November

'How beautifully the leaves grow old.

How full of light and colour are their last days.'

The leaves look quite lovely on our neighbours driveway...

but are not so welcome on our own!

Jim and Kathy were here at the beginning of the month...

they came to surprise Terry for his 70th birthday.

Auntie Kathy came bearing gifts for Maggie and Lucy...

What a treasure...to have quilts handmade by a great aunt!

(l-r myself, Janet, Lenora, Jean, Marilyn and Mavis with Linda behind the camera lens).

I hosted a reunion luncheon with six of us East Chilliwack old-timers who were friends some five decades ago.  

Ranen is playing with the UBC symphony orchestra this year...

 ...and we took in one of  her concerts at the Chan Centre in Vancouver earlier this month.

It was an amazing concert in a beautiful venue!

Since some of us were not around on Thanksgiving weekend this year...

we celebrated Thanksgiving on Remembrance Day this year.

Having a turkey dinner on a sunny Tuesday in November seemed like a great idea...

...and everyone could make it!

I may have forgotten to take a pic while they were at the table...

but we gathered under the oak tree for a photo before we had our pumpkin pie.

Thankful for our family!.

Maggie got her driver's license this month...

and she couldn't be happier!

In other news...

she signed on with Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for next year.

She has met the track coach, knows some of the athletes and is looking forward to being part of their team.

Lucy's volleyball team played their last games earlier this month...

...and jumped right into basketball season.

We drove to Surrey several times to watch them compete in the Big Ticket tournament last week...

and then saw them win the championship game yesterday.

Brynja's Unity Christian School senior girls volleyball team won the provincial championship in Kelowna yesterday.  That was quite a feat!

 

The white swans arrived in full force this month and can be seen feasting on the winter crops in our neighbourhood.

It is getting dark far too early these days...

but the sunsets have been amazing!

The temperature is dropping, winter is around the corner and...

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Amsterdam

Amsterdam was the last stop on our river cruise.

Last...but definitely not least!

The sun was shining and we toured the city in a glass top boat on the canals. 

Amsterdam has over 100 kms of canals and 1300 bridges.

The canals are a UNESCO world heritage site.

There's a reason it is called 'Little Venice'.

Amsterdam Central Station

Houseboats of Amsterdam...many available as hotel room rentals.

Reguliersgracht canal is one of the most picturesque.

At this spot, seven bridges line up perfectly.

The city has more than 800,000 bicycles. We saw many of them!

Bikes take priority. Stay off the cycling paths!

A wall along the canal that pays tribute to the cities obsession with bikes. 

The tall tower on the other side of the river is called A'Dam Lookout. 

We rode the free ferry across the river...

then rode the elevator to the observation deck some 328 feet up.

It has a great 360-degree panoramic view of the city.

Unfortunately the sun disappeared by the afternoon...so the views were not quite so spectacular.

There is an over-the-edge swing ride at the very top...

for those who need a thrill!  We declined.

Our final night on the ship, included a celebration of Janet's 75th birthday.

A good finale!

On October 11th we said farewell to Amsterdam and made our way to the airport.

It was an amazing trip...but now, we were ready to go home!

Cologne

We awoke in Cologne, Germany on October 9th...

...docked along with other river cruise ships along the banks of the Rhein.

Immediately after breakfast we started out on our walking tour of the city.

At every stop along the way, we were met with a local guide who would lead the tour.

They were all terrific and easy to hear with the headphone system that we were given for the duration of the cruise. 

 

The Weckschnapp Tower...part of the original city wall of Cologne.

A scene from Old Town Cologne.

And always...the beautiful window boxes!

The Hohenzollern Bridge...

...the most used railway bridge in Germany.

The bridge is well-known for the thousands of 'love locks' placed on the fence by couples from around the world.

The Cologne Cathedral is a World Heritage Site and Germany's most visited landmark.

Construction began in 1248 but took six centuries to complete.

The cathedral survived 14 hits by aerial bombs in World War ll...

remaining standing while most of Cologne was flattened.

At 157 meters, the cathedral is the tallest tallest twin-spired church in the world.

The interior is famous for its beautiful artwork and stained-glass windows.

Having visited the cathedral previously, it wasn't at the top on my priority list.

But we were in Cologne...so we had to take a peek inside!

It really is amazing!

The famous 4711 Fragrance House...

a store and museum for the brand 4711 cologne.

My souvenir from Cologne...

to go with the coffee spoon my parents brought me in the 70's. 

Our favorite stop in Cologne (as in every stop along the way)...

was the bakery coffee shop!

We walked back to our ship and carried on down the river.

We realized our cruise was nearing the end and we had yet to crack open our prosecco bottles...

compliments of our travel agent.

Today was the day.

We shared with some of our travel mates.

Chris and John from Melbourne...Carol and Wayne from Campbell River.

Every evening we all gathered in the lounge before dinner to hear the 'Port Talk' by Patricia...

our cruise director.

On this particular night there was also a Captain's Farewell Reception.

The end of the cruise was in sight!

Tomorrow we would be in Amsterdam...our final stop.