We started our tour in scenic Amsterdam where we had a little time to explore.  Our first day on the river (actually a canal at this point) took us to the eastern end of the Netherlands to the town of Arnhem, then we crossed into Germany and formally started cruising up the Rhine River.  Yes, up:  the Rhine flows toward the North Sea, so we were going up, against the current, even though we were headed southward.  There were several locks along the way.

Here, then, are some highlights from our tour.  If you want further information on any particular picture, hold your cursor over the picture and a brief explanation should appear.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a wonderfully scenic city, filled with narrow buildings and canals and lots of bicycles.  (It is said that the national pastime is stealing bicycles.)  Amsterdam, the capital city, is in the province of North Holland (which is where we get the name Holland), which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  The word Dutch means the Netherlands or its people.  The house where Anne Frank hid during WWII is in Amsterdam, as is the Rembrandt museum.  The homes are especially interesting, as they are very narrow, all about the same height, but each with a unique "top."  At the peak, there is often a timber supporting a pulley, which was used to transport merchandise to the upper floors, and it can still be used to raise furniture.

Arnhem

Then it was off for the eastern end of the Netherlands and the city of Arnhem.  Along the way we saw many commercial boats transporting merchandise (sand and coal, for example) and we went through several locks, finally passing from the canal into the Rhine river itself.

In Arnhem, we visited the Oosterbeek War Cemetery to pay our respect to the dead.  It was clear from the stories the guide told how significant this cemetery was to the soldiers and families of many nations.  The September 1944 story of Operation Market Garden was told in the movie, "A Bridge Too Far."  American, Polish, and British soldiers tried to parachute into Holland behind enemy lines to capture a key bridge at Arnhem.  It was their bad luck to parachute into a division of German soldiers on leave.

We also visited the Kröller-Müller museum, dominated by original van Gogh paintings, bought for a song before he became famous.  And we learned that it is just about impossible for us to pronounce "van Gogh" the way the Dutch do!  That "gh" gets really gutteral!  The museum is surrounded by an elaborate sculpture garden.

Cologne

As we passed from the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal into the Rhine itself, our first city destination was Cologne; and in Cologne, it's all about the twin-spired cathedral.  We arrived in light rain and (as was typical of the mornings in our trip) cloudy weather.  Our first view on land of the cathedral was from across the river.  Our last view (second picture) was as we pulled away on our boat under much improved weather conditions.  A somewhat more modern church is in the foreground.