Apr 04

Getting into the Swing of Things in Mönchengladbach, Germany

The Niu Holiday Inn, Mönchegladbach

Room in the Niu

Towards the end of our stay in Pineda, we were looking for ways to get from Pineda de Mar to Mönchengladbach, Germany inexpensively and quick, without having to go back to Barcelona. Until about 10 years ago both train or bus transportation were viable options. Then Discount airlines like Ryanair, Transavia, Wizz Air a.o. started competing in the markets with fares like $19, $29 or $39 one way. Since we did not want to travel back by train to Barcelona via Catalunya, we looked at options to the north and found that Ryanair very recently started operating a service from Girona Airport to Düsseldorf-Weeze for $49 per person. We booked, hired a private driver on our departure date for $70 and made a perfect connection.

The next day we took the train to Mönchengladbach and checked into “the Niu” Holiday Inn hotel for a 10 day stay to get things into swing for our move to Europe. First there was the point of prescription drugs.

In the European Union you need to be registered in a database to get prescription drugs on a regular basis. For us this was a little easier than for most, first because Han is still a Dutch (European) citizen and second because his niece is a specialized doctor in one of the larger hospitals in the south. She hand wrote our prescriptions, registered us in the database and we collected our medicines at a German pharmacy at a much lower price than the US and even Holland.

The next thing for us to arrange was leaving our extra luggage full with a mix of summer and winter clothes, 2 large suitcases, with Han’s oldest brother. As seasons progress and we select our destinations, we’ll go back and exchange clothes and shoes as we need them. Reason for this is that we want to travel light.

Yet another area of concern is the legality of temporary residency for TJ inside of a continent that has different rules for different countries. First there is the Schengen Immigration Agreement with 29 member countries, many of which are also part of The European Union. But some are not and have different immigration laws and times that vary between 90 days, 6 months and 9 months. Since we are legally married, for more than 20 years already, the general awareness is that she can travel and stay for any length of time with her husband. May not be entirely true, so there are things to become wiser about.

Another topic that needs attention is our commitment to Jeeps for Peace, which we signed up for the April 23 convoy of cars from Edinburgh, Scotland transported and delivered to Lviv, Ukraine. Since this is voluntarily and the cost of diesel, hotels, food during the trip is paid for by the participants, TJ set up a GOFUNDME. You’ll hear more about this initiative in the near future. We have also decided that charity and giving back will be the main focus of our retirement travels. If you have good ideas, like teaching languages for specialty programs, let us know. The world is our oyster.

So we spend some great times with immediate family and can’t wait to reconnect with more extended family and friends in the future.

The Niu hotel (former Crown) was terrific, located near the heart of the city. Apparently recently renovated, Tim, the Dutch born front desk manager was extremely accommodating and changed our room from street side to park side, which was great for our nightly rest. A nice, very affordable supermarket (Netto) was right next door and a magnificent Japanese restaurant (YYakumi) was located in part of the building. Jennifer in the breakfast room was also perfection and the fact that she was married to a Canadian made her understanding of English even better, because she got all our expressions.

Mönchengladbach is normally not a city on the tourism spectrum as it is a former blue collar town in the industrial part of Nordrhein Westphalen. But if you’re looking for peaceful, safe, quiet, affordable and easily accessible by train or car, just 20 minutes from the Dutch border, it should be on your list of considerations. 

Mar 26

A post cruise Stay at Spain’s Costa Brava

Pineda de Mar on the Costa Brava

In the afternoon of an exhausting pick-pocket experience in Barcelona’s train station, our eyes lit up seeing the Aqua Promenade and Spa Hotel Resort in Pineda de Mar – our hotel for the next seven nights. TJ made a great choice there. The radiant lady at check in told us in perfect English that we had been upgraded to a suite-room at the front with balconies overlooking the beach promenade.

Our arrangement was room and breakfast and the spread was amazing and fresh. Our friends however had a complete room and board arrangement that also included lunch and dinner; reason why we had dinner several times at the hotel as well. In the weekend it got real busy with family packages, presumably from guests escaping the big city of Barcelona. The Costa Brava is lined with old fishing villages that since the 1960 have become attractive vacation destinations for Northern European beach seekers. At the end of March, the weather was still a little too chilly to swim in the Mediterranean. So for the next 4 days we decided to stroll the town, check out some shops and were presently surprised  by the Open Market that lined the Beach Promenade the next morning.

Many stores and restaurant were still closed or in preparation for opening for the summer season coming up, but the ones that were open, were fully committed to the tourists in town.

It was 50 years ago that Han had last vacationed in this area of the Costa Brava and had visited town and villages like Girona (where Salvador Dali was born and lived) Blanes, Llorett de Mar, Calella and Sitges. Needless to say that the expansion now called Pineda de Mar, was at best a little fishing village in those days, but the availability of a beautiful long stretch of sandy beach, has now turned it into an attractive vacation destination. 

In the next couple of days we walked the neighborhoods, did little shopping and took some pictures. It was as if the laziness of a two week cruise had settled in our bones. It was Eat – Stroll a bit – Sleep – Repeat. One obvious observation was the quite a few people from England, Holland and Germany had started restaurants, bar and other businesses in this vacation city. Almost every taste and flavor in the world is available.

After four nights we hugged our friends goodbye as they were heading home and we started to make travel plans to get our butts to family in the Netherlands. Checking on hotel and AirBNB rates in hotel made us quickly realize that our monthly budget would be tested severely, so we ended up in the German city of Mønchengladbach, close to the Dutch border, where a Holiday Inn (we’re members of their club) offered a great deal that included breakfast. The next 10 days would allow us to see family, drop off two big suitcases with clothes and stuff we did not need on a daily basis, arrange for some medications and catch up in general.

We orchestrated at van pick from Pinar de Mar to the new airport in Girona for about $70, which was quite acceptable considering the amount of luggage. Ryan Air offered direct flights fro Girona to Dusseldorf-Weeze, a new airport that was formerly used by the British Royal Air Force.

We landed perfectly on time and took a taxi (Uber is not yet established in this new destination) to our B&B for the night The Weezer Spargel Hof & Apartments, where TJ enjoyed her best sleep (11 hours) in weeks.

From there we took the train via Düsseldorf to Monchengladbach where we checked into the Niu – Holiday Inn for a 10 day visit to slowly getting things going for our move to Europe.

Mar 20

2026 Port of Disembarkation – Barcelona (Pick Pocket Warning)

Plaça de Catalunya Rodalies Platform

Disembarking after a cruise is like ripping off a sticky bandage from a nasty cut. After experiencing disembarkations in Athens, Los Angeles, Southampton and Barcelona in the last four years, we can clearly state that cruise ship companies make a major mistake in customer relations. We do understand the need for speed if the ship needs to depart with a new batch of guests less than 12 hours upon arrival in a port.

The rush procedure is cruel and confusing to much of the targeted cruise ship customer profile. Retired people do not take well to measures of crowd control. I would not mind paying extra for a later, and more dignified check out.

Having said that, the four of us decided to take a taxi cab from the cruise ship to Barcelona’s Plaza de Catalunya where the underground train stations and subway platforms served the city in all directions.

TJ and I had been in Barcelona in 2022 and walked up La Rambla and saw a good part of the city and our friends Darcy and Caralee had decided to explore the city after our stay in Pinar de Mar, before returning to Barcelona Airport and their flight back to Canada.

We were going to take the regional train service Rodalies de Catalunya Line 1 from Plaça de Catalunya to Pinar de Mar, about an hour north of Barcelona. Sounds easy and clearcut. But now add a total of 7 suitcases and several backpack and a couple of carrying bags and you become a pickpocket target, especially if you’re in your 60s and 70s and look lost. We looked like victims and we became victims of an elaborate scheme of grifters.

A woman, normally dressed, approached us in cautious way in passable English, if we needed some help. We showed her our tickets and she directed us to a platform where we supposedly had to pay additional coins to get through the gates to enter the platform. Of course coming of a transatlantic cruise, we did not have Euro coins, so she advanced us some and we gave her some paper money in return. Caralee had her wallet underneath her shirt, tucked away in her skirt. But now they knew where the money was on her. TJ had her coin wallet with some credit cards and a couple of hundred dollar bills in her backpack, which she forgot to close up after giving some cash to the woman. Well, we don’t even know how they got to the money, but when we finally had gathered all our suitcases and bags and sat down in a protected spot on the platform we needed, it turned out that Caralee missed several hundred dollars and TJ missed her cute wallet she had bought years ago in Bruges, Belgium with cards and dollar bills and her travel totem.

Lesson learned is one way to look at this whole smelly ordeal; lesson applied is our wish for the future.

Travelers have long been targets for pickpockets going after cash-filled wallets. While money belts historically offered a sense of security, the global shift toward cashless societies means petty thieves have moved on to a new target: our phones.

“Be mindful that when you bring out your phone, you’re waving dollar signs around,” travel expert Rick Steves told Travel + Leisure. “Somebody can snatch your phone and use the credit card on it.”

And today’s pickpockets are getting more tech-savvy about it. Getting their hands on a phone can mean access to digital credit cards through Apple Pay and Google Pay, funds stored in apps like Apple Cash, and tickets for flights, trains, and attractions sitting in your digital wallet. That’s all in addition to the device itself, which can be wiped clean and resold. In early March this year, police in Taipei warned travelers to stay alert on its typically safe metro system after professional pickpockets—with possible ties to international criminal groups—were spotted there. London has seen a similar surge, with a recent wave of phone thefts on the Tube linked to foreign nationals. Locals have been sounding the alarm for months, warning travelers to keep both hands on their phones, especially in crowded areas.

Here is some more comprehensive advice for protecting yourself from all forms of pickpocketing. But really it all starts before you leave home. Getting familiar with every app you’ll be using, including your digital wallets, is essential, so you’re not fumbling around with your phone in an unfamiliar setting, while also trying to keep an eye on your belongings. For expensive devices,www look into theft insurance.

Make sure you’ve got a ‘find my phone’-type app, back up your data, and enable password protection. “While traveling, use the Wi-Fi at your hotel to back up your phone and its photos each night. If you don’t know how to sync your stuff to the cloud, learn before your trip.“

When you’re out exploring, it’s easy to get lost in the experience, but not at the cost of letting go of your most valuable travel tool. Never, ever set down a phone on a train, bar, or restaurant table or supermarket, where it’s easy for a thief to grab or you to forget. Keep it tucked away, ideally in a front pocket (not back pocket!!!) or get a lanyard to keep it around your neck. Some thieves are bold enough to snatch something right out of your hands. Always be aware of who’s around you. With phones now serving as our cameras, maps, translators, and wallets all in one, they’re only going to become a bigger target.

Travel & Leisure Magazine in the Dec 2025 issue published a great article on travel safety and Anti Theft Essentials.

Our train trip up to our Costa Brava resort town Pinar de Mar was fine and the train station where we got off  was just 200 yards from the hotel Aqua Promenade and Spa entrance.

We did the important thing and forgot as quickly as possible that we were materially violated. It was not going to spoil our vacation or travel experience.

Mar 18

2026 Port of Call – Palma de Mallorca

TJ in front of the Catedral

It was our second visit to the capital of de balearic island Palma. But since our friends Caralee and Darcy had not been to the island, we decided to do the same excursion as our last call. The Old Town: a maze of narrow streets, home to the Cathedral (La Seu), Almudaina Palace, and Plaza Mayor.

With more time than an 8 hour portcall, cruise passengers could have more choices such as the quaint former fishing villages of Santa Catalina, Portixol and Molinar.

The city of Palma was founded and developed during the early Roman times around 123 BC. In its history are traces going back to the Phoenicians (800 BC) and the rules of Carthage. The Moores ruled in the early Middle Ages, Spain’s early incarnations superseded in the later Middle Ages and by the Renaissance the islands were fully under Spanish rule, except for some irritating occasional incursions from Barnary Coast corsairs. Lots of cultural changes and exchanges over the centuries. Today Mallorca is the 4th largest island in the Mediterranean Sea with close to a million inhabitants in some 55 communities around the island and close to 20 million annual visitors. Many international celebrities over the decades have built homes on the island, but to visit for a limited one day stop, the choice of the Old Town as exploration destination is no doubt the best.

The Princess bus would take us from the ship to the parking lot across from the famous Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca. The trip itself takes you along the waterfront of Palma with all its stores, restaurants, ancient windmills and everything that excessive tourism has to offer. Modern day Maseratis were racing 1960s Iso Rivoltas alongside our bus. 

The Catedral is a very prominent sight on the hill, with the 14th century Royal Palace of La Almudaina next door across the cobblestoned square.  Until today it still is the official residence of the Spanish King and Queen during their stays in Mallorca. On the day of our visit there was a special event for military recruits at the palace, so visitors were not allowed.

Instead the four of us decided to have a refreshment at the Cappuccino Café Palau March that used to be part of the palatial gardens at the foot of the steps up to the Sea. Rich and pricey, but chic, the Café serves many versions of popular coffees, pastries and Mediterranean dishes. 

Afterwards we actually struggled ourselves up the steps to the cathedral, but once arrived there, the lines to go in were too long for our taste and Han, a catholic raised atheist, refused to pay $11 admission fee. “Rome has enough money’, was his stoic statement.

Walking the stairs back down we decided to walk some of the small streets, away from where tourism happens, and savored a bit of local flavor.

The bubble blowers we had noticed a couple of years earlier were still active in the parks and pedestrian shopping streets, showing their expanded creativity in tooling. The island hosts all sorts of events, including agricultural fairs in the spring and autumn, live music and DJs in the summer, religious fiestas and international sporting events. Some of the most popular are the Mallorca 312 cycling race in April, the Copa del Rey sailing regatta in July and the Moors vs Christians mock battle in September.

As the sun moved quietly westward all of us tired people strolled back to the bus that would return us to the ship. The last port of call behind us. Tomorrow morning in all of its early morning glory, we would disembark in Barcelona and a long day of packing and traveling was ahead of us. We wished we would have had enough time to meet up with our Matanzas Cuba friends Acela and Julio who had moved to Mallorca, via Lisbon, several years ago. Maybe next time, since we had now moved to Europe.

Palma de Mallorca- port entrance
Caralee & Darcy at the bus stop
Steps up to the Catedral with Sun Princess in the Distance
The Catedral and Palace Garden
The steps up to the castle and catedral
Details of the Catedral
One of the catedral's entrance doors
Military recruits at the Castle
Is the inside worth $11 admission after you've seen St.Peter in Rome?
Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria- the men who started tourism and conservation here
Squares, fountains and everyday life in Palma
Horse and carriage to get up the hill
The Summer Palace for the King
Palma is filled with benches to rest and admire
Mallorca shopping, strolling, relaxing
How about making this your office?
A commanding view of the catedral - coming and going
A Palace in the Midday sun

Mar 17

2026 Port of Call – Cartagena

Calle Mayor Shopping Street

This second port of call on this cruise, Cartagena, was a true delight.

Founded in 227 B.C. by the Carthaginian Hasdrubal the Fair, Cartagena, a vibrant port city on Spain’s southeast Mediterranean coast, has a long history with a plethora of monuments documenting the passing of at least five civilizations.

Being a rather small city, it’s easy to walk from one site to the other, starting with the remains of the Punic Walls.

In the small, very protected harbor our massive cruise ship was parked right in the town’s square so to speak.

 

 

 

 

 You walk through customs and immigration with smiling and waving officials and you are on Calle Mayor, a vast pedestrian shopping street with numerous sidekicks, restaurants, eateries and museums and delightful churches within minutes from your cabin on the ship. Our Canadian friends Caralee and Darcy joined us for a very pleasant day out on the town.

This Mediterranean, southern Spanish city is known for five major historic cultures that swept through the area from the Phoenicians to the Romans, to the Moors and the Spaniards, dating more than 3,000 years back. The background of the city is elevated by low hills-sides moving to medium mountains in the further distance and many of the peaks have defensive historically military installations like castles and forts ornamenting the summits.

What is truly remarkable is that  when you walk onto Calle Mayor, almost immediately on the right, there is the Roman museum built around and with the old Roman Amphitheater attached. As seniors we paid only $6 admission per person and you have the choice between elevators and escalators when it comes to getting around the museum into the well preserved Colosseum-like amphitheater. Very worth a visit.

Since this cruise signified our departure from the US with an extended period of country traveling in AirBnBs, we are not doing any souvenir shopping anymore, since we currently don’t even have a refrigerator for our hundreds of destination magnets. So shopping is a very limited option.

A quick stop at the drugstore for some replenishments of needed medical and supplement vitamin stuff and the prices pleasantly surprised us. Walking the cobblestoned street, admiring the great varieties of architectural creativity, was followed by a stop at a sidewalk café for some Cappuccinos and sweets and boy was that good. It just tasted real.

It was a day of relaxed picture taking under a blue sunny sky, an afternoon that made us understand the concept of “taking a siesta” and Cartagena entered definitely our list of places to revisit in the future.

Cartagena Square with Banyan Trees
Cartagena Roman Museum
Cartagena Roman Amphitheater
Cartagena Historic Roman Stage
Amphitheater stage floor
Historic Civilizations in Cartagena
Building Façades in Calle Mayor
TJ's lunch stop
Lunch on a sidewalk café

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