MV Dirona travel digest for Amsterdam, Winter 2019

Position: 52°19.45'N, 5°8.48'E

Approaching the Hollandse road bridge and adjacent railway bridge en route to Amsterdam. Both have 43m (13.1m) clearance, plenty of room for our 30ft (9.14m) air draft.

Position: 52°22.67'N, 4°58.18'E

The Schellingwouder Bridge opening for us to pass through. We're back in the same route we took into Amsterdam last year. After this bridge we have just one more lock and bridge to reach our berth at City Marina.

Position: 52°22.91'N, 4°57.66'E

The lock gate closing behind us at Oranjesluizen, our final lock of 2019. With the the 5 locks we've passed in the Netherlands at the start and end of this year, the 22-lock Saimaa Lakes trip, and our passages through the 58-lock Gota Canal, the 8-lock Trollhatte Canal and twice through the 2-lock Kiel Canal, in 8 months we've gone through 97 locks. These ranged in size from barely big enough to hold Dirona to sharing locks hundreds of feet long with commercial carriers.

Another impact of a large number of locks is the 110-hours we've wound up on the wing engine over the past 8 months, compared to 606 hours on the main. This is roughly twice the amount of wing usage that we typically see compared to main engine usage. We use the wing engine in close quarters situations, and when going through locks you spend an unusually long time in close-quarters.

Position: 52°22.99'N, 4°56.72'E

Navigating the channel Afgesloten IJ once through the Oranjesluizen. Pleasure craft need to stay outside the main commercial channel—that red buoy on our port side marks the starboard side of the channel for commercial traffic heading eastbound.

Position: 52°22.88'N, 4°55.01'E

The 810ft (247m) cruise ship Columbus moored in Amsterdam.

Position: 52°22.85'N, 4°54.83'E

The 180-ft super yacht Bellami.com, owned by the hair extension company of the same name, wrapped in gold as part of an advertising campaign. It certainly stands out.

Position: 52°22.83'N, 4°54.48'E

Ferries crossing the channel in front of us while a barge passes to port. The Afgesloten IJ is a busy waterway.

Position: 52°22.83'N, 4°54.48'E

Historic buildings fronting modern ones along the south side of the Afgesloten IJ in Amsterdam.

Position: 52°22.83'N, 4°54.48'E

Amsterdam Centraal Station—we're almost "home".

Position: 52°23.01'N, 4°53.72'E

Blog reader Andre Verhoek sent us this web cam shot of Dirona, across the channel left of center, passing Amsterdam Centraal Station (click image for a larger view).

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Once settled into our berth at City Marina, we changed the engine oil on the main engine, the wing engine and the generator. They've never before been all due at the same time.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

In tackling an overheat issue with our generator earlier this year, we ended up "washing" the generator coolant circuit with dishwasher detergent. This is an unusual procedure, so we had tried many other things first before resorting to this. But it solved the problem. We believe what was going on is that either there was a mix of incompatible coolants, or the coolant went through some unusual failure mode. But a thin, 1/8-inch gel layer had built up inside the cooling system and remarkably that thin layer of gel was enough to cause the generator to overheat.

We cleaned that out by draining the coolant, adding one cup of liquid dishwasher detergent and topping it up with water, running it under load for an hour, and then repeatedly draining the coolant and filling it with water, rerunning it and then draining it again until the water came out clean. Then we drained the system a final time and added new antifreeze.

Because 1) this worked so well on the generator, 2) the wing antifreeze is due for a change, and 3) the wing antifreeze actually looked fairly poor (you can see how dark it is in the bucket at the bottom right of the photo) we decided to repeat the process on the wing engine.

Position: 52°23.04'N, 4°53.65'E

Here's the result of the first water flush through the wing engine. You can see the water still is quite dirty.

Position: 52°22.55'N, 4°54.46'E

Enjoying a meal and a great window table at one of our favourite Amsterdam restaurants, Mojo Japanese Kitchen.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We have mesh covers for our pilot house windows that we use for sun protection and privacy. We'd kept them in a covered bin in a bow locker and it looks like condensation built up on the inside and we had some mildew on the covers. We got most of it off with a power washer spray and scrubbed off anything more stubborn with a hand brush.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Today we changed the hydraulic power take-off (PTO) clutch on our Lugger L844d wing engine. We documented the job in this video, where we show the problem with the PTO clutch and how to change it.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The defrost vents above the dash for our diesel furnace weren't producing enough heat. Here we've got the flybridge brow emptied so James can check for issues at the ducting inside that feeds the dash outlets. He found the furnace heating water going to the defrost heat-exchange units was cold, indicating there's an air lock in this part of the circuit, or some other problem is preventing coolant flow.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

After James found there was no hot water flow in the pilot house defrost heating circuit, he went down to the furnace in the aft port corner of the lazarette to check for flow on all cooling circuits at the furnace. He found that the yellow handle roughly in the center was in the open position, allowing hot water to partially bypass the heating circuits. The unusual thing is the system mostly still worked acceptably well. Even the defrost system still worked, it was just slower to heat.

It seems the pump moves enough volume that, even with a large bypass open, it still operates, but just less effectively. Looking back at our pictures over time, we can see that this valve was originally positioned correctly. But the weird thing is we haven't been back in this area hard-to-access area for a couple of years. It must have been inadvertently bumped, and probably quite a long time ago.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Spitfire enjoying a snooze on the tray above the engine. He's always finding new places to hang out, and especially likes warm ones.

Position: 52°22.38'N, 4°54.06'E

Delicious tacos and a pitcher of margaritas at another of our favourite Amsterdam restaurants, Los Pilones.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Building some extra fender lines from some bulk rope we have onboard.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Over the years, a few of the snaps that secure our canvas to to the boat have broken. We recently bought a Snap Setter, snap fasteners, and snap studs and have been replacing broken snaps as we find them. One of the snaps for the engine air intake covers had broken, so we replaced that today. When we're moored for a while where the weather is cold, we cover the engine room air intakes with custom canvas covers to keep the boat a little warmer.

Position: 52°22.91'N, 4°54.13'E

We took the bikes on the ferry across to Amsterdam Noord to do a little shopping.

Position: 52°23.80'N, 4°54.37'E

At Rien de Wolf marine supply store in Amsterdam Noord.

Position: 52°23.78'N, 4°54.36'E

Jennifer couldn't resists getting these pink coveralls at Rien de Wolf. The problem is, she doesn't want to wear them for boat work in case they get dirty. :)

Position: 52°24.18'N, 4°53.77'E

Picking up some supplies at the hardware store ToolStation in Amsterdam Noord.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Dutch customs came by today to inspect our paperwork and give us a new Temporary Admission document for Dirona. This establishes that we have VAT-free temporary admission of the vessel for 18 months since re-entering the EU Customs Zone from Heligoland. The paperwork isn't necessary, but we prefer to have documentation of the boat's VAT status to avoid potential hassles and delays in the future.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

If you ever see a Freeman hatch without screws or mechanical fasters in the top flange, then it's not mechanically attached to the boat. Adhesives are used to hold windshields in cars and even windows in boats, so can be excellent and can last well.

But we just couldn't convince ourselves that we wanted to rely exclusively on adhesives in this case. If the hatch came off in a storm, the boat would likely be lost. If the wrong adhesive was used or it didn't age well, we could have a problem. An earlier Nordhavn 47 had experienced a hatch detaching, so we decided to play it safe and bolt it in place.

Here James is marking where to drill holes for evenly-spaced bolts where each hole is through heavy structural material and will hold securely.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Drilling bolt holes in the Freeman hatch to secure it mechanically. This is surprisingly easy, but hard to do without worrying about making a mistake in placement.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

The Freeman hatch now is securely held in by six bolts rather than adhesive. It's not going anywhere.

Position: 52°22.98'N, 4°53.21'E

The view down Haarlemmerdijk, lit up for the winter, as we return from dinner at De Pizzabakkers.

Position: 52°23.01'N, 4°53.71'E

Dirona back "home" at the beautiful City Marina.

Position: 52°22.98'N, 4°52.92'E

At battery store Accu Verkoop to purchase two group U1 batteries for the tender. They only had one in stock and they'll have both of them for us next week.

Position: 52°22.84'N, 4°53.44'E

We'd somehow not noticed Ibericus on Haarlemmerdijk before. It's a branch of the Spanish cured pork retailer we saw last year in Rotterdam at Markthal, with its distinctive black hoofs, the Pata Negra.

Position: 52°22.82'N, 4°53.54'E

An excellent dinner at Stout on Haarlemmerdijk.

Position: 52°22.93'N, 4°53.43'E

The recently-installed Bubble Barrier in Westerdok minimizes the amount of garbage that reaches the sea from Amsterdam canals, without impeding boat traffic or fish movement. Compressed air is fed through a punctured pipe lying diagonally on the bottom and the resulting bubbles push garbage to the side of the canal, where it collects in a floating platform. Its a remarkably simple design and from watching it, one that really seems to work. Brilliant!

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

On Dirona we have a Teleflex Capilano steering system. The steering cylinder is Capilano HC5378 and we need just the rod end for this cylinder. The rod end is a bit unusual in that it combines a 3/4-in ball hole with a 7/8-in 14 thread-per-inch shank where 99% of the rod ends combine a 3/4-in hole with a 3/4-in 16 TPI threaded section. The picture above is of both these parts. We need to either find a source for the correct part or a machine shop in the Amsterdam area that can drill the 3/4-in hole out to 7/8-in and thread it at 14 threads per inch. This one is proving challenging.

We would appreciate any recommendations on Teleflex parts suppliers that might be able to get us what we need or machine shops in the Amsterdam area that could drill out the common part to the size we need.

Update 11/14/2019: This one is solved. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

As part of our fendering redesign a couple of years back, we purchased four EasyStore 42x132cm fenders. They've performed well, particularly through our 97 lock passages this year, so we ordered one of their larger ones and it just arrived today from Amazon UK. At 24x59 inches, it's a beast. And it cost only £175, about half the price of the smaller 24x42-inch Pro Stock marine fender we currently use at the bow.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

It's only 5 volts, but a year back we made a wiring mistake on this one and the breadboard was damaged. We weren't intending to change it, but the board comes from a batch that weren't great. So, the combination of the thermal damage and this being a low-quality board, led us to replace it. The new board even feels better when installing jumpers.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

This is the junction box with the new breadboard installed. This junction box doesn't really have many connections but it's enough to look busy and to require some care when changing the breadboard. Passing through this junction box are:
 • matrix 4x4 keyboard connection—8 wires in and 8 out
 • Lax I2C bus—4 wires in and 4 wires out
 • I2C to 8 pin digital I/O—4 wires of I2C and 5 signalling connections to sense:
   ◦ Digital in: Gen Autostart off/on
   ◦ Digital in: I2C bus off/on
   ◦ Digital out: Blue autostart warning light
   ◦ Digital out: ER Yellow warning light
   ◦ Digital out: ER Red warning light

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Our Maxwell 3500 windlass has performed flawlessly for us in a decade of use across thousands of anchorages around the world. To keep it that way, we regularly disassemble and grease the top and change the oil.

Read more ...

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The weatherstripping on the anchor locker Freeman hatch cover had worked partially out of the groove due to corrosion underneath. Here we are removing the weatherstripping so we can clean up the corrosion and reattach the weatherstripping.

Position: 52°22.98'N, 4°53.61'E

Using a wire wheel to clean-up the corrosion that developed underneath the weatherstripping on the anchor locker Freeman hatch cover.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We removed the Freeman hatch cover and brought it inside to reinstall the weatherstripping. It's easier to work with the cover level, and the adhesive works better at room temperatures. Here the weatherstripping has been reinstalled using Loctite 37532 Black Weatherstrip Adhesive.

Position: 52°22.91'N, 4°54.13'E

Today we removed and replaced the hydraulic steering rod end. In the video at https://youtu.be/3kAtUMZ3_kk we step through the steering system on the Nordhavn 52, showing some of the wear points and the changes we have made to minimize these issues. Finally, we show the removal and replacement of the hydraulic steering rod end. This is the part that transfers force between the hydraulic cylinder and the steering arm. We show how to check for wear and change the part.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The five 20L pails of engine oil that we'd ordered from Amazon Germany just arrived today. (Well, four of the five did, the fifth came the next day.) That folding cart continues to get heavy use on Dirona.

We'd used every drop of oil on the boat, so this 100L delivery takes us from empty to back to full capacity. This will maintain all of our engines for about a year under normal use.

Position: 52°23.01'N, 4°53.63'E

Obtaining circular pails is getting harder in many geographies, where each company is using their own proprietary-shaped 20L container. We need secure storage when we're in rough waters, so it's far easier for us to use a standard shape. We try to get ACEA-E9 whenever we can, but sometimes can only get ACEA-E7, which meets the specs for our engine and is acceptable, but is not our preference.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

After a year of cruising, we've collected about 90L of waste oil. When we bring new oil in, we recycle the old oil.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

One of our five Raspberry Pis has been up and running without reboot for 333 days straight. That's almost a year. For such a moderately-priced item, they're surprisingly reliable.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Spitfire rolled into a tight ball while sleeping in the pilot house. He's like a thermometer. If the it's a little chilly in the pilot house he rolls up into a tight ball. If it's a little warm, he lies on his back and spreads right out.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Jennifer getting rid of garbage, including a recently-emptied 20L pail of oil. We now have 100L of clean oil on board and are ready for another year of cruising.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

We picked up two group U1 batteries from Accu Verkoop this afternoon and now are topping up the charge before testing and installing.

Position: 52°23.00'N, 4°53.56'E

Rob Westermann and Janet Sijperda of Artnautica 58 Britt are moored behind us in City Marina for a couple of weeks. Tonight we all went out to Wolf Atelier for an excellent meal and great conversation.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

It's time to replace the tender start battery. This particular battery is nearly four years old and spent most of its life as a spare battery in the old tender and then was moved over to the new tender, where it has been in use for about a year. Technically it still starts the engine well, but it tests as needing replacement due to waning capacity.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We love exploring in the tender and frequently touch bottom. We're not too concerned about that, since a new propellor is only $90. But to maximize propeller life, James periodically straightens out the blades and files them smooth. We typically average around a year's use on a prop.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The 20L container of Fleetguard ES Compleat antifreeze that we'd ordered locally just arrived. We'd gone through most of our supply in changing the antifreeze in the generator earlier this year and wing a couple of weeks back.

Position: 52°22.77'N, 4°53.76'E

The holiday season decorations are out in Amsterdam. This large XMAS sign is displayed on a building along Prins Hendrikkade opposite Centraal Station.

Position: 52°22.54'N, 4°53.92'E

Warmoesstraat lit up for the winter season.

Position: 52°22.54'N, 4°53.92'E

A fun evening at the Dirty Chicken Club for a Bear-Can Roasted Chicken for two.

Position: 52°22.56'N, 4°53.74'E

Looking south along busy Niewendijk.

Position: 52°22.47'N, 4°53.62'E

The fabulous art display Amsterdam Oersoep, in the renovated passageway Beurspassage between Niewendijk and Damrak. The display is a modern creation designed to reflect the city and its past and future.

Position: 52°22.41'N, 4°53.52'E

De Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) on DAM square dates back to 1408. That may seem pretty old, but it's a century newer than Oude Kerk (Old Church). The traditional place for Dutch royal weddings and coronations, the building now functions as an exhibit gallery.

Position: 52°22.42'N, 4°53.47'E

Winter lights along the lane Mozes en Aaronstraat on front of the Mozes en Aaronkerk (Moses and Aaron Church).

Position: 52°22.46'N, 4°53.44'E

The spectacular Magna Plaza building, erected in the late 1800s in the Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance styles. Now a shopping mall, the building formerly was the Amsterdam Main Post Office and is included in the top 100 Dutch Heritage sites.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Today we completed a number of maintenance items on the water maker. We changed the high-pressure (HP) pump oil, greased the HP pump motor, backflushed the media filter until clear and changed the carbon and 5-micron pleated filter. In the picture, James is pumping out the old oil from the HP pump.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

The old carbon filter and 5-micron pleated filter from the watermaker after changing. The last change was about ten months ago.

In high plankton areas like North America's Pacific Northwest, having to change the water maker prefilter once a day is not uncommon. This can get tedious, so we ordered a simple solution. In front of the standard 5-micron pleated paper filter, we have a media filter.

A media filter is essentially a large vessel full of carefully-selected sand. This approach is the most common approach used in swimming pool filtration and is very effective. We can run the water maker full time for 2 to 4 weeks until the filter begins to show signs of needing to be cleaned.

On ours, pressure gauges on the inlet and the outlet allow us to check the pressure loss across the filter. It's pretty simple to clean when needed. Rotate the inlet and outlet valves and turn on the media filter booster pump to backflush the filter. After a couple of minutes, it clears and the process is done. Restore the valves and it's ready to return to use.

Before using the media filter, depending on water conditions, the media filter might need back-flushing weekly, or it could be as long as a month. With the media filter we only need to change the prefilter annually, even when in heavy use.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We had developed a slight antifreeze leak under the main engine and could see a drip from one of the coolant hoses that run out to the keel cooler. So the hose clamps likely needed tightening. Unfortunately they are all under the engine on the port side, and the only way to access them is reaching across from the starboard side where you can't actually see what you are doing. This picture, taken looking aft from underneath the front of the engine, shows James stretched out to arm's limit and working by feel to place a wrench on the nut to tighten it.

Our experience with heavy wire-reinforced hose is that well-installed clamps will still probably need to be tightened after one to two years, but after that it usually is fine for the life of the boat. That's the good news. The bad news is these particular clamps are just about completely impossible to access. The entire job took several hours, and the most difficult hose clamp was two hours all by itself.

James has worked on Lamborghinis, Ferrari and other Italian exotics not known for ease of service, but has never found a hose clamp as difficult to access as these four. Fortunately one of the upsides of Nordhavns is they're designed to be used and serviced, with few parts that are actually "built-in", so this is a rare problem on Dirona.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Draining the fuel from our fuel filter housings to clean them.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

After a decade of use, a trip around the world, and fuel picked up in many obscure places, the fuel filter housings had built up quite a bit of gunk inside.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The fuel filters back in place after cleaning them.

Position: 52°22.67'N, 4°53.75'E

The seasonal lights along Nieuwendijk. We love how the Dutch cities light up their streets in the winter with unique street displays.

Position: 52°22.21'N, 4°53.53'E

A great meal at Adam & Siam in Amsterdam's Rokin district with Peter Hayden, who owned Nordhavn 60 Tanglewood and currently is building Nordhavn 6837. We last saw Peter here in Amsterdam a year ago and had a great time catching up on his build progress and talking boats and travels.

Position: 52°20.44'N, 4°53.43'E

At the entrance on the opening day of METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show), held annually in Amsterdam. The crowds look bad, but most attendees had e-tickets and were scanned and issued a badge in literally seconds. It was incredibly efficient.

METS is the world's largest boats and marine equipment trade show—in 2018 the show drew over 16,700 attendees to visit the roughly 1,600 exhibitors at the three-day show. We plan to walk the entire show, so we'll need a good plan of attack, and comfortable shoes.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.41'E

A Yamabisi outboard. There were a surprisingly large number of outboard motors from China that you've never heard of that looked remarkably like outboard motors that you have heard of.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.39'E

Talking with Frederic Algalarrondo of MaxSea International, the producer of the navigation software we use, TimeZero. We had a question about a feature we'd seen on one of the commercial boats we'd toured in Donso, Sweden and Frederic was super-helpful in answering and making recommendations.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.34'E

Torqeedo, a company we know mostly for their small electric outboard motors, had a huge booth at METS. They've expanded significantly beyond small electric outboards and their product line now includes larger inboard motors and hybrid drives. This is a 360-volt high-capacity lithium battery system for Deep Blue Hybrid, their hybrid drive system designed for yachts up to 120 ft, commercial boats, and ferries.

Position: 52°20.62'N, 4°53.32'E

Digital switching and control systems are becoming increasingly popular, with many on display at METS. We hadn't seen the company Yacht Devices before—they produce a wide variety of NMEA 2000-compatible sensors and devices.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.39'E

Rob Westermann of Artnautica 58 Britt introduced us to, from left, Baris Dinc, Dincer Dinc, and Michael Schrodt. Brothers Baris and Dincer own and run Naval Yachts of Turkey that specializes in aluminum boats. They currently are building XPM78 Mobius, designed by Artnautica architect Dennis Harjamaa. Michael will also be building an XPM78 at Naval Yachts, with plans to charter in Greenland.

Position: 52°20.62'N, 4°53.25'E

This carbon gangway from GS Composite was amazingly lightweight.

Position: 52°20.62'N, 4°53.26'E

SIMARINE's PICO battery monitoring system includes state of charge, time until discharge, current voltage and draw in a nice bright graphical display.

Position: 52°20.61'N, 4°53.31'E

PowerTech Systems was one of many METS exhibitors displaying Lithium batteries and managements systems. PowerTech focuses on industry-standard form factors that can just be dropped in place, including the popular 8D.

Position: 52°20.61'N, 4°53.32'E

The HydrauNautic portable crimper can put permanent crimps on high-pressure hydraulic hoses in place. One of the challenges of replacing hydraulic hoses is the crimping is usually done at the hose supplier and when the hose gets back to the boat it may be too long or too short. A portable system allows the hoses to be cut and crimped exactly right without any delay.

Position: 52°20.60'N, 4°53.28'E

The ColdChili is one of a very large number of manufacturers that are producing similar form factors and capacities to the popular Dometic units.

Position: 52°20.59'N, 4°53.28'E

This 6kW Coelmo generator was one of a large number of generator manufacturers showing their products that we'd not heard of before. This unit uses a water-cooled generator end.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.28'E

A large and beautiful windlass from Italwinch.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.33'E

A stacked display of many members of the Victron inverter/charger line. The bottom one is a beast: a 48V, 15kW inverter.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.40'E

Here's a fun little idea. When tenders are left for long periods of time, they often fill with water and sometimes sink. Drainman uses the slight motion of the boat on the bow line to keep the boat pumped dry.

Position: 52°20.57'N, 4°53.40'E

When cleaning the hull, we use a suction pad smaller but similar to what is used to move large panes of glass around. The YachtGrabber is a similar idea, but they've just made everything much easier to do. It locks on only requiring one hand, can be released with the touch of a thumb, has no metal parts so won't corrode, and floats so it won't be lost. And yes, we have done that. :)

Position: 52°20.56'N, 4°53.32'E

A really nicely-designed digital steering system from Kobelt, that will be put into market early next year. A member of the development team was there to demonstrate its use. It's really interesting to be able to talk to the system designers and one of the strengths of METS is that oftentimes very technical representatives are there.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.30'E

Jordan Shishmanov of Across Ocean Systems was at METS to demonstrate his Vitals line of NMEA 2000 sensors, actuators, and displays aimed at making NMEA2000 more affordable. The Vitals product line are all interconnected by NMEA 2000 and includes an easy-to-read graphical display system with a flexible alarm system that can be configured to your exact needs. For sensors, Vitals has digital input (detect whether a devices is off or on), digital output (turn a device off or on), and analog input (for example sensing voltage levels).

It was particularly interesting to meet Jordan since he is both the inventor and designer of the Vitals system and he was happy to show every aspect of the hardware systems and talk about how the system works in detail. Over the past year we have corresponded with Jordan by email since we're both interested in NMEA 2000 systems so it was good to have a chance to meet him at METS.

The Vitals product line is distributed by Kobelt: Vitals Vessel System Monitoring and Smart Alarm Device.

Position: 52°20.57'N, 4°53.32'E

We've been huge fans of commercial knuckle cranes for years, so this offering caught our interest. Opacmare had done a long-reach knuckle crane with beautiful yacht-quality finishing.

Position: 52°20.56'N, 4°53.32'E

We dropped by the KVH Industries booth at METS to catch up on their latest innovations. We have been very dependent upon the KVH VSAT systems to stay connected since before we left Seattle back in 2012. We're currently using the V7hts (high throughput satellite) system and we are quite happy with its performance and reliability. Here's us with Jamie Broadbent, the KVH Value Added Services Manager, who has helped us with KVH decisions and issues for many years.

Position: 52°20.56'N, 4°53.30'E

James talking to, from left, Chris Watson (KVH Senior Director Marketing) and Jamie Broadbent (KVH Value Added Services Manager) in the KVH Industries booth at METS.

Position: 52°20.57'N, 4°53.25'E

The outboard power race continues. This is a 425HP, 5.6L V8 from Yamaha. It's an impressive engine, but this cutaway is particularly interesting, showing most of the internal details of the engine.

Position: 52°20.57'N, 4°53.25'E

Helm remote controls are getting more and more popular, where thruster, engine and transmission controls can be carried in your hand. Dockmate and Yacht Commander are two of the better-know suppliers.

Position: 52°20.57'N, 4°53.40'E

Skipper Arie Ruud Lievaart did an impressive job of safely backing the 70ft (21 m) SC Puffin into the slip behind us yesterday. It's a fairly tight fit, with the bowsprit overlapping the swim platform on Dirona.

Position: 52°22.12'N, 4°53.44'E

After a fun, but full day at METS, we had a delicious fresh seafood meal at Seafood Bar in Amsterdam's Rokin district along the metro route home.

Position: 52°20.41'N, 4°53.32'E

We spent much of our second day at METS in the superyacht, marina and yard industry pavilions. Here we are at the Schottel booth. Schottel is a German engineering company founded in 1921. They are best known for azimuthing propulsion systems, and actually invented the Z-drive back in 1950. The conventional Z-drive deployment has the engine driving a transmission, and then the Z-drive system with the prop, with the Z-drive being able to deliver propulsion in any direction. Schottel's Z-drive systems are very popular choices in tug boats, but they also are used in small and mid-sized passenger vessels as well.

Tug boats are rated on Bollard pull, and pilots and ship owners chose the maximum bollard pull possibly needed for their job. The tug will just about never need this maximum bollard pull, but it needs to be there for safety. The Schottel representatives at METS explained this is an ideal application for a hybrid propulsion system, where a smaller diesel engine is used but, in addition, a motor/generator is also installed. This allows the rarely-used maximum bollard pull to be generated with the main engine on max and the electric motor running flat out.

In the more common ship assist case, just the smaller and more efficient diesel can be used. And when the tug is waiting for ships to assist or just moving around itself, it can use just the electric motor. This very efficient design is a variant of what we saw on the two oil tankers and the fish boat we toured at Donso, Sweden.

Schottel explained to us that this same approach is useful on superyachts, where they occasionally need 30 to 40 kts speed when the owner is in a rush, and this requires massive horsepower. But in the common case, the boat is moving at more efficient speeds. Again the combination of the maneuverability of a Z-drive coupled with the efficiency of hybrid operation provides an environmentally more efficient package that still is capable of high speed.

Position: 52°20.41'N, 4°53.32'E

The massive 24.2L MAN V12-2000 produces 1471 kW (1972HP).

Position: 52°20.40'N, 4°53.31'E

This huge Maxwell 32 windlass dwarfs the Maxwell 3500 on Dirona.

Position: 52°20.41'N, 4°53.31'E

Beautiful bridge console by Netherlands-based Radio Zeeland.

Position: 52°20.42'N, 4°53.32'E

A 338-HP Cox diesel outboard.

Position: 52°20.41'N, 4°53.32'E

The huge VEEM Gyro 120SD is designed to provide stabilization underway or at rest on yachts and commercial boats between 50 to 130 tonnes. Dirona falls just into the lower end of that weight range, but this would take up our entire engine room.

Position: 52°20.37'N, 4°53.33'E

James trying out the new Steelhead davit remote controls with Jake Burns of AdvanTec, the company that owns Steelhead davits.

Position: 52°20.40'N, 4°53.41'E

Lunch with marine consultant Steve D'Antonio. We last saw Steve here in Amsterdam a year ago and had a great time catching up. Steve is a wealth if information on all things boating and is particularly interested in high-latitude travels.

Position: 52°20.41'N, 4°53.35'E

Some Veem propellers include the interceptor strip, a small plastic inset in the trailing edge of the propeller. This strip gives the prop more lift at only a slight increase in drag and is similar in design to a Gurney flap in aerodynamics. Veem uses these to tune the pitch of a propeller in the water without having to lift the boat out of the water or remove the props. These plastic strips allow effective prop pitch to be increased or decreased by changing the thickness of the plastic strip inset into the trailing edge of the prop.

Position: 52°20.38'N, 4°53.33'E

More automation and control systems, this one from Boning Ship Automation.

Position: 52°20.37'N, 4°53.35'E

The Biomaster biological sewage treatment plant by DVZ Services uses a unique stainless steel filter.

Position: 52°20.37'N, 4°53.36'E

Flying Carpet, by Termomeccanica "EOLO", is a great idea to transport people and goods on and off a yacht without stairs or gangways.

Position: 52°20.40'N, 4°53.38'E

Naiad model 820 fin actuator assembly designed to provide stabilization at rest and underway for yachts 54-84m long.

Position: 52°20.40'N, 4°53.33'E

In a conventional straight shaft drive system, propeller thrust is transfered through the prop shaft to the engine and through the engine mounts to push the boat. This has several side effects, including that propeller shaft alignment must be precisely set, and the engine mounts must be stiff enough to transfer both vibration but also the entire thrust of the propeller. The Propflex T system is one of several approaches where boat drive-line thrust is transfered to a bulkhead in behind the transmission. In this design, the boat is driving through this thrust bearing and the engine is floating free. Since the boat is not driving through the engine mounts, they can be more compliant and better insulate the rest of the boat from engine noise. In some designs, this also allows less precise engine alignment. The bearing pictured above is the thrust bearing and flex plate in the Propflex T system.

Position: 52°20.43'N, 4°53.30'E

The CELLWeaver router provides a single high-speed internet connection by combining multiple cellular data connections. In this design, CELLWeaver delivers the equipment with four cellular radios which will form four connections back to their central servers. Then all internet traffic on the boat is striped over all four channels and reassembled at the server side. This effectively gives four times the bandwidth of a single cellular connection, and can provide redundancy to transparently work through connection faults. In addition to CELLWeaver, other providers such as Peplink offer similar services.

Position: 52°20.43'N, 4°53.35'E

A very large superyacht anchor at the Wortelboer booth.

Position: 52°20.39'N, 4°53.46'E

A nice approach by Poly Ropes to keeping power cords looking good by enclosing them in a polyester silk casing. It does dramatically increase the required storage space though.

Position: 52°20.42'N, 4°53.38'E

A nice cutaway of the Cummins QSB 6.7 diesel engine on display by Cummins France.

Position: 52°20.43'N, 4°53.41'E

This heavy-duty balloon fender from DAN-FENDER of Denmark is 43 inches (1100mm) in diameter. The picture behind Jennifer shows an even bigger model at 64 inches (1650mm).

Position: 52°20.42'N, 4°53.45'E

A Hyundai marinized engine. We were amazed at the number of engine suppliers taking popular over-the-road or industrial engines and marinizing them.

Position: 52°20.39'N, 4°53.36'E

A great conversation with Donald Williams, New Product Development Manager at Northern Lights. The Northern Lights team always has interesting and innovative new designs underway, so its fun to catch up on what's coming to market.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.26'E

Riza Cagdas Cakir leads the Nordhavn Eastern Mediterranean office in Gocek, Turkey. Riza was involved in the decision to add a Nordhavn world-wide production facility in Turkey. The Nordhavn sales and support network continues to expand world-wide.

Position: 52°20.57'N, 4°53.35'E

It's been an incredibly busy couple of days at METS and here's what the facility looks like after 17,792 visitors have headed off to their evening activities.

Position: 52°20.45'N, 4°53.37'E

Carbon foil at Gurit composite engineering. Gurit was the principal engineer and a key material supplier for 2018-launched Charal, a next-generation of the IMOCA 60 class of racing yachts designed specifically as a foiler.

Position: 52°20.45'N, 4°53.37'E

This is an interesting approach that we haven't seen before. Here a bronze propeller hub holds four composite blades. The primary advantage of this design is the blade flex changes the prop pitch under different loads, reportedly improving efficiency. It's hard to know how much of that will actually be realized, but there's clearly less rotating mass, so we could imagine there being less sensitivity to balance and being able to change between forward and reverse more rapidly.

Position: 52°20.45'N, 4°53.37'E

Sicomin Epoxy Systems was demonstrating their MaxCore engineered sandwich construction product. Carbon fiber reinforcements inserted at multiple orientations into a core provide high shear strength in a thick foam core composite. Their target markets are places with high loads where very thick cores are required to get the needed strength-to-weight ratio. It may have application in boats, but it will also give architectural designers the ability to have very long unsupported spans. The primary advantage is architectural freedom over lower-technology materials.

Position: 52°20.64'N, 4°53.22'E

A beast of an alternator from Dixie Electric. We spent a fair bit of time at their METS booth last year and described their products in 13.2 kW Alternators and Beyond. This year they had an even bigger alternator on hand, this one producing an amazing 600A at 24V, which is 14.4 kW. That's more power than the entire main generator on Dirona.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.17'E

An Oxe diesel outboard based on a four-cylinder General Motors diesel engine. They also had on display a pre-production version of a larger outboard based upon a BMW six-cylinder diesel.

Position: 52°20.47'N, 4°53.38'E

Ben Ellison (right), former owner and publisher of the highly-respected Panbo marine electronics site, introduced us to the new owner and publisher, Ben Stein. If you haven't spent time on the Panbo site and you care about marine electronics, you really should. Panbo covers most gear available, takes the time to dig deeply and get into the details, and presents it all in a comfortable, easy-to-read form.

We first met Ben Ellison back in 2016 while in Belfast, Maine where he interviewed us for a typically-detailed Panbo post: MV Dirona: deep cruising, deeply shared. Our paths often cross at boat shows. We haven't met up with Ben since last year at METS and enjoyed seeing him again and meeting Ben Stein. Both have a deep knowledge of boating, particularly marine electronics and communication systems—we could spend hours talking with them.

Position: 52°20.58'N, 4°53.36'E

At the Carling Technologies booth with Kip Wasilewski, Director of Sales for Maretron, and Peter Hayden, who is building Nordhavn 6837. Readers of our blog know we're heavy Maretron users and big fans. We're always are eager to learn about any new products or services from Maretron and were particularly excited to learn that they're moving away from the proprietary Adobe Air product to standard HTML5 for their N2KView user interfaces.

Position: 52°20.54'N, 4°53.47'E

Forklifts and crates filled the parking lot out front as the 1,670 METS exhibitors tear down their booths and prepare them for shipping.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Rob Westermann and Janet Sijperda departing City Marina for Harlingen on Artnautica 58 Britt. Dirona is partially visible at the left end of the Palais de Justice (the large white building). Click image for a larger view.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

James investigating the Victron VE.Bus interface. We're interested in being able to remotely power on and off the Victron 240V inverter.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Today we attempted to callibrate the proportional control on our Kar-Tech, but couldn't get it working. So we tried callibrating the wired Steelhead pendant as a test of the proportional system. That didn't work either. (Proportional control adjusts the speed of response based on how much the trigger on the remote is pulled.)

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Since we couldn't callibrate the proportional control on either remote, we suspected a problem with the proportional valve. Here James is wedged in at the starboard forward corner of the lazarette, behind the hydraulics reservoir (left) and the freezer (right) to replace the valve with a spare.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

In the end, the proportional valve was fine, we just weren't understanding the Kar-Tech callibration instructions. We finally were able to successfully calibrate the proportional control on the remote and have documented clearer instructions at Kar-Tech Mini Guider Proportional Calibration.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

City Marina is a tight squeeze for a big catamaran like Soul Train. But in this case, the boat was too wide to fit between the piers.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The harbourmaster at City Marina in Amsterdam is an expert at fitting boats in. When Soul Train couldn't fit into the slip, he brought someone down with a large wrench to detach the side dock and slide it over to make space. Problem solved.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

As part of our project to remotely control the Victron 240V inverter, we investigated a mechanical control via the remote panel in the pilot house. Here we are able to turn the inverter on and off by directly driving the remote panel circuit board. We also were able to get status information and turn the inverter off and on by programming directly against the Victron VE.Bus interface.

Position: 52°22.09'N, 4°53.45'E

Delicious rotisserie chicken at The Chicken Club in Amsterdam's Rokin district, a one-stop train ride from Amsterdam Centraal Station.

Position: 52°22.08'N, 4°53.48'E

Looking south along narrow Voetboogstraat, where we had dinner at The Chicken Club, towards the brightly-lit atrium of the shopping mall The Kalvertoren. When we walked through there last year, the Volkswagen Beetle Sphere sculpture by Japanese artist Ichwan Noor caught our attention.

Position: 52°22.10'N, 4°53.48'E

Winter decorations along the shopping street Kalvertstraat.

Position: 52°22.17'N, 4°53.55'E

We love how so many Amsterdam streets have their own unique winter light displays. This is looking north along Rokin. The sign for the Rokin metro station for our train home is visible on the right.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

On investigating a windshield wiper problem, the wiper arm literally fell apart in our hands due to corrosion. We're now in the market for four Exalto EX2108 adjustable length pantograph wiper arms. It's always fun to search for ten-year-old boat parts.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.09'E

A great meal of Scampi and Bolognese over a bottle of Chianti at Toscano on Haarlemmerdijk.

Position: 52°22.81'N, 4°53.51'E

Lunch at Harlem Soul Food on Haarlemmerdijk with Mark Mohler of Nordhavn 62 Gray Matter. We last saw Mark two years ago in San Francisco and it was great to see him again and catch up.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

At City Marina in Amsterdam with, from left, Mark Mohler of Nordhavn 62 Gray Matter and Alan Hannebauer and Caren Holtby of Nordhavn 57 'r Tidewalker, based in Sydney, British Columbia. Alan and Caren were passing through on their way to Berlin and stopped by to meet on Dirona. We enjoyed meeting them and had a great time talking boats, travels, and Canadian trivia.

Position: 52°22.55'N, 4°54.46'E

An excellent meal in great company at Mojo Japanese Kitchen overlooking the Amsterdam canals. With us are Christine Guo and Mark Mohler of Nordhavn 62 Gray Matter who are visiting from Paris. We were first moored next to Gray Matter in the San Juan Islands in 2011 and last moored adjacent in Brisbane in 2014. We've visited with Mark since then, but haven't seen Christine since 2015.

Since we left Seattle, Mark and Christine have taken Gray Matter from San Francisco across the Pacific to live in Brisbane for several years. Last year they moved back to the US and are based in Boston with Gray Matter moored at Charlestown Marina in Boston where Dirona was in the summer of 2016.

Position: 52°18.39'N, 5°36.12'E

Spitfire checking out his new digs at the Het Catshuys, where he'll be staying for a couple of weeks while we make a trip to the US.

Position: 25°58.27'N, -80°14.83'W

The view north over the pool from our room at the Stadium Hotel in Miami. We stopped here for a couple of nights en route to Las Vegas to catch a Miami Dolphins NFL football game.

Position: 25°57.48'N, -80°14.46'W

A great time watching the Miami Dolphins take on the Philadelphia Eagles. The Dolphins haven't been playing so well this year, so we weren't expecting much of a game. But the Dolphins won in a very closely-fought match.

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°9.97'W

Peter DeSantis, VP of AWS Global Infrastructure and Customer Support Vice President, on-stage in Las Vegas for Monday Night Live, the first keynote of re:Invent 2019. It was an excellent presentation focused on the infrastructure that forms the foundation for all of AWS. Peter's talk is at Monday Night Live with Peter DeSantis.

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°9.97'W

Monday Night Live had a slight football theme this year, with Peter DeSantis wearing a Seattle Seahawks shirt and having an opening skit where Peter was a little disappointed that his talk was during the Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game. Throughout the talk, notable football commentator Cris Collinsworth, who is also an AWS customer, provided "play-by-play".

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°9.97'W

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, on the stage during his keynote at re:Invent 2019 in Las Vegas. The conference drew an incredible 65,000 attendees this year. Andy's talk was, as always, incredibly action-packed, going through the most important of the new AWS products and services. Andy's talk is at AWS re:Invent 2019 - Keynote with Andy Jassy.

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°9.97'W

The re:Invent House Band playing as part of Andy Jassy's keynote at re:Invent 2019.

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°11.55'W

Thursday night at the re:Invent after-party re:Play at the Las Vegas fairgrounds. It wasn't warm, but it was fun to move between the three live stages where bands were playing throuhgout the evening.

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°11.55'W

Texas-base Jamestown Revival entertaining the crowd at re:Play 2019, the re:Invent after-party.

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°11.55'W

American singer-songwriter Beck on stage at Intersect, an AWS-hosted musical festival held over the weekend at the same venue as re:Play.

Position: 36°7.35'N, -115°11.55'W

A jellyfish drawn in the sky during the fabulous Intel Drone Light show at Intersect. The technology behind the show is quite impressive—we were lucky to be able to see the purpose-built drones and speak with the pilot and show designer. It's an innovative approach, where 500 independent drones execute a choreographed display forming and reforming shapes like the jellyfish pictured and a gigantic Intel emblem. In the normal case, the pilot actually doesn't do anything during the show and is just there as a range safety officer so that if something goes wrong, the faulty systems can be safely downed.

Position: 29°56.54'N, -91°48.20'W

With our friend, Metal Shark Boats President Chris Allard, on a tour of their Jeanerette, Louisiana boat yard. If you have ever been just a bit too close to a high-value US Navy facility or in areas protected and patrolled by the US Coast Guard, there is a very good chance you will have seen a Metal Shark Boat at speed. These boats are used in coastal patrol missions in Navys, Coast Guards and law enforcement organizations world-wide.

When we visited nearly four years ago, the Jeanerette yard was in the process of completing a US Coast Guard order for 477 next-generation Response Boat—Small (RBS), one of the largest buys of its kind in the history of the USCG. They've long-ago delivered all boats in that contract, but still are building many a year for deliveries around the world. Metal Shark is becoming more well-known outside of military and law-enforcement as one of the primary suppliers for the New York City ferry system where they have delivered 150-passenger, 85-foot and 350-passenger, 97-foot high-speed catamarans.

Position: 29°48.95'N, -91°32.73'W

At the Metal Shark shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana. This yard went operational in the summer of 2014. Unlike the original yard in Jeanerette, this one is on the water with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. This allows them to build boats bigger than can efficiently be moved on public roadways. Metal Shark is one of the primary suppliers for the New York City ferry system where they have delivered 150-passenger, 85-foot and 350-passenger, 97-foot high-speed catamarans.

Position: 29°48.95'N, -91°32.73'W

The machinery room inside one hull of an aluminum catamaran that Metal Shark is building at the Franklin yard for a private owner. Most catamaran hulls we've seen can barely hold an engine—this one can hold most of Dirona.

Position: 30°24.00'N, -88°15.43'W

In June of 2018, Metal Shark acquired a 35-acre shipyard north of Mobile, Alabama and is currently constructing three steel 120ft x 35ft river towboats for Florida Marine Transporters. Two of the builds are visible in the foreground.

Position: 30°24.00'N, -88°15.43'W

The massive 600-tonne Travel Lift at Metal Shark Alabama.

Position: 38°57.49'N, -77°24.14'W

Washington, DC was the last stop on our whirlwind US trip through Miami, Las Vegas, Lafayette and Mobile. Here James was attending work meetings and a friend had accepted some packages for us that we'll bring back in our luggage. It looks like a lot to bring back, but not as bad as our summer trips to Seattle.

Position: 38°57.49'N, -77°24.14'W

It usually seems almost impossible that we'll fit all our packages into our luggage, but the volume always decreases substantially when we upack the boxes. Here's our three large suitcases, plus a rolling carry-on for valuables or other items we don't want to check.

Position: 38°54.66'N, -77°26.60'W

Before an early evening flight out of Washington to Amsterdam, we visited the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Featured are an SR-71 Blackbird (pictured in foreground), the Space Shuttle Discovery (visible in background), a Concorde, the B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay (delivered first atomic bomb), and an F-14 Tomcat.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

All our luggage made it back to Dirona with us. Time to unpack.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

One of the items we brought back with us from the US was a new UPS, an APC BE850M2 to protect the nav computer from power loss and voltage surges. The old one, a ten-year-old APC Back-UPS ES 750, had suddenly dropped the load this August, bringing down the computer and corrupting our on-board telemetry database. We replaced it with a previously-used spare (also ten years old). The replacement unit had a weak battery, but was functional. We could replace the battery, but decided to replace the entire UPS, since it's a critical component and was getting old.

Fortunately the APC UPS Daemon software we use to gather telemetry on the device was compatible with the new UPS, so the main work was just digging out the old one and replacing it with the new one.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

One of the options we'd selected when purchasing Dirona was the standard built-in vacuum, a Nu-Tone CV350, installed port-side in the lazarette. But we haven't been very happy with it—the air-driven power head frequently rusted up or seized and we were constantly messing with it.

This July in Stockholm we bought back from the US a Shark Navigator upright vacuum as a test and have been super-impressed with the amount of dirt and dust it continually pulls up each time we vacuum. We brought a spare Shark Navigator back with us from the latest US trip, so it's now time to remove the "backup" Nu-Tone vacuum and free up the space for storage.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

It's a bit unusual to have both a spare vacuum and a spare power-washer. But both are important to us and we can't buy 120V, 60Hz appliances in most of the places where we spend time. In the space left by removing the built-in vacuum, we were able to store the spare power-washer and vacuum that we brought back on our recent trip to the US.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

James replaced two daisy-chained Ethernet switches with a single, 16-port all-POE switch (a NETGEAR GS116LP) that we brought back with us from the US. As always, Spitfire is interested in the new configuration.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.67'E

A few weeks back we investigated ways to remotely control the Victron 240V inverter. Today we added a relay to drive the remote panel circuit board and updated our control system software to turn the inverter on and off. The inverter draws 40 watts when idle with no load, so one application of this feature is to turn the inverter off when it's not in use.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Wishing you all a Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year from City Marina IJDok in Amsterdam.

Position: 52°18.68'N, 4°45.59'E

At Schiphol Airport waiting for our flight to Basel, Switzerland, where we'll start a week-long cruise along the Rhine River back to Amsterdam. We've been experimenting with travelling light and trying to avoid checked luggage when possible. On overnight trips to Paris and St. Petersburg for example, our only luggage was what we could carry in 25L backpacks.

This trip is several days longer at a week, but we've still got only carry-on, with the two 25L backpacks and two Osprey Porter 30 Travel Backpack. We recently bought the Porters as an improvement over the 25L backpacks for short trips and this is our first time using them. So far we're really happy with the Porters—they hold a lot of gear in a convenient format.

Position: 52°18.68'N, 4°45.59'E

We're flying to Switzerland on EasyJet, the second-largest discount airline in Europe after Ryanair. This is our first time travelling with the airline and we were quite impressed with their operation. One of the ways EasyJet reduces costs is by increasing plane utilization through minimizing their on-ground time. This is done partly by pre-checking passengers into a boarding area and then unloading/loading the plane using the forward and aft doors.

Pictured is our plane arriving into Schiphol at 8:18am for an on-time 8:55am departure. That's just over a half-hour on the ground.

Position: 47°36.00'N, 7°31.97'E

EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg serves both France and Switzerland. You exit to the left to enter France and to the right to enter Switzerland. The airport technically is in France and a fenced customs-free road passes through French/EU territory to Switzerland, outside EU customs zone. We had nothing to declare and since Switzerland is a Schengen Area member state, we didn't need to complete any formalities to enter from the Netherlands.

Position: 47°34.03'N, 7°35.01'E

The river cruise boat AmaMora, our home for the next week, docked at Basel, Switzerland. The boat is 443 ft (235m) by 38 ft (11.6m) and draws only 2m, slightly less than Dirona. We arrived around 10:30am, left our bags on the boat and set out for a three-country walk.

Position: 47°33.48'N, 7°34.89'E

Spalentor ("Gate of Spalen"), is the most impressive of the three 14th-century city gates that remain from the medieval walled city of Basel.

Position: 47°33.49'N, 7°35.29'E

The dramatic 500-year-old Basel Town Hall, painted red, overlooks the Marktplatz.

Position: 47°33.41'N, 7°35.40'E

Walking up narrow Schlusselberg in historic Basel.

Position: 47°33.39'N, 7°35.55'E

Basel Minster dates from the 12th century and is a well-known landmark in the city.

Position: 47°33.39'N, 7°35.55'E

Looking towards the alter under the soaring arches of Basel Minster.

Position: 47°33.39'N, 7°35.55'E

The view from the south tower of Basel Minster past the north tower to the Rhine River. Our boat, AmaMora, is barely visible moored alongshore at the upper left.

Position: 47°33.44'N, 7°35.21'E

A delicious lunch at Steiger in downtown Basel. Prices are very high in Switzerland— Steiger isn't particularly high-end, but a lunch entree was around 25 USD.

Position: 47°33.23'N, 7°35.44'E

Carnival Fountain, built in 1977 by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely consists of multiple moving machines interacting with water in a style resembling Steampunk. We loved it. A brief video is at Carnival Fountain.

Position: 47°33.41'N, 7°35.78'E

Ferry crossing the Rhine viewed looking north from the bridge Wettsteinbrucke. We saw multiple ferries crossing like this, with a flag-laden tether to an overhead cable. Using the overhead cable, the ferries can cross the river almost without additional propulsion by aiming the boat diagonally to the flow of the river, which just drives them across to the other side.

Position: 47°33.46'N, 7°35.74'E

Looking across from the north side of the Rhine to historic walls of Basel along the south side.

Position: 47°33.50'N, 7°35.70'E

The stay for the striped pole that supports the ferry's cable was run through the wall of this building. Basel Minster is visible on the hill at the opposite side of the Rhine.

Position: 47°33.56'N, 7°35.54'E

Commercial barge heading under Middle Bridge, viewed from the south shore of the Rhine. It looked like it would barely clear.

Position: 47°35.24'N, 7°35.36'E

The Dreilandereck memorial marks the tripoint in the Rhine where the borders of Switzerland, Germany and France meet. The Three Countries Bridge, that we'll soon cross, is visible in the background to the north.

Position: 47°35.35'N, 7°35.59'E

The customs checkpoint between Switzerland and Germany, checking vehicles on entry to Switzerland. It felt strange to stroll past a formal customs checkpoint without clearing in with anyone. But since both Switzerland and Germany are part of the Schengen immigration area, no check is required if you are not importing/exporting goods.

Position: 47°35.49'N, 7°35.39'E

Crossing from Germany into France on the Three Countries Bridge with the Dreilandereck memorial visible in the background slightly right of center. The arch bridge is 813 ft (248 metres) long as is the longest single-span pedestrian/cyclist bridge in the world. France and Germany are both in the Schengen Immigration Area and the EU Customs zone, so no formalities are required to cross the border. In this case, no customs or immigration officials were anywhere in the area.

Position: 47°34.55'N, 7°34.97'E

At the French border about to walk back into Switzerland. This sign and a security camera opposite were the only indicators that this was a border crossing. We'd walked between three countries in a half-hour, and this was our fourth country of the day.

Position: 47°34.03'N, 7°35.01'E

Our room on the AmaMora, our home of the next week as we cruise north along the Rhine River back to Amsterdam. We really enjoyed the room, with the bed facing a French balcony and an adjacent small balcony, visible at far left, where we could sit outside.

Position: 47°34.03'N, 7°35.01'E

The Rhine River current is quite strong, requiring care when navigating. Most of the river boats turn into the current and carefully work up to the side under power to dock. Since the AmaMora was running downstream, the captain would turn the boat around whenever we docked and turn back around again to leave.

Position: 47°34.03'N, 7°35.01'E

A delicious dinner on the AmaMora. The food on board was consistently excellent. One of the many aspects of the ship we liked was that dinner was open-seating with a range of table sizes.

Position: 47°34.10'N, 7°35.07'E

View to the dock as the AmaMora departs Basel after dinner.

Position: 47°39.05'N, 7°31.72'E

The AmaMora churning up mud as we approach our first lock of the passage, in the Grand Canal d'Alsace. Completed in 1959, the canal starts just north of Basel and extends for 30-mile (50km), diverting boats around the swift-flowing Rhine where it is nearly unnavigable. The canal also provides hydroelectric power at several locations and cooling for the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant, eliminating the need for cooling towers.

Position: 47°39.21'N, 7°31.56'E

On our balcony as the AmaMora descends in the Kembs Lock, completed in 1932. The river boats are built to maximize space and just barely fit inside the locks. We could easily touch the walls on either side as we passed through.

Position: 48°1.44'N, 7°34.91'E

We arrived at Breisach, Germany early this morning and awoke tied off to the river boat Vista Star, one of the two times that the AmaMora was rafted. Our room was on the starboard side, so we still had a clear view to the river, and to France on the opposite shore. The border between the two countries is in the middle of the Rhine River here.

Position: 48°1.39'N, 7°34.99'E

The Breisach Locks, just upstream from the AmaMora's dock. We're back on the Rhine River proper now, on a brief section where the Grand Canal d'Alsace rejoins the river. The lock visible on the left connects directly to the Rhine River, while the locks we passed through to exit the canal are out of the picture to the right.

Position: 48°4.72'N, 7°21.33'E

We took a bus from the Breisach dock to tour Colmar, France. This is the Maison des Tetes ("House of Heads") in Colmar, built in 1609 and decorated with 105 masks.

Position: 48°4.69'N, 7°21.29'E

Historic half-timbered buildings along Rue des Boulangers in Colmar. In this construction style, buildings are framed in timber and the spaces between are filled with brick, plaster or other materials.

Position: 48°4.66'N, 7°21.35'E

The Boite a Mouches ("Fly Box"), the tiny orange house at center, is the smallest house in Colmar at 270 sq ft (25 sq m). The house is entered via the yellow house its built into.

Position: 48°4.60'N, 7°21.46'E

Les grands Soutiens du Monde, created in 1902 by the Colmar-born sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, in the courtyard of the museum dedicated to the artist. Bartholdi's most famous work is the Statue of Liberty in New York. One of two smaller Bartholdi-created copies of the statue are in Colmar. The other is in Paris.

Position: 48°4.56'N, 7°21.54'E

Half-timbered buildings along Rue des Marchands in Colmar, many decorated for the Christmas season. The one at center is covered in white teddy bears.

Position: 48°4.44'N, 7°21.43'E

Buildings overlooking the river Lauch in Colmar, in an area known as Little Venice.

Position: 48°4.55'N, 7°21.53'E

The Tribunal de Grande Instance (the high court) in Colmar dates from the 16th century.

Position: 48°4.64'N, 7°21.54'E

Christmas Markets outside the Roman Catholic St Martin's Church in Colmar, built between 1234 and 1365.

Position: 48°4.63'N, 7°21.50'E

The choir and alter inside St Martin's Church.

Position: 48°4.69'N, 7°21.43'E

Christmas market outside Colmar's Eglise des Dominicains (Dominican Church). The structure was completed in the 14th century, but no longer is used as a church.

Position: 48°4.70'N, 7°21.38'E

Virgin in a Rose-Garden, painted in 1473 by French artist Martin Schongauer, on display inside the Eglise des Dominicains.

Position: 48°16.64'N, 7°40.70'E

We rejoined the AmaMora at Schoenau, north of Breisach, and back inside the Grand Canal d'Alsace. We're about to pass through the locks at Rhinau and rejoin the Rhine River again. We're going to pass through the smaller locks on the right, and a double-width commercial barge is visible exiting the larger locks on the left.

Position: 48°16.77'N, 7°40.73'E

The AmaMora entering the lock at Rhinau. Clearance looks really tight.

Position: 48°16.79'N, 7°40.73'E

Looking down the side as the AmaMora enters the lock at Rhinau. The ship is just touching the wall on this side and only has a tiny bit more space on the other. A commercial barge is visible entering the lock to the left.

Position: 48°16.85'N, 7°40.75'E

The AmaMora captain sighting down the side as we entered the locks. He did an amazing job of smoothly bringing the boat into the narrow chamber, only barely touching the sides as we settled into place.

Position: 48°16.87'N, 7°40.75'E

The Rhine River air draft is 9.1m and the AmaMora actually requires more air draft than that at full height. But but by lowering the pilot house and the radar, as pictured, they can operate at 9m. With more manual work, they're able to get below 9m by removing or lowering gear on deck.We'd seen river barges with pilot houses that could raise and lower, but had never seen one in action. The video River Boat Pilot House Lowering shows the pilot house descending, along with the radar mast at the front of the ship.

Position: 48°16.87'N, 7°40.75'E

The AmaMora near the bottom of the Rhinau lock.

Position: 48°16.96'N, 7°40.77'E

This fixed bridge at the north end of the Rhinau is why the AmaMora pilot house and radar mast needed to be lowered. The crew also folded down the partitions around the pool and lowered a number of canopies on deck.

Position: 48°34.92'N, 7°47.48'E

When we arrived into Strasbourg, France there was so little space at the dock that we assumed we would be rafting against another river cruise boat. But the captain brought us onto the dock with feet to spare at each end. He did have some help with crew calling out distances from the bow and stern.

Position: 48°34.89'N, 7°47.48'E

The pool on the upper deck of the AmaMora on a still evening in Strasbourg.

Position: 48°34.80'N, 7°45.02'E

Looking along the canal that rings Strasbourg's old town.

Position: 48°34.82'N, 7°45.07'E

Strasbourg proclaims itself the Capitale de Noel ("Christmas Capital") and was wonderfully decorated with lights for the season. Here we are about to enter the old town.

Position: 48°34.85'N, 7°45.05'E

Half-timbered buildings along Rue Du Maroquin in Strasbourg, lit up for the Christmas season.

Position: 48°34.88'N, 7°45.09'E

Spectacular Strasbourg Cathedral is considered one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in the world. Construction of the cathedral began in 1176, and from 1647 to 1874 it was the world's tallest building.

Position: 48°34.88'N, 7°45.09'E

Security at Strasbourg Cathedral for Midnight Mass was extremely high, with police everywhere carrying automatic weapons. These are just some of the police vehicles we saw parked around the cathedral.

Position: 48°34.89'N, 7°45.03'E

The exterior of Strasbourg Cathedral is covered with incredibly complex and ornate sculptures. Examples such as these at the entry door cover the building from ground to spire. It's quite an impressive sight.

Position: 48°34.89'N, 7°45.03'E

Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at Strasbourg Cathedral was a unique and unforgettable experience.

Position: 48°35.51'N, 7°46.49'E

Walking through the 18th-century Parc de l'Orangerie in Strasbourg, France on a rainy Christmas morning. The building pictured is the Josephine Pavilion, built in 1804 and named after the wife of Napoleon.

Position: 48°35.61'N, 7°46.29'E

The Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg, France. The 47-member international organization, distinct from the European Union, was formed after World War II to protect human rights and uphold democracy in Europe.

Position: 48°35.75'N, 7°46.43'E

The dramatic European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg, France. The judicial body was setup by the Council of Europe in 1959 and has since heard over 10,000 cases regarding violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Position: 48°35.78'N, 7°46.28'E

Strasbourg is official home of the European Parliament, the legislative branch of the European Union. Most of the Parliament's work takes place in Brussels, with some in Luxembourg City, but the institution is legally bound to meet in Strasbourg 12 times a year and all votes must take place here. The west side of the building, partly visible in the photo and better visible in satellite imagery, is purposely left unfinished to symbolize that the EU is a work in progress.

Position: 48°35.20'N, 7°45.71'E

Looking north along a Strasbourg canal from a bridge on Avenue d'Alsace. Directly to the left, out of the picture, is the US Consulate General.

Position: 48°35.18'N, 7°45.63'E

St. Paul's Church, built in the late 19th century, is one of Strasbourg's landmark buildings. The building was designed for the military service and has an unusual 19 different entrances to provide separate entrances for each rank, including the Emperor.

Position: 48°35.22'N, 7°45.32'E

Looking east along Avenue Victor Schoelcher between the National and University Library, left, and the National Theatre of Strasbourg. This is the Neustadt district, created when Strasbourg was under German control between 1871 and 1918. The original narrow and crooked streets were replaced by grand boulevards and monumental buildings.

Position: 48°35.22'N, 7°45.27'E

The Palais du Rhin was built between 1884 and 1889 as the official residence of the Kaiser after Germany annexed much of the Alsace region and made Strasbourg the capital of the new German province. The large white statue in the foreground is the Monument aux Morts de Strasbourg, erected in 1936 in memory of the city's residents killed during World War I.

Position: 48°34.87'N, 7°44.93'E

Strasbourg Cathedral visible past half-timbered buildings along Rue Merciere. It's always a thrill to round a corner where the cathedral bursts into view.

Position: 48°34.90'N, 7°44.99'E

Maison Kammerzell, near Strasbourg Cathedral, was built in 1427 and is one of the most notable buildings in Strasbourg.

Position: 48°35.00'N, 7°44.72'E

Looking across Place Kleber, Strasbourg's main square, to the traditional Christmas tree standing at the east end. The statue in the center is of the square's namesake, Strasbourg-born Jean-Baptiste Kleber, a general during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Position: 48°34.87'N, 7°44.49'E

Looking east along the River III in Strasbourg's historic Petit-France district. On the left are the Maison des Tanneurs, foreground, and Place Benjamin-Zix, with the small orange Christmas market buildings.

Position: 48°34.76'N, 7°44.31'E

The view to the Pont Couverts, a centuries-old defensive structure consisting of three bridges and four towers. The photo was taken from the 17th-century Barrage Vauban. the Petit-France district is just beyond.

Position: 48°34.77'N, 7°44.71'E

The interior of Saint Thomas Church in Strasbourg, built starting in 1196.

Position: 48°34.89'N, 7°45.04'E

A final view to Strasbourg Cathedral before we catch a bus back to the AmaMora. The cathedral is spectacular and we never tired of looking at it.

Position: 48°34.91'N, 7°47.49'E

Our river boat the AmaMora, decorated for the holiday season, moored at Strasbourg, France.

Position: 48°34.90'N, 7°47.48'E

Jennifer with Santa during the AmaMora's Christmas party. For the past twenty years, we've always spent Christmas aboard Dirona. This year the boat was a lot bigger, but just as much fun.

Position: 49°29.21'N, 8°26.80'E

The AmaMora moored at Ludwigshafen, Germany after an overnight run from Strasbourg, France. From here we'll take a bus to visit the town of Heidelberg.

Position: 49°24.84'N, 8°43.06'E

Karlstor ("Carl's Gate"), erected in Heidelberg in the late 18th century to honor Prince Elector Carl Theodor.

Position: 49°24.97'N, 8°42.99'E

Heidelberg lines both sides of the Neckar river, a major tributary of the Rhine. The current in the Neckar is running swiftly this time of year.

Position: 49°25.33'N, 8°42.39'E

Walking the Keltenweg ("Celtic Way") trail to the summit of the hill Heiligenberg on the north side of the Neckar. We were lucky to have a sunny and relatively warm day for the hike.

Position: 49°25.44'N, 8°42.41'E

Heidelberg Thingstatte is an amphitheatre at the summit of the hill Heiligenberg built by the Nazis in 1935 with a capacity for 8,000 seated or 15,000 standing. Although the acoustics weren't as good as the designers had intended, when someone on the stage speaks in a normal voice level, you can still clearly hear them when standing well up in the stands.

Position: 49°25.18'N, 8°42.25'E

The Heiligenberg Tower atop the hill Heiligenberg, built as a lookout in the 19th century.

Position: 49°25.18'N, 8°42.25'E

The view to Heidelberg and the Neckar river from atop Heiligenberg Tower. We've been walking above a fog bank that is just starting to dissipate.

Position: 49°25.17'N, 8°42.20'E

The 180-ft deep (55m) Heidenloch ("Heathen Hole") near Heiligenberg Tower. The age and purpose of the pit is unknown, although some historians believe it is a Roman well or cistern.

Position: 49°25.24'N, 8°42.21'E

Prohibiting motorcycles and automobiles in the nature reserve makes sense, but we wouldn't have expected horse-drawn carts to be a big problem here.

Position: 49°25.08'N, 8°42.04'E

Great view west along the Neckar river from the Fuchs Rondell Lookout.

Position: 49°25.05'N, 8°42.53'E

A view to historic Heidelberg along the Heidelberg famous Philosophers' Path. At left are the ruins of Heidelberg, dating from the 13th century. At right is the Karl Theodor Bridge, also known as the Old Bridge, built in 1788. The bridge gate visible at the far side of the bridge dates from the Middle Ages.

Position: 49°24.96'N, 8°42.53'E

Descending back to the Neckar river along the narrow and walled Aussichtspunkt Schlangenweg ("Snake Path") that connects the Old Bridge with the Philosophers' Path.

Position: 49°24.73'N, 8°42.70'E

A Christmas Market in Heidelberg with the ruins of Heidelberg Castle in the background.

Position: 50°2.12'N, 8°10.91'E

Another delicious meal on the AmaMora. We've really been enjoying the cruise.

Position: 49°58.62'N, 7°56.16'E

We arrived into Rudesheim, Germany during dinner and will moor there for the night. With our starboard-side stateroom, we had a great view across the river to the nearby towns.

Position: 49°58.63'N, 7°56.27'E

Tourist train that will carry us into Rudesheim for an evening wine-tasting.

Position: 49°58.74'N, 7°55.16'E

The three delicious wines we tasted at the centuries-old Adolf Storzel winery in Rudesheim, Germany.

Position: 49°58.58'N, 7°53.89'E

After overnighting at Rudesheim, the following morning we took a walk through the vineyards above the Rhine.

Position: 49°58.54'N, 7°53.38'E

The Nahe river entering the Rhine alongside the town of Bingen.

Position: 49°58.54'N, 7°53.18'E

The ruins of Ehrenfels Castle, built in the early 1200s for defense and as a customs control post to control shipping on the Rhine. The castle was destroyed in 1689 during the Thirty Years War.

Position: 49°58.58'N, 7°53.09'E

The Mauseturm (Mouse) Tower, originally built in the 13th century to complement Ehrenfels Castle for customs toll control along the Rhine River. The name Mouse Tower derives from a folk tale where an army of mice chased the cruel castle owner into the tower and ate him alive.

Position: 49°58.67'N, 7°53.86'E

Throughout the vineyards, people were efficiently pruning the vines using electric shears.

Position: 49°58.72'N, 7°54.29'E

The Niederwalddenkmal, standing high above the Rhine, commemorates the 1871 foundation of the German empire from numerous independent states.

Position: 49°58.85'N, 7°54.01'E

We walked up the hill for a closer look at the Niederwalddenkmal. The 34ft (10.5 m) statue of Germania, the personification of the German nation, holds the new crown of the empire in her right hand and the Imperial sword in her left.

Position: 49°58.86'N, 7°54.00'E

Wonderful view east along the Rhine from the Niederwalddenkmal. Our boat, the AmaMora, is visible moored along this side of the river, slightly left of center.

Position: 49°59.66'N, 7°51.70'E

The 41-mile (65km) section of the Rhine downstream from Rudesheim, known as the Rhine Gorge, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site for its castles, historic views and vineyards. This dramatic stretch of waterway has 40 castles, among the greatest concentration in the world, and was featured in The Learning Channel's Great Castles of Europe Rhine Castles segment.

Pictured is Rheinstein Castle, built in the 14th century and currently owned by the family of opera singer Hermann Hecher, who purchased the castle in 1975 and renovated it.

Position: 50°0.44'N, 7°51.47'E

The sprawling Reichenstein Castle was originally built around 1100, but fell into disrepair in the 16th century. A succession of private owners purchased and renovated the castle starting in the early 1800s.

Position: 50°1.44'N, 7°49.66'E

Sooneck Castle, likely built in the 11th century, was besieged and destroyed in the 13th century. A new castle was built on the site in the 14th century that was eventually purchased in the 19th century and renovated by the crown prince of Prussia, Frederick William IV, and his brothers. The castle became a possession of the state when aristocratic properties were nationalized in after World War I and is open to the public for tours.

Position: 50°3.70'N, 7°46.41'E

The town of Bacharach, with 12th-century Stahleck Castle on the hill at left. At the base of the hill to the right of the castle are the ruins of Wernerkapelle (Werner Chapel), built starting in the late 13th-century. To the right is the red-trimmed tower of 12th-century St. Peter's Church, with Steeger Tor, one of the old city gates, visible directly in front. The tower on the hill in the background is Postenturm, a watchtower that formed part of the town's 14th-century fortifications.

Position: 50°4.75'N, 7°46.12'E

This section of the Rhine is quite busy with commercial traffic. Here the barge Oranje Nassau is passing the Desiderio. Note the low free board on the Desiderio.

Position: 50°4.91'N, 7°45.92'E

The 14th-century toll station Pfalzgrafenstein, with 13th-century Gutenfels Castle visible on the hilltop beyond.

Position: 50°6.13'N, 7°44.51'E

Expansive Schonburg Castle, built in the 12th-century and now a famous hotel and restaurant.

Position: 50°8.02'N, 7°44.25'E

One of several decorative railway tunnel openings along our route.

Position: 50°8.35'N, 7°43.59'E

The famous Lorelie Rock amplifies and echoes sounds and has inspired many German folk tales.

Position: 50°8.92'N, 7°43.44'E

Enjoying a warming Rudesheimer Coffee during a chilly day on deck as we pass through the Rhine Gorge. The whip-cream-topped beverage is made of coffee mixed with Asbach brandy, a specialty of Rudesheim. On the hill behind us in the distance is Katz (Cat) Castle, originally built in the late 1300s and now a hotel.

Position: 50°9.33'N, 7°42.63'E

Rheinfels Fortress, started in 1245, is the largest castle overlooking the Rhine. Most of the buildings are in ruin, but a section is now a luxury hotel and restaurant.

Position: 50°9.82'N, 7°42.16'E

We were surprised to see a boat called Seattle on the Rhine.

Position: 50°10.09'N, 7°41.77'E

Maus (Mouse) Castle was built in the 1300s to defend against the Count of Katzenelnbogen, who had built nearby Katz Castle. It is one of the two castles along the Rhine Gorge that has never been destroyed.

Position: 50°10.23'N, 7°40.94'E

The AmaMora displaying a blue board with a flashing white light, used by inland waterway vessels in to indicate an intent to pass starboard-to-starboard when normally passing is done port-to-port. This process is called "blue boarding". Information about the sign's status is included in the vessel's AIS transmission.

Position: 50°10.23'N, 7°40.94'E

The barge Gitte also displaying a blue board and flashing white light to indicate intent to pass on the starboard side.

Position: 50°14.92'N, 7°35.29'E

Spectacular 12th-century Marksburg Castle is one of the main sites in the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage site and one of only two castles in the area that has never been destroyed.

Position: 50°18.31'N, 7°35.75'E

Lahneck Castle, built in 1226, became famous in England in the 19th century when teenager Idilia Dubb fell inside the tower where no-one could hear her cries for help. She died days later, leaving a dairy recording her last days.

Position: 50°18.98'N, 7°35.38'E

Imposing Stolzenfels Castle was originally built in the 13th century and extended over the years. It was destroyed by the French in 1689 during the Nine Year's War, and rebuilt in the 1800s. The castle is now state-owned and open to the public after a major renovation that was completed in 2011.

Position: 50°21.73'N, 7°36.49'E

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers, overlooks the town of Koblenz and marks the northern end of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fortress was built in the 1800s to protect against a French attack.

Position: 50°56.62'N, 6°57.77'E

After a wonderful day walking through the vineyards at Rudesheim and travelling through the Rhine Gorge, the AmaMora docked at Cologne, Germany. We'll spend the night there and explore the city tomorrow.

Position: 50°56.45'N, 6°57.70'E

Museum Ludwig houses a wide range of contemporary art, including numerous works by Picasso and Warhol.

Position: 50°56.46'N, 6°57.67'E

Cologne Cathedral dominates the skyline with its twin towers rising 515ft (157m) meters above the ground. Built starting in the 1248, the building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe.

Position: 50°56.51'N, 6°57.50'E

The spectacular interior of Cologne Cathedral, looking down the aisle towards the 142-ft-high (43.35 m) nave.

Position: 50°56.51'N, 6°57.50'E

The Treasury beneath Cologne Cathedral is full of priceless works made of gold, silver, bronze and ivory.

Position: 50°56.51'N, 6°57.50'E

14th-century sculptures preserved from St. Peter's Portal at the south entrance to Cologne Cathedral.

Position: 50°56.51'N, 6°57.50'E

Incredible detail on the 16th-century St Agilulfus Altarpiece inside Cologne Cathedral.

Position: 50°56.51'N, 6°57.50'E

The gold-covered Shrine of the Three Kings is one of Cologne Cathedral's most prized treasures and, according to legend, holds the remains of the Three Wise Men.

Position: 50°56.46'N, 6°57.42'E

Cologne Cathedral is festooned with ornately carved sculptures. This is St. Peter's Portal, at the south side, the source of the medieval sculptures we saw preserved in the Treasury earlier.

Position: 50°56.47'N, 6°57.48'E

St. Peter's Bell, partway up the south tower, is the largest free-swinging bell in the world and weighs 24 tonnes.

Position: 50°56.47'N, 6°57.43'E

The reward for climbing the 533 steps to the viewing platform in the south tower of Cologne Cathedral is excellent views in all directions. This is looking south along the Rhine towards the bridges we passed under yesterday in the AmaMora. The Great St. Martin Cathedral rises above the buildings at left.

Position: 50°56.41'N, 6°57.44'E

Fountain in Cologne depicting a fairy tale about the Heinzelmannchenbrunnen, a race of gnomes who were said to do all the work of the city during the night so the citizens of Cologne could take it easy during the day. As the legend goes, a curious tailor's wife tried to catch a glimpse of the the Heinzelmannchenbrunnen and ended up chasing them away.

Position: 50°56.31'N, 6°57.58'E

Modern and historic buildings of the Cologne City Hall. The tower was erected in the early 1400s.

Position: 50°56.32'N, 6°57.77'E

The Great St. Martin Cathedral, built in the early 12th century, is another notable Cologne landmark. We got a great view to the building from the Cologne Cathedral viewing platform.

Position: 50°56.22'N, 6°57.61'E

A busy Christmas Market in Cologne.

Position: 50°56.19'N, 6°57.64'E

Outdoor ice rink adjacent to the Christmas market.

Position: 50°56.16'N, 6°57.65'E

Equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhelm III. He was King of Prussia from 1770 to 1840, a few decades before the 1871 founding of the German empire.

Position: 50°55.93'N, 6°57.84'E

Under the Prussian administration, a double fortress ring surrounded the city of Cologne. The tower Malakoffturm was built in the mid 1800s as part of the Prussian Rhine bank fortifications.

Position: 50°55.82'N, 6°57.93'E

The revitalized Rheinauhafen district, in a former port area, mixes historic buildings with modern. The three "Kranhauser" (crane towers) are shaped like hoisting cranes, reflecting the district's commercial past.

Position: 50°55.97'N, 6°58.21'E

The Cologne skyline from the east side of the Rhine, with Malakoffturm at far left, the Colonius telecommunications tower at center, Great St. Martin Cathedral where the bridge meets the shore, and Cologne Cathedral prominent at right.

Position: 50°56.34'N, 6°58.12'E

Deutz Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery that was founded in 1003 on the opposite side of the Rhine from Cologne.

Position: 50°56.41'N, 6°58.12'E

The 338ft (1032m) KolnTriangle tower is another prominent Cologne landmark. The top floor and rooftop are a popular public viewing platform with great views to Cologne and the particularly the Cologne Cathedral.

Position: 50°56.50'N, 6°58.02'E

The AmaMora moored in downtown Cologne, viewed from the opposite bank.

Position: 50°56.50'N, 6°57.82'E

Cologne was one of the first European cities where love locks appeared, and has not discouraged the practice. The bridge Hohenzollernbrucke is covered with thousands and thousands of them.

Position: 50°56.52'N, 6°57.61'E

The beautiful modern canopy over Cologne Central train station. The station is amazingly busy, with trains constantly arriving and departing.

Position: 50°56.70'N, 6°57.41'E

A profusion of overhead wires outside the north end of Cologne Central Station.

Position: 50°56.58'N, 6°57.43'E

Cologne, like most European cities we've visited, has excellent train service.

Position: 50°56.60'N, 6°57.80'E

The bridge Hohenzollernbrucke lit up at night, viewed from the AmaMora berthed in Cologne.

Position: 50°56.60'N, 6°57.83'E

View to Cologne Cathedral lit up at night as the AmaMora moves off the dock at Cologne.

Position: 50°56.17'N, 6°57.97'E

Looking aft across the chessboard on from the upper deck of the AmaMora as we depart Cologne. the bridge Hohenzollernbrucke is on the left and Cologne Cathedral is prominent right of center.

Position: 51°13.77'N, 6°46.20'E

The "Wheel of Vision" is erected each winter in Dusseldorf, Germany and provides wonderful nighttime city views from heated gondolas.

Position: 52°22.97'N, 4°56.53'E

Amsterdam Centraal train station as the AmaMora arrives into town on an overnight run from Cologne, Germany.

Position: 52°22.82'N, 4°54.75'E

The wave-shaped glass-encased Passenger Terminal Amsterdam to our south handles roughly 300,000 cruise ship passengers per year.

Position: 52°22.82'N, 4°54.40'E

The Palais de Justice in front of City Marina IJDok where Dirona is moored.

Position: 52°22.95'N, 4°53.94'E

The distinctive EYE Film Museum, left, and the A'DAM Tower, a converted former Royal Dutch Shell oil company office building.

Position: 52°23.22'N, 4°53.62'E

The AmaMora churning up mud coming onto the dock. We're moored right next to City Marina—Dirona is only a half block from here.

Position: 52°23.21'N, 4°53.59'E

Lowering one of two shorepower baskets for the AmaMora. This is the first time the ship has been plugged into shorepower during the trip.

Position: 52°23.15'N, 4°53.61'E

Walking with other AmaMora passengers to take a canal cruise.

Position: 52°23.08'N, 4°53.63'E

Passing City Marina on our way to the the canal cruise dock. Dirona is moored in the distance roughly at center.

Position: 52°22.06'N, 4°53.22'E

Beautiful historic houses along the Herengracht, one of four canals that make up Amsterdam's canal belt.

Position: 52°21.89'N, 4°53.75'E

The famous "seven bridges" view down the canal Reguliersgracht.

Position: 52°22.09'N, 4°53.95'E

The sinking city of Atlantis, one of the Amsterdam Light Festival displays.

Position: 52°22.03'N, 4°53.97'E

One of several illuminated laundry lines that make up the Neighbourhood Amsterdam Light Festival display.

Position: 52°22.03'N, 4°53.97'E

The Big Bang bomb display in the Amsterdam Light Festival.

Position: 52°22.48'N, 4°54.60'E

The NEMO Science Museum was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano who also designed The Shard in London and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The science center building, originally built for the New Metropolis Museum, resembles the hull of a huge ship

Position: 52°23.21'N, 4°53.59'E

Our cruise included a final night in Amsterdam on board the AmaMora. Since our room faced the IJ River, we decided to stay on board to enjoy the view, since we can't see it from our dock at City Marina.

Position: 52°23.21'N, 4°53.59'E

A fuel barge arrived early this morning to bunker the AmaMora.

Position: 52°23.21'N, 4°53.59'E

Spectacular dawn view to the IJ River from the last morning in our room on the AmaMora. We had a wonderful time on the cruise and are really glad to have had the opportunity to see the Rhine.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We just completed the job of replacing our old 46-inch flatscreen with a modern 55-inch Samsung QN55Q70RA. And it looks fabulous.

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Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We're beta testing the KVH IP-MobileCast service and the new system requires an upgraded version of the V7hts Integrated CommBox Modem. KVH shipped us the new one by courier and the old one will be returned the same way.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

We find that we sometimes are out traveling without a pack, but end up stopping at a store and picking up enough that it's hard to carry it. Our latest solution to this frequently repeating theme is the Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano Daypack. This tiny 1-inch cylinder fits in Jennifer's purse but can unfold to an entire back pack.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

We'll see how it does in use, but so far the Nano Daypack looks like an impressive piece of gear.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

A beautiful sunrise looking towards Amsterdam Centraal Station from our berth at City Marina.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We replace our Maretron DST-110 depthsounder every 2 years. What's annoying is the depth reading is always working well but the water temperature sensor can only go 2 to 3 years before the temperature sensor fails. We've been reading 80F water for a 6 months now and we doubt it's been over 60F anywhere we've been during that period. Given that it's roughly a $350 part and its primary purpose is reading depths, we hate to replace it when it's still reading depths correctly, but we like knowing the water temperature.

Replacing the sensor isn't difficult. Just unscrew the collar, and then quickly pull out the old one and slip the new one in before tightening down the collar on the new one. It sounds easy but it's this opens a fairly big hole more than 4 inches below the surface of the water. The water pressure is fairly high down that far and the hole left by removing the old sensor is pretty big and it's truly amazing how fast water rushes in and how much comes in during that quick change. We now read 47F, which checks out as correct, and past experience suggests we're good for another 2 years.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Replacing the wipers arms. They have gone ten years so we can't complain. The job had a few setbacks so we ended up spending a few hours on this one but it's now all working again.

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Position: 52°21.32'N, 4°52.81'E

At DHL in the Museumplein district to send our V7hts integrated CommBox Modem back to KVH after upgrading it.

Position: 52°21.33'N, 4°52.83'E

After dropping off our package with DHL, we had a delicious lunch at a sunny table at nearby Martinot.

Position: 52°21.30'N, 4°53.44'E

We passed Amsterdam's famous Albert Cuypstraat street market on our way back to Dirona from the DHL store. The market began trading in 1904 and now has over 300 stalls.

Position: 52°23.00'N, 4°53.70'E

Bundled up in our Mustang 2175 suits on a tender tour of the Amsterdam Light Festival. This theme of this year's festival is disruption, and the artists "use light in a unique way to be disruptive and give us new impulses".

Position: 52°22.78'N, 4°54.26'E

Amsterdam skyline just east of the train station.

Position: 52°22.75'N, 4°54.59'E

The striking music hall Bimhuis.

Position: 52°22.57'N, 4°54.77'E

The brightly lit Mediamatic ETEN restaurant, part of the Mediamatic nature, biology and art center.

Position: 52°22.49'N, 4°54.53'E

The two large billboards or light boxes in AD. Empty Domination with the advertisements missing are a response to the bombardment of messages we receive daily.

Position: 52°22.51'N, 4°54.47'E

The multi-story pagoda-styled Sea Palace Chinese restaurant.

Position: 52°22.39'N, 4°54.53'E

"According to the artists of the collective Uxu Studio, there’s nothing that symbolises disruption—and destruction, war, and aggression—more than a bomb. Their blue-lit bomb Big Bang hangs somewhat threateningly in the air like it is just about to hit the water (or maybe even a passing boat)".

Position: 52°22.33'N, 4°54.38'E

The Cracks projects onto the 16th-century Montelbaan tower symbolizing destructive forces in society.

Position: 52°22.26'N, 4°54.22'E

In Neighbourhood, illuminated laundry highlights the isolation of people who live in cities, often not knowing their neighbours.

Position: 52°22.22'N, 4°54.11'E

Closer view to the third of the three illuminated laundry lines that make up the Neighbourhood display.

Position: 52°22.22'N, 4°54.13'E

The small leaning building on the left is Rembrandt House Museum, where the artist lived for 20 years.

Position: 52°22.15'N, 4°54.02'E

"No Tubes, But Homes" is one of five "City Stories" in the Amsterdam Light Display that mark significant disruptive events in the city's history. The title refers to the rallying cry of the 1975 protests against the destruction of good houses to build the underground metro line.

Position: 52°22.09'N, 4°53.95'E

The Atlantis display symbolizes the destruction that can occur from rising sea levels.

Position: 52°22.06'N, 4°53.90'E

Looking east along Amstel River, the namesake for Amsterdam and the Amstel brewery.

Position: 52°22.02'N, 4°53.95'E

The Stopera building complex, completed in 1986, houses the Dutch National Opera & Ballet and Amsterdam City Hall.

Position: 52°21.96'N, 4°54.04'E

The bridge was names for Walter Suskind who helped save many of Amsterdam's Jewish residents from deportation during World War II.

Position: 52°21.85'N, 4°54.11'E

Nothing Holding Us, by Seattle-based Ben Zamoro, depicts an explosion frozen in time.

Position: 52°21.86'N, 4°54.10'E

Around 1,800 light bulbs illuminate the Skinny Bridge, but using mixed-up shapes from the original bridge, disrupting its appearance.

Position: 52°21.74'N, 4°54.16'E

A constant stream of boats of all sizes are steadily passing through the Light Display.

Position: 52°21.72'N, 4°54.21'E

In Feel Like the Kardashians, artist Laila Azra has lined either side of an Amstelsluizen channel with silhouettes representing paparazzi and fans. "Camera bulbs" flash as boats pass, mimicking the disruption of private life felt by celebrities that in the case of the Kardashians is used to their advantage.

Position: 52°21.84'N, 4°54.54'E

Some wonderful floathomes line the Amsterdam canals.

Position: 52°21.89'N, 4°54.22'E

Shadow On a Beautiful Canal is another of the five "City Stories" in the Amsterdam Light Display. The leaf pattern around the Hermitage Museum of Amsterdam has a bright and cheery appearance. But on the stone quay directly beneath displays the names of twelve Jewish residents who were taken from houses on the opposite side of the canal and killed in Nazi concentration camps.

Position: 52°21.94'N, 4°54.49'E

The nine luminous circles Order/Disorder rotate continuously switching from an ordered pattern to a disordered intersection.

Position: 52°21.91'N, 4°54.65'E

The seven large blue-lit butterflies in Butterfly Effect rise and fall as passing boats disturb the water, mimicking in a small way the Butterfly Effect proposed by American scientist and meteorologist Edward Lorenz.

Position: 52°21.83'N, 4°54.89'E

In Icebreaker Amsterdam native Wilhelmusvlug shows cracks in the ice to remind us how global warming is making it less likely that the city's residents will partake in a favourite pastime: winter skating on the frozen canals.

Position: 52°21.85'N, 4°55.16'E

An ancient Latin phrase, 'homo homini lupus' (man is wolf to man), referring to fears of "different people", is represented in Hiding in the Wolf's Lair, with a group of people visible in the upper window hiding from predatory wolves. The work also evokes history: during World War II Jews and members of the resistance movement hid in that attic.

Position: 52°21.85'N, 4°55.16'E

Close view to one of the wolves in Hiding in the Wolf's Lair.

Position: 52°21.98'N, 4°55.25'E

Some of the twenty pairs of constantly changing eyes in De Nachtloerrrders, at the back the Amsterdam Zoo.

Position: 52°22.05'N, 4°55.02'E

The yellow lines outlining the crane in Between the Lines light up alternately, creating new patterns and disrupting the crane's shape, making it a work of art.

Position: 52°22.14'N, 4°54.78'E

One of several "submerged" vehicles and road signs in Surface Tension remind us how common a sight this is becoming world-wide with increased flooding due to climate change.

Position: 52°22.23'N, 4°54.72'E

The Korean lights in Remind Euljiro Freedom are a warning about urban development and its impact on communities. One of the oldest neighbourhoods in Seoul, Korea, Euljiro houses 50,000 craftsmen in over 10,000 shops and is in danger of disappearing due to gentrification.

Position: 52°22.27'N, 4°54.82'E

The Ice is Melting at the Poules, visualizes against the exterior of the Maritime Museum aspects of climate change, including increasing temperatures and the rise of CO2 levels. The artwork's name is taken from the Danish foreign minister's mispronunciation of the word "poles" at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Position: 52°22.31'N, 4°54.83'E

A replica of the 18th-century Dutch East India Company ship Amsterdam. The ship sailed from Texel in 1749 on its maiden voyage, but was wrecked two weeks later in an English Channel storm.

Position: 52°22.36'N, 4°54.88'E

Another of the five "City Stories", From Shameless Pride to Historic Consciousness refers to the old port district of the Golden Age where slavery played a major role.

Position: 52°22.39'N, 4°54.85'E

In All the Light You See, the full text of "All the light you see is from the past" is partially unlit to state "All you see is past", is a reference to how old a distance star is when we can see it and the fact that we too will one day be a thing of the past.

Position: 52°22.50'N, 4°54.74'E

Nobody depicts man as will-less puppet against the prow of the NEMO Science Museum.

Position: 52°22.50'N, 4°54.73'E

The projector and marionette used to create the constantly change Nobody image on the NEMO Science Museum.

Position: 52°23.04'N, 4°53.65'E

Returning to Dirona at City Marina IJDok after we finished touring the Amsterdam Light Festival. The displays were creative and beautiful—we really enjoyed it.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

A small fuel leak had developed either at the site gauge O-Rings or at the lower valve of the wing engine fuel tank. We're not sure which, and can tighten the valve packing and replace the O-rings fairy quickly, so we did both.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We gave the boat a wash today. We're in the center of town, so it gets dirty fairly quickly.

Position: 52°23.00'N, 4°53.56'E

An excellent meal in great company at Wolf Atelier with Duane Rodgers and Michelle Walker. Duane and Michelle have long been interested in Nordhavns, and are in Europe partly to attend the Dusseldorf Boat Show. We first met them in Melbourne in 2015, and they visited us in a couple of years later in Florida. We've not seen them since then and it was great to catch up and spend time together.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Two of the speakers in the pilothouse weren't working. We were expecting it to be a bit of a challenge to chase down, but the problems turned out to be easily fixed. Both were vibration-induced loose connections.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

With the EU's "Roam Like at Home" rules, we've been using the SIMs we bought in Ireland and the UK throughout our European travels. Partly because "Roam Like at Home" may not work on the UK SIM going forward and partly because the system is designed for people who are based in the country of purchase, we've been researching getting a third SIM. We planned to buy one in the Netherlands, but the pre-paid programs here are quite expensive compared to other countries.

Shopping around on-line, we found a Spanish SIM, Vodafone Traveller, that gives 25Gig for €20 and also includes roaming in Turkey and the US. We ordered it from 4gsim.es and it just arrived today. We were able to activate it and use it in the Netherlands and so far we're quite happy with it. The only downside is that we can only top-up through the mobile app and it can only be installed with a Spanish Google account. This can easily be worked around by setting up a second Google account located in Spain and switching accounts on our phones when we want to use the app.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Spitfire was diagnosed with kidney problems early last year and we've since been feeding him a special diet. We’re stocking up on enough food to get us to mid-summer.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

When the HVAC systems are used more, the air filters build up dust rather quickly and need to be cleaned every three or four months.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Our ES-1500 was an early design from Steelhead and it has problems with aluminum galling on the boom extension. We mitigate it by greasing it annually. Even with these precautions it requires periodic rebuild.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We have two side-facing cameras mounted on the stack, but they are security camers directed downwards at the entrance to the boat. We often would like to have video off to the side of the boat, similar to what we have fore and aft, so are installing two additional cameras for that purpose. Here James is drilling the mounting holes for the starboard-side camera.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The new port-facing camera installed.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Looking forward to both new cameras mounted on the stack.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Once the cameras were installed in the stack, the next step was to run Ethernet cable out to them from the pilot house. The wire runs are tight, so we run the cables without the connectors and then install them after.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Testing that the Ethernet cables have been installed properly. The tester is part of the UbiGear kit, an incredible value that includes crimper, tester, and connectors for only $15.97.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

The image from the new distance view port camera.

Position: 52°22.80'N, 4°54.01'E

Lunch at Wagamama in Amsterdam Centraal train station with a view to the IJ River traffic.

Position: 52°22.81'N, 4°53.99'E

The bicycle tunnel that runs through Amsterdam Central train station is always packed with bikes, and pedestrians must cross with care. Normally you'd be taking your life into your hands standing here, but for the first time since we've been in Amsterdam, the tunnel is closed due to construction.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

UK resident David Saunders is interested in Nordhavns and stopped by for a visit and a tour of Dirona while he was on a business trip to Amsterdam. David's company is an Amazon Web Services customer, so we had a great conversation ranging from cloud computing to boating.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

We took a large delivery from Albert Heijn this morning in preparation for our upcoming trip south to the Mediterranean.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

For years we've carried prescription pain killers in our ship's medical chest, but carrying narcotics between countries, even within the EU, is becoming more difficult. Since we're not likely to be more than a few hours away from medical assistance in the foreseeable future while cruising in Europe, we decided to discard our stock. We like the self-suffiency and the additonal safety of having controlled prescription drugs on board, but it's been adding friction to border crossings. So we're making the difficult trade-off of giving up a bit of safety and security that won't likely be needed in order to make day-to-day crossings easier.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Jennifer on a garbage run at City Marina IJDock. We're sure loving living in Amsterdam.

Position: 56°2.28'N, 12°37.02'E

Het Catshuys is coming to pick up Spitfire for boarding while we're travelling. It's always sad to see him go, but he's in very good hands.

Position: 52°22.79'N, 4°53.95'E

At Amsterdam Centraal train station just before 6am to take a train to Schiphol Airport for a flight to Berlin.

Position: 52°33.22'N, 13°17.53'E

We're not the only ones to ship a Samsung 55-inch TV by air. We saw this one at the airport in Berlin.

Position: 52°33.79'N, 13°19.64'E

At the Kurt-Schumacher-Platz metro station in Berlin. We took a short bus ride here from the airport and will take the metro to our hotel.

Position: 52°31.16'N, 13°23.31'E

A top floor corner room at the NH Friedrichstrasse Berlin. The location was excellent, right at Berlin Friedrichstrasse station, and the room was fabulous.

Position: 52°31.22'N, 13°23.21'E

Friedrichstrasse Station adjacent to our hotel in Berlin.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.27'E

Trains to Life — Trains to Death is a memorial to the children's transports during World War II. The five children in gray facing the camera symbolize the suffering of those deported to concentration camps while the lighter bronze figures facing away represent the children saved in the Kindertransport to England. More more than two million children lost their lives due to the Nazi regime, and the Kindertransport saved roughly 10,000.

Position: 52°31.25'N, 13°23.20'E

During the Cold War, Friedrichstrasse Station was entirely within East Berlin. Tranenpalast was a border crossing between East and West Berlin used heavily by western residents travelling to East Germany to visit friends and relatives who were not allowed to cross into the west. The border crossing name means means "Palace of Tears", referring to the tearful farewells in front of the station when the westerners departed back home. The station is now a museum with exhibits on the Cold War and showing how travellers passed between East and West Germany.

Position: 52°30.43'N, 13°23.42'E

After World War II, Germany was divided into four sectors controlled by France, Britain, America and the Soviet Union. The capital city of Berlin, entirely within the Soviet sector, was similarly divided into four sectors and Checkpoint Charlie was a border crossing between the American and Soviet sectors within Berlin.

The inner German border between East and West Germany was officially closed in 1952, but the border between East and West in Berlin remained open. In 1961, East Germany closed the border between the sectors and built the Berlin Wall surrounding West Berlin to prevent the flow of people escaping to the West. Checkpoint Charlie became the best-known border crossing between East and West and was where Soviet and American tanks had a stand-off in mid-1961.

Pictured is a replica of the original checkpoint building that was removed in 1990 after the Berlin Wall was taken down in 1989, with a photo of a Soviet soldier in the background.

Position: 52°30.45'N, 13°23.42'E

A replica of the famous sign at Checkpoint Charlie indicating that the traveller was leaving the American sector for East Berlin and East Germany.

Position: 52°30.47'N, 13°23.42'E

An original section of the Berlin Wall at an outdoor exhibit near Checkpoint Charlie. The wall was built with a wide footing on the eastern side so a vehicle could not easily knock it over, and with a round tube on top to make it more difficult for a climber to grab onto the top of the wall.

Position: 52°30.48'N, 13°23.42'E

A photo of the original Checkpoint Charlie, taken in 1964.

Position: 52°30.44'N, 13°23.43'E

We got a giggle out of the signs on the door of the McDonald's near Checkpoint Charlie: "You are now entering the American Sector".

Position: 52°30.24'N, 13°23.46'E

Parallel parking is hard the world over. But we saw some particularly nice examples in Berlin.

Position: 52°30.20'N, 13°23.47'E

OpenBerlin is an urban development project to "return the city to a common good approach to public land".

Position: 52°30.15'N, 13°23.67'E

The striking deconstructivist-style building by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind. It is one of three buildings in the Jewish Museum Berlin, the largest Jewish museum in Europe.

Position: 52°29.91'N, 13°23.76'E

Berlin is full of street art. We spotted this example perched on the elevated railway line at Gitschiner and Lindenstrasse.

Position: 52°29.90'N, 13°23.66'E

Monument to German social reformer Marie Juchacz.

Position: 52°29.89'N, 13°23.58'E

At the elevated railway station Hallesches Tor in Berlin, originally built in 1901, to take a train to the East Side Gallery.

Position: 52°29.87'N, 13°23.44'E

View to historic Postamt ("post office") 61 from Hallesches Tor. Built in 1902, it was used as a post office until the 1990s.

Position: 52°30.34'N, 13°26.98'E

The striking European Shared Service Center in Berlin of German chemical company BASF, the second largest chemical company in the world.

Position: 52°30.40'N, 13°26.99'E

Over 85,000 passengers annually flow through Berlin's Warschauer Strasse station.

Position: 52°30.50'N, 13°27.09'E

At the Urban Spree Street Art Gallery to take in some of Berlin's fabulous street art. The art space covers about 2,000 yards sq (1,700 m sq) and is full of artist's studios and quirky establishments, with amazing murals everywhere.

Position: 52°30.48'N, 13°27.12'E

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Position: 52°30.45'N, 13°27.21'E

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Position: 52°30.43'N, 13°27.26'E

The Teledisko, "the smallest disco in the world", at Urban Spree in Berlin. For 2 Euros, you choose a song and dance inside as long as the music plays. Songs were constantly playing while we were there—it's surprisingly popular.

Position: 52°30.44'N, 13°27.32'E

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Position: 52°30.41'N, 13°27.34'E

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Position: 52°30.35'N, 13°26.90'E

Having a drink, and warming up, at Peter Pane in Berlin's recently-opened East Side Mall opposite Warschauer Strasse station.

Position: 52°30.15'N, 13°26.76'E

The Oberbaum Bridge, one of Berlin's landmarks, was built in 1896. The towers are a symbolic reminder that this site was once the river gate into Berlin. We rode across the bridge to the end of the line at Warschauer Strasse station. When the Berlin Wall was erected, the bridge was part of the border between East and West and much of the bridge was demolished. It was rebuilt and restored in 1992 following the fall of the wall.

Position: 52°30.17'N, 13°26.79'E

The East Side Gallery is an open-air gallery of murals painted along the longest preserved 4,250ft (1,300m) section of the Berlin Wall. The gallery was painted a few days after the wall fell in 1989 as a celebration of the end of Germany's division and a reminder of the tyranny of the East German border regime.

Position: 52°30.26'N, 13°26.49'E

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Position: 52°30.29'N, 13°26.42'E

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Position: 52°30.43'N, 13°26.14'E

Looking east across the East Side Gallery to new construction on the other side. As part of the wall's construction, a wide strip of land directly to the east was cleared and filled with anti-vehicle trenches and other defenses. Known as the "death strip," the area offered no cover and gave the border guards a clear field of view. These areas now are being redevloped with modern buildings.

Position: 52°30.38'N, 13°26.28'E

Mercedes-Benz has a large complex opposite the East Side Gallery in the former "death strip" along the east side of the Berlin Wall.

Position: 52°30.33'N, 13°26.36'E

These blue pipes look like temporary municipal water distribution pipes. It wasn't clear to us why they weren't below-ground.

Position: 52°30.28'N, 13°26.50'E

Outdoor skating rink below Mercedes-Benz Arena. The complex seats about 17,000 and is home to the Eisbaren Berlin ice hockey club and the Alba Berlin basketball team.

Position: 52°30.16'N, 13°26.72'E

At the excellent Berlin Wall Museum near the East Side Gallery. The museum had detailed coverage of the various political aspects leading up to the creation of the wall and its fall.

Position: 52°30.17'N, 13°26.74'E

The final display in the Berlin Wall Museum covered The Wall — Live in Berlin, a benefit concert conceived by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. The concert was held in Berlin eight months after the fall of the wall and drew a sell-out crowd of 350,000 people. Part of the concert set included a massive cardboard brick wall that measured 550 feet (170 m) long and 82 feet (25 m) high and was brought crashing down at the end of the show in a dramatic representation of the Berlin Wall falling. The concert was held near Potsdamer Platz, symbolically in the "death strip" on the east side of the Berlin Wall.

Position: 52°30.35'N, 13°26.95'E

The BASF build ling we saw earlier lit up at night. The glass cube is perched atop an old incandescent lamps manufacturing plant and the LED lights are meant as a reminder of that past, in an energy-saving way.

Position: 52°30.51'N, 13°27.34'E

A delicious meal at Santa Cantina near Urban Spree.

Position: 52°30.46'N, 13°27.31'E

After dinner we walked back through Urban Spree to check out the area at night.

Position: 52°30.47'N, 13°27.19'E

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Position: 52°30.46'N, 13°27.03'E

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Position: 52°30.40'N, 13°27.00'E

At Warschauer Strasse station to take a train back to our hotel. We've been taking full advantage of Berlin's excellent public transportation system.

Position: 52°31.16'N, 13°23.32'E

The view to Friedrichstrasse station from our hotel terrace.

Position: 52°31.16'N, 13°23.32'E

We recently added an Anker PowerPort Cube to our travelling kit and are really liking it. When travelling outside North America, it reduces the number of power adapters we need to carry, providing three outlets for one adapter. When the wall outlet is in an inconvenient location, the extension cord allows us to bring the power outlets closer to us. And the shape allows us to utilize all the three outlets without interference when using large plugs and wall warts.

Position: 52°30.58'N, 13°22.47'E

The dramatic Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz. The area was once one of the busiest intersections in Europe and the geographical center of Berlin, but was completely destroyed during World War II. Potsdamer Platz was largely abandoned during the Cold War, as the Berlin Wall bisected it and sections formed the "death strip" of the Berlin Wall. After the wall fell, Potsdamer Platz was redeveloped with spectacular modern architecture and once again is a major and important intersection.

Position: 52°30.50'N, 13°22.58'E

The Korean "Pavilion of Reunification" at Potsdamer Platz. With an information display mounted on an original piece of the Berlin Wall, the pavilion represents the Korean population's desire for reunification. The two-row brick line that runs underneath the wall follows the original path of the wall throughout the city.

Position: 52°30.49'N, 13°22.58'E

The futuristic twin office buildings Linkstrasse 2 and Linkstrasse 4 by British architect Richard Rogers, who also designed the Lloyd's Building and the O2 Arena in London.

Position: 52°30.42'N, 13°22.46'E

Looking along part of the vast Potsdamer Platz Arkaden. The 430,000 sq ft (40,000 sq m) shopping mall has 120 shops, restaurants and bars with a focus on fashion and high-end garments.

Position: 52°30.51'N, 13°22.46'E

Haus Huth at the north end of Potsdamer Platz Arkaden. Built in 1912, this is the only historic building remaining in Potsdamer Platz—the rest were destroyed during World War II. The former wine house of vintner Christian Huth, the building likely survived due to its solid steel construction designed for storing heavy wine.

Position: 52°30.53'N, 13°22.17'E

The Kammermusiksaal ("Chamber Music Hall') in front of the Berliner Philharmonie, home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The 2,240-seat Berliner Philharmonie was completed in 1963 in West Berlin to replace the one destroyed by World War II bombing raids, and the 1,180-seat Kammermusiksaal was completed in the 1980s.

Position: 52°30.40'N, 13°22.10'E

The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) museum of modern art opened in 1968 as an expansion to the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) on Museum Island near our hotel. The museum currently is undergoing several years of renovation.

Position: 52°30.39'N, 13°22.34'E

The sculpture Galileo in the lake Piano-See at Potsdamer Platz.

Position: 52°30.42'N, 13°22.36'E

Stage Bluemax Theatre was purpose built for the first European home of the Blue Man Group. The blue globe that forms the theater is just visible over the top of the building, and is obvious in the satellite imagery.

Position: 52°30.61'N, 13°22.38'E

A great lunch at the Lindenbrau brewpub, inside the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz.

Position: 52°30.62'N, 13°22.35'E

A panoramic view of the Sony Center interior. Lindenbrau, where we had lunch, is directly left of the leftmost opening to outside.

Position: 52°30.65'N, 13°22.38'E

Large "Buddy Bears", painted in different schemes, stand throughout Berlin. The bears were conceived by two German businesspeople to promote friendliness and optimism.

Position: 52°30.68'N, 13°22.47'E

Monument in Berlin's popular Tiergarten park to German philosopher and poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing .

Position: 52°30.79'N, 13°22.64'E

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also called the Holocaust Memorial, consists of 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in rows and standing slightly askew. The slabs have the same surface area of 7 ft 10 in x 3 ft 1 in (2.38x0.95 m) but vary in height from (3 ft 1 in) wide and vary in height from 7.9 in to 15 ft 5.0 in (0.2 to 4.7 m). The project is designed to "produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason".

Position: 52°30.84'N, 13°22.65'E

The US Embassy in Berlin, opposite the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Security here seemed less obvious and aggressive than at most US Embassies in Europe, such as the one in Paris.

Position: 52°30.96'N, 13°22.63'E

Brandenburg Gate, built in 1791, is one of the most famous landmarks in Germany and has been the site of many major historical events. Napoleon marched through the gate in triumph following the 1806 Prussian defeat and the Nazis used it as a party symbol. During the Cold War, the gate was in the "death strip" on the East German side of the wall and Ronald Regan stood before it on the west side to deliver his famous "Tear Down This Wall" speech in 1987, calling for Mikhail Gorbachev to open the wall. When the wall fell in 1969, iconic pictures broadcast around the world showed thousands of people standing on the wall in front of Brandenburg Gate to celebrate.

Position: 52°31.17'N, 13°22.61'E

The dramatic Marie-Elisabeth-Luders Haus, a federal building named after social politician and women's rights campaigner Marie Elisabeth Luders.

Position: 52°31.24'N, 13°22.27'E

The spectacular German Chancellery building opened in 2001. The agency is responsible for assisting the German Chancellor, currently Angela Markel, in coordinating the activities of the federal government. Occupying 129,166 sq ft (12,000 m sq), it is the largest government headquarters in the world.

Position: 52°31.18'N, 13°22.26'E

The Reichstag Building, erected in 1894, is the historic home of the German parliament. The building was severely damaged in World War II and fell into disuse until a major renovation following German reunification, when it once again became the home of the German parliament. The building is the second-most visited in Germany, mainly due to the publicly-accessible dome visible in the center that provides sweeping views over the city.

Position: 52°31.13'N, 13°22.59'E

Because the Reichstag Building is a government building, security checks are in place and visitors need to register 1-2 weeks in advance in order to visit at a set time slot. A specially-designed separate entry provides elevator access for visitors to a roof-top deck at the base of the dome.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°22.54'E

A mirrored cone in the center of the Reichstag Dome directs sunlight into the building and the parliamentary chambers directly below.

Position: 52°31.11'N, 13°22.57'E

Two sets of ramps, resembling a double-helix, allow visitors to walk up and down the sides of the dome and take in the views both inside and out.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°22.57'E

Looking east along the river Spree from the Reichstag Dome. Friedrichstrasse station, at our hotel, is visible in the distance where the river disappears from view.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°22.57'E

Visitors can look down into the parliamentary chambers from the dome, symbolizing that the people are above the government and not the other way around as it was when the Nazis were in power.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°22.58'E

A photograph of the German parliament assembled beneath the dome. It's pretty impressive that the dome is publicly accessible given that the government meets right below.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°22.61'E

Taking a break at the rooftop restaurant Kafer adjacent to the Reichstag Dome.

Position: 52°31.08'N, 13°22.49'E

A van full of batteries for Berlin's Emmy ride-sharing electric scooters. Rather than charge the batteries in the scooter, a service person swaps the used batteries for fully-charged ones.

Position: 52°32.03'N, 13°23.33'E

From Reichstag Dome, we took a train north to visit the Berlin Wall Memorial. This is the sobering Window of Remembrance, dedicated to the 138 people who lost their lives at the Berlin Wall.

Position: 52°32.13'N, 13°23.38'E

Looking from west to east across a preserved section of the Berlin Wall fortifications from a viewing platform at the Berlin Wall Memorial. The wall is original, but the fortifications and watchtower were reconstructed to show how the border grounds would have looked in the early 1980s.

Someone trying to escape would first encounter the white inner wall. A signal fence beyond that, the posts from which are still visible, would have set off an alarm if touched. Beyond that, no longer in place, would have been surface obstacles, such as mats with steel spikes sticking out that injured several people during their escape. Farther west was a security strip containing anti-vehicle obstacles and then finally, the 11.8ft (3.6m) wall that was the final obstacle to the west and the dominant image of the Berlin Wall today.

Position: 52°32.13'N, 13°23.38'E

One of several poignant photos in the Berlin Wall Memorial Documentation Center tracing the history of the wall's construction. This photo shows two children reaching out across a temporary barbed-wire border line on Aug 13, 1961, the day the border between West and East Berlin was closed.

Position: 52°32.13'N, 13°23.38'E

Bernaeur Strasse in West Germany became known as the "saddest street in the world" because of the number of escape attempts there that resulted in fatalities in the weeks after the Berlin Wall went up. The buildings on the right have all been bricked up to prevent people escaping through them and a precursor to the final version of the Berlin Wall is visible across the open section between the buildings in front of the Church of Reconciliation. The church itself is in East Germany.

Position: 52°32.13'N, 13°23.38'E

To create a clear field of fire in the "death strip," the East German government cleared all the buildings away. In 1985, they demolished the 1894-built Church of Reconciliation on Bernaeur Strasse. In this photo the final version of the Berlin Wall is visible on the left, the inner wall is at right and between them are anti-vehicle obstacles.

Position: 52°32.13'N, 13°23.38'E

A photo of the "death strip" on Bernaeur Strasse after the fall of the wall, showing how the area had been completely razed. The apartment buildings in the background are visible behind the Church of Reconciliation in the previous photo.

Position: 52°32.13'N, 13°23.38'E

When the Berlin Wall opened on November 9, 1989 thousands and thousands of Germans congregated there to celebrate.

Position: 52°31.50'N, 13°23.61'E

Walking through a passage into Heckmann-Hofe, a 19th-century courtyard complex where we'll be having dinner at the Night Kitchen.

Position: 52°31.54'N, 13°23.65'E

An exceptional meal in the glass atrium of the Night Kitchen in Heckmann-Hofe.

Position: 52°31.35'N, 13°23.50'E

A still night looking east along the river Spree to the Bode Museum as we walk back to the hotel from dinner at the Night Kitchen.

Position: 52°31.20'N, 13°23.76'E

The Pergamon Museum, completed in 1930, is one of five museums on UNESCO World Heritage site Museum Island in the river Spree.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.86'E

The Pergamon Museum houses monumental architecture, often reconstructed from ruins. This is the Ishtar Gate of Babylon dating from 6th-century Iraq. During the early excavations of Babylon in the late 19th-century, archaeologists found thousands of fragments of broken blue-glazed bricks. Over 500 crates of broken bricks were transported to Berlin and painstakingly pieced together to recreate the gate and its accompanying Processional Way, with modern bricks substituted for missing ones.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.86'E

The Market Gate of Miletus was built in the ancient Greek city of Miletus in the 2nd century AD and destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century. A German archaeological team excavated the ruins in the early 1900s and rebuilt the gate in Berlin with significant new material.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.86'E

The Mshatta Facade from an 8th-century Jordanian residential palace. The facade was a gift from the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.86'E

The intricately painted wood walls of the Aleppo Room were commissioned as a reception room for a Syrian merchant's house. Dating from about 1600, they likely are the oldest surviving painted panelled rooms from the Ottoman Empire. The family that owned them considered the panelling out-of-style in 1912 and sold it a museum in Berlin.

Position: 52°31.25'N, 13°23.67'E

Das Panorama is a temporary exhibit at the Pergamon Museum consisting of a four-flight viewing platform built in the middle of a panoramic 3d-like depiction of the ancient Roman city of Pergamon. With lights and sounds changing to mimic the cycle of day and night and the incredible detail of the imagery, it's really quite immersive.

Position: 52°31.26'N, 13°23.68'E

Dim Sum at Jolly near the Pergamon Museum. This was our second foray into ordering Chinese food in Germany, but fortunately the menu was available in English. Unlike most other parts of Germany that we've visited, English is quite prevalent in Berlin, as is the use of credit cards, whereas most of Germany is predominately cash-only.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.86'E

The Neues Museum ("New Museum") was completed in 1855. It was heavily damaged during the bombing of Berlin in World War II and left to decay in the Soviet-controlled part of the city during the Cold War. The eventual reconstruction kept portions of the original and the museum is a sort of window into the evolution of museum construction.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.86'E

The prize of the Neues Museum is a painted bust of Egyptian queen Nefertiti, believed to date from about 1345 BC. Photos aren't allowed up close, but you can take one from an adjoining room.

Position: 52°31.19'N, 13°23.86'E

The Berlin Gold Hat in the Neues Museum is a Late Bronze Age European artifact made of thin gold leaf believed to date from about 1,000 to 800 BC.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°23.91'E

The Zeughaus is a 17th-century armory that now houses the German Historical Museum.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°23.97'E

The Altes Museum ("Old Museum") was built in the early 1800s to house the Prussian royal family's art collection and now is home to the Berlin State Museum's antiquities collection.

Position: 52°31.11'N, 13°23.94'E

Berlin Cathedral on Museum Island was built between 1894 and 1905.

Position: 52°31.18'N, 13°24.42'E

The Neptune Fountain, built in 1891, is one of Berlin's oldest and most beautiful fountains. The Roman god Neptune is at center and the four women around him represent the rivers of Prussia when the fountain was created: the Elbe, Rhine, Vistula and Oder. The fountain originally was located on Museum Island, and was moved to its current location in 1951.

Position: 52°31.18'N, 13°24.42'E

The East German government built the Fernsehturm ("TV Tower") between 1965 and 1969 as a symbol of Communist power and of the city. Including the antenna, the 1,207ft (368 m) structure it the tallest in Germany and the fourth-tallest in Europe. The tower includes an observation deck at 668 ft (203m) and a revolving restaurant at 679 ft (207m).

Position: 52°31.27'N, 13°24.60'E

The view southeast along the river Spree from the 668 ft (203m) observation deck of the Fernsehturm.

Position: 52°31.27'N, 13°24.60'E

Looking south from the Fernsehturm observation deck. Berlin Cathedral is in the foreground at right, with the Reichstag Dome visible in the distance beyond at far right. The large green space is Tiergarten park and farther to the left is Potsdamer Platz.

Position: 52°31.27'N, 13°24.60'E

Enjoying a sunset drink at Bar 203 in the Fernsehturm observation deck. We picked our time slot to arrive about a half-hour before sunset so we could see the view in the daylight and then get some city lights views after sunset.

Position: 52°31.27'N, 13°24.60'E

The city lights of former East Berlin looking northeast from the Fernsehturm observation deck. We really enjoyed the tower views, both during the day and after nightfall.

Position: 52°31.13'N, 13°24.07'E

The spectacular interior of Berlin Cathedral. The dome collapsed due to World War II bombing and the church was reopened in 1993 after restoration. The 7000-pipe organ is one of the largest in Germany.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°24.07'E

The coffin of Frederick William, the ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1640 until his death in 1688. Just visible on the right is the tomb of his wife, Sophie Dorothea.

Position: 52°31.13'N, 13°24.07'E

The coffin of Frederick I, the first King in Prussia from 1701 to 1713.

Position: 52°31.17'N, 13°24.07'E

A view northeast towards the Fernsehturm from the Berlin Cathedral outdoor viewing gallery.

Position: 52°31.15'N, 13°24.08'E

The Hohenzollern Crypt in the basement of Berlin Cathedral includes 94 crypts spanning four centuries of the Hohenzollern dynasty from the 16th to the 20th centuries.

Position: 52°31.12'N, 13°24.09'E

The north side of Berlin Cathedral at night.

Position: 52°31.14'N, 13°24.55'E

A delicious dinner at wonderfully-authentic Ristorante Piazza Rossa. All the staff spoke Italian and the restaurant had a fabulous selection of red wines.

Position: 52°31.26'N, 13°24.64'E

A Trabant, produced by former East German manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau between 1957 and 1990, was the most common car in East Germany. The vehicle became a symbol of the country, particularly when images flooded into the west of East Germans crossing the border into West Germany in Trabants loaded with all their possessions. They cars also were seen as a symbol of the failure of communism, as they were extremely cheaply built, unreliable, uncomfortable and a significant source of air pollution. But they could do 0-60 in a blistering 21 seconds.

Position: 52°31.35'N, 13°24.63'E

At Alexanderplatz station for a train back to our hotel. During the Cold War, Alexanderplatz was one of several Berlin "ghost stations" where trains passed through but didn't stop. Fully-renovated, it's now one of the busiest transport hubs in the city, served by overground and underground trains, trams and buses.

Position: 47°36.55'N, -122°20.24'W

A wonderful evening at Wild Ginger with Marc Onetto. We last saw Marc in Stockholm and had a great time catching up and sharing stories of our travels.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

We were in town a little later this year than last, and caught the final day of the Seattle Boat Show.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

Seized transmission on display in the Harbor Marine booth at the Seattle Boat Show. The transmission ran out of oil and somehow managed to run long enough to melt the gears together.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

Beautiful aluminum Life Proof Boat on display at the Seattle Boat Show. The company was started by the founder of Safe Boats and focuses on taking similar technology to the recreational boat market.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

Pure Watercraft joined forces with Highfield to produce a high-end all-electric tender. This one has a range of 100 miles at 5mph and 11 miles at the top speed of 28 mph.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

Another entrant to the broadening forward-looking infrared camera market.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

Ben Bettelli, Northwest Regional Sales Manager of Coast Marine Marketing. Ben represents many companies in the Pacific Northwest, including Dockmate, Global Ocean Security Technologies, Icom, Intellian, Koden, Maretron, SI-TEX, and Xantrex. Over the years he's helped us several times.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

Alex Polmans, one of the engineers at Maretron, and primary author of their excellent N2KView product.

Position: 47°35.69'N, -122°19.88'W

Efoy brought an alcohol-based fuel-cell system to the Seattle Boat Show. This fuel-cell system essentially converts methanol to power. It's fairly low capacity, but might be a nice solution to keeping a battery topped up on a moored boat.

Position: 47°36.64'N, -122°20.88'W

Dinner at Anthony's Pier 66 with Kevin and Arlene Hickman. James, Jennifer and Kevin all met in 1982 while starting the Computer Science degree program at the University of Victoria and later all worked at the IBM software lab in Toronto. Kevin and Arlene live in Vancouver and we've not seen them since we left Seattle in 2012. It was great to see them again and we had a super-fun evening catching up.

Position: 47°36.64'N, -122°20.31'W

Not-so-welcoming signs in McDonald's at 3rd and Pine in Seattle, at the corner where a recent gang shooting occurred. Seattle is getting to be a bit scary these days.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

At the UPS store in downtown Seattle to pickup our packages. We don't have quite as much as normal, but do have a few large items, including a Karcher Power Washer, barely visible at the bottom of the stack of boxes.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

All the gear from our mailbox packed into suitcases. The small case is a carry-on that contains valuables and other items that cannot go in checked luggage and the rest we'll check through. Over the years, we've standardized our bags to four L.L. Bean extra-large rolling duffles. We find these to be of medium-durability, but fairly low-priced, and overall are good price-performers. The bags are lightweight, stow compactly, and can carry a lot of gear, particularly larger items—the complete box containing the Karcher Power Washer is in the bag on the left. The suitcases are much preferable to checking anything in exposed cardboard boxes, as the contents are more secure and airlines often deliver cardboard boxes in checked luggage to a separate pickup location.

Position: 52°18.39'N, 5°36.12'E

Spitfire enjoying the view from his private room at Het Catshuys while we're travelling.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Checking out of our hotel in Seattle on our way back to Amsterdam. We ended up with one cardboard box to bring back, containing a rug that was too long to fit in our luggage.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Back at home on Dirona in Amsterdam with all our luggage. We had a direct flight from Seattle and everything came through the main luggage carousel, including the cardboard box with our rug.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Storm Ciara hit Europe on Sunday a few hours after our flight from Seattle landed in Amsterdam. We were lucky to get in—many flights were cancelled later in the day. Over the past 24 hours, the barometer (top left) has plummeted from 1015mb to 984 and the Atlantic coast took a real pounding. Here you can see the winds blowing at 41 knots (top right) in our sheltered location at City Marina in Amsterdam.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

The heavy-duty door mats we use at our three exterior doors needed replacing. We'd brought back the two for the pilot house doors over the summer, and the third for the salon came back on this trip.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Another one of our ProStock Marine fenders failed in the big winds this week. This one was positioned aft-most and not at a critical location. We still have some ProStock fenders left, and will just cycle through them until they all fail.

This is our third ProStock Marine fender failure in high winds—they seem particularly prone to failure in cold temperatures. Because of this fairly-common failure mode, we've moved to Polyform F-8s for the two highest-load fender locations amidships. This gives us two nearly-indestructible fenders in the highest load locations while still having the convenience of inflatable fenders everywhere else.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Dutch Customs arriving for an inspection of Dirona. When we told them that this would be the fourth inspection since returning to the Netherlands, including once already at City Marina, they called headquarters to check and didn't need to come aboard. It's surprising that they don't check before coming out.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Spitfire was behaving a little oddly at Het Catshuys, so they tested his urine with a test strip, found blood in the urine, and sent a sample to their vet for further analysis that confirmed the result. We took him in for an ultrasound when we got back, looking for possible kidney or bladder stones, and they sent a urine sample out for a detailed analysis, looking for a possible bacterial infection. All the tests were negative, so we've got him on antibiotics to hopefully resolve the issue. And we bought a test strip kit so we can monitor it for ourselves at home. Right now the blood level (6th from top) is still high, but appears a little improved.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Last fall we discovered our freezer fan needed replacing due to failed bearings. A slow-turning fan can be a little difficult to diagnose. The freezer apparently was working perfectly when partially filled, but when we loaded it up after a shopping trip, it was unable to sufficiently cool the new load. The slow-spinning fan reduced the overall cooling ability of the system. Everything worked, just at lower capacity.

Emerald Harbor Marine got a new one for us that we picked on our recent trip to Seattle and here James is installing it. The location is a bit of a tight place to work, wedged in behind the freezer in the after starboard corner of the lazarette.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.65'E

Jennifer returning from what likely will be the very last time we buy groceries in Amsterdam. We're planning to start working our way south to the Mediterranean next week.

Position: 52°22.77'N, 4°53.62'E

Our second annual Valentine's Day dinner at Bistrot Neuf in Amsterdam. When you move around as much as we do, it's rare to have traditional locations for anything.

Position: 52°23.33'N, 4°53.26'E

Dinner at Marius with Eric Davis, Jody Marx, Debra Billet, and Mark Dick. Eric (opposite James) and Jody (opposite Jennifer) moved from Seattle and currently live in in Groningen, the Netherlands aboard the Dutch barge Ria, and their friends Debra and Mark of Australia live aboard the Dutch barge Melba in Amsterdam. Eric has been following our blog for a while and contacted us for a visit. We enjoyed meeting them and had a fun evening, first on Dirona and later over a great meal at nearby Marius.

Position: 52°23.05'N, 4°53.66'E

Storm Dennis passed over the North Atlantic this weekend, bringing hurricane-force winds and producing waves of over 80 feet. Dennis is the region's second-strongest nontropical storm on record, with a minimum central air pressure of 920mb and a sustained intensity of 930mb. We've been seeing big winds since Saturday night and still are seeing gusty conditions as the storm passes through to the northeast.