June 2013 – Page 2 – anevolvingscientist.org

Cruising from Basel to Amsterdam – Part 2: Cast & Crew

In Part 1, we described our boarding, and early settling in, on MS Avalon Visionary, the precursor to cruising the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam.

After the Champagne Welcome Reception, it was time for the Welcome Dinner in the ship’s beautiful restaurant. Being a comfortable foursome, we immediately chose to sit at a table for six, to ensure we could begin to meet our fellow travellers. As our one hundred and twenty two fellow travellers poured in, we immediately recognised that there were a number of well established groups. Some even appeared to be ‘joined at the hip’, as one might say. Eventually, we were joined by Pete and Carol from Wisconsin. We learnt very quickly that they were on their delayed honeymoon. Long time friends, both formerly widowed and [we guessed] well into their seventies, they had been married just a few months. It also emerged that they were travelling with two other couples, but by the time they reached the restaurant, they could not all sit together for this first meal.

No sooner seated than our wine glasses were filled (choice of red or white) and our entrees served. The wait-staff, several of them Indonesian, under the watchful eye of the Hungarian Maître d’, were a well drilled team, having been together since the beginning of the season. As conversation flowed, the noisy groups began to emerge, but the air was one of great good humour and ‘getting to know you’.

This meal seemed to be rather rushed. Barely had we finished a course than the plate would be removed and replaced by the next. While the wine kept flowing, of course! When Akos, our Maître d’, asked if we had enjoyed the meal, we assured him that we thought the food was beautiful, all five courses, but it was too rushed. His reply was instant “Tonight, yes, and it is deliberate. Some of these people have not slept for more than 24 hours, since leaving home in the USA. Tomorrow and for the rest of the cruise, dinner will be much more relaxed”. And so it was. Seems they know their customers well. We liked Akos and would enjoy his ‘customer service’ every day.

Some five course meals can be a bit too much, but we were impressed with the sensible portion sizes, as well as the presentation. Most evenings we had a choice of soups, a choice of two or three entrees (above), a choice of three main courses (below) and a choice of desserts. As well, there would be a ‘healthy’ salad, and those with special dietary requirements were well looked after. Impressive when the meals are served to 126 people at one sitting.

One has to compliment our amazing chef, Michael. One night, New Zealand lamb was one of the main course choices. At our table, six out of six (Aussies) chose this option, and it was just beautiful. As Michael was passing, we asked how he handled the ‘free choice’ and how many had chosen the lamb. The answer was 77/126 chose the lamb, and he had predicted that to within one serve. As stated above, they know their job and their customers well! One wonders how the choice would vary if, for example, there were 126 Australians or 126 New Zealanders. Should have asked Michael at the time. He would have had an answer.

We would often see Pete & Carol again during the week, but needless to say, on the second night, their group of six were happily seated together. But so were we, with new friends. During the day, we had heard that familiar Aussie accent, and met up with a lovely couple from Mildura, a town on the Murray River which separates our state from its southern neighbour. Some days we would go our separate ways, but each evening, we would meet to dine & share our experiences of the day. You could say, “we clicked” with this couple.

A word about Avalon’s included (and optional) tours of the cities and towns we visited. Every passenger was issued with a headset for the duration of the cruise. This was used in conjunction with a receiver, which we picked up as we left the ship for each excursion. The guides, in turn, had a small radio transmitter, tuned to the same frequency. This enabled the guides to speak to their group. This system avoids the hassles we used to experience in crowded piazzas, when the guide had to shout to be heard by a closely shepherded group. Each day there were four groups, green for the less mobile, red, yellow and blue for the rest of us. We chose red on our first outing in Strasbourg. We were so delighted with our local guide that we decided red was our lucky colour [no real logic there!]. Being relatively close to the foyer and able to get there in time, we chose red for the rest of the week.

A red group guide awaits the stragglers for a walking tour of Mainz (below)

To his great credit, [and we assume in accordance with Avalon’s policy] our Tour Director did not pressure us to take any optional [read extra cost] tours, nor for that matter, any included tours. Having said that, we had a tough decision on our first full day – The Maginot Line, Black Forest (think famous cake and cuckoo clocks) or Alsace Wine Trail. We chose the Alsace Wine Trail, and loved the experience, visiting a family owned winery at Mittelbergheim, as well as the village of Obernai which was covered in an earlier post. After touring the cellars, we were all settled in two rooms which oozed generations of history. There we were given an excellent wine tasting experience. On other days when the optional tours did not appeal to us, we were able to take self guided tours using excellent maps provided for us.

Wine tasting at Boeckel, Vin d’Alsace, Mittelbergheim (below)

The wine tasting was another chance to chat to some of our fellow travellers, a couple of whom we recognised from one of the particularly noisy tables at our dinner the previous night. We established that one of the Canadians was a travel agent. She was travelling with her mother and about twenty others, who had booked with her agency.

While on the subject of fellow travellers, clearly we didn’t make it to speak to all. Here are our some of our favourites.

a tall (185 cm or more) septuagenarian Canadian, who appeared double jointed in most joints. He gave us all great enjoyment on many occasions, especially on the dance floor. He said his name was Bill, but we could call him Guillaume, so I did (as well as having a few short conversations with him in French)
the 60 year old (her admission) Canadian PE teacher, who danced like a teenager. Message – PE teachers are aerobically and physically very fit
the man they called ‘monsignor’. We never found out if that was a real appellation or a nickname, but he was definitely leading a large contingent from a US religious body
a ‘love life’ American lady, travelling with her mother. After the Black Forest tour, she came to dinner wearing a hat she purchased, which, according to local legend suggests that the wearer is single and available. The same lady agreed to her photo being taken, wearing a later purchase, on our chilly trip along the Lorelei section of the river.
the retired London policeman and his wife. He had served in the same ‘suburb’ as where my father was born, so I learned from him about what that area is like now, a century later
the four Kiwis – two couples representing different generations and who had met at a regular rural contest in NZ. Plenty of friendly banter, as you expect with our neighbours from across the ditch. They also agreed with us that the Avalon coffee was very weak, but we were informed that was how our US friends like it, and we were outnumbered
the Aussie couple from Queensland, among the youngest on the boat. They were on a see the world trip, which made our four weeks away from home seem like the blink of an eye.

Our friend with her squirrel ensemble, which she assured us was very warm (above left) and a sample of the Black Forest Traditional hats (right). According to various web sources, black pompoms would signify a married lady. As gardeners and lovers of flowers, we were impressed by the displays at the reception desk (below left) and in the lounge (below right), refreshed each day. In the background is the on board pianist.

Sometimes it was nice to wander back to the ship in our own time. After all, there is a limit to how much shopping one can do! Some of the cruise passengers therefore missed out on the garbage detail. We had wondered about some of the logistics, such as how much fresh water the ship carried, how often food and fuel needed to be topped up. Here, in part anyway, was an answer. Seemingly every male crew member was enlisted to carry the collected refuse, not through the dining or lounge areas, but up to the main deck, along and up again to the sky deck, then down again and away up the gang plank. and they kept coming….

The ‘garbage run’. Up from the kitchen area (above left), up to the Sky Deck (above right), down again to exit the ship (below left) and away to the truck via the gang plank (below right)

After seven nights, we had travelled a few hundred kilometres along one of the world’s great rivers. We did it in great comfort. We ate splendid meals and consumed some delightful wines. We slept soundly in very comfortable beds. We met some lovely people and we were well looked after by the always pleasant crew. You could say, “we did it in style”. Now, if only the coffee was a bit stronger ….!

Would we take such a cruise again? Absolutely.

Cruising from Basel to Amsterdam – Part 1: Settling in

“You will absolutely love it”. “Best holiday we ever had”. These were just a couple of quotes from friends, when we announced we were taking a river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. The sort of enthusiastic comments that can sometimes be a prelude to disappointment. In this case, not a bit of it. We loved it. Definitely one of the best holidays we’ve had.

The cruise was described as “Zurich to Amsterdam”. Most people fly into Zurich airport on the day of the cruise, and travel by coach to board the ship. Many such trips start and finish on a Sunday to suit the US and Canadian markets. The North American folk can fly out of their home on Saturday, arriving in Europe Sunday morning, and leave Europe the following Sunday to arrive home the same day. They get an eight day/seven night cruise with only a five day week break from work.

The four of us had travelled by train from Italy direct to Basel, so we could spend a bit of time exploring that corner of Switzerland. Tipped off by the Cruise Director, when we were establishing where to meet the ship, we managed to arrive at exactly 4pm, the earliest time for boarding. Before we could blink and finish paying our taxi, our wonderful ship’s crew had swept up all our luggage and preceded us on board. We were the very first to arrive!

The first sight of our ‘suite’ delighted us. We have stayed in less spacious hotel rooms, and many less luxuriously appointed. One of the best features of cruising is exactly as per the brochures and videos. We unpacked our suitcases, into the more than adequate hanging and drawer space. Shoved under the bed, we did not see those suitcases again until a week later, when we packed to leave the ship. So much better than those one and two night stops on coach tours!

We were in our suites and unpacked in less than half an hour! As was the case each night, the welcome and agenda for the next 24 hours awaited us, along with towels and fluffy bathrobes. It was time then to explore our home for the next week before ‘the masses’ arrived.

The impressive lobby of MS Avalon Visionary (above), with the flags of the nations represented on the passenger manifest. The USA took centre spot, with more than half the 126 passengers. Next to them on left was Canada with around 30, and the right Australia with 10. The UK, with 6, and New Zealand with 4 made up the total. (Below) The rear lounge with 24 hour coffee and tea facilities, and the view along the passageway, which is deliberately narrow to maximise the size of the suites. The ship is 110m (361ft) long. Most of the suites are 18.6 sq m (200 sq ft).

Compared to some other ports we were to visit, the Basel boarding location is not very sophisticated, involving a couple of steep sets of steps from the river bank to a pontoon (one of three in the area). Further, as in many other ports, the increase in river cruise traffic means that often, as here, another ship moors alongside. (First lesson, do not go to sleep with the curtains open to the river view, because there just may be another ship parked alongside when you wake up).

MS Avalon Visionary moored at Basel, with another ship alongside (above left), while some of the crew relax before the major passenger onslaught (above right)

And, indeed, masses would indeed arrive. Around 5:00pm to 5:15pm, three coaches arrived to deposit passengers for our ship. Almost simultaneously, another three coach loads arrived for the ship moored next to us, whose passengers and crew had to pass through Visionary’s lobby to board. It was very civilised, each ship waiting until all the other’s passengers and luggage were safely aboard.

The majority of passengers embarking after arriving by coach from Zurich Airport (above). The impressive team effort of our crew, transferring luggage of around 120 passengers from coach to ship. It is a genuine case of ‘all hands’, including ship’s officers and the chef [in black with red scarf] (below). It is clear at this stage that not all passengers ‘travel light’!

At the time of our journey, MS Avalon Visionary was one of the newest ships on the rivers of Europe. Launched in April 2012, it was less than six months old when we travelled. We hoped never to use the life saving equipment, but we were comforted by the fact that before leaving the shore, the alarms sounded for our emergency drill. As per the boarding instructions we had already read, we proceeded to the top deck and met at our level 3 assembly point to have our names/suite numbers checked off. We were then, and only then, ready to depart towards Strasbourg. We were also primed and ready for our Champagne Welcome Reception, at which all the ship’s ‘department heads’ were introduced. A total of thirty seven staff would run the ship and look after us for the next week.

The bridge (above) and the lengthy “Sky Deck” taken from the bridge and looking aft (below).

Scope for games on the Sky Deck (above). We were also warned that the rear deck would be closed overnight, as all the superstructure has to be folded down to allow passage under low bridges (below).

In Part 2, we will share some of the cruise experiences we enjoyed over the next week.

A Lifetime of Technical Evolution: Part 4 -The Camera

The following is not intended to be an exhaustive or authoritative treatise on the development of the camera. Rather it is my personal trek through cameras I have owned.

Growing up in the 1950s, I recall some friends had a Kodak Box Brownie, perhaps the most popular camera for a generation. However, when I was considered sufficiently responsible, I was handed down a quaint ‘folding’ camera with bellows. I have a vague recollection that the bellows were renewed for me, because light could get in. Unlike the Box Brownie, which used a cartridge 120 film, 60mm wide, my camera used 127 film, 46mm wide. It took many photos, black and white, of course. The number of photos was restricted by the number of exposures on a film. That camera might have been worth a fair amount today, as a ‘vintage’ camera, but regrettably, it was sold years ago.

The pictures above, scanned together, show the relative size of prints taken from 127 film (the house where I grew up) and ‘postcard size’ from 35 mm film (a derailed train near Gordon Station c.1961)

Around the time I left school, I was very excited to acquire my first 35mm camera, a Yashica YL (above, photo courtesy of flickriver.com). It had a compensating viewfinder, so that mostly the picture finished up framed as I intended! With this camera I had my first experience of colour, usually in the form of colour slide film, but most often it was used with black and white film.

Ten years or more later, I bought a Canon Canonet QL (above, photo courtesy of mattsclassiccameras.com), which was the first camera I owned with an auto-exposure facility. With this camera, I happily travelled overseas for the first time, and took many 36 exposure colour slide films. Both the Yashica and this Canon had manual advance and rewind mechanisms.

So far, there is evidence that I was not always a slave to fashion. However, this is the point in my tale where rapid evolution began. It wasn’t until about 1997 that I owned a single lens reflex (SLR) camera, a Canon EOS 500N (above). I clearly remember purchasing it, duty free, as I was about to set off on an overseas holiday. For the first time, I could appreciate the benefits of an SLR camera, and it wasn’t long before I had a 75-300mm telephoto lens to use with it.

In 2000, passing through Hong Kong, I bought a digital camera, a simple Kodak model (1 megapixel) that the salesman persuaded me to purchase. I would sooner forget my experiences with that camera, with which I managed to delete most of the photos I took of a friend’s wedding. Sadly (not) I accidentally dropped it, and the battery retaining latch broke in such a way that it was no longer usable. Time to move on!

After a garden tour of New Zealand where I consumed many rolls of 35mm film in my SLR, I saw the wisdom of converting to a digital SLR (DSLR). My choice at that time was a 10 megapixel Canon 400D (above). Armed with a suitable backpack, many trips ensued with this latest camera and a couple of lenses.

But, you can’t put a DSLR in a pocket easily. So it was that a small compact digital 3.2 megapixel camera, Sony DSC P7 (above, courtesy of www.imaging-resource.com) was added to the kit. What a lot of fun we had with this, photographing gourmet food at dinners as well as garden panoramas when the battery in the DSLR ran out before day’s end. Eventually, that camera would see out its life with one of my daughters.

In 2010 I was to take a trip involving several train trips as well as flights, and I decided to ‘travel light’. That meant the DSLR and associated kit was to stay at home. This was the time to opt for a relatively new entrant to the market, a 10 megapixel Sony DSC HX5V (above, courtesy of www.sony.com). As well as being a pretty good compact in every other way, this camera has a GPS facility, so every photo has a reference point on the globe. What a great little camera this has been, and still is, with the counter well past 4000.

The only thing lacking is a big zoom lens! Watch this space………

So, in just this lifetime, in the hands of an enthusiastic amateur, we have progressed from the very simple film camera to a great diversity of options. The range goes from the very basic ‘point and shoot’ digital, to quite sophisticated compacts, to affordable DSLR and beyond. For the latter, there is a bewildering array of lens options: wide angle, telephoto, fish eye and macro to name a few. One of the major highlights for me, is that with digital cameras, we can see immediately if the shot is successful. If not, take another before the moment passes. That is a great improvement on only finding out our mistakes when the film returned from the developer.

All this, and no mention of the mobile phone. The simple reason is that the mobile phone is another story for another day.

Footnote: Before emigrating to Australia, my paternal grandfather is listed on the 1911 UK census as a “photographic mechanic”. Perhaps there is a genetic strand to my more recent interest in photography.