Our Adventure Finishes in Bern

Posted on July 1, 2025 by trueloveadventures

After a wonderful travel adventure, with unbelievable weather, the clouds rolled into Switzerland and were predicted to stay for over a week. So we looked at our options, including flying back to Amsterdam early, but that was also rainy and cold. On the other hand, there was only a minimal cost to fly home to Seattle 5 days early, so we decided to come home last Saturday and I’m writing this blog post from sunny Seattle.

So back to our last stop in Switzerland: the Swiss Capitol of Bern.

We left Murren after 3 wonderful days in the high mountains. We met a large family there traveling together. Eight of their group all went paragliding together (each with its own professional pilot). What a brave and adventurous family!

Hopefully, we can come here someday with our family and do the same. Jim said he would video our group paraglider flyby from our hotel (his paragliding days are behind him).

After breakfast we left our hotel in Murren and took the giant gondola down the very steep path to the valley floor where our car was parked. On the way down fellow passengers asked me to play my Uke, so I did! We all sang “Edelweiss” together. It was a magic moment.

Before the 90 minute drive to Bern, we stopped at Trummelbach Falls, a crazy, nearby waterfall that cascades down through a slot canyon in the side of the mountain. An elevator takes you up part of the way and then you climb multiple flights of stairs to see the waterfall from multiple perspectives as it courses through the very steep and windy slot canyon. The sound of the force of the falls is so loud and overwhelming that Jim said: “this is the sound of gravity.” So true.

After leaving the waterfalls, we drove about 30 minutes before stopping in Interlaken to check it out for the future. It’s a small city between two large lakes and we stopped at a recommended ice cream place for snack. Interlaken is definitely a good stopping place where you can get to all the nearby mountains and lakes easily by car or train.

From there we drove an hour to Bern and our lovely Bellevue Palace Hotel. It was by far our nicest stay in Switzerland, with room for all our luggage, a real king bed, and space to relax and recharge from our previous fast-paced adventures. Getting our mess of partially packed stuff out of the car was quite an experience. But the hotel staff who helped us were very friendly and didn’t bat an eye. Amazingly, although there were dark clouds during our drive, the big rain held off until we were safely in our room. Then the skies opened, rain poured down in sheets and lighting and thunder filled the sky.

We opened our windows to watch the storm and I proceeded to organize all our stuff back into their appropriate places.

The hotel has what they call the first “American Bar” in Switzerland. We couldn’t figure out what that really meant, but given the rain we went there for dinner that night.

Touring Bern and a quick visit to Murten

Bern is the capitol of Switzerland, a federal republic like the USA, and the capitol in the Canton of Bern, which is one of the largest Cantons of Switzerland. There are less than 10,000,000 Swiss citizens, but they are governed in 26 Cantons, each of which resembles an American State from a tax and local governance perspective. Our hotel was only a block from the Capitol and Parliament building. A winding river surrounds the old town.

We took a 3 hour tour, given by a lovely Mexican guide whose husband is doing cancer research at the local Medical School. Even though she has only lived in Bern for a few years, her love of the city thoroughly infused her talks. The world is such an amazing place.

We began our tour near the bear habitat. “Bern” means bear. Why? Legend has it that when the city was founded in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen, he commissioned the nobleman Cuno von Bubenberg to establish the city on a peninsula surrounded by the Aare River. Apparently, he said he would name the town after the first animal he saw, which was a bear. So now in Bern you see bear references everywhere, especially on the city’s flags, which are also everywhere. And unlike most flags, the flags in Switzerland are squares, not rectangles.

The Main Street of Bern’s old town is a UNESCO world heritage site, totally charming and very walkable.

That night we went to a local restaurant recommended by a local jewelry maker where I stopped and bought some earrings. The restaurant was very good and we met the owner when we purchased one of the t-shirts the staff wears with a “Mary Poppins” penguin on it.

Our second and last full day in Bern was long and fun. We had a lot to accomplish: the Einstein Museum, riding a streetcar to a nearby hill overlooking the old city, riding a train to Murten, buying Sprungli Chocolates, and finally, packing for our early morning flight from Zurich to Amsterdam.

One of our favorite visits was to the Einstein Museum housed in an old castle-like building. Once again, we are learning that creative curation is the magic of excellent museums. We saw that in Melk on our River Cruise and last year in the jewelry exhibit in Singapore. When we bought our ticket, they asked us if we wanted to see the new Bronze Age exhibit in the basement for $2 more. We said yes and we are so glad we did.

The Bronze Age exhibit was exceptional, explaining the importance of bronze and how it was the “AI” breakthrough of the ancient world, right up there with “the wheel.” Copper was the first metal humans mined, but it was too soft for most applications. Tin, the second metal humans mined, was better than copper, but still too soft. Then some creative person figured out that mixing 1 part tin with 9 parts copper made bronze, a hard metal that could be used to produce chariot wheels, knives, swords, spears, armor, dishes, cups, jewelry and many other useful things. The Bronze Age lasted 1,500 years, until humans finally discovered how to produce Iron, which is hard like bronze but even stronger and less expensive.

The combination of art and narratives were inspiring and educational and then there was the “hand”. The exhibit takes you into a movie that explains the recent archeological finding of a bronze hand. At the end of the movie the doors open dramatically in the back of theater to reveal the actual hand and the exhibits discuss it further postulating its meaning (probably a prosthetic hand for a ruler who lost their real hand in battle), but possibly a religious icon or something else.

From there we proceeded upstairs the to our main goal: the Einstein Exhibit. The exhibit begins up a mirrored staircase that appears to visually “bend” space-time.

Many of us know about Einstein’s story, but they do an excellent job putting his discovery of the “special theory of relativity” and the “general theory of relativity” into the perspective of the simplicity of the early 1900’s, when Einstein’s “day job” was reviewing patent applications for Switzerland in Bern.

From there we grabbed a bite to eat at the recommended cafeteria across the street in the Alpine museum. One of the museum guides said it was better and less expensive than the Einstein cafeteria and she was probably right.

As we walked through the main road in the old town we heard piano music and it turned out that it came from a troubadour who had rolled his piano to the center of the street.

Piano Player Busking in Bern

After the Einstein Museum we caught the #7 streetcar and then transferred to the #10 streetcar to reach the Rose Garden on a nearby hill with a remarkable view of the old city.

From there we made our way back to the center of town to find the Sprungli Chocolate shop at the train station and then check off the last thing on Jim’s list: Swiss Train trip.

Navigating the busy train station with lots of stairs and no easy way to accommodate luggage validated our previous decision to rent a car after our river cruise rather than travel by train to Prague and Switzerland. But without luggage we were able to successfully navigate our way to Murten, which is a small, old town overlooking a lovely alpine lake.

Unfortunately, by this time we were really tired and after walking down to the lake level, we didn’t have the energy to walk back up and it was starting to rain. Fortunately, there was a lakefront hotel and they called a taxi for us to take us back up the hill and to the train station. I would definitely go back to Murten the next time we visit Switzerland. We thought we might grab dinner in Murten before training back to Bern, but none of the outside dining areas were open so I bought some chips and soda to hold us over on the return train.

Once back in Bern I purchased the Sprungli chocolates before leaving the train station. The rain returned on our walk back to our hotel so we stopped for some pizza. The restaurant only served gluten free pizza, but the crust was yummy and we weren’t going anywhere else in the pouring rain.

Because wetter weather was forecast to continue for several days, we decided to change our plans and fly home 5 days earlier. It turns out the lack of travel to the USA made left many open seats on the earlier flight we booked so the change fee was minimal compared to 5 more days staying at Swiss hotels.

So we woke up early on Saturday June 7 and drove to Zurich, where we returned our rental car and checked in for our flights to Amsterdam and then from there onto Seattle. We weren’t sure if we would be able to check our luggage all the way through to Seattle, but because KLM is part of Delta’s “One World” network, we were able to do that without a problem.

From there it was just two flights. The stop in Amsterdam was easy and the amazing Amsterdam KLM Lounge made the 2 hour wait for our flight to Seattle very comfortable.

In another small world experience two of our Seattle friends were on the same flight from Amsterdam to Seattle!

With our lie flat seats on the final leg of our journey home, we easily relaxed. The plane had decent WiFi and I watched the French Open women’s final on my phone, ate some food, took my ambien and then slept until we were awoken for a snack and the landing. Customs was a breeze. We had itemized all our purchases, but we weren’t even asked about them, even though we had two suitcases, a duffle bag and two backpacks.

Switzerland Tid Bits:

The food. As another traveler said to us, “you don’t come to Switzerland for the food” and that is absolutely true for the German speaking, mostly northern areas of Switzerland (French and Italian are the primary languages spoken in Switzerland’s western and southern regions). The next time we visit Switzerland we’ll have to see how the food is in the French and Italian regions. The coffee we experienced was especially mediocre, and one local we met who had lived in Seattle for many years said she especially missed the coffee.

The prices. Switzerland is very expensive. This isn’t a budget travel spot.

Public safety. Switzerland is very safe. Interestingly, like Israel, every Swiss male must join the military at 18. They are all trained to shoot and they keep their weapons at home. They are ready for anything. No one warned us about pick-pockets in Switzerland, unlike every other nation we visited on this trip.

Large Beds. Switzerland does not believe in King or Queen beds. Each person gets their own bed and comforter, which you can push together if you want one, larger shared bed. Only our most expensive hotel, the Bellevue Palace in Bern, had a single large bed.

Back in Seattle

We came home a bit early for three reasons: (1) The weather shifted; (2) We were ready; and (3) We were cutting it tight on our original schedule to be rested and ready the for Grand Opening of Dick’s Everett restaurant (#10!).

As usual it took us time to get over our jet lag and our house was a bit chaotic because the construction related to our new elevator was almost finished but not cleaned up yet.

It took us a couple of days to get things at the house back in order and almost a week to get completely over our jet lag.

But four days after our return, on Wednesday June 11, we were pretty fresh for the soft opening that afternoon and raring to go for the full opening party on Thursday morning June 12.

Yesterday, for Father’s Day, we enjoyed sunshine, grandchildren and Little League baseball.

We are blessed and life is good.

Thank you for following along on our adventures! Before we left on our cruise up north we got to visit with my sister, Rachel, meet with two friends from the river cruise, Sue and Michael, catch a lunch with friends Erika and Carrie and celebrate our 44th Anniversary on Whidbey with dear friends Erica (who brought a yummy cake) and Laird and Carol who made us a wonderful dinner. I’m finishing the blog as we are anchored at Echo Bay, Sucia Island (one of the San Juan Islands).

True Love Adventures is written by Fawn and edited by Jim.

Prague to Switzerland’s Berner Oberland

Posted on June 3, 2025 by trueloveadventures

Prague

A taxi took us to the airport in Budapest to pick up our rental car there. The bellman at the hotel and taxi driver were very excited about my little traveling ukulele and both asked me to play. So I played it for each, first in the elevator and then on the taxi drive.

Using our trusty GPS on our I-phones made the drive from Budapest to Prague pretty easy and smooth although the small streets in Prague’s old town were shared with the many street cars which added a bit of an extra challenge.

Aria, our music themed hotel, was delightful and located on a quiet street next to the US Embassy. The Prague part of our trip was short, with only two nights and one full day.

Our first night the weather gods continued to shine on us and we lucked into a table at the rooftop restaurant without a reservation and dined under a gorgeous sunset.

On our full day we hired a guide and crossed the 650+ year old stone bridge (now called the Charles Bridge after the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who ruled from Prague for 23 years beginning in 1355 and founded what is now known as Charles University in 1347 during what is now known as the “Golden Age of Bohemia). Across the bridge is the Old Town, including its Jewish neighborhood where we visited three synagogues and an old Jewish cemetery that somehow survived the Nazi occupation and commercial redevelopment. Only the oldest synagogue in Prague is still operating. The other two are museums. One of them is now a dramatic memorial to the 80,000 Prague citizens who were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. My step-father’s family came from this area and Lederer is a common name so it was no surprise that we found it repeatedly on the synagogue’s walls.

After our 3 hour tour we ate a hearty lunch and shared a local beer before heading back to our hotel to rest a bit before heading out to a late Italian dinner and evening walk in the “castle” district where our hotel is located.

The next morning we walked the adjacent UNESCO gardens that are adjacent to our hotel and the embassy. I must say this is the first time I felt underdressed for a garden walk. Jim did a great job climbing all of the stairs for the fantastic views.

Freeway driving on the German autobahn is fun. What can I say, I like no speed limit. While most of the them have only 2 lane, slower cars and trucks always move to the right lane so it’s easy to pass when necessary. On the drive we made two stops: at two familiar companies. We usually don’t stop at US brands when traveling but we needed a bathroom break and the Starbucks seemed like a perfect choice. Then we were hungry and tried the freeway Burger King, because it was easy. Both were good.

Then we got in the car and made our way almost to Switzerland, stopping at the little German border lake town of Lindau am Bodensee.

The sweet little Bodenseezeit hotel we stayed is very close to Lake Constance (“Bodensee” in German). Jim rested a bit while I went out for a walk exploring the area. I walked along a trail to a nearby campground. Car and RV Camping is very popular in this area. I had such a peaceful, happy feeling while walking among the families and people of all ages having fun on the lake, biking and enjoying the calm sunny. I literally did not hear a single child crying even though there were children playing everywhere.

When I got back Jim joined me for a second walk to the campground on the lake. We weren’t really hungry but needed to eat something. Jim got a beer, I got an Aporal Spritz, and we ate peanuts and fries while watching the kids play with rocks and sticks on the shoreline. This is one of those moments when you realize we are all so similar in this world. When near a lake, on a sunny day, with abundant rocks, children do the same thing everywhere and their parents and other adults just relax and enjoy the magic, peaceful moments. After our “gourmet” meal we walked some more, Jim skipped rocks in another spot and we slept well that night in the peaceful little town.

Switzerland: Berner Oberland

After filling up the car in Germany where fuel is cheaper than Switzerland, we headed to the “Berner Oberland” high country of Switzerland. My job as the “Admiral of Atmosphere” is to set the stage for our driving experience, so I turned on the movie soundtrack of the Sound of Music!

The music filled the car creating the perfect feeling as we drove through spectacular scenery up into the mountains, past turquoise lakes with big mountains in the distance.

We arrived at our hotel in Grindelwald on a sunny day with perfectly clear views. The Parkhotel Schoenegg was the place we were going to spend the next 6 days exploring the central Swiss Alps. Although the hotel had great view, friendly helpful staff and a good location, it was too centrally located, on the very noisy Main Street, and our very expensive “Deluxe Balcony Mountain View” room was clean but very small. We adapted by leaving most of our luggage in the car and rearranging with only one small suitcase in the room. Because this is a long trip with a cruise we had a much bigger suitcases than we usually use when traveling, which is why we rented a car instead of using the trains (where no one helps you get your luggage on or off the train even if you travel first class).

We plopped our rearranged stuff into the room and headed up our first big gondola ride to the top of the mountain area called “First”. Unfortunately, this was in the afternoon when the entire Grindelwald area is crazy busy with so many bus loads of tourists from around the world. Still, we enjoyed the views and watching what I like to call the “kite people” otherwise known as paragliders soar all around the beautiful peaks. Jim stayed near the top of the gondola at around 7,500 feet, while I tried to escape the crowds by taking one of the trails farther up “First” mountain.

After catching a bite at the summit restaurant, we made our way down the mountain and enjoyed dinner at our hotel outside on the patio with the huge mountains surrounding us. Our plan for the next day was to take advantage of the continued great weather and ride a different, larger gondola up to the Jungfraujoch Station and glacier. It is advertised as the “Top of Europe” but while the rail station there may be the highest in the Alps, Mont Blanc in France (at 15,776 feet) and the Matterhorn in southern Switzerland (at 14,692) and others alps peaks are higher, as are several European mountains outside the Alps (in Russia and Georgia). Fellow travelers at dinner gave us the tip to take the first gondola up to avoid the crowds, so we did and it was great advice. Of course it meant getting up really early to board the 7:45 gondola that takes you to the cogwheel train that ascends over 4,500’ through a tunnel carved out of the mountain.

All we can say is that if you want a giant gondola or need to build a cogwheel train that travels through a twisting tunnel blasted through solid rock, bring in the Swiss! The technology was amazing!

When we reached the top we went immediately to the “crows nest” on top, called the “Sphinx.” The sun was shining, the winds were calm and the mountain views breathtaking. From there we walked the Disney-like displays and made our way out to the glacier plateau. Again, it was so warm we took off our layers and took in the spectacular river glacier that flowed down the mountain below us.

The summit restaurant opened at 11 and most people had made reservations. But we made new friends in line who were from the Czech Republic and decided our best chance at a table was to sit together. Our plan worked perfectly. We got the only table not reserved. One of our new friends wanted to practice her English so we enjoyed our lunch and conversation before heading back down again by cogwheel train and gondola. If you buy the discounted early pass you have to head down the mountain by 1 pm. We left on the 12:17 pm departure.

Back at our hotel we took a short nap, then woke for a swim in the hotel pool before walking to the grocery store to get some snacks for tomorrow’s morning gondola adventure to another summit: The Schilthorn.

Strangely, nothing in Grindelwald opens early despite all the early adventure seekers. Even the town bakery doesn’t open before 8 am.

Best Day of our Vacation So Far: The Schilthorn

By now we were experienced “first gondola of the day” tourists and our next goal was the gondola to the top of Schilthorn Mountain. Fueled with our energy bars, drinks and coffee we purchased the evening before we left early to drive to Lauterbrunnen Valley and the parking lot for the World’s Steepest Gondola that leaves from the little town of Stechelberg on the valley floor. The beginning steeply climbs the first mountain face almost strait up over a big waterfall. It is a remarkable engineering achievement, which opened to the public only in the last year.

In a “what a small world” experience the couple next to us at the front of the 100 person gondola had at one time lived in Bellingham. When someone is from Washington we always ask them if they have heard of Dick’s Drive In. It’s our little branding survey. Not only had they heard of it, but Jen had worked for Jim’s brother Doug at his Challenger Ridge Winery. For another “small world experience that afternoon when shopping for some shirts at the top of the mountain, the person who helped us, Eva, had also spent time in Seattle. She loved Dick’s Drive-Ins and got teary when she heard that was our family business because she loved her time in Seattle so much (where unlike Switzerland, “you can get a great cup of coffee almost anywhere, not just at Starbucks”).

Jen Dickerson worked for Doug at Challenger Ridge.

While the big gondola can hold over 100 people, on the first ride up there were only about 30 of us, so everyone had a great view. Three gondola stops later we submitted on to Schilthorn. Again, the weather was sunny, calm and our photos do not do the views justice. After grabbing a some hot chocolates, a donut and juice we spent two hours with virtually no crowds taking in the giant mountains and glaciers. Because we are used to the sounds of avalanches in the mountains of Alpental Valley, when I heard a rumbling in the distance I scanned for what I knew was going to be an avalanche and saw one. We spent a lot our time that morning helping others spot several more avalanches, which at a distance looked like waterfalls in a snapshot, but if you kept your eyes on them you could see them start and stop in different locations (something waterfalls don’t do).

The weather forecast called for an afternoon of clouds and possible thunderstorms, so we spent as much time as we could that morning, in the clear sunny weather, taking in this very special experience.

The clouds and the crowds eventually rolled in together, so we headed to the James Bond exhibit on one of the lower floors. I bet you weren’t expecting that! Yes, Schilthorn Mountain and this summit building was where “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was filmed in 1968. Unlike movies today which use “green screens” and lots of Computer Generated Content (CGC) to create amazing scenes, back in 1968, most amazing scenes were created with stunt men and women who filled in for the movie stars in the dangerous scenes.

Prior to 1968, construction had paused on the Schilthorn summit building because of cost overruns and lack of funding to finish it, so the 007 Producers agreed to complete it in return for using it as the main location for the film.

Sean Connery had retired from the 007 role after “You Only Live Twice” so George Lazenby (an Australian) was cast as James Bond in this film. The film was a success and Lazenby was offered a $1,000,000 to play 007 again but turned it down because he thought no one would want to see another spy thriller in the age of flower children, peace and love. A “big mistake” as he said later. The exhibit documents the amazing stunts and filming techniques that were used to make the movie. The stunt camera man (who lost a leg in his previous film and died in an accident the next year while filming “Catch 22”), created a way to dangle from a helicopter on a halo of ropes so that he could capture the iconic skiing and toboggan scenes. The exhibit also documents the hazardous bobsledding scene. The producers hired local experts to rebuild the old bobsledding hill for the movie, but one of the crew fell into the bobsled run only a hundred yards in front of the bobsled. He would have been killed except that that the bobsled driver deliberately steered hard left and out of the track just in time before flying off the bobsled himself. In another almost deadly accident, the big avalanche scene almost killed the camera crew on the opposite side of the explosion because the avalanche created by the explosive charges was much bigger than expected.

Now we have to watch the movie again. Maybe tomorrow if it’s as rainy as predicted.

After leaving the top of The Schilthorn we stopped at the quaint “car free” town of Murren which can only be reached by train or gondola. We talked to other people on the gondola down and they suggested stopping at the Edelweiss Hotel for a late lunch for good food and spectacular views. They were right! We both decided right then that if we could get a room in the hotel for 2 or 3 nights we would leave our noisy hotel in Grindewald and come back here. After lunch I walked down to the even smaller town of Gimmelwald and Jim checked out the possibility of getting a hotel room at the Edelweiss before taking the old gondola down to Gimmelwald to meet me. Jim scored the only room available at the Edelweiss and my walk couldn’t have been more idealic with wild flowers, cows with bells, birds singing and the amazing views of mountains and waterfalls.

We met up in Gimmelwald and grabbed a dark beer at a funky little bar where a tourist who was also an opera singer unexpectedly sang an aria to the waitress Maria. We also met Sean and Kim from Baltimore and they were staying at the Edelwdeiss and we compared our plans for the next day.

One of the many quaint aspects of Gimmelwald is the number of self-serve, unstaffed “honor” stores selling everything from ice cream and beer to eggs, dried sausage and beer.

One more gondola ride down and we were back at the parking lot and our car for the relatively short drive back to Grindelwald.

We got to video with Jasmine and James that evening when we got back to our room (where James told us that he had hit the “walk off double” that won his last Little League baseball game) and later Jim exclaimed: “this was the best day of our entire vacation”.

On To Murren

It was another noise night in Grindelwald but we were able to sleep in a bit before packing up and heading out. I couldn’t wait to leave this hotel. Not only was it noisy but something about it was causing me to cough a lot. I have no idea what it was.

But before leaving Grindelwald, we did have one more fun adventure there. We drove to the Glacier Canyon Guesthouse and then bought $20 tickets to walk the Glacier Canyon trail that is bolted to the canyon walls or carved out of the canyon walls, permeated with the very loud sounds of the water charging down through the canyon. In the late 1800’s the glacier came all the way down to where the trail begins, and as the glacier receded, the trail was extended up stream, but now the glacier is only visible in the distance. 150 year ago parts of the trail were ice caves carved out of the glacier itself.

I’m writing this from our quiet hotel room in Murren. We got up here before the predicted heavy rain began and I’m writing the blog surrounded by spectacular views of the mountains, waterfalls and even some glaciers. We are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and enjoying a restful day of walking and chilling tomorrow.

Today we road the funicular in town and hiked through waterfalls, rushing rivers, wildflowers and made it down the 2 mile hike which seemed harder than it should have been.

Ahhhh.

Thanks for reading!

True Love Adventures is written by Fawn Spady

and Edited by Jim Spady.

Final Days of the River Cruise and Budapest

Posted on May 30, 2025 by trueloveadventures

The cruise ended in Budapest. We’ve visited cities in 5 countries: Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

Some of the people we met on board will be lifelong friends. Two women we met on board, Wanda and Mary, have big birthday’s next year, along with me, within a few days of each other. We are plotting how to celebrate together.

A group of friends were celebrating a couple’s 50th Anniversary and decided to celebrate together.

Our new Aussie friends, Andrew and Ann, are a must visit and they want to come visit us to enjoy the Alpental snow.

Sue and Michael from Oregon are seriously considering visiting us on on BC’s Sunshine Coast on our boat.

Jim and I have never been to this part of the world and we thought a river cruise gets us the most places in the easiest way. Tauck did a fabulous job and we highly recommend it.

Bratislava

Before touring Bratislava we got an excellent lecture on the Velvet Revolution that brought Slovakia and the Czech Republic freedom from Soviet Communism. Each stop in this area of the world brings history alive. For the people who live here the transition from oppression to freedom is a living memory that is only 36 years ago (when our son Saul was born). You can still feel the negative vibes from the Nazi Occupation, the Soviet Liberation and then the Soviet Occupation and its “Iron Curtain” that denied freedom and even the opportunity to immigrate to a free country. Before touring Bratislava, we listened to a man who was 16 when he skipped school to gather to protest the repressive Communist regime in the main square. Would the Soviets invade again as they did in 1956 (Hungary) and 1968 (Czechoslovakia)? Not this time. These small countries are rebuilding and we could feel the pride from our speaker and the much younger guide who later led us on a walking tour of Bratislava.

Budapest

It’s hard to reconcile the beauty of this city with the horrors of the past, but we must.

Budapest is such a beautiful city of emotional contrasts. As it rebuilds and restores its classic buildings after years of government oppression, you can feel people worry about the future, if Ukraine falls to the Russians. When we left the cruise ship and checked into the beautiful Parisi Udur Hotel the young man behind the counter was quick to discuss his fear that the Russian occupiers could return. Of course Hungary is in NATO now and hopefully that still means something.

Before we checked into our Budapest hotel, we were treated by Tauck to a guided overview bus tour of the city ending at the stunning Mathias church on the Buda side of Budapest. On the other side of the Danube River is Pest (pronounced “Pesht”). The Buda and Pest sides of the combined city are connected by stunning bridges. Pest is the much larger and flat part of the city while Buda is on a hill with a large Castle and the amazing Mathias Church.

The tour guide on our bus told us the tale of all the Hungarian losses in battle. They did win a war against the Ottoman Empire, but that was after the Ottoman’s occupied Budapest for 150 years, and since that time the Hungarian army hasn’t faired so well.

After completing our bus tour, we visited the local market and I did one of our speed walks up the hill with Vladi and about 15 others to enjoy the great view and work off some of the yummy meals we ate that day.

Two days ago, in a logistics miracle, Tauck’s staff got all of the passengers and their luggage off the ship in record time. Some passengers headed directly to the airport (some as early as 3:30 AM) while most of us went to a hotel in Budapest for an additional night or two.

The Parisi Hotel in Budapest is stunning and our room (#504) was spectacular. After checking in we headed out to work on our Budapest checklist of things to see and do.

Our first stop was the Budapest Synagogue. This was an extremely tough visit. 600,000 Jews, one tenth of the 6 Million Hitler murdered, were from Hungary and most were rounded up and killed very late in WW2. It is beyond insane that the Nazis thought that killing some of their smartest and most capable citizens and their families would help win the war, and yet that is what they did. This display from the Synagogue museum is disturbingly similar to the quotas that we’ve seen today, and not just for Jews. Note to everyone: the keys to a successful society are encouraging everyone to reach their full potential by working hard, learning from the past, reading a lot, doing your best, and living a moral life.

The Budapest Synagogue is so beautiful yet unusual. It’s very colorful and has an organ (which can only be played by someone who isn’t Jewish because of the biblical commandment to not work on the Sabbath). It’s rectangular. This congregation wanted to assimilate and be more part of society, so it began what they call the Neolog Judaism: the evolution of many Jewish communities away from strict Hasidic rules, ultimately resulting in what we now refer to as Conservative and Reform Judaism. One of the people on our boat was here 10 years ago and got to attend a Kol Nidre service at the Synagogue which she said was very moving.

On the other hand, one of the most disturbing aspects of the Synagogue is the mass grave right next to the building where thousands, mostly unidentified, bodies were buried after the Nazis were defeated.

A small garden in the back of the Synagogue features a tree of life made out of metal with the names of the many of the victims of the Nazis. But the garden also features the names of the brave people, mostly diplomats from neutral countries like Sweden and Switzerland, who risked their lives to save thousands of Jews by giving them fake passports and documents showing that they had long ago converted to Christianity.

It was a sad but necessary stop in Budapest.

Heroes Day and a Folk Festival

After this visited I need some fresh air and a bit of a walk. We were heading to the Central Park to ride a hot air balloon that takes you high in the sky while always attached by cables to the ground.

On our way to the metro we stopped for Shwarma at a Turkish restaurant.

The Metro and light rail here are wonderful. Jim walked as much as he could, but his limit is about 3 miles a day so we always figure out the metro wherever we travel. This was easy. Jim rode free because he’s over 65 (You only need to show your ID if asked). Not quite 65, I had to pay about 25 cents per trip.

After navigating a transfer, we ended up in the big park on the outskirts of Pest. There a kind of military fair was underway where kids could climb on tanks, “play” on, in and around other military equipment, compete in obstacle courses and laser tag, and fly drones. Hungary is a small country (less than 10,000,000), with a history of military occupation, so it’s no surprise that many Hungarians want a strong military so that history doesn’t repeat itself. They need to essentially emulate Israel. We hope they succeed.

Ultimately, we weren’t able to accomplish our original goal of getting the view of the city from the ballon because the winds aloft were too strong. So we kept walking around and found the folk festival complete with Peruvian dancers and lots of food booths.

Exhausted from our excursions we headed back to the hotel via the metro and napped before a wonderful light and early dinner followed by a lovely evening stroll.

Yesterday, our last day in Budapest was also our first full day on our own.

We woke up and enjoyed a delicious, but smaller breakfast and headed out to visit the Parlament Building, the nearby Shoes Memorial (also commemorating Holocaust victims), then soaked in the oldest Turkish Bath building in Budapest: the Gellert. One of our favorite bridge buddies at the Rainier Club was Max Gellert. I wonder if he was originally from this area.

Unfortunately, we didn’t buy tickets to the Parliament building tour in advance and they were sold out. But we enjoyed walking around it while asking ChatGBT to tell us about the statues of the many leaders of the past. The gardens were lovely.

After circumnavigating the Parliament building we walked to the nearby Shoes Memorial. It was dedicated in 2005 to the memory of the Jews who were lined up, tied together on the banks of the Danube River, shot, and then pushed in. But they were forced to remove their shoes, who knows why, before their deaths. Created by the artist Gauls Pauer in collaboration with film director Can Togay, its location close to Hungary’s elected leadership is a reminder to those in power: never forget the great evil that passed through this land.

In the same vein there is a sculpture near there that shows a tired person with the inscription: doing the right thing can often be hard, dangerous and exhausting.

After walking about 2 miles we hopped on the light rail and headed to the Gellert Baths, which are just across the Danube on the Buda side of the river. These are old, opened in 1918. The attached hotel is under renovations, but the baths remain open. The baths are stunning and the thermal pools are heated by underground thermal springs that have been a blessing to the inhabitants of the area for over 1,000 years. The water doesn’t smell of sulfur but is clearly filled with other minerals. The magic of the healing thermal springs were documented as early as the 13th century. After our morning excursions, we decided we needed a snack before we entered the pools and we selected a “Cream Puff of Unusual Size” (CPUS) filled with cold Carmel cream, whipped cream and drizzled with caramel. Yum!

The baths are a maze with lots of steps down and up. An attendant suggested after seeing Jim with his walking sticks that we purchase a “cabin” (2 ft by 3 feet) to make it easier to get changed into our suits. After procuring towels and sandals for Jim, we proceeded to change and in “I Love Lucy” style, Jim mistakenly locked the wrong lock and we couldn’t get out. So we had to pound on the door until someone let us out, saying “it wasn’t the first time”. Then we wandered around searching for the bathrooms and totally missed the easy route to the thermal pools (which had their own bathrooms). There is also a regular pool, but that didn’t fit the bill. We did find the old thermal pools and at 36 and 40 degrees Celsius perfect. The old pools are extremely large and beautiful and we enjoyed them for quite a while before we showered, dressed and headed back to the hotel, walking and by light rail.

On our walk that morning Jim saw a brochure for a concert at the Mathias Church and he had a feeling that we should go. How right he was! After a quick nap, we took a taxi and headed up there with enough time to grab a delicious thin crust pizza before heading into the church.

The talented musical quintet (3 violins, a cello and a bass) played a collection of classical top hits that filled the baroque cathedral with enchanting music.

We exited the Cathedral to a spectacular sunset and walked up to the nearby viewpoint before heading back to the hotel using the funicular to get down to the river and then walking the rest of the way.

This city of contrasts sparkles at night with the water, bridges and old buildings illuminated with abundant brightness and happiness trying its best to wipe away years of darkness, death and repression.

Needless to say we slept really well after such a lovely full day.

Today we pick up our rental car and enter the driving part of our journey, first to Prague and then Switzerland.

River Cruise: The “Wild” River from Regensburg to Passau, Melk Abbey & Vienna

Posted on May 23, 2025 by trueloveadventures

The Main River canal system that connects the Rhine River to the Danube River works well until you get close to Regensburg. That’s where the Danube has no dams and locks and is therefore considered “wild”.

The “wild” section has roads and buildings on both sides of the river but without the dams and locks the water level is “natural” which means it is often too low or too high to transit. When we reached the “wild section” it was too low for larger barges and cruise ships to get through. Tauck ships are newer and float about a foot higher, so our ship barely made it after unloading almost all of the passengers and the expelling all of the ballast that helps the boat remain very stable while cruising or at a dock.

To transit the “wild” section, a special river pilot took the helm through the shallow waters, and got through, although the side and bottom of our boat got scraped a bit. Most of the other river cruise ships had to wait for higher water.

It seems crazy to us that after investing in this remarkable river and canal system that goes across Europe, they leave this one section without a dam and locks which creates chaos for the whole system. Although we believe in keeping some rivers “wild” we think that makes the most sense where the river runs through a national park or “wild” lands, not where there are roads and buildings all along the so-called “wild” section.

Because we had to leave the ship while it traveled slowly down the “wild” Danube, we were off the boat for over 12 hours. We left early in the morning on the bus and had lots of time to kill before meeting up with the bus on the other side of the “wild” river. That being said, we really liked Regensburg.

Our local walking guide had a lovely voice and narrative style as we walked across the famous 1,000-year-old stone bridge into town. He pointed out the “stumbling stones” as we walked by.

“Stumbling stones” are a Europe-wide project by artist Guter Demnig, commemorating victims of the Nazi regime by installing small copper plaques on the street in front of homes where the Nazis arrested local Jews, gays, protestors and other “undesirables” showing the date of the arrest (the Nazis kept very good records of such things). Students and others do the research on local victims and then volunteers install the plaques. We passed two of these in Regensburg and when we rendezvoused with the ship in Vilshofen later and walked around we spotted more.

After connecting with fellow passengers we went looking for and found the modern Synagogue in Regensburg, which is only a few blocks from the original Jewish area where about 500 Jews lived until the early 1500’s, when all of the Jews were forced to leave the town with only 4 days notice, and their entire community, including the small temple, was razed to the ground, creating a new “plaza.” A church was eventually built a few hundred years later in about a quarter of the plaza. Very recently archeologists discovered the foundation of the old little synagogue, and now there is little sculpture park there, where visitors can rest and contemplate what happened long ago and what is still happening around the world today.

We also visited the Thurn and Taxis Palace which is still in use today. The family made its money originally by coming up with a pony express type system for delivering mail throughout Europe. But this modern royal family seems to have all the “drama” issues that plague so many other modern royals. That said, their palace has lots of nice things and the Venetian Chandelier in particular was amazing. This picture below doesn’t do it justice. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside but we got this from a gift store brochure.

After the tour we had quite a bit of free time and I was a bit droopy after getting the cold that Jim got on our first day on the boat and that has been circulating among all of the passengers, crew and townspeople we have visited. As we were looking for a nice place to eat lunch we passed a pho restaurant and that called out to me. The perfectly spiced curry soup soothed my cold and gave us both the energy we needed to explore some more. We did a little shopping and stopped for what turned out to be the perfect chocolate ganache cake (with ice cream for Jim of course!). We were looking for a place that had a nice bathroom and a sweet treat. The “Alex” brand restaurant was just what we were looking for.

After we got back on the bus to leave Regensburg we headed to a strange place called Vallhalla. Created in the early 1800’s to house busts of important German speaking people, it is a “modern” version of a Greek temple on a hill overlooking the Danube with spectacular views. There are only names on the busts without any additional information in either text or audio, and only 3 women (Mother Theresa, another nun, and Sophie Scholl who protested against the Nazis as part of the “White Rose” non-violent resistance movement in Germany. After she was caught distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets at the University of Munich, she was arrested and executed by guillotine. She was 21 years old.

The view from the building is wonderful and I still had the energy to walk down and up the steps.

Once we were back on the bus we heard that the ship was delayed even more than expected so we were going to have to kill even more time in Vilshofen. By this time it was almost 6 and we were all ready to be done. In Tauck fashion our guides offered to get us a snack at a nearby restaurant to help pass the time waiting for our ship to arrive from its “wild river” transit.

The next day, we skipped the walking tour of Passau and slept in. After we got up, we strolled around a bit and met up with our group before the organ concert in the remarkable St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Half of the organ is under repair so the sound was less than amazing but still dramatic and the baroque cathedral is spectacular.

Back onboard all I wanted to do was take a shower and rest. The head cold had sapped almost all of my energy. But I rallied to get up for the men’s quartet. They had been singing together since they were children in the Regensburg boys choir.

Now we are under way again as we make our way to Melk Abbey. The sun is shining and Jim and I did our yoga and are watching the world slowly go by as we cruise down the Danube.

Melk Abbey and a truly peaceful afternoon.

It’s hard to pick a favorite day on this trip, but our visit to Melk Abbey and then cruising down the Danube through the Wachau Valley has been our favorite so far.

We’ve visited many palaces and churches but Melk Abbey and the town of Melk was special. Some of the palaces were more oppulent. But this place was alive. It is home to a middle and high school, an active monastery, remarkable library, and the sounds of children’s laughter fill the beautiful garden.

Our guide was a former student and described the school as a Latin Hogwarts. She guided us through the new museum creatively curated with a mixture of modern design displaying the history and treasures of the building illustrating the history of the building.

After the tour we strolled through the quaint town of Melk and tasted and purchased some Apricot Gin. This will sustain us after we leave the ship as we explore Budapest and beyond.

From Melk the ship cruised slowly to Vienna. Our weather finally shifted to some rain, but Jim and I headed up to the hot tub and soaked through the slow rain and sun. We drank and munched and totally relaxed. Those of you who know me well know that I don’t chill often. But this time I did and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon.

Because we rested during the day we had the energy to stay up in the lounge and enjoy singing and dancing with our shipmates.

Vienna (Wien)

Yesterday, we were in Vienna for one day and one remarkable evening. This was not enough in anyway. Jim and I just didn’t know what to expect in Vienna. Our guide was wonderful but I was overwhelmed with the lack of time versus what I wanted to explore. Obviously, we will have to return to Vienna.

We did a quick bus tour, then a walking tour and we chose the tour of “Sissy” Palace. It was crowded, but interesting. Empress Elizabeth’s story is tragic. She was married at 16, and although Emperor Franz-Joseph loved her, she was totally unprepared for the demands of a “royal” life and lived a tragic and depressing life until she was mistakenly assassinated while traveling in Italy at age 64. Her rose garden, however, was in full bloom and quite beautiful.

After the palace tour we got a quick overview of the old city, including a quick glimpse of the Lipizzaner stallions. I loved this view of the horse getting red light therapy after a workout. Our physical therapist has suggested that Jim try red light therapy. If it works for the Lipizzaners I think it will work for my stallion!

The highlight of our visit to Vienna is the extremely special Palais Pallavicini dinner and entertainment. We all dressed up in our finest clothes and rode our coach to the (exclusive to Tauck and other special state visitors) event. We walked up the beautiful entrance and wide stairway and entered the second story ballroom where we were served a lovely meal, lots of wine and were entertained by musicians, dancers and opera singers.

As I write this we are again in the forward lounge cruising to Bratislava in Slovakia. Behind the iron curtain. Bratislava and Vienna are the closest capitals in Europe. They are an hour apart by car and only 4 hours by boat.

We are both looking forward to the history lecture before the tour.

Dovidonia

Biking, Cruise Day, Surprises and More

Posted on May 19, 2025 by trueloveadventures

It’s been a few days since I blogged and that is always a mistake. It’s amazing how quickly we forget the days. It’s Saturday morning here now, so here goes.

Castles Along the Middle Rhine

Schedules are fluid along the river with all the locks and the traffic. But we expected to enter “castle country” around 7 Am. I woke up early, looked out the window and there was the first castle at 5:45 Am. So we quickly got up and headed to the top deck of the ship. The main part of the castle tour was an hour or so away, but we saw lots of them with our fellow early risers. Here’s an interesting castle fact. Square towers were more susceptible to attack than round towers especially after the use of cannon.

The area was really beautiful and we were blessed with warm and clear weather. In the evening we were entertained by a lovely trio (clarinet, guitar and bass. Their energy and harmony were wonderful.

Biking in Rudesheim

We signed up for the biking excursion, but it was unclear if e-bikes were available. Apparently, it’s hard to find e-bike providers in the area along the canal. Tour groups that focus on biking everyday scoop them up. But Tauck procured enough for the group that signed up and we enjoyed a lovely ride along the canal. When our leaders assessed that we were all capable, we went further up to the winery

Full Day Cruising with a Surprise Stop in Miltenberg

We learned an interesting fact from one of our guides, towns ending in ‘burg’ reference a castle town and “berg” means in the hills or mountains but usually without a castle. That being said, our next stop was Miltonberg.

At this part of the trip the canals travel through towns with very low bridges, so the top of the boat is off limits to passengers and the pilot house raises and lowers as needed. In fact sometimes the bridge is so low it seems impossible that the ship will make it. Tuesday was supposed to be a nonstop cruise day, but we were ahead of schedule and made a lovely stop in Miltonberg.

I was thrilled to stroll the town and we passed a small music store with Ukuleles. I needed a new kapo but the proprietor was such a character I forgot to buy one. Harold was born in the town and gave us lots of history. Miltonberg lucked out in the war and they were only hit by one bomb. So most of the buildings and old homes are intact. Some were over 500 years old!

Würzburg Palace and Walk About.

Saturday (yesterday) we cruised to Würzburg and Jim and I chose to visit Würzburg Palace. Although much of it was bombed in WWII, the amazing frescos survived. Würzburg is a college town, and a winery town.

Our excursion began with a delicious wine lunch and then the group split up. Some took an hour bus trip to Rothenburg to see the Summer Palace while our group walked up to the City Palace. I’m not really a fan of the long bus rides. And the City Palace is stunning.

Painted by Venetian artist Tiepello, the City Palace rococo Frescos are among the largest in the world. They took our breath away. The technique and perspective are quite remarkable. Here’s a good link to the information. The three dimensional techniques create surprising visual rewards. The rest of the palace features more stunning rooms, glass, and chandeliers. Our guide loves this town and shared his joy and the history with us.

After the palace tour we walked around a bit, bought Jim a sweater and then walked over the wine bridge.

Bamburg and the Emperor and Empress who became Saints.

Bamburg was founded in 1002 by King (& later Holy Roman Emperor) Heinrich the Second and his Queen (& later Empress), Kunigunde. Unlike most royal marriages at the time, their marriage was not arranged, it was for love. Both were deeply committed to building the Würzburg Cathedral and were later canonized as Saints (the only Royal Couple ever to be elevated to Sainthood). The Cathederal is majestic but surprisingly simple. They had no children, but were both entombed in the Cathedral after each died (Heinrich died first, and Kunigunde served as Empress Regent until the next Holy Roman Emperor was elected).

Bamburg in general was a bit dirtier and more crowded than Würzburg. After the tours we walked around the old town a bit and I bought a cute skirt. Surprisingly, we were gifted two “Hemp” beers. We put the bottles in our fridge but haven’t tried them yet. Bamburg is known for its “Smokey” beer, which I tried and really liked.

I joined the group doing a speed walk back to the ship. And I’ve begun to dial back on the croissants, alcohol and desserts. Exercise alone is not enough.

When we got back to the ship the Umpa Band played in the lounge. Of course I had to have another beer.

Nuremberg and 80’ Locks

You might be asking yourself, wait a minute, why isn’t Nuremberg spelled with an “urg”, doesn’t it have a castle? You would be correct it does have a very cool medieval castle, but I guess it had a little mountain first and then a castle. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Of course Nuremberg is most well known for its relatively recent history as the center of Hitler’s mass propaganda rallies prior to WW2 at the 2 square mile Zeppelin “airship port” and parade grounds, followed immediately after WW2 by the Nuremberg war crime trials. There isn’t much to say about it. Thankfully, the reviewing stand where Hitler stood is in disrepair and the grandstands overgrown with weeds. Today there are no Zeppelins and the parade grounds are used for a soccer stadium, rugby and other events.

The Nuremberg Medieval Castle and surrounding old town was much more interesting. This is definitely the place you want to go if you are under siege by a medieval army! It’s only entrance is narrow, steep and exposed to attack from multiple directions.

After we left Nuremberg we began cruising in the most modern section of the lock system that connects Nuremberg to the Danube. King Ludwig and his son were very interested in canal technology. They completed the first marginally successful connection of the Main and the Danube. It opened the same time as the Eerie canal in 1850, but was only partially successful and was mostly used for day excursions.

In 1921 Germany decided to build a modern canal with electricity sold by the new hydropower generators providing the money to build the expansion but the Nazi’s had other priorities. But construction resumed in 1960 and the beautiful new canal and gigantic locks opened September 25, 1992. So it took 32 years to build 106 miles of canals and locks, with the project repeatedly delayed by environmental lawsuits. People called it “the canal that leads nowhere” because of the Iron curtain, but then the Iron Curtain fell. The goal was to bring people together using the canals and at the same time creating an efficient, eco-friendly system for moving goods. The locks were 12 meters wide and designed for motorized barges that were 10 meters wide. But then the Riverboat Cruise Operators got interested and built ships that were 11.5 meters wide that just barely fit. The locks recycle most of the water they use in a very ingenious way.

Time-lapse video of large lock.

For some crazy reason the German Government no longer charges barges or cruise ships to use the system so all of the capital and operating costs are paid by German taxpayers.

The last three locks were amazingly 80’ high. We went up one side of the European Continental Divide to an altitude of 1,333 feet (remember we started at sea level in Amsterdam) and now we are beginning the voyage down river to Budapest (at 300 feet of altitude). Check out Jim’s time-lapse videos. It was a crazy experience. When we approached the down lock it looked like we were going to cruise right off the plateau.Fun 20’s Dance Party to Celebrate Tauck’s 100th Anniversary

I can’t even remember which night this happened, but the pictures were fun. We didn’t get the memo about the 20’s theme so we dressed in our India attire.

Goodbye for now.

Jim and Fawn

Amsterdam Day 3 & 4 and now the Cruise

Posted on May 15, 2025 by trueloveadventures

I’m watching the world pass by as we cruise up the Rhine River on our way to Cologne. But, we had two days more of touring Amsterdam before we began our river cruise.

Rick Steves Walking tour and Mastering the Metro.

Before heading out we stopped on the way for a particularly yummy warm and flaky almond croissant from the local Bakhuys (which means quite literally, bake house).

We don’t really feel like we have mastered a new place until we ride the metro and Amsterdam’s Metro was lovely, and super easy to maneuver. Just like most of Asia you can pay for the subway or light rail with a tap using Apple Pay or a credit card each time you get on and off. Note to Seattle: for goodness sake, time to replace the “honor system” in which so many riders act dishonorably.

After riding the Metro to Central Station we walked and listened to the history of the area and other tidbits from Rick Steves’ audio tour. Although we had walked some of it before, the audio tour connected the dots and helped us understand the city even more.

After using the beautiful hotel pool we rested a bit and then went out for a yummy Italian dinner at a local restaurant we passed the night before. It was a good choice.

I forgot to mention the day before when we were grabbing a late snack in the hotel bar and were entertained by a floating opera singer (who had been engaged for a big birthday bash on the canal).

The Portuguese Synagogue

Yesterday, Monday, we checked out early from the hotel and made our way to the Portuguese Synagogue. If you go to Amsterdam this is a must visit. The Portuguese Synagogue is the largest and oldest in Europe still in use today. It is a Sephardic synagogue built by the Jewish survivors of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions who escaped death by agreeing to convert to Christianity (the “New Christians”), but then converted back to Judaism after immigrating to Holland where “freedom of religion” was a radical new concept.

Next door to the Portuguese Synogogue is an Ashkenazi Synagogue (for Jews from other parts of Europe). It was also built with wood, a few years after the Portuguese Synagogue.

Both Synogogue’s survived the Nazis because Hitler wanted them to remain as a museum of the “extinct” Jews.

Although 90% of the Jews in Amsterdam (including Anne Frank) died in the Holocaust, on the first Sabbath after Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945 (80 years ago), there were still enough Jews to reopen the Portuguese Synagogue which continues in active use today.

Sadly, so few Ashkenazi Jews survived the Holocaust that their 17th Century Synagogue is now a museum and no longer actively used for worship.

The energy in the Portuguese Synagogue is quite peaceful. Someday we would like to attend a service here. Although it has no electricity or heat, it is lit at night by 1000 candles along the pews and in giant hanging candelabras.

When we visited during the day, sun was shining in through the high windows, ighting the pews as we sat and listened to a recorded Shalom meditation on our EarPods.

The “treasures” vault of the Ashkenazi Synagogue Museum preserved many old artifacts, including Torah Scrolls, candelabras, and clothing.

We learned that the symbol of Jews in Amsterdam and other places around the world was the mythical Phoenix bird, which rises from the ashes of its own death. Which of course makes perfect sense, because Jews were always rising from the ashes of the most recent pogrom.

The MS Joy

From there we walked back to the hotel to catch a bus to the ship. Our luggage was in our room (308) when we arrived on board. This is our first cruise of any kind, other than our personal cruising of course. I must say it is a real convenience to unpack and know that we won’t have to move our luggage for 14 days.

Our stateroom is lovely and comfortable. The ship felt a little strange to me at first, I can’t even explain why. Maybe a little claustrophobic, but it is plenty big for the 115 guests on board.

We’ve quickly acclimated and connected with many of our fellow passengers forming new friendships. Our room is on the starboard side and at our dock in Amsterdam our view was industrial. So opening the sliding glass outside doors for sleeping really wasn’t a choice. But once we were underway Monday night the joy of the view bloomed and I was able to open the windows to lots of fresh air.

But before leaving Amsterdam we had one last touring day in Amsterdam. Although there are very few cars driving around, there’s an enormous number of bikes. So you need to be very careful crossing the many bike paths which crisscross the city. All of the cars and buses are restricted to a very slow speeds (about 20 mph) to create a safer environment for the much more numerous the cyclists.

On the way to the RIJKS National Museum our bus guide gave us some fun facts. He described Amsterdam as a “Cosmopolitan Village” because it is really pretty small. The plan, a very quick tour of the RIJKS Museum, meandering canal lunch tour and some free time before a coach ride to catch up with the ship.

The RIJKS Museum tour was like an art speed date, and our guide had her list of highlights that she mentioned as we raced through, quickly looking for openings here and there through the crowd. The building itself is quite special. Of course the most famous painting there is Rembrandt’s Night Watch (which is currently being restored).

I learned some fun Rembrandt facts. He always had his light coming from the upper left and shadows on the lower right side of paintings. We could watch the restorers with their computers, microscopes and lasers, painstakingly working on the painting. I found that fascinating and would have liked to talk to the restorers and learn more about what they were doing. I loved some of the Vermeer paintings. We quickly saw some strange miniature houses the wealthy created to demonstrate the grandeur of their house. These are not to be confused with doll houses.

Of course, seeing Amsterdam from the canals is a must. There is nothing quite like it. Our guide on the tour shared some fun facts and history. It turns out that a woman was the creator of the Central Bank of Amsterdam. And although she was not allowed in their stock exchange building, she was very important to the financial success of Amsterdam.

After touring some of the Amsterdam canals by tour boat, we had 2 hours to walk around and Wanda (a fellow passenger) and I went in search of the nearby grocery store to stock up on some needed sundries. I hadn’t seen any grocery store in all our walking around. Unlike most places we visited, there aren’t lots of corner groceries and drug stores. I thought to myself, where on earth are all these people shopping and it turned out it was underground near the museums. We still had time to kill so we grabbed a latte and hung out at a nearby locals cafe.

After a break to wander, we boarded our bus and made our way to meet up with the ship that had been cruising all day to a rendezvous point 50 miles up river from Amsterdam.

Jim stayed on board today because he was feeling a little bit coldy so he missed the canal cruise but he got to experience the first locks and a lovely day healing and napping in the sun.

Unfortunately, the coach hit traffic and took over 2 hours to get to the ship. I really don’t like the coach ride part of these tours, but sometimes they are just necessarily. But once on board I went to our room and showered before a lovely dinner. We disembarked for the overnight cruise highlighted by a stunning sunset.

Overnight away from the dock we opened our doors to the sound of the water, occasionally woken up by industrial activity and barges going by, but still wonderful. This morning after breakfast I did my walk/run on the upper decks while Jim did his stretches. Sun continues to warm our journey and we feel very lucky. We had some touring business to attend to, picking our our excursions for the the rest of the journey.

So we will grab a bite to eat before docking in Cologne and exploring that city.

Cologne:

No rushing out this morning. We enjoyed cruising on our way to Cologne and I got a run in by doing laps around the top deck. The weather is perfect and the experience of running the circle including some steps while cruising was kind of interesting, half against the wind, half with the wind.

We just returned from a special tour by a young local guide, Benny. He was energetic and informative and extremely cute.

You can see Jim in the pictures above walking over some metal boxes. These mark where a “water fence” can be constructed quickly to hold back flooding waters. It was built after three years of big floods in the 1990’s. It’s tested every year but it hasn’t been needed yet in a real flood. It can be constructed in only a few hours by 1200 people.

After the tour we went into the cathedral which is quite impressive. The glowing, magnificent stained glass and its huge size make it especially remarkable. It was built over hundreds of years and was the tallest building in the world after it was completed in the 1800’s until the Washington Monument was built in DC (using the scaffolding from this cathedral). We stopped for some yummy ice cream on our way back to the ship. Our last stop was the main Cologne rail/auto/pedestrian bridge that is completely covered with the thousands of padlocks placed by loving couples who attach their symbolic “love lock” to the bridge and throw away the key into the Rhine River below. Tonight, we get underway again at 6:30 and then will celebrate the evening with local beer, food and music.

Auf Wiedersehen.

Fawn and Jim

The beginning of our River Cruise Adventure: Amsterdam Day 1 & 2

Posted on May 10, 2025 by trueloveadventures

It’s been a while since we’ve written a blog. Last summer, I didn’t really finish our cruise blogging. Life and work got in the way.

But, I’m motivated again. To catch you up a bit . . . Jim had his aortic valve replacement surgery in February and it has made a huge difference. We are so thankful for the amazing surgeons and modern medicine. His heart is working beautifully and we are working on getting his muscle strength back.

Today, we are in Amsterdam, acclimating to the current time zone (Seattle + 9 hours) before we board our riverboat cruise to Budapest. Yesterday, after landing in the morning we got to our beautiful hotel on the Amstel River, the Amstel Intercontinental, and immediately went out walking on a beautiful sunny day (which apparently are as rare here in May as they are in Seattle).

I’m struck by how familiar the architecture is and I guess, it shouldn’t be surprising. New Amsterdam (now New York City) after all was where I grew up. All the beautiful canals are another story. The semicircle rings of canals radiating out from the city center require over 1,200 bridges with most of the best views from the middle of each bridge. That plus all of the bicycles make strolling here quite fascinating. It’s different from anywhere else we have been.

Everyone warned us about all the bicycles so, we were prepared. And we made it through our first day without any close calls. And yes, some of those bicycles have huge “baskets” (some look like small bathtubs) in front to carry children, groceries and other cargo.

We’ve been blessed once again with sunny weather to explore the city. And we walked 4 miles acclimating to our current time zone (about 9 hours ahead) before settling in for a yummy lunch at an outside canal side table at Maria’s restaurant, watching the little tour boats cruise by. Then we walked some more before exhaustion set in and we went back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. Jim’s rehab is certainly being put to the test!

Three hours later we woke up and headed out for dinner at a nearby local restaurant: De Ysbreeker (“The Icebreaker”), also next to a canal.

Amsterdam Day 2: Of course, we woke early this morning and both felt pretty good given the time change.

After a beautiful breakfast, we are taking a bit of a break before heading off for the Van Gough Museum.

Once again we are blessed with “tourist weather”. It’s much more usual for it to be rainy and cooler here, much like Seattle. But as we roamed the streets to the museum district the sun shined down. People were at outside tables at all the cafes, smiling with faces to the sun. We passed one person who was wearing a great t-shirt. I didn’t get a photo but it said, “Don’t blame me, I was left unsupervised.”

We met up with our guide Fannie for our Van Gough tour. She was a tall, energetic, art historian with a well crafted narrative of the exhibit and the Van Gough history of painting. We all know the basics, but she was able to add so much knowledge of quality and growth of his painting from dark realism to the vibrant pointillism and colors we’ve all come to appreciate.

After taking a break at the museum cafe, we wandered over to the Anselm Keifer special exhibit. Keifer was inspired in many ways by Van Gough and early in his career won a grant to travel the same journey from Holland to Belgium and France. His paintings are enormous, layered and overwhelming.

There is no way to experience the size except by being there. How on earth they move this exhibit is a huge question. As another person standing near us said, “very carefully!” I was blown away. Now we want to see the 2023 documentary “Anselm” and it would be amazing to visit his art compound in person. But what a great experience to see the exhibit here.

On our way back to the hotel for an afternoon nap to keep up our Jet lag recovery program, we stopped for gelato. Back at the hotel, we swam at the lovely pool and then we headed out for a nearby late dinner at a local Indian Restaurant.

Strolling back to the hotel on this temperate night, we passed some young men practicing some field hockey techniques. Turns out this guy is quite famous amongst field hockey aficionados, his friend boasting about Olympics and European championships.

I had an interesting observation walking around yesterday. People don’t wear clothing with a lot of color. Tans, black, browns adorn the inhabitants of Amsterdam. The people are lovely. It doesn’t mean anything really, just interesting. They choose to blend in with the usually grey weather.

You can see from our colorful plumage today, we stick out! After a reasonably good night’s sleep and another yummy breakfast overlooking a canal, today we are heading out for the Jewish Quarter.

Tot zines voor nu (Goodbye for now)

True Love Adventurers in Amsterdam, Fawn and Jim

A Favorite

Posted on July 15, 2024 by trueloveadventures

Crawford Anchorage near Erasmus Island is probably our second favorite anchorage. With only a new moon and a very low dew point we stayed up late to enjoy the amazing star watching.

From Erasmus we can easily take our tender to Blind Channel and we went over to see if we could find our friends Helen & Jeff of the “Tortoise.” We shared stories and cocktails before returning to the True Love, still quietly anchored in our private bay. When we have the opportunity to anchor in a quiet place by ourselves, we take advantage of the solitude.

The stars were spectacular so we stayed up late, slept in and then headed track to Blind Channel to resupply.

Although the winds were very strong just a mile a way in Johnstone Strait, the glassy calm waters at our anchorage made for lovely kayaking and we circumnavigated the little island in about 30 minutes. Earlier I had given the Captain a needed hair cut and we even found some of his hair on the other side of the Island.

Inspired by the stars the night before I began campaigning for another late night photo shoot. I can’t take long exposure shots on the True Love because of all the movement. Getting star photos requires solid ground.

It’s not the Captain’s favorite job, but we scoped out a location to take a photo of part of the Milky Way. He rightfully worries that one of us may end up in the cold 51 degree water, in the dark. But, we took the tender to two locations and found a good landing for a late night photo shoot that he felt, at least somewhat comfortable with trying around midnight.

While exploring the Captain spotted a little eel in the tide pool.

So after a day of kayaking and a late dinner we watched the sun set, the stars appear and the Milky Way bloom in the sky. Then we loaded the equipment in the tender, and with head lamps and of course life vests we headed to the flat rock at the previously explored landing on the north side of the bay. The tide was a little higher than we expected so we docked in a slightly different place, but I was able to capture a pretty good star shot. Even with my macro star lens that I used to photograph the Aurora Borealis in Norway, I could not capture the entire Milky Way. It’s just too big. But we got some good shots, the adventure was thrilling and satisfying and safe.

Of course we slept in, enjoyed some more kayaking, but you guessed it! I was inspired by the first night to try again at another location. The True Love has some cool underwater lights we installed a few years ago and I thought they would add to another star photo. I also spotted a cool flat rock easily accessible and very near to our anchorage. So I convinced the Captain (I’m very persuasive) to investigate it during the day, and it looked doable so he agreed to give it a shot that night.

Then it was off to Campbell River for a 2 hour stop for some refueling, groceries, some spare parts at a marine store and a visit to Canadian Tire. Canadian Tire has almost everything (not just tires) anyone needs in life, except groceries. It’s well stocked, well staffed and we love it!

We docked at April Point, on the other side of Discovery Passage from Campbell River. The old resort there is in complete disrepair and closed, but the marina still exists and is a quiet little spot with beautiful views. The docks aren’t in great shape, but with power and water are good enough. We had multiple zoom meetings the next day and needed to make sure our trusty starlink works best when the boat is either underway or stationery at a dock (and not spinning around an anchor).

Because the resort is now closed the road to it makes for perfect bicycling through the forest. So we rode our e-bikes to get some fish & chips near the ferry, about 2 miles away. Then we scoped out the nearby bakery for the next morning. “Aroma” is a perfect local bakery filled with locals and visitors all enjoying the yummy baked goods.

Then it was off to Gorge Harbour about 20 miles away for a stop over to meet our friends Carmie and Dena before heading further south to the Beach Gardens Marina (near Powell River) for a couple of days on our way back to our summer moorage in Pender Harbour. Gorge Harbour used to have a restaurant but they had to take it down because it wasn’t structurally sound. We decided to anchor in the protected harbour. The wind kicked up and the“ anchor held fine but we spun around quite a bit and the sound of the wind driven waves on the boat was intense overnight.

Gorge Harbour has free yoga daily every morning at a large patio next to the marina and we enjoyed a wonderful class, before raising the anchor and heading south. Jim has been doing yoga regularly with me for about a year and now he’s absolutely fine in a class. The teacher said a couple of things that we especially liked. First she said, “yoga is all about breathing, and we are just going to do some movements around that breathing.” She also said to think of yourself as having two ways to focus your attention: outward (projecting) and inward (observing). Yoga is about calming your mind so that you can focus on your breathing and inner self while meditating in the moment (not thinking about the past or the future). It spoke to us. The hour class went by quickly.

So now it’s goodbye Desolation Sound as we head south.

After docking at the Beach Gardens Marina, we had a little water pump problem, but it was easily fixed. The tube next to the water pressure gauge fell off again so I decided to cut off the end of the old, dried-out tubing there and reattach it. So far this little fix seems to be doing the job. The whole project from discovery of the problem to a lasting solution only took 30 minutes so we aren’t even counting it as a stoic challenge. I actually thought we should have done it before, but we were too tired at the end of the repair last time.

After a quick shower at the Beach Gardens Marina we walked up to the newly reopened restaurant. Over the years, especially after COVID, it wasn’t always open. It’s lovely again now and the food and drinks were yummy.

Our e-bikes came in handy once again to explore. Last time we were here we had a bear encounter on the coastline walking path. But, not this time. Instead we lucked into the last day of the Logger Sports event. We’ve seen this before with our friend Erika. It’s totally awesome.

The contestants in the Jack and Jill sawing race are fast!

Powell River is quite the foody place so eating out is a must. We began with dessert first, yummy ice cream at the Logger event, and then a lovely “linner” with great food and a view. At the restaurant we chatted with a man from Seattle. He heard us discussing the crazy political situation and we all found a lot of agreement about the mess we are in. He’s the head researcher at Children’s Hospital. We told him we are part of Dick’s and he thought that was amazing. He had met someone on the ferry coming over from Vancouver Island who told him that when he is in Seattle he always goes to Dick’s. Then he met up with us. We love hearing stories like that. Back at the True Love we did some necessary cleaning and enjoyed another wonderful sunset glowing off the Salish Sea.

Not Another One!

Posted on July 2, 2024 by trueloveadventures

First of all, everything is working now and we are starting our day anchored in beautiful Isabel Bay (on Lancelot Inlet, halfway down Okeover Inlet, in south Desolation Sound).

Although we so appreciate our summer moorage in Pender Harbour, we really love the peaceful experience of anchoring in a more secluded & beautiful spot. Last night we arrived and set the anchor. This spot is 70 feet deep, deeper than we prefer to anchor, but we have plenty of anchor chain and with almost no wind our anchor is holding beautifully.

The warm sun of summer has finally appeared, and it’s almost too warm in the late afternoon. The Captain kayaked and I paddle boarded to get some exercise and enjoy this special little anchorage before dusk and dinner. Although the sun set on our boat, Lancelot Inlet still had some late sun, so we went out for a ride in our tender and I played the Uke! It’s magical moments like these that make life so special.

OK, now I have to tell you about our recent water pump stoic challenge. We knew the water pump was having issues because it was represurizing itself every 5 minutes or so. Of course we searched for leaks, everywhere, but found none. I assumed it was reaching the end of its useful life (3-5 years). After calling the manufacturer in Florida and talking with a tech, we all decided it was a good idea to have a spare sent out along with another part that would be an even easier possible fix. But that would take at least a few days and possibly weeks, and after the call the problem got worse.

Our planned stay at John Henry’s Marina was for a few more days and we hoped we might get the water pump pretty quickly. Actually, because the part had to clear Canadian customs, the delivery time expanded from two days to two weeks! What happened to free trade within North America? We resigned ourselves to babying the water pump along and hoping for the best.

So we enjoyed our time there with our friends and dock mates Carmie and Dena, including a great dinner at the Painted Boat to celebrate our 43rd anniversary.

We kayaked around and found the place to dock to explore a beach front park on another day. Carmie deployed the sail on his super cute “Portland Pudgy” dinghy and it worked beautifully as he sailed it around Pender Harbour. The electric bikes also came in super handy as we used them to begin exploring the country roads nearby with all their rolling hills along the coastline, and we will do definitely do more of that in the future.

But, when we returned from our first long e-bike ride and gathered for evening happy hour, the water would not turn on at all. The Captain said, “OK, no worries, it’s just another stoic challenge!” And I thought it would be a snap to fix the water pump, as I’ve fixed it several times before, However, it was not easy and, although we did eventually fix it, the Captain was right: the project was another serous stoic challenge.

I went below and found a lot of water in the storage area. That was good. It meant I should be able to find the leak. The storage area is Tetris collection of equipment, supplies, spare parts and pantry. After removing the wet stuff and reorganizing, I spotted a water hose downstream of the pump that had detached. No problem, I thought, I’ll just re-attach it and our problem would be solved.

Unfortunately, it was not so easy. When the stabilizer was installed a few years ago the installers should have repositioned the hose but did not. Instead, the now ridiculously placed water pressure meter, is now in the far back corner, behind the stabilizer hydraulics and very difficult to reach . The Florida tech had asked us if we had a water presssure garage and we said no, because I had never seen it as it was completely hidden behind the stabilizer. I finally was able to re-attach the water hose on one side of the pressure gauge but the clamp that held it in place didn’t seem tight enough.

After a few unsuccessful tries to prime and restart the water pump, we realized it wasn’t working because the water tank was, of course, completely empty. When the pipe disconnected, the water pump noticed the drop in system pressure and must have run continuously until it emptied the 100 gallon water tank (which was half full before we went out for our e-bike exploration). All of that water drained into the bilge and the automatic bilge pumps cleared it, all during our two hour bicycle adventure!

Stoic challenges are often like this: a series of explorations, discoveries, attempted solutions, failures, learning and eventually accomplishment as the true underlying problem is finally discovered and repaired.

After refilling water the tank and going through the priming procedure again the pump worked. Yes!!!!! But….. the hose was still leaking just a little bit. Curses ensued. Then deep breathing.

You can see me here trying to tighten it with a short handled screwdriver, holding the flashlight with my toes. I asked the Captain to try but although it was tighter with his help, it still leaked a bit. Then we had the idea to use the socket wrench set and see if we could tighten it more. It took a some tries to find the right size and find a way to fit the tool into the tight space, but we finally did it, and …. it worked! No leaks!

All good, no problem, no worries, just hang loose after a two hour stoic challenge. Using the now wonderfully working water pump we showered and collapsed into bed.

It’s always good to make new discoveries about the True Love. When we get a chance we are going to replace the hose and move the water pressure meter to a more accessible location.

We persevered and are rewarded as our adventure continues. It looks like summer is here to stay with lots of warm, sunny days in the forecast. The next few days we will enjoy a bit of luxury at Dent Island followed by more exploring in the area north of Desolation Sound near the Blind Channel Resort.

Dent offers such caring service, exceptional food, fantastic docks and a nice way to meet new boating friends. We spent three days here and even got a little hiking in, lots of hot tubbing, exercising in the gym to work off all the food and some kayaking near the crazy rapids. But, we also enjoy our time in our “gunk holes” on the anchor, by ourselves. Currently, we are anchored near Blind Channel, next to the inside of Erasmus Island, all by ourselves.

On our way from Dent to Erasmus we connected with Jim’s childhood friend from Bellevue Julie (Jacobson) Saul and her new husband, John Boekholt. It turns out they met our friends Dena and Carmie earlier in the summer and somehow discovered that they both knew us. They were anchored in a special spot in Hemming Bay and we cruised over, where they met us on the True Love for some snacks and chats. You never know who you are going to run into while boating up here!

We thought we might head up to the Broughtons to escape the hot weather, but Johnstone Strait is predicted to have very strong winds. So, we’ve decided to enjoy this area for the next few days and then head South to Octopus Islands.

This anchorage offers calm waters, and fabulous star watching with expansive sky views and no light pollution! Last night we saw several shooting starts and the International Space Station!

It began with a stoic challenge . . .

Posted on June 23, 2024 by trueloveadventures

We thought we had the True Love totally ready to go. All systems go. Our original plan was to leave in early June, but we were delayed by weather and helping my sister Rachel move to Wenatchee for a new job in her field of Addiction Counseling. Rachel has been earning a college degree in the subject over the past several years and now is working in her new career even before she graduates! We are so proud of her! It also gave us the opportunity for lots of Grandchild sports time.

On June 10th we left the dock. The weather forecast and tides looked good for a long cruise all the way to Canada. Normally, we cruise north slowly on literally our “bread run”, stopping for fresh bread at the bakery in Port Townsend, then clearing customs in Montague Harbour, followed by a stop at the Farmers Market at Salt Spring Island, where we get produce, goat cheese and of course more amazing fresh bread for the days ahead.

But this year we wanted to get to all the way to Comox (five hours north of Nanaimo) as soon as possible to pick up a replacement for our damaged tender. Our original 20 year old, 12-foot-long tender with a 40hp outboard engine was having issues last year, but we decided then to wait until 2025 to replace it. But that was before we punctured one of its four inflatable compartments on our first overnight “shakedown” cruise of 2024. We were using the hydraulic lift on the aft swim platform to bring the tender back onto its cradle and the first mate was trying a new procedure that would help shift the weight to port to make that task easier. Unfortunately, the innovation didn’t work, and instead the result was a 4″ gash in one of the inflatable compartments. So we patched it as best as we could with duct tape and layers of “Flex Seal” paint. The patch slowed the leak, but the crucial aft floatation chamber still completely deflated in only 10 minutes, putting the tender at risk of capsizing.

This was only the latest failure of one of our inflatable products in 2024. Earlier this year, we lost two paddle boards to overinflation explosions caused by the hot sun at our condo in Hawaii (another long story). And 2 other older paddle boards on the True Love failed after being stored outside over the winter. The good news is that the new Costco paddle board we bought just before leaving Seattle came with an electric pump that used an electric cigarette lighter plug.

Although the old tender didn’t have a working cigarette lighter plug, we had a jump-start battery that did, so we were able to use that to power the electric pump to put air into our leaking inflatable section faster than it was leaking out! Using that technique, we were able to safely drive the old tender to the boat launch for small boats in Comox, where a small boat trailer was waiting to pull it out of the water and take it to Parker Marine, the local boat dealer. Parker took our old boat and almost new 40hp outboard in trade on a new lighter tender with a smaller and lighter 25hp engine that solved the original problem we had with our underpowered tender lift! Stoic challenge #1 solved!

But back to our journey north. On our first day cruising we made it all the way to Montague in a relatively calm 10 hour cruise. The four hour crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca was calm at first but then crazy 2-3 foot confused seas developed. The stabilizer worked for the rolling, but we were dealing with some intense up and down, with some slamming, which caused a problem you will read about soon. It lasted about an hour and then the seas calmed again

Anchored at Montague, we tried to turn on the generator to make dinner but unfortunately, it didn’t work. Oh no!!!! Generator problems again! Stoic challenge #2 had arisen and we hadn’t yet fixed Stoic challenge #1. For those of you who followed us last year, you know this was a big issue for us. First we took a deep breath and used the grill to cook some duck thighs we had bought at Trader Joes (which were delicious!) The grilled duck over salad worked perfectly, but exhausted from our long first day, we went to sleep so that we could face this new stoic challenge tomorrow.

Our second day was an easy four hour cruise north to Nanaimo where we planned to stay two nights, go grocery shopping and eat at our favorite Greek restaurant. We were connected to shore power, but we knew we had to fix the generator or we would be stuck at docks all summer.

The Captain and I went down to the engine room to sleuth-out the generator problem and found that one of the electric leads to the generator’s fuel pump had fallen off and we couldn’t fix it without removing the pump. The good news is that I had videos from our repair with our favorite mechanic Mike “MacGyver” Martin, so I knew how to remove the fuel pump. We removed the necessary bolts, gently pulled it out and put the lead back on. It worked! Unfortunately, it wouldn’t stay on. But, we had Duct Tape! So we taped it on with narrow strips of Duct Tape. That worked beautifully! We’ve since had Mike look at it just in case, he thought we should do something else and Mike blessed our Duct Tape repair and said it should easily last all summer! So stoic challenge #2 was fixed even before stoic challenge #1!

After reading this some of you might be concerned that we don’t have enough duct tape, but no worries, we have two big rolls.

We now have folding electric bikes on board to make getting around easier when we are at a dock. Going up the steep hill above the Nanaimo Marina to eat at our favorite Greek Restaurant is now a breeze. We love them. Our second night in Nanaimo we used our e-bikes to go to an excellent Italian Restaurant near the Greek Restaurant. I’m using a “Lumen” device to gauge my daily metabolism and help me lose some weight by burning carbs more efficiently. It’s working really well for me. I feel better and stronger and have learned that on big exercise days I need to eat more carbs. It helps me exercise harder without aches and pains. Our second day in Nanaimo was a high carb day for me. So I was ready for some pasta and bread. We ordered their garlic cheese bread, which was more like a garlicky, cheesy, pizza with crust that was as thin and light as a croissant. In short, it was heavenly. The rest of the meal was yummy too. This restaurant is now another “must visit” when in Nanaimo.

Although it had been very windy, the weather improved during our 5 hour cruise from Nanaimo to Comox where we swapped our damaged “Caribe” tender for our new lighter “Highfield” tender. Everything happened smoothly thanks to Dan from Parker Marine. Jim and I walked around Comox and enjoyed a yummy pub meal. Our favorite bakery there was sold out of bread when we visited the day we arrived, but the morning we left to head to our summer moorage in Pender Harbour, I got up early to go for a run and procured some lovely, fresh baked multi grain bread which we are still enjoying.

Unfortunately, Stoic Challenge #3 arose while we were on our easy 5 hour cruise from Comox to Pender Harbour (our primary summer moorage) when the generator stopped working again! We just couldn’t believe it! This time the generator turned on (the duct tape repair was still working), but the water pump wasn’t pumping sea water to cool the engine, which meant that the generator would overheat in just a few minutes and turn itself off. This happens sometimes when the seawater thru-hull valve or strainer gets plugged with debris, but that usually happens when we are at anchor, not when we are cruising miles from shore where there is little surface debris. Regardless of the cause, however, we couldn’t do anything about it until we arrived at our moorage at John Henry’s Marina

And so Big Stoic Challenge #3 began. This was our opportunity to spend our time learning everything about our generator and its cooling system. Mike couldn’t come help us for a few days but he was available by text for questions and moral support.

We began by checking to see if the seawater intake or filter was clogged. Nope. That wasn’t it. Plenty of seawater was available to the generator, it just wasn’t circulating.

Next we removed and disassembled the water pump to see if the impeller was damaged – ding, ding, ding!

The impeller was broken into several pieces. After removing the sea pump, procuring and installing a new impeller (thank you Youtube) we with great fanfare turned it on and incredibly, it still didn’t work! No seawater was being expelled with the generator’s exhaust. We took a video to show Mike and he suggested we remove the pump and bring it over to Rick at the Madeira Park Marina. Rick is in high demand, doesn’t really talk to many people, but agreed to help us and check out our pump because we said Mike suggested it. He even came out and talked to Jim, which is highly unusual.

That night we sent a video to Dani’s husband Scotty, who is a real car guy, to ask if he had any suggestions. Of course, he first asked if we installed the impeller the correct way. We did, but we checked it the next day. It isn’t unusual to install it backwards. We asked if we could use fresh water from the dock faucet to test where the blockage was inside the generator. He said yes. And we really appreciated Scotty’s moral support and expert knowledge.

Exhausted, we went to sleep so we would be ready to tackle this new task the next day.

I have all the important manuals for the True Love well organized, but there wasn’t one for the generator. However, thanks to the internet, I was able to download it.

Mike suggested we get a shop vac before pushing fresh water into the generator to see if we could suck out any blockage, rather than trying to push it all the way through the generator and out through the exhaust vent. We borrowed a car from the marina manager, drove about 10 miles to a hardware store and got a cute little shop vac, some better tools and new water hose.

Then we began our investigation of the generator’s cooling system, removing the flexible pipes one by one and looking for the blockage. When we got to the “cooler” (heat exchanger) we used the shop vac but nothing came out. We then ran fresh water through the cooler and the water flowed unimpeded, so the problem, whatever it was, had to be “downstream” from there.

At the end of our second day of generator repairs we were very tired and still stumped. The next pipes we would check included a weird, “upside down V” joint which we later learned was a back-flow preventer to keep seawater from running back into the generator from the exhaust port in heavy seas. I didn’t feel comfortable dealing with that ourselves and Mike said he could come by and help us with it the next morning so, exhausted again, we went to sleep.

Mike arrived about 10am the next morning. He reviewed what we had done so far and gave us a thumbs up. He showed us how to remove the “end cap” from the cooler and clean out the coils inside, but that wasn’t the problem. I then showed him the back flow preventer. He showed us how to take it apart, cleaned it out and we found this . . . a tiny piece of zinc used in the cooler to stop salt water corrosion that had broken off and completely blocked the cooling seawater exhaust at that point . Unbelievable! I’ve saved it and it is on display. Sometimes it’s literally the smallest things that keep something from working properly.

Mike quickly helped us put everything back together properly. He found a few other little things to fix like a bolt that had fallen out of the bottom of the generator’s oil pan that was allowing a small amount of oil to leak. This is when Mike also checked our fuel pump duct tape fix and said it would likely last the summer or longer. So only an hour after Mike arrived all critical boat systems were finally working and we were ready to cruise to our favorite destination in the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia: Princess Louisa Inlet.

Despite all of stoic challenges, we arrived at PLI only one day later than we originally planned!

Our hope was to get into PLI before the July-August “busy” season and we succeeded. The waterfalls are abundantly flowing. Snow fields and glaciers cover the high mountains and during the occasional sunny days, we’ve enjoyed the spectacular scenery, kayaked, floated, gone paddle boarding, done yoga and read.

Our Starlink works here pretty well, so we can stay in touch with family and friends, keep up on some work projects, relax and finally publish the True Love Adventures blog. Ahhhhhhhh. It’s only warm here in the summer but during the summer PLI is our favorite place to be.

The first two nights we were here, another boat was in our favorite anchorage, so we tied up to a mooring buoy. By yesterday the other boat left and we moved to our favorite anchorage, between two smaller waterfalls and within sight of the big waterfall, Chatterbox Falls, at the head of the inlet. Our new tender is awesome and the generator is working flawlessly. It feels like our stoic challenges are behind us, at least for now.

Today was supposed to be a cold stormy day, but it hasn’t been as bad as we thought. We plan to spend a few more days here before heading back to Pender Harbour to resupply. After that we are heading up to Dent Island (North of Desolation Sound) for a few days of “5 star” marina accommodations and a special meal at Dent Island’s Rapids Grill.