I have been remiss in doing my daily blog....so shall do the weekly blog. Have just been this time cruising with our wonderful group.
Sunday , 13 May 2018
Today we are sitting in our Hotel in Basel...and I realize that because we were having such fun etc. the days have just flown by....so will continue to share our week...
Today we are sitting in our Hotel in Basel...and I realize that because we were having such fun etc. the days have just flown by....so will continue to share our week...
Monday , May 7
Ended the day yesterday (6 May) playing a dice game FARKLE with a few of the other passengers we have met on the boat up in the top lounge...quite an active loud group...but what fun!
Tuesday , May 8 ...we traveled to Cologne from the German Rhine River. We had another breakfast buffet in the main dining room. Our adventure this afternoon was a walking tour of Cologne, Germany with history of Roman and German history. The tour ended at the beautiful Cathedral which we explored on our own. It is a massive Cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows. After we left the cathedral, we stopped and had a jam filled Berliner Donut and also stopped for a drink at a Gasthaus and sat out side on the square for a drink...Bitburger Beer. Perfect day to sit outside! We also walked to the EAU de Cologne shop...it is the perfume thazt a 18th century pharmacist created in the 18th century. It is named after the town of Cologne.
Arrived back at the boat just in time for the nightly Port Talk by the cruise director , Helmut. Each evening he gives us the plans for the following day. Before dinner we listened to music by Kirin ...mostly songs from our era! After dinner in the dining room, we went to the lounge and listened to “The Groove Band”. It is a German Swing band.
Today it seemed we were eating every couple of hours...plus snacks in between. Had a beautiful sunny day. The Cathedral was visible by night from our docking area and was beautiful. Today we also played dice with our group in the afternoon.
Wednesday..May 9. Today we had a morning walk in the city of Koblenz which is on the picturesque stretch of the Rhine River. We walked along the streets of this city at the confluence of the Moselle River and the Rhine River. Our ship was docked near the center of town. Again today we had a lovely full breakfast before we began our walk. Then it was Lunch time and after lunch, our ship left to cruise down the Rhine River. It was so relaxing to sit on the top deck and just see the villages and the hills planted with wine vineyards etc. There were several beautiful views of several castles, vineyards, villages and The Lorelei Rock. It is a large rock on the bank at the narrows of the Rhine River. The rock is a legend of a beautiful maiden who threw herself into the Rhine in despair over a faithless lover and was transformed into a siren who lured fishermen to destruction. During our 3 1/2 hour trip down the Rhine River, our tour director gave commentary on the several different castles on the river. Also saw several grape vineyards and small villages. As we had been stationed in Germany, we had driven these roads on the side of the Rhine River several times so was fun to see them by ship. Seeing the Castle Liebensteim (the highest castle in the middle Rhine Valley in Germany) as we floated down the river brought back so many memories of when we stayed at the castle with Larry and Peggy Reinhart several years ago). It is a hotel castle and we had a room with a view of the Rhine River. We have been so blessed with such beautiful weather. AND of course had afternoon coffee and cake before we arrived in Rudesheim. Rudesheim is a wine making town on the Rhine Gorge. It has an old town with several decorated restaurants and shops. We took a small train like vehicle from the board to the center city of Rudesheim where we walked about town , did some shopping and then walked along the water and park back to the ship..just in time for Happy Hour and then dinner. DID I mention that because of the courses, we usually take about 2+ hours to eat each evening?? After dinner we all go up to the lounge and talk and listen to the music of the evening and share our days experience and Of course we laugh ALOT!
Thursday May 10
We traveled to Mainz today . It is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. The tour option was to take the bus to Heidelberg, however since we had been there several times...we decided to stay in Mainz and check out the city. Our ship was docked right at the city center. BUT it was their Ascension Day, which is a public holiday so all the stores etc. were closed so we spent the day relaxing in the lounges, on the top sun deck and talking with our friends and others on the boat. We spent part of the day playing some more dice and as always talking and laughing. We usually meet in the lounge before dinner or after dinner and share our stories and laugh!! We are definitely able to relax on this trip...seems only spending time in our state room before breakfast and when time to go to bed but mostly in one of the lounges talking and just enjoying being here. The crew members are all so friendly and some just make us laugh. There are two on the crew from Czech Republic where we traveled on our last trip to Europe. The lived on the other side of the country from where my grandfather’s family lived in ValkeFolkmar. When we were last here 2 years ago, we visited the town he came from and talked to the Mayer etc.
Again today it seems that we were eating constantly.
11 May...Friday......ALREADY
Today we sailed form Heidelberg area to Strasbourg during the night. The shipis very smooth and you don’t even notice boat is moving . All through the river we often see many swans in the waters. We were to be in Strasbourg early AM but had to go through a lock that was backed up with ships so did not arrive in time for us to take a river cruise in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace Region. The charming old part of Strasbourg is called “Petite France”. The famous Gothic Cathedral is here. Also Alsace is famous for its white wines, sauerkraut and taste flambé...which is a thin crusted type of pizza with cheese, ham and onions. Storks have become symbol for Alsace as in the 70”s a regional breeding program brought them back as they began feeding them in the wintertime which means a lot of them don’t bother to fly to North Africa anymore but just stay here. We did see a few storks today. They also have many swans. We took the sightseeing tour of Strasbourg this morning but broke off from the tour in “Old Town” and went to a few shops before we joined our tour to go back to the boat. We returned to the ship just in time for a lunch on the top deck of the ship. Tom and a few others went to the Maginot Line to see the extraordinary complex of the defense bunkers. The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications , obstacles and weapon installations built by France in 1930 to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications.
Ended the day yesterday (6 May) playing a dice game FARKLE with a few of the other passengers we have met on the boat up in the top lounge...quite an active loud group...but what fun!
Tuesday , May 8 ...we traveled to Cologne from the German Rhine River. We had another breakfast buffet in the main dining room. Our adventure this afternoon was a walking tour of Cologne, Germany with history of Roman and German history. The tour ended at the beautiful Cathedral which we explored on our own. It is a massive Cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows. After we left the cathedral, we stopped and had a jam filled Berliner Donut and also stopped for a drink at a Gasthaus and sat out side on the square for a drink...Bitburger Beer. Perfect day to sit outside! We also walked to the EAU de Cologne shop...it is the perfume thazt a 18th century pharmacist created in the 18th century. It is named after the town of Cologne.
Arrived back at the boat just in time for the nightly Port Talk by the cruise director , Helmut. Each evening he gives us the plans for the following day. Before dinner we listened to music by Kirin ...mostly songs from our era! After dinner in the dining room, we went to the lounge and listened to “The Groove Band”. It is a German Swing band.
Today it seemed we were eating every couple of hours...plus snacks in between. Had a beautiful sunny day. The Cathedral was visible by night from our docking area and was beautiful. Today we also played dice with our group in the afternoon.
Wednesday..May 9. Today we had a morning walk in the city of Koblenz which is on the picturesque stretch of the Rhine River. We walked along the streets of this city at the confluence of the Moselle River and the Rhine River. Our ship was docked near the center of town. Again today we had a lovely full breakfast before we began our walk. Then it was Lunch time and after lunch, our ship left to cruise down the Rhine River. It was so relaxing to sit on the top deck and just see the villages and the hills planted with wine vineyards etc. There were several beautiful views of several castles, vineyards, villages and The Lorelei Rock. It is a large rock on the bank at the narrows of the Rhine River. The rock is a legend of a beautiful maiden who threw herself into the Rhine in despair over a faithless lover and was transformed into a siren who lured fishermen to destruction. During our 3 1/2 hour trip down the Rhine River, our tour director gave commentary on the several different castles on the river. Also saw several grape vineyards and small villages. As we had been stationed in Germany, we had driven these roads on the side of the Rhine River several times so was fun to see them by ship. Seeing the Castle Liebensteim (the highest castle in the middle Rhine Valley in Germany) as we floated down the river brought back so many memories of when we stayed at the castle with Larry and Peggy Reinhart several years ago). It is a hotel castle and we had a room with a view of the Rhine River. We have been so blessed with such beautiful weather. AND of course had afternoon coffee and cake before we arrived in Rudesheim. Rudesheim is a wine making town on the Rhine Gorge. It has an old town with several decorated restaurants and shops. We took a small train like vehicle from the board to the center city of Rudesheim where we walked about town , did some shopping and then walked along the water and park back to the ship..just in time for Happy Hour and then dinner. DID I mention that because of the courses, we usually take about 2+ hours to eat each evening?? After dinner we all go up to the lounge and talk and listen to the music of the evening and share our days experience and Of course we laugh ALOT!
Thursday May 10
We traveled to Mainz today . It is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. The tour option was to take the bus to Heidelberg, however since we had been there several times...we decided to stay in Mainz and check out the city. Our ship was docked right at the city center. BUT it was their Ascension Day, which is a public holiday so all the stores etc. were closed so we spent the day relaxing in the lounges, on the top sun deck and talking with our friends and others on the boat. We spent part of the day playing some more dice and as always talking and laughing. We usually meet in the lounge before dinner or after dinner and share our stories and laugh!! We are definitely able to relax on this trip...seems only spending time in our state room before breakfast and when time to go to bed but mostly in one of the lounges talking and just enjoying being here. The crew members are all so friendly and some just make us laugh. There are two on the crew from Czech Republic where we traveled on our last trip to Europe. The lived on the other side of the country from where my grandfather’s family lived in ValkeFolkmar. When we were last here 2 years ago, we visited the town he came from and talked to the Mayer etc.
Again today it seems that we were eating constantly.
11 May...Friday......ALREADY
Today we sailed form Heidelberg area to Strasbourg during the night. The shipis very smooth and you don’t even notice boat is moving . All through the river we often see many swans in the waters. We were to be in Strasbourg early AM but had to go through a lock that was backed up with ships so did not arrive in time for us to take a river cruise in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace Region. The charming old part of Strasbourg is called “Petite France”. The famous Gothic Cathedral is here. Also Alsace is famous for its white wines, sauerkraut and taste flambé...which is a thin crusted type of pizza with cheese, ham and onions. Storks have become symbol for Alsace as in the 70”s a regional breeding program brought them back as they began feeding them in the wintertime which means a lot of them don’t bother to fly to North Africa anymore but just stay here. We did see a few storks today. They also have many swans. We took the sightseeing tour of Strasbourg this morning but broke off from the tour in “Old Town” and went to a few shops before we joined our tour to go back to the boat. We returned to the ship just in time for a lunch on the top deck of the ship. Tom and a few others went to the Maginot Line to see the extraordinary complex of the defense bunkers. The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications , obstacles and weapon installations built by France in 1930 to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications.
We have so enjoyed the crew members as all very attentive to us and all so friendly and always there to help us. Daniel one of the crew, who was from Greece was mostly in the bar area lounge working but also saw him in the dining area. We had such fun with him ...he was always making us laugh. Today after Mari cleaned our room, a towel made to look like a swan was on the bed. The beds are comfortable and room is just big enough since we spend most of the time out of the room. This was an amazing crew that was on the Avalon Affinity.....they were all so friendly and worked so hard but also so friendly that we felt that we had known them for longer than just a week. We also talked to and spent time with some of our fellow passengers on the ship and on excursions off the boat. So many of them told me that they really thought it was neat that our group seemed to make everyday fun!
12 May Saturday
Black Forest
Today we traveled by bus through the beautiful countryside of the Black Forest. It is a large mountain range in southwest Germany. It is also a border between Germany and France. It flows through six countries and serves as a link between northern and Southern Europe since Roman times. It has quaint little towns and wine growing and farming towns. We also stopped at a Cuckoo Clock Factory where we had traditional Black Forest Cake....Chocolate with cherries and whipped cream on top. It was really good. Some bought some cuckoo clocks and other handmade German treasures.
We came back to the ship and had a nice lunch before we went to Colmar. Colmar is in France, just a few miles drive across the Rhine River. It is a beautiful and charming town in the Alsace region of France on the Alsace Wine Trail. It is an old town renowned for it’s well preserved homes and streets. There are canals in the town and can take a little boat down thru the town and see the houses that are steeply pitched and a variety of colors...makes for a unique scene. We did a bit of shopping in the neat shops and walked through a market with fresh vegetables that was picture perfect. Also stopped for Gelato! Finished off our time in Colmar by sitting at an outside cafe and some had a beer. We returned to our ship and spent some time in the lounge before we went for our last 5 course dinner in the dinning area. We then went up to the lounge and bar area. Everyone met there and we spent our last few hours together before we went back to our rooms and prepared for leaving the ship the next morning.
We all agreed that this was definitely a wonder filled holiday for each of us (14) and that even tho we all did not know each other 8 days ago....we now felt like friends forever!
What memories we are making and we are just so blessed to be able to spend this time with our dear friends and family. Whether just sitting and watching the beautiful scenery, having a snack, eating our meals or telling stories about each other or just talking....we are so blessed that this group all decided to join us on this adventure....we are grateful to them all for certainly making this a trip with such cherished memories. AND we have had amazing weather...everyday but one was sunny and warm and just perfect for walking about. Thank you Lord! ON Saturday evening the cruise director drew a name out of the passengers and OUR Mike even won the raffle at the end of the cruise..he won waffles cookies and chocolate egg with a kids toy in the middle!!!! Yeah for Mike and Rita.
What memories we are making and we are just so blessed to be able to spend this time with our dear friends and family. Whether just sitting and watching the beautiful scenery, having a snack, eating our meals or telling stories about each other or just talking....we are so blessed that this group all decided to join us on this adventure....we are grateful to them all for certainly making this a trip with such cherished memories. AND we have had amazing weather...everyday but one was sunny and warm and just perfect for walking about. Thank you Lord! ON Saturday evening the cruise director drew a name out of the passengers and OUR Mike even won the raffle at the end of the cruise..he won waffles cookies and chocolate egg with a kids toy in the middle!!!! Yeah for Mike and Rita.
13 May 2018. Today we are in Basel, France. We arrived from the port in Breisach, Germany. From the time we left Amsterdam on Monday, our ship went through 14 locks.
A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. Locks are built in places where the level of the water in the river or canal suddenly changes. The lock is like a big chamber with gates at each end. It was amazing seeing our Captain steering the ship between the walls of the lock. It seemed like there was only 6 inches between the walls of the lock and the side of the ship. At one time it took over an hour in line to go through the lock as there were several ships ahead of us. Amazing to see the water raise or get lower as the Captain maneuvered the ship through the many locks.
We were up early at 6 AM to get ready for our disembarkation form the ship. Tom had packed all yesterday. We met “our traveling group” in the dining area at 0700 and then went to the lounge with our luggage to await our time to leave. All left at different times as some went to take the train or airplane to travel to other destinations in Europe. OF course gave us time to give more hugs etc. to our friends before they left the ship! Tom and I, Charlotte and Bill, and Jim and Cher waited in the lounge after we set our luggage where the luggage was to be until our van came to pick us up from the ship and take us to the “Airport Hotel” near the airport in Basel. We will be here until 0430 in the morning tomorrow and then a cab will take us a few miles to the airport where we will board our flight to Heathrow Airport in London and then on to Miami and then Orlando.... We had a nice lunch here in the hotel and now I am having time to finish our blog for this part of our adventure!
Tom and I will be in Florida a few more weeks with Kelly and Bryan and family before we leave for another adventure with Kelly and girls for a few weeks. AND of course spend time with Bill and Charlotte plus go to our favorite restaurants again and again!!
I thank you all for the prayers for our safe travels. AND hopefully will figure out how to send pictures soon... I am keeping you all in prayer too.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
DEFINITELY TRUE for US..........see below quote!
“AS WITH ANY JOURNEY, WHO YOU TRAVEL WITH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DESTINATION”
“AS WITH ANY JOURNEY, WHO YOU TRAVEL WITH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DESTINATION”
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