A Day of Rest

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Today has been an unusual day. For many reasons I decided to stay aboard, write some letters and just rest.

Before I cover the day though, let me back up. During the vinegar tasting I was astounded to learn that Rembrandt used oils preserved with vinegar to create a paint that would last. When they recently decided to restore the frescos in the Chapel they planned on it taking months, if not years, to restore the vibrant colors to their original intensity. But when the began to clean, they discovered the paints underneath were as vibrant as when they were painted. They were just obscured by the centuries of smoke. Instead to months they were finished in weeks.

For the most part the day was uneventful until the evening. A few mornings ago I had breakfast with a young couple from Reno. She sells real estate, but unbeknownst to her, three other couples from the same company booked the tour as well. None of the four knew the others would be here.

The couple are probably in their mid-forty’s so they are doing the more active things...bike tours, off on their own on the bikes, the “Let’s Go” active hikes etc.

Tonight at dinner the group of eight had plans for dinner together. Turns out the couple are here with her sister and her sister’s new husband (8 months.) The five of us sat together to hear the Cruise Director’s talk about tomorrow’s activity, and when we got up to go to dinner I was invited to eat with the sister and her new husband. We had a delightful time. She’s highly traveled as well as being quite intelligent and extroverted. As is often the case, he’s a rather quiet lawyer. They met on the internet. Who else do we know that meets that criteria??? Seems that’s the norm for dating these days.

Her son is training at Beeville to be a Naval (Marine) Aviator so we had common ground in Navy and flying. This led to a fascinating story...her great uncle (actually more complicated, but easiest way to describe the relationship) is the famous pilot who single handedly fought off a squadron of Messerschmitts in WWII and won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The couple are from California from the area that grows artichokes, and the vegetarian dish tonight was fried artichoke hearts. They both ordered the halibut and tried to get the artichokes as an appetizer, which wasn’t possible. They love to tease each other so they made a 100 euro bet. She said they’d bring her the halibut and him the artichokes. He said they bring halibut for both but a third main course of the artichokes. When they brought both halibuts and the artichokes there was uproarious laughter between them as he collected his bet. Cleopatra’s pearls may have been the world’s most expensive meal, but I’ll wager not many people have eaten 100 Euro artichoke fritters!

Not many pictures today. If you want to see the few, click here.

If you’d like to read my musings for the day, click here.

Tomorrow we sail down the Rhine Valley with all the castles. The Cruise Director will be doing a commentary on them on the sun deck in the morning and again in the evening. I suppose I’ll have to brave the ladders if I want to really experience them. I’ve avoided the sun deck because the stairs are pretty steep. Should be interesting enough to lure me topside though. During the afternoon we’ll be at Oberwesel, and will have a stroll through the historically rich village of Bacharach, followed by a Riesling wine tasting before sailing on down the Valley to Cologne.

Blessings and peace!