Photo of the Moselle River‘The Moselle’: A Poem on the European River, by Margaret Coats The Society June 14, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 28 Comments . The Moselle Tranquil meandering alluvion, From Vosges pink sandstone hills it percolates In rillets past rich vines in echelon To cradle villages of varied traits. Saint Castor limns a linear regime, Both slender arms extended fatherlike; The fields behind rise steeply from the stream. New homes? At either end along the pike. Sometimes the village plan is square or reaches Chock outward in an octagon secure, Like solid Klotten where the steeple teaches Its folk to gaze toward cloister walls mature. At Karden Treis and elsewhere wayside crosses And vineyard chapels add a new dimension To toil and travel as each pilgrim pauses For moments of contemplative attention. The tiny Minheim, bounded on three sides By current slowing round its Calvary, Reminds those sailing by, as it subsides, To seek a greater harbor’s treasury. Aware of shallow shores and how to float Through eurowinding lanes terraqueous, Skilled crews can deftly steer a riverboat Past locks and Loreley’s rock rapturous. More distant ridges deviously disguise Their height and slope with flexible festoons Of trees not always pointing to the skies But groping sunward through green afternoons. Great gorges flaunting valleys resolute Sport granite crags and oaks resilient In tribute to the water’s calm salute And vivid atmosphere ebullient. Old Roman streets and monuments remain Among the many abbeys on the way Where tourists, citizens, and children strain To comprehend the castles in decay. River, how many neighbors do you count Since pictured by Ausonius’ fluent pen? He found you an extraordinary fount Of fish and fauns, but knew few of your men. The august Constantine held court at Trier, And empress mother Helena brought gifts From Palestine, still venerated here, Chief city as the channel Rhineward shifts. At Porta Nigra Simeon the Greek After broad worldwide tours himself enclosed And exercised authority unique When persons their perplexing questions posed. Richeza reigned in Poland, yet returned; Niklaus von Kues taught sacred ignorance; Louis Ravené restored a ruin, and earned Due credit for romantic elegance. Rome sent Mosella soldiers, vines, and trade, Then German princes governed Mosel’s work; French wineries a finer Moselle made, And Musel marks east bounds of Luxembourg. Audacious vehicles now swiftly fly Above where August Horch heard Audis go, For autobahns built vanishingly high Preserve the quaint and quiet flow below. . . Vosges [vōzh] is the one-syllable name of a mountain range. The better known Lorelei rock is on the Rhine, but there is another called the Moselloreley. The poet Ausonius (310–395) wrote his prolonged but brilliant “Mosella” in unrhymed Latin verse. There is a 2021 translation in English rhymed couplets by Christopher Kelk at poetryintranslatin.com August Horch (1868–1951), born in Winningen along the Mosel, lost the right to use his surname as an automobile trademark because of a business dispute. Instead, he translated “Horch” (meaning “hearken” or “listen”) into its Latin equivalent, “Audi.” . . Margaret Coats lives in California. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. She has retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 28 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson June 14, 2023 Enchanting visit to the Moselle River and wine producing region with wonderful alliteration that drapes the poetry with elegance. I lived in Germany for five years, first in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and then Munich. I remember pleasant scenes, the towns of Koblenz and Trier, and going on Volksmarches through the countryside. You captured the essence of the small towns and villages along the Moselle with their once crenelated castles and still luscious grapevines. Thank you for a few minutes of pleasant memories along with amplification of the historical significance that embellished my perceptions of the Moselle. I praise your verbal and colorful poetic presentation that flows as peacefully as the river. Reply Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Thank you, Roy. I just saw the region for the first time from a riverboat. Marvelous way to travel, and I’m pleased you say I’ve captured the essence in my river poem. The flow of sound is particularly important in this piece that only touches upon the wealth of details available to the observer. Reply Monika Cooper June 14, 2023 How beautiful! “Solid Klotten” stands out on a first reading and “eurowinding lanes terraqueous.” Luscious coining. I like the four names of the river winding through the second to last stanza too: teases the brain a little. I once wrote a paper on the Ausonius poem and translated some passages of it. Yes, he was writing about a much younger and still unchurched river, but one that was already rich in story. This is just so crowded with detail and history that it makes me think of certain very packed Dutch paintings but if it were a painting it would have to be a long mural indeed. Maybe it’s more like one of those fairy-tale textiles that have all the wonders of the world (in this case, of the river) woven into them but can still be drawn through the eye of the thinnest needle. Reply Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Monika, I’m glad to find someone else who has read Ausonius! Because of his poem, the river’s Latin name remains a living appellation. And with the Luxembourgish “Musel” it has four. Thanks for appreciating what I did with them in the next-to-last stanza. Thanks as well for liking “eurowinding,” which I coined to balance “terraqueous” (a word already in the dictionary). It’s appropriate for this river that is not overlong, but touches three nations on its own and (after joining the Rhine) flows past the de facto European Union capital, Strasbourg. And to speak of crowding details, you should see the 6-foot long river map I have, that folds up into the usual compact map size. Reply Monika Cooper June 15, 2023 It was really like time travel, reading your poem: a flashback to Ausonius’s vision of the Moselle, followed by a flash-forward to yours, complete with autobahns (I had to look it up)! Joyful and startling. When I studied it, Ausonius’s poem reminded me of that beautiful piece of music Smetana’s Moldau, the way it follows a river through moods and scenes. Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Smetana’s Moldau is an intriguing artistic comparison for river poems. It’s certainly more extensive than Strauss’s Blue Danube waltz. I suppose the loveliest river poem in English might be Spenser’s Prothalamion with the Thames as setting. It has the advantage of being a wedding poem as well. Then there’s Coleridge on the Otter and Longfellow on the Charles. Thanks for keeping our thoughts flowing! Martin Price July 3, 2023 Hello Margaret Have read and enjoyed your poem. Thank you for yours and Bruce’s excellent company on our river cruise. Beat regards Martin and Delia Margaret Coats July 3, 2023 Martin and Delia, it’s good to hear from you. Thanks very much for looking at the poem and making the effort to reply here. We enjoyed your company and all the anecdotes that came from your knowledge of the hospitality business. The two of you made the cruise an especially lovely way to travel. Reply Paul Freeman June 14, 2023 I feel like I’ve been on holiday, Margaret. I needed to get out of the desert for a while, and what a relaxing, meandering (like a river) poem this was. Fave line: ‘Trees…groping sunward through green afternoons’. Thanks for the read. Reply Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Paul, I wrote that line while floating by the scene on my holiday river cruise. Your comment will help keep the picture in my memory–those trees that only got sunshine in the afternoon, and thus devoted their vim and vigor to stretching west rather than straight up. Their green with sun on them created a vibrantly leafy golden glow. Reply Tom Woodliff June 14, 2023 Gosh, what can we say? You certainly did your homework on this one. I’ll be the first to admit the river and towns are unknown to me. Incentive for me to do some reading? Maybe. Very nice Reply Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Take a cruise, Tom! Seeing came first and foremost; then I knew what to look up for a bit more information. I’m glad you found the unknown river and towns very nice in my poem. Reply Mike Squillace June 15, 2023 My wife and I had the distinct pleasure of spending time recently with Margaret. After each encounter, we were left thinking how wonderful it was to be in her presence. Our discussions were in-depth, fascinating and educational. The poem is beautiful. We especially enjoyed not only the history, but the landscape descriptions as well. Congratulations on being published Margaret, a well earned recognition. Reply Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 It’s a special delight to get a comment from Mike and Lisa who were on the five-river cruise and saw the sights and shared the experiences. Mike, I recall that you asked our table what was the best part, and I said, “The Moselle.” This is just a selection of memorable points put into a poem, which I’m so happy to know you adventurers enjoy. In stanza 6, I include a grateful nod to our crew on the Leonardo da Vinci. I miei migliori auguri! Reply Brian A Yapko June 15, 2023 This is a poem of many splendors, Margaret, both grand and subtle, as it marches through history from the Classical Period all the way to the modern industrial era and as it introduces us to an impressive cast of characters who affected, or were affected by, this consequential river, ranging from Constantine to Horch. You offer a daunting amount of fascinating information here (I had heard of the Lorelei of the Rhine but never the Loreley of the Moselle.) I’m familiar with the Porte (Porta?) Nigra as one of ancient Rome’s best-preserved buildings but did not know its context. But this is not merely a travelogue or historical photo album. Your poem conveys great affection for its subject and is as full of poetic goodies as historical/geographic details. Your rhymes are deft and yet unobtrusive. And you use alliteration to great affect throughout – those distant ridges which deviously disguise – that fount of fish and fauns – it is fairly subtle but skips against rocks and riverbanks in a way that delightfully echoes the flow of the river. It’s quite wonderful. Reply Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Thank you, Brian. I often restrain sound effects in my poems, but here is an appropriate work to play them like an organ or orchestra, with just enough time for one or two to fade out before beginning more. Since you give me an opportunity, I’ll say listen to the first stanza with L’s and V’s in every line, not to mention different A’s in first and last lines, O’s in the second line, and R’s in the third. I’m glad you find the music subtle overall; I feel mine is most effective that way. You’re right about my affection for the subject, which I tried to show by careful selective observation, and by attention to detail in the words, rather than by personal statement (which risks sounding trite). Yes, the spelling should be Porta Nigra. I’ll have it changed. The monk Simeon (of Syracuse or of Sinai or of Trier) lived there as an enclosed anchorite for several years before his death in 1035. He is a shared saint for Eastern and Western churches, and you are perceptive if you intend to call him the “context” of the Porta Nigra, since no other individual is more closely associated with the ancient structure. Simeon actually motivated the city fathers of his time to repair it! I am very grateful for your appreciative comment, from “many splendors” to “quite wonderful.” Thanks for making the effort to say so. Reply Joseph S. Salemi June 15, 2023 This lovely and expertly composed poem shows how excellent verse need not always be about the poet’s personal feelings or reactions, but can be an impersonal (but still very moving!) meditation on a place, on a region, on natural beauty, and on human history. Reply Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Thank you, Joseph, for the several compliments contained in your comment. Of course I agree that the poet as acute observer and careful craftsman is not limited because he or she does not make any explicitly personal statement. Let the poem flow rather than gush! Reply Cynthia Erlandson June 15, 2023 There are so many eye- and ear-catching phrases and images here: using “cradle” as a verb in the first verse; “to seek a greater harbor’s treasury”; “eurowinding” and “terraqueous” (wonderful words!); rhyming alluvion/echelon, and crosses/pauses, just to name two. A very beautiful poem! Reply Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Thank you so much, Cynthia. “Seek a greater harbor’s treasury” is rather poignant about that tiny town of Minheim. Looking up its population, I saw that it has less than 500 inhabitants, and few riverboats would stop there for trade, tourism, or any other reason. But what a great location for a thought-provoking Calvary panorama! Reply Joshua C. Frank June 15, 2023 Wow, a lot of detail, a lot of historical bits in there, and only you could make a line like “Through eurowinding lanes terraqueous” work! I can absolutely picture what the area looks like from your description. Reply Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Thanks, Josh! On this river cruise where the boats have to be careful about shoreline, small islands, and big rocks, there was definitely a place for “terraqueous,” and I am happy to have been inspired with “eurowinding” for balance. And for the details, you need a keen eye to spot some of the wayside crosses, shrines, and pilgrimage indicators. They are not announced by the recorded commentary on tourist boats, but I learned as I went along, and I’m happy to have found many. Reply Yael June 15, 2023 Thank you for the Mosel tour, which I really enjoyed. It’s a lovely and picturesque area which I fondly remember. You describe it so well in your poem that you may even contribute to promoting tourism in the area. Reply Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 I would be happy to do that, Yael. So glad you enjoyed this little poetic tour with me as guide. Much more to tell, as I’m sure you know, but I don’t want to scare customers away with too much talk. Reply Tom Rimer June 17, 2023 Margaret — my wife Laurence and I visited Aachen some twenty-five years ago, to see the sites related to Charlemagne, but we never managed to do more than briefly drive near the Moselle. Our brief glimpse of the river was static and momentary. I never fully realized until reading this delightful poem that only a river cruise (an experience we have never had) has the potential to provide a privileged way to join the living, moving heart of a river in the fashion you recorded here. The life of a river, as you so deftly point out, has natural, historical, political and geographical points of fascination that you have conjured up with a charming and light touch. This is indeed a “vacation poem,” and it must have been a delightful time of discovery for you. Reply Margaret Coats June 17, 2023 Yes, Tom, a river is “life and heart” to its valley and basin region in numerous ways. People settle on the shores for access to life-giving fresh water, then extend that life in the culture nourished by the river, and carry it elsewhere because the river is an easy means of travel, and all the while the stream flows on as a means of delight. Thank you for your reading and response, and please give Laurence mes meilleurs souhaits. Reply Laura Deagon June 18, 2023 Margaret, this one was more of a challenge for me, but enjoyed to the best of my ability. As mentioned before, I feel out of my league sometimes 🙂 I hope one day to take a similar journey and experience all that you share. Reply Margaret Coats June 18, 2023 Laura, thank you so much for taking on the foreign words, place names, and puzzling touches of history and geography, not to mention my poetic atmosphere words. While on the cruise, I was constantly at work trying to make sense of it all, but I had the beautiful scenery and helpful tour guides to assist. That makes it a wonderful experience even if not fully understood. And then there are the totally unexpected touches, such as a triumphant brass choir for Saturday afternoon Mass! I am satisfied that you are thinking of a similar excursion! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 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Roy Eugene Peterson June 14, 2023 Enchanting visit to the Moselle River and wine producing region with wonderful alliteration that drapes the poetry with elegance. I lived in Germany for five years, first in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and then Munich. I remember pleasant scenes, the towns of Koblenz and Trier, and going on Volksmarches through the countryside. You captured the essence of the small towns and villages along the Moselle with their once crenelated castles and still luscious grapevines. Thank you for a few minutes of pleasant memories along with amplification of the historical significance that embellished my perceptions of the Moselle. I praise your verbal and colorful poetic presentation that flows as peacefully as the river. Reply
Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Thank you, Roy. I just saw the region for the first time from a riverboat. Marvelous way to travel, and I’m pleased you say I’ve captured the essence in my river poem. The flow of sound is particularly important in this piece that only touches upon the wealth of details available to the observer. Reply
Monika Cooper June 14, 2023 How beautiful! “Solid Klotten” stands out on a first reading and “eurowinding lanes terraqueous.” Luscious coining. I like the four names of the river winding through the second to last stanza too: teases the brain a little. I once wrote a paper on the Ausonius poem and translated some passages of it. Yes, he was writing about a much younger and still unchurched river, but one that was already rich in story. This is just so crowded with detail and history that it makes me think of certain very packed Dutch paintings but if it were a painting it would have to be a long mural indeed. Maybe it’s more like one of those fairy-tale textiles that have all the wonders of the world (in this case, of the river) woven into them but can still be drawn through the eye of the thinnest needle. Reply
Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Monika, I’m glad to find someone else who has read Ausonius! Because of his poem, the river’s Latin name remains a living appellation. And with the Luxembourgish “Musel” it has four. Thanks for appreciating what I did with them in the next-to-last stanza. Thanks as well for liking “eurowinding,” which I coined to balance “terraqueous” (a word already in the dictionary). It’s appropriate for this river that is not overlong, but touches three nations on its own and (after joining the Rhine) flows past the de facto European Union capital, Strasbourg. And to speak of crowding details, you should see the 6-foot long river map I have, that folds up into the usual compact map size. Reply
Monika Cooper June 15, 2023 It was really like time travel, reading your poem: a flashback to Ausonius’s vision of the Moselle, followed by a flash-forward to yours, complete with autobahns (I had to look it up)! Joyful and startling. When I studied it, Ausonius’s poem reminded me of that beautiful piece of music Smetana’s Moldau, the way it follows a river through moods and scenes.
Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Smetana’s Moldau is an intriguing artistic comparison for river poems. It’s certainly more extensive than Strauss’s Blue Danube waltz. I suppose the loveliest river poem in English might be Spenser’s Prothalamion with the Thames as setting. It has the advantage of being a wedding poem as well. Then there’s Coleridge on the Otter and Longfellow on the Charles. Thanks for keeping our thoughts flowing!
Martin Price July 3, 2023 Hello Margaret Have read and enjoyed your poem. Thank you for yours and Bruce’s excellent company on our river cruise. Beat regards Martin and Delia
Margaret Coats July 3, 2023 Martin and Delia, it’s good to hear from you. Thanks very much for looking at the poem and making the effort to reply here. We enjoyed your company and all the anecdotes that came from your knowledge of the hospitality business. The two of you made the cruise an especially lovely way to travel. Reply
Paul Freeman June 14, 2023 I feel like I’ve been on holiday, Margaret. I needed to get out of the desert for a while, and what a relaxing, meandering (like a river) poem this was. Fave line: ‘Trees…groping sunward through green afternoons’. Thanks for the read. Reply
Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Paul, I wrote that line while floating by the scene on my holiday river cruise. Your comment will help keep the picture in my memory–those trees that only got sunshine in the afternoon, and thus devoted their vim and vigor to stretching west rather than straight up. Their green with sun on them created a vibrantly leafy golden glow. Reply
Tom Woodliff June 14, 2023 Gosh, what can we say? You certainly did your homework on this one. I’ll be the first to admit the river and towns are unknown to me. Incentive for me to do some reading? Maybe. Very nice Reply
Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Take a cruise, Tom! Seeing came first and foremost; then I knew what to look up for a bit more information. I’m glad you found the unknown river and towns very nice in my poem. Reply
Mike Squillace June 15, 2023 My wife and I had the distinct pleasure of spending time recently with Margaret. After each encounter, we were left thinking how wonderful it was to be in her presence. Our discussions were in-depth, fascinating and educational. The poem is beautiful. We especially enjoyed not only the history, but the landscape descriptions as well. Congratulations on being published Margaret, a well earned recognition. Reply
Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 It’s a special delight to get a comment from Mike and Lisa who were on the five-river cruise and saw the sights and shared the experiences. Mike, I recall that you asked our table what was the best part, and I said, “The Moselle.” This is just a selection of memorable points put into a poem, which I’m so happy to know you adventurers enjoy. In stanza 6, I include a grateful nod to our crew on the Leonardo da Vinci. I miei migliori auguri! Reply
Brian A Yapko June 15, 2023 This is a poem of many splendors, Margaret, both grand and subtle, as it marches through history from the Classical Period all the way to the modern industrial era and as it introduces us to an impressive cast of characters who affected, or were affected by, this consequential river, ranging from Constantine to Horch. You offer a daunting amount of fascinating information here (I had heard of the Lorelei of the Rhine but never the Loreley of the Moselle.) I’m familiar with the Porte (Porta?) Nigra as one of ancient Rome’s best-preserved buildings but did not know its context. But this is not merely a travelogue or historical photo album. Your poem conveys great affection for its subject and is as full of poetic goodies as historical/geographic details. Your rhymes are deft and yet unobtrusive. And you use alliteration to great affect throughout – those distant ridges which deviously disguise – that fount of fish and fauns – it is fairly subtle but skips against rocks and riverbanks in a way that delightfully echoes the flow of the river. It’s quite wonderful. Reply
Margaret Coats June 15, 2023 Thank you, Brian. I often restrain sound effects in my poems, but here is an appropriate work to play them like an organ or orchestra, with just enough time for one or two to fade out before beginning more. Since you give me an opportunity, I’ll say listen to the first stanza with L’s and V’s in every line, not to mention different A’s in first and last lines, O’s in the second line, and R’s in the third. I’m glad you find the music subtle overall; I feel mine is most effective that way. You’re right about my affection for the subject, which I tried to show by careful selective observation, and by attention to detail in the words, rather than by personal statement (which risks sounding trite). Yes, the spelling should be Porta Nigra. I’ll have it changed. The monk Simeon (of Syracuse or of Sinai or of Trier) lived there as an enclosed anchorite for several years before his death in 1035. He is a shared saint for Eastern and Western churches, and you are perceptive if you intend to call him the “context” of the Porta Nigra, since no other individual is more closely associated with the ancient structure. Simeon actually motivated the city fathers of his time to repair it! I am very grateful for your appreciative comment, from “many splendors” to “quite wonderful.” Thanks for making the effort to say so. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi June 15, 2023 This lovely and expertly composed poem shows how excellent verse need not always be about the poet’s personal feelings or reactions, but can be an impersonal (but still very moving!) meditation on a place, on a region, on natural beauty, and on human history. Reply
Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Thank you, Joseph, for the several compliments contained in your comment. Of course I agree that the poet as acute observer and careful craftsman is not limited because he or she does not make any explicitly personal statement. Let the poem flow rather than gush! Reply
Cynthia Erlandson June 15, 2023 There are so many eye- and ear-catching phrases and images here: using “cradle” as a verb in the first verse; “to seek a greater harbor’s treasury”; “eurowinding” and “terraqueous” (wonderful words!); rhyming alluvion/echelon, and crosses/pauses, just to name two. A very beautiful poem! Reply
Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Thank you so much, Cynthia. “Seek a greater harbor’s treasury” is rather poignant about that tiny town of Minheim. Looking up its population, I saw that it has less than 500 inhabitants, and few riverboats would stop there for trade, tourism, or any other reason. But what a great location for a thought-provoking Calvary panorama! Reply
Joshua C. Frank June 15, 2023 Wow, a lot of detail, a lot of historical bits in there, and only you could make a line like “Through eurowinding lanes terraqueous” work! I can absolutely picture what the area looks like from your description. Reply
Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 Thanks, Josh! On this river cruise where the boats have to be careful about shoreline, small islands, and big rocks, there was definitely a place for “terraqueous,” and I am happy to have been inspired with “eurowinding” for balance. And for the details, you need a keen eye to spot some of the wayside crosses, shrines, and pilgrimage indicators. They are not announced by the recorded commentary on tourist boats, but I learned as I went along, and I’m happy to have found many. Reply
Yael June 15, 2023 Thank you for the Mosel tour, which I really enjoyed. It’s a lovely and picturesque area which I fondly remember. You describe it so well in your poem that you may even contribute to promoting tourism in the area. Reply
Margaret Coats June 16, 2023 I would be happy to do that, Yael. So glad you enjoyed this little poetic tour with me as guide. Much more to tell, as I’m sure you know, but I don’t want to scare customers away with too much talk. Reply
Tom Rimer June 17, 2023 Margaret — my wife Laurence and I visited Aachen some twenty-five years ago, to see the sites related to Charlemagne, but we never managed to do more than briefly drive near the Moselle. Our brief glimpse of the river was static and momentary. I never fully realized until reading this delightful poem that only a river cruise (an experience we have never had) has the potential to provide a privileged way to join the living, moving heart of a river in the fashion you recorded here. The life of a river, as you so deftly point out, has natural, historical, political and geographical points of fascination that you have conjured up with a charming and light touch. This is indeed a “vacation poem,” and it must have been a delightful time of discovery for you. Reply
Margaret Coats June 17, 2023 Yes, Tom, a river is “life and heart” to its valley and basin region in numerous ways. People settle on the shores for access to life-giving fresh water, then extend that life in the culture nourished by the river, and carry it elsewhere because the river is an easy means of travel, and all the while the stream flows on as a means of delight. Thank you for your reading and response, and please give Laurence mes meilleurs souhaits. Reply
Laura Deagon June 18, 2023 Margaret, this one was more of a challenge for me, but enjoyed to the best of my ability. As mentioned before, I feel out of my league sometimes 🙂 I hope one day to take a similar journey and experience all that you share. Reply
Margaret Coats June 18, 2023 Laura, thank you so much for taking on the foreign words, place names, and puzzling touches of history and geography, not to mention my poetic atmosphere words. While on the cruise, I was constantly at work trying to make sense of it all, but I had the beautiful scenery and helpful tour guides to assist. That makes it a wonderful experience even if not fully understood. And then there are the totally unexpected touches, such as a triumphant brass choir for Saturday afternoon Mass! I am satisfied that you are thinking of a similar excursion! Reply
