My Breathtaking Glacier Landing on Denali

I recently returned from a 13-day cruisetour in Alaska where I had many adventures. But the one I'm most likely to be talking about for the rest of my life is my breathtaking glacier landing on Denali.

Our plane was a robust de Havilland Turbo Beaver on wheel skis operated by Fly Denali, Inc. (http://www.flydenali.com/) that looked like it could handle the rigorous flying conditions of the Alaska wilderness. Since I am a licensed private pilot, I was happy to be ushered into the co-pilot seat.

Shortly after we took off, I could see the magnificent Denali looming in the distance. It was hard to believe that it was over 65 miles away. Our pilot, Bruce Minter, gave us many opportunities to take photos of Denali as he turned the plane so that everyone could get the perfect angle on “The High One.” We were flying at 12,000 feet as we approached the South Peak of Denali and I was awestruck by the gorgeous scenery—, rugged peaks, dancing clouds, sheer cliffs decorated with flowing bands of snow and gorges on which glaciers seemed to drift restlessly.

After several minutes of skirting the clouds looking for an opening to Ruth Glacier, Bruce decided to look for an opening to Eldridge Glacier, our alternative landing site. This didn’t look promising either and after consulting with other pilots flying around Denali, he decided to approach Ruth Glacier from a different direction. Bruce was bound and determined to give us the glacier landing we were all longing for and to do it safely. Throughout all of this maneuvering I was struck by how calm it was in the Alaska Range. Given my experience flying in the Sierras around Lake Tahoe where I often encountered turbulence, I was surprised at how smoothly we cruised in this mountainous terrain.

As we descended under the clouds on approach to landing on Ruth Glacier, which is located on the south side of Denali, I felt like we were on the dark side of the moon. Bruce told us that one of his prior passengers had compared it to Jurassic Park and the description seemed to fit. It was a cool 40ºF when we exited the plane into the deep snow. Even with the snow boots that Fly Denali had provided us, it was difficult to walk steadily or gracefully. Nobody cared as we were all giddy about just being there.

More photos of my flight to Denali

Montreal

I've been wanting to visit Montreal for a long time and finally did last month when I attended the Rotary International Conference. At last I got the opportunity to practice my French without going to France! Given my passion for cruising, it's unusual that I would stay in a hotel for more than a few days at a time, but my weeklong stay at the Marriott Chateau Champlain was very nice. It was very well located downtown (Centre Ville) as I could easily walk to Vieux-Montreal, the charming old section of town and to the Rotary conference events at the Palais des Congrès and Centre Bell.

During our first day there, Steve and I walked around Vieux-Montreal and had lunch at a sidewalk cafe on the Place Jacques-Cartier. The food wasn't great but the ambience was unbeatable for people watching and enjoying the street musicians. I didn't know what to expect in Montreal as I had heard that the Québécois could be downright snooty towards Americans. But I can now honestly tell you that this is dated information as Steve and I felt warmly welcomed wherever we went in Montreal. As long as you stay in areas frequented by tourists you don't need to worry about speaking French. Go 30 miles east however and it's a different story. Although I didn't need to speak French, I practiced it at every opportunity and as long as the Québécois slowed it down a little, I could understand much of what was being said.

I was pleasantly surprised when people approached me to ask a question in French and I was thrilled when I could actually answer in French. Perhaps I fit in better in Montreal than I do in Europe; when people approach me anywhere in Europe they always speak English so I figured I must just look like a typical American tourist.

At long last I saw Cirque du Soleil -- in their birthplace no less! Cirque du Soleil got started in Montreal in 1984 with a group of 20 performers and now has over 1,000 artists who perform all over the world. The show that we saw was called Totem, which traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. I was amazed at the dazzling costumes and awestruck by the sheer talent of the performers. My two favorite acts involved a man and woman who came about as close to making love on a trapeze as two people could in front of a large crowd and the five Chinese ladies on unicycles who juggled metal bowls with their feet and caught them on their head. I wondered how they managed to learn this trick.

The next day Steve and I boarded "le bateau mouche" to catch a view of Montreal from the St. Lawrence River. Although the literal translation of "bateau mouche" is fly boat, the name comes from the fact that they were originally manufactured in boatyards situated in the Mouche area of Lyon. Do you suppose this area was known for its flies? It is an open excursion boat that offers a great view of the surroundings. We sat on the top deck, had a tasty lunch and enjoyed the company of a couple who was from a town on the other side of the Pont Jacques-Cartier. Although we passed the Iberville Passenger Terminal, there were no cruise ships docked.

For the next few days, Steve explored more of Montreal while I attended the Rotary International Conference with 17,341 other Rotarians from all over the world. When he welcomed us, Gérald Tremblay, the mayor of Montreal said that the Rotary conference was the most important gathering in Montreal's history. The conference was not only inspiring but entertaining as well. It was wonderful to hear Greg Mortenson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Central Asia Institute and author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace....One School at a Time, talk about his success in building schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I enjoyed Dolly Parton, whose Imagination Library has distributed 25 million books to children in need. She is a very personable and funny lady who doesn't know how long it takes to do her hair in the morning because she is never there.

On our last night in Montreal, Steve and I had some of the best Chilean Sea Bass we've ever tasted at the Firegrill Restaurant & Bar on Stanley Street. Up to that point, I had been somewhat disappointed in our meals in Montreal -- they weren't bad but they weren't great either. The portion was generous and the fish was moist and delicious.

More photos of Montreal

On to Frankfurt - Our Last Port on the River Empress

I don't know what was more interesting -- Frankfurt or cruising to Frankfurt. The distance from Mainz to Frankfurt is only about 20 miles but in order to get there, we traversed at least three locks. We were told that the River Empress has an appointed time at which to enter these locks and if the boat misses its appointment, it could be waiting a long time until there is a break in the traffic. And one thing I did notice while cruising up the Rhine and Main rivers is that there is a lot of traffic -- both passenger ships and vessels carrying freight. It's not a good thing if a river cruise ship captain is late for his or her appointment at the lock because passengers wouldn't be happy if their time in port was curtailed because they were cooling their heels waiting to get through a lock.

Our included shore excursion was a bus tour of Frankfurt but quite frankly, the traffic was so heavy in the city that all we managed to do in the bus was to circle the same blocks a few times. I was relieved when we were finally released from the bus to do some walking on our own. Although it was raining most of the day, I had an umbrella (every stateroom on the River Empress comes with an umbrella that is large enough for two) and enjoyed people watching and window shopping.

It was especially fun to see the beer bike go by; forget the bus tour, the next time I'm taking a city tour on the beer bike! The beer bike has an official "driver" who doesn't drink and steers the bike. The "passengers" are free to drink but they all must pedal if they want to get anywhere. I think this is great because it would allow me to drink while working it off. Fantastic idea! I wonder if it would fly in Seattle.

Unfortunately, the next day marked the end of our river cruise and we had to fly home. I don't look forward to disembarkation because it can be an absolute mad house with people flopped over their luggage in all the ship's public areas while waiting to disembark. But disembarkation was remarkably easy on the River Empress. We didn't even have to put our luggage outside our stateroom the night before; we were given a designated time in the morning to put our luggage outside our stateroom and it was immediately picked up and delivered to our motorcoach. Now if I could just beam myself back to Seattle rather than sitting in an aluminum tube for 10+ hours.....

More pictures of Frankfurt

Mainz and Gutenberg

After our glorious tour of the castles, we arrived in Mainz, which is situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers. It is a picturesque little town best known for its most famous son, Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the movable-type printing press in 1456.

Even though it was Good Friday and everything was closed the Gutenberg Museum opened especially for us; the passengers on Uniworld Empress received an exclusive guided tour. Needless to say, we felt special. The two high points of the tour were watching our guide demonstrate how Gutenberg's printing press functioned and viewing the Gutenberg Bibles. Steve managed to take a few photos of the Bibles until the guide told him to stop.

One of the most interesting things I remember about Mainz (and Cologne, too), is that these two cities celebrate Carnival from November 11 until Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday), the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I couldn't believe that Carnival would actually go on for months. I spent my 20th birthday in Rio de Janeiro many years ago and I know the Brazilians are big party animals, but the Germans? I thought they were too concerned about efficiency to be indulging in months-long parties. So much for stereotypes! (And this was just one of the many things I learned during our river cruise). Our guide told us that it was important to belong to a Carnival Club if you live in Mainz.

Even though the shops weren't open due to the Good Friday holiday, we had a good time wandering through the charming streets of Mainz.

More pictures of Mainz

Castles Along the Rhine

If there were ever a place where I could envision myself a princess, it would have to be the scenic 40-mile stretch of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley that features a stunning, castle-dotted landscape.

Early on the seventh day of our cruise aboard the River Empress, I parked myself in the glass-enclosed Sky Lounge where I could get a birds-eye view of the castles on both sides of the Rhine River. There was a bit of morning fog so we were initially concerned that we wouldn't be able to see anything but the sun quickly kissed the fog good-bye.

As we came upon a castle, our Cruise Director Rik Sprengers told us colorful stories about days gone by. Most of the castles were built during the 10th to 14th centuries from tolls collected by entrepreneurs who set up 15 toll booths along this 40-mile stretch of the Rhine on which we were now cruising without a care in the world. During that time, the river was the only way to traverse this area going north and south so these clever entrepreneurs had a monopoly on the trade route. Judging by the magnificent castles they built from the taxes they collected from the ships that passed through their toll booths, they surely did collect their pound of flesh!

According to legend, two feuding brothers built the Sterrenburg Castle and Liebenstein Castle in Boppard. One of the brothers fell in love with their nanny and married her. While the first brother was away at war, the second brother fell in love with his brother's wife. That's why there are two castles in Boppard with a wall of dispute built between them.

Not far upriver from St. Goarshausen, the fabled Lorelei rock rises 430 feet above the narrowest part of the river, which makes it very difficult to navigate. Rik referred to Lorelei as the Pamela Anderson of the Middle Ages because Lorelei's striking beauty would supposedly distract sailors from their navigation duties and cause them to crash their ships on the rocks at the foot of the cliff.

Rik also told us about the mysterious basket that hung outside Rheinstein Castle. In times of war, the residents of Rheinstein Castle started a fire in the basket to warn castles in the surrounding area of an impending invasion; during peace time, they supposedly put tax evaders in the basket until they starved to death.

And what about the Mäuseturm (Mouse Tower)? Legend has it that the Archbishop of Mainz was eaten alive by mice in this tower as his comeuppance for being a cruel ruler. This paints a really lovely visual, doesn't it?

I don't know how many of Rik's stories were even remotely close to the truth but the fanciful tales surely did complement our sublime surroundings.

Although many of these castles were damaged by either the army of King Louis XIV or Napoleon, several have been rebuilt and are now thriving hotels and museums.

See more pictures of the castles

A Day in Cologne

The most famous landmark in Cologne, Germany is the awe-inspiring Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kölner Dom is one of the most important Gothic churches in Europe and is the largest cathedral in Germany. Although construction began in 1248, the cathedral wasn't finished until 1880. Although the Allied bombings of World War II destroyed almost 90% of Cologne, Kölner Dom survived almost unscathed.


While we were in Cologne we also went on a guided tour of the Römisch-Germanisches Museum (Roman-Germanic Museum) which gave us an insight into the storied past of the Roman city of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (the Roman name of Cologne) and the history of the Romans along the Rhine. The museum was built on the walls of a Roman villa that was discovered in 1941 and contained the world-famous Dionysos mosaic.

Just so you don't think that all my time in Cologne was spent in cathedrals and museums ......while we were touring Cologne's Alstadt (Old Town), our guide, who had an amusing sense of humor, pointed out a statue of a man mooning. This statue was featured on private property so it is anyone's guess what the owner was trying to tell the world. "Kiss my ass" was the first thought that came to my colorful mind.


If you're in Cologne, you must try two distinctive local treats: Kölsch, a relatively light and bitter local beer which is brewed only in this area and Nougatbrezel, a mouth-watering pretzel-like treat covered in chocolate, nougat and nuts. Yum! By the way, I didn't indulge in the Kölsch and Nougatbrezel together so I really don't have any idea if they make a good culinary pair.

More photos of Cologne

Arnhem: Gateway to the Kröller-Müller Museum

From Volendam, we cruised to Arnhem on the River Empress. Our shore excursion in Arnhem was a visit to the Kröller-Müller Museum which is named after Helene Kröller-Müller, daughter of a German industrialist who collected 11,500 art works. Helene's favorite artist was Vincent van Gogh and she acquired 91 of his paintings. For me, the collection of Van Gogh's paintings was the highlight of the museum. We were lucky to have a guide who was knowledgeable about Van Gogh and who could explain how his artistic style evolved over time.

I don't spend a lot of time in art museums but I have always been drawn to the wonderful display of colors and interesting textures of the Impressionist painters. If you are particularly fond of Van Gogh, you will enjoy the collection of Van Gogh's paintings at the Kröller-Müller Museum; it is one of the largest collection of his works in the world.

The Kröller-Müller Museum also includes a sculpture gallery and a 75-acre sculpture garden which contains a unique collection of more than 160 sculptures by world-famous artists. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to really explore the sculpture garden and the weather didn't cooperate much either.

Although we spent about as much time in the bus getting to and from the museum as we spent at the museum it was well worth the trip.

More photos of the Kröller-Müller Museum collection