A Christmas River Cruise - 2023

December 26 - Since we have to leave the ship by 6 a.m. tomorrow in order make our flight, I will try to write one more blog about our visit to a Belgian chocolate factory today. After all the sampling I did, I may not want to ever look at chocolate again - at least not before tomorrow. 🍫

December 27 - Home again, home again, jiggity jig! After a very L-O-N-G travel day, waking at 3 a.m. Brussels time and getting home around 8:30 pm Texas time, we were both worn out! But thankfully, we had no special problems. On the return trip, we had to connect through Chicago's O'Hare, which we were dreading because of news stories we've seen with stranded passengers sleeping on airport floors during the holidays. But amazingly, the weather was good (sunny, no snow) and the flights were generally running on time. We did have a 3 hour layover, so it made for an even longer day. Thankfully, we made it home safe and sound - tired but glad that we went.

Our last day on the MS Grace started with a nice breakfast, followed by a drive around the city of Brussels. The tour guide said it was very unusual that we were able to see as much of the city as we did, as normally there would be lots more traffic. But being the day after Christmas with people off work, city traffic was unusually light. We were driven by many different sites like the area where the World's Fair was held in 1958 (attended by 42+ million people), the King's Palace, NATO headquarters and home to the European Union. No fewer than 60,000 government workers live and work in Brussels!

Brussels is a large, modern city. The Senne river and many canals run through the city. All kinds of goods are transported up and down the canals. Businesses, residences and trendy works of art line the canals. People also live along the canals in house boats, some selling for as much as $1 million dollars. The houses must be taken out of the water every 3 years for their undersides to be cleaned. After driving around the city, some from our group opted to stay downtown for a walking tour. Even though the sun was shining, were happy to see it by coach and return to the ship. 

The photos below were taken from the bus window, but you can get the idea. It's not easy to get the sharpest photos through the window of a moving bus, not to mention reflections from lighting and other objects on the glass.

The Atomium built in 1958 for World's Fair

lots of modern architecture mixed with the very old

modern skyscrapers

windows a plus on dark days!

The Royal Palace

light traffic in the city the day after Christmas

 

As I said in an earlier post, Belgium is probably best known for its beers, waffles and chocolate. After lunch, we enjoyed some free time followed by a trip to Concept Chocolates to learn about how chocolate is made. We heard an explanation of how cocoa beans are harvested and then all the steps through to the end product and the delicious-ness that we all know and love. After learning about each stage of the process, we watched several chocolatiers at work, after which a couple of birthday folks got to try their hand at filling the molds. That was followed by (a lot of) taste testing. So much so that I was feeling a little sick by the time we left.

 

We first sampled white chocolate, then milk chocolate and finally dark chocolate and learned about the composition of each. Much of what you see in the baking section of your local grocery store (aka almond bark) is not chocolate at all. In order to be called chocolate, it must contain cocoa butter. The chart below compares the amount of cocoa powder, cocoa butter, milk powder and sugar in white, milk and dark chocolate. No wonder I prefer milk chocolate - it has much more sugar in it!

Of course we went into the gift shop after the presentation and many in our group bought chocolate, either for themselves or to use as gifts.

I'll post some photos (of photos) below that demonstrate the different stages from bean to the final yummy product.

first the blossom

cocoa pod grows from trunk of cacao tree

pods ripen

seeds inside the pods

fermented, then dried, roasted and husked

drying the beans

sacking the dried beans

beans are processed into powder

powder mixed with other ingredients

ready to melt and mold

 

chocolate mixed with nuts or fillings are called "pralines"

gift sets ready to go

PS I will add that this was our first ever river cruise. It is quite different than an ocean cruise, as you might imagine. It was also the first time we've traveled with Tauck. We were extremely impressed with their organization. We showed up having done no planning whatsoever and were pleasantly surprised to learn that everything had already been planned out for us. 

Communication both before and during our tour was excellent. The Tauck team could not have been more accommodating. There were also a lot of little unexpected "extras" that made it special. If we were going to be away from the ship at mealtime, they actually gave everyone "lunch money" to eat in the restaurant of their choice. There were opportunities for free time on our own, but our group outings were always accompanied by a knowledgeable guide.

We also learned some things about short trips. If we're going to travel that far for only a week long vacation, then we should go at least 2 or 3 days prior to the start. That way, our body clocks would have a chance to begin acclimating to the time difference. The 10 hour time difference between Holland and the U.S. was tough. By the time our days and nights begin to get straightened out, it was time to come home!