best of all, one of those couples was none other than Rob and Carole Cook, from Manchester England. Since then we have met up with them in Liverpool in 2023, and then again in London just this past year, when we spent several days with them, sightseeing, eating, drinking and just overall enjoying each other's company. We spent some time with them on this cruise, too, so we knew we would enjoy hanging out together in the future.

Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma - Palma de Mallorca
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WE ALSO thoroughly enjoyed the itinerary on this one. This one was dubbed: "The Italian Riviera." Once again, I had never really given those names a lot of thought. Most people know of the "French Riviera." The Italian Riviera was new to me. I learned, though, on one of our excursions the the word "riviera" means roughly: "where the land meets the sea." So it is reasonable that where the French coastline transitions into the Italian coastline along the northern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, it should also transition from "French" to "Italian" Riviera. Starting from Civitavechhia, we stopped first in Naples, and then spent a couple "at sea" days as we sailed across the northern part of the Mediterranean (Tyrrhenian Sea), to the small, Spanish Island of Mallorca. From there, we made an overnight stop in Barcelona, and then proceeded up the "riviera" coastline to Monaco, Santa Margherita/Portofino and finally stopping in La Spezia before finishing the cruise back in Civitavecchia.

Port of Barcelona, Spain
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WE FLEW into Fiumicino, the airport for Rome/Civitavechhia. We did not plan any time on land this time, going directly to Civitavechhia and boarding our cruise ship. That is not - by the way - something I recommend, for various reasons. But it was what we did this time. Once on board, I immediately began comparing ships. I really missed my traditional "Sunset Bar" with its adjacent cigar smoking area. But the Edge ships had actually expanded the smoking area a bit with ample seating and an open deck. That has its pros and cons, but on this voyage, it was mostly pro, as the weather cooperated. And the new Sunset Bar smoking area was where we would meet most of our new friends on this cruise. And, after our first stop the next day, we had a couple "at sea" days for me to get acclimated to this new setup. As a side note for cigar smokers (readers here probably know I have a "thing" for cigars and cruises 😀), I have posited over numerous blogs that Celebrity is the most "cigar-friendly" cruise line. In addition to their great Sunset Bar areas (on the Edge and Solstice classes), I was to much later (another cruise) learn that on the Edge class ships, there is another area in the mezzanine level just above the pool on the starboard side of the ship that is covered and partly sheltered from the wind. Also on the Edge, there is a small, but cozy area outside the Eden complex on the rear of the ship, this time on the port side. But for now, I grew comfortable on the Sunset Bar Cigar/smoking deck (in fairness none of these areas are exclusively "cigar." They are smoking areas).

Smoking area adjacent to the Sunset Bar on the Celebrity Edge and Apex
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THIS WAS one of the most fun and memorable cruises we have taken. I hope you will travel on with us.

IN JUST 2 days, we leave for Europe once again; this time on a new cruising venue for us: a Viking River Cruise (longboat), splitting our time on the Rhone in the south of France and the Seine in the north. There are some substantial differences between river and ocean cruising, and we look forward to our new adventure - and I will most certainly report back here evenually. For now, I will be absent for the next couple weeks. See you when we return, a resume the Cruise Journey through the years.

2019 - Amsterdam

Known for their unique front gables, narrow rowhouses line the canals in Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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THIS WAS our first visit to Amsterdam. There would be a couple more that would be more in-depth, but in this case, it was the termination point of the cruise, and we only scheduled the day we arrived (flying out of Amsterdam's Schipol early the next morning). No tours or excursions, but we made the most of it, walking around much of the quite "walkable" city. Originally settled by various germanic tribes, the area that encompasses today's Netherlands didn't really come about until the 1800's following The Reformation. Previously part of the Roman Empire, the combined lands of what are now Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemborg, after the defeat of Napolean in about 1815, became The United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The entire area is heavily influenced by substantial coastal land along the North Sea and down the coast on the English Channel. Many of Central Europe's major rivers (and later canals and waterways) ultimately flow into the ocean there, making the entire geographic region strategically important - particularly for trade. Around 1830, Belgium, which remained primarily Catholic, split away from the region which ultimately became three different sovereign nations: The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemborg.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
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THE NETHERLANDS remained neutral during WWI and tried valiantly to remain so during WWII, but were disingenously invaded by the Nazis, who occupied Rotterdam and Amsterdam during the war. Pre-war, however, the area, and in particular Amsterdam, became one of the world's most important and dominant trade and financial centers. Many of the later "new world" explorations originated out of (privately-owned) Dutch corporations like Dutch East Indies Company (South Africa) and the Dutch West India Company (U.S. and the Caribbean), who in the beginning, dominated these regions. There are still a number of Dutch - controlled, popular Caribbean islands, like St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. For a time, the Dutch also dominated the seas around the world.

Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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AMSTERDAM'S ARCHITECTURE is an interesting mix. The old city center along the canals and the Amstel River are lined with 17th Century "Canal Houses;" narrow houses built in neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival buildings noted for their unique gabled roofs, separating one from another in terms of their looks. Note that most of them have a hook near the top that was used to lift cargo up into the upper stories. These homes were often a combination of residence and commerce. The world famous Rijksmuseum is a wonderful example of Rennaissance Revival/neo-Gothic architectue. As you move out from the city, you start to see more modern touches, including some Art Deco, "Amsterdam School Expressionist," and more modern archictecture. Much of the landscape is - of course - adorned by colorful flowers. Most of us know that the Netherlands (Holland) is especially noted for flowers, and in particular, tulips.

Landscaping around the Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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DURING THE Nazi occupation more Jewish persons were sent away to concentration camps than anywhere else in the world (roughly 105,000 of the roughly 140,000 residing there). The majority of them were murdered in concentration camps. In 2022, my wife and I spent several days in Amsterdam prior to our Celebrity Apex Baltic Cruise. We spent one of our days visiting the Anne Frank house and taking a very intense, interesting and heart-rending tour and histsory of Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
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BUT ON this trip, by the time we had disembarked The Reflection and gotten our luggage squared away in hour hotel, we really only had an afternoon. So we mostly walked around. Mostly in the old city around the canals.

DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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SEVERAL OF the prominent cities in the Netherlands end with "dam" (e.g., Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Zaandam). I am not sure I ever put that together before our second visit there, a couple years hence, during  one of our walking tours. But there is a (perhaps obvious) reason. Each of them originated at or near the point of a damn on a significant river (in the case of Amsterdam, the Amstel River). Nearby Rotterdam is on the Rotte River. Both the Amstel and The Rotte are relatively major rivers connecting parts of Europe to the North Sea, making them logical points to set up trading centers. By the late 19th Century, a`s commerce and shipping continued to grow and at the same time agricultural growth and population growth contributed to silting up of the rivers, The North Sea Canal was dug from the freshwater sea (IJMeer) immediately east of the Amsterdam Port all the way out to the North Sea - a distance of over 20 miles. Coming in on this cruise was my first time in the Canal, and it was during the dark of night, so I didn't see it. When we sailed out of Amsterdam in 2022, I was able to do better, making a few nice photos along the shore from our high up viewpoint. A year later, we sailed out of Rotterdam where they have built a similar canal, and spent most of the sailaway up on deck with my camera.

DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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YOU MAY have noted my near-interchangeable use of the terms "Netherlands," "Holland," and "Dutch." I wondered about that myself. As much as I am chary of using "AI" as a research tool, this explanation from Google's AI search engine seemed pretty apt: "The Netherlands is the official name of the country, consisting of 12 provinces, while Holland refers specifically to two provinces (North and South Holland). "Dutch" refers to the people, language, and culture of the entire country."

"Head Shop" - DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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We did get a brief opportunity to walk the famed De Wallen, Red Light District, and the adjacent area streets where the smell of some kind of "incense" was really strong 😇. I was told I could get it at a coffee shop, but it seemed to me like it was coming out of the bars and along the streets. I found it fascinating that "weed" is legal in Amsterdam and freely available - but technically not if you are not a Netherlands resident. I say "technically," because I know of numerous instances where U.S. visitors purchased it and nobody blinked and eye. I doubt it is something that is vigorously enforced.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019

WE ALSO stopped in for a drink in what is I believe the oldest bar in the Netherlands - and maybe in Europe. The size of the entire bar was only maybe 3 times what you see in the image above.

Bicycle parking - Downtown Amsterdam, Netherlands
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ONE THING that really hit home with me was how much a bicycle-culture there is in Amsterdam. The number of known bikes in Amsterdam exceeds it official population. By maybe 100,000 bicycles!

Bicyles parked in a residential alley - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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HAVING COMMENTED about the "canals" in general in my Bruges post, I should say something about them here. If there is another city in Europe that I personally would compare to Venice, it would be Amsterdam. But a little research tells me that in terms of sheer number of canals, the number of miles of canals, and the number of bridges over them, Venice is actually not at the top of that list. Hamburg, Germany (yet to visit) tops that list. But other cities, like Birmingham, UK, and Amsterdam have more canals and bridges than Venice. I still think Venice trumps them all. It is about the aesthetics, in my view. And the layout and density and variety of the canal. Venice is the only one of these cities that is completely on an isolated "island" and has only foot traffic. In each of the others, there are a few vehicular bridges, and streets and traffic often lining each side of the canal.

Amsterdam Canal - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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NONETHELESS, THE Amsterdam canals are impressive, with their "canal house" lined banks, and the beautiful landscaping that surrounds them. The other phenomena I have noted in virtually all the "other" European Canals is the presence of the private, liveaboard canal boats. I do not recall ever having seen them in Venice. Any that they do have are unusual.

Liveaboard Canal Boats - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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LIKE THEY all do, our cruise had to come to an end at some point. This short, busy day in Amsterdam was it for us for our 2019 cruise. Or so I thought. Stay tuned. It turns out that we decided to book another one just a couple months hence!

2019 - Bruges - Perhaps the Tiniest, but most Charming Stop in the English Channel

Markt - Bruges, Belgium
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OF ALL the cruise stops we have made in Europe, Bruges is probably the tiniest of all. The only other one that might come close is the Swedish town of Visby on the tiny Swedish island of Gottland). But an awful lot of beauty, architecture and history is packed into that little space.

Bruges City Hall  Bruges, Belgium
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LIKE SOME of the other port "stops," Bruges is not on the water. But unlike many of them, it is reasonably close (10 miles) and transportation to and from the cruise port it relatively easy, buy shuttle, taxi or uber. The port is Zeebrugge. In both instances (and in most cases I have seen on itineraries) Bruges was not even a full day stop. Amsterdam, long a primary cruise port for cruise ships and river cruises, is a short hop from there, and I think Bruges is one of those "lets make a quick stop there on the way" destination. But in my view it is every bit worth that stop. It takes 30 minutes to get to the main square (Markt) in Bruges, depending on the mode of travel. We have found it most expedient to go by cab or Uber. Once you enter the Markt, it becomes immediately apparent why Bruges is such an attraction.

Bruges Belfry - Bruges, Belgium
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THIRTEENTH CENTURY Belfort, a gothic Belfry, towers over the Markt at one end of the plaza, dominating Bruges' historic center. Ringing the rest of the plaza are colorful, mostly single story, buildings, all in gothic style. In the middle is an ornate statue. A block away, the very ornate, but again gothic, City Hall stands in front of its own plaza.

The canal behing Belfort - Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

BECAUSE IT is so small, Bruges is easily walkable from the Markt Plaza. On this day, our cab driver dropped us off on a small street directly behind one of the entrances to the Markt. Knowing our time frame was tight, we arranged with him to pick us up 4 hours later in the same spot (and thankfully, he was dependably waiting for us right on time).

Back canal - Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

I HAVE often read about Bruge being compared to Venice because of its "canals." In reality, there are a couple large canals on the outskirts of the town, and one very picturesque canal that cuts through the middle of the old historic district. It seems to me that whenever we encounter a city that has one or more canals, people want to compare it with Venice. Having spent some time in Venice over the years, I don't find those comparisons particularly apt. But I will say that any of them can be very beautiful for viewing and for picture-taking. One of the salient features of canals are their ability to create and present (often colorful) reflections. For such a small place, I found plenty of opportunity to exercise my picture-taking muscles. Line a canal with gothic architecture, plant some colorful flowers, let the sun create reflections, and you have a ready-made photo-artistic model.

Canal Boat Tour - Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WE WALKED around a bit, stopped at one of the many cafes lining the Markt for a drink, and then boarded one of the canal boats for a leisurely float along the canal, with remarkable views and reflections along the way. The drink? For me it was - of course - one of the local Belgian Lagers!

Church of Our Lady - Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

LATER, WE walked along the canal in the middle of the historic district. At the end of the canal is the impressive and equally gothic Church of Our Lady. Also dating back to the 13th century, I was taken in by the old stone bridge spanning the canal in front of the approach to the church.

Canal - Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THE END of our time in Bruges nearing, we headed back to the little Chocolate shop behind the Markt, where we had begun, to meet our driver. Sadly, the shop was not open. The two things most people think about sampling when they visit Belgium are their beer and chocolate. Fortunately, we did find some chocolate in another shop in the town. We re-boarded our ship, knowing it was our last night aboard. Tomorrow, we would terminate in Amsterdam.

Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved