Our Viking Rhine Getaway begins. Fortunately we passed the COVID tests and we are ready to go. We are waiting to board our United flight at O’Hare airport. Mom is ready with her sun protection!

After a long uncomfortable night of travel we arrived in Munich, Germany. We thought we would get some breakfast before our 11:45 flight to Basel Switzerland. \240This Pizza Boconero had wonderful breakfast. We had scrambled eggs with tomato and buffalo mozzarella.

The Viking “Rhine Getaway” starts in Basel Switzerland and ends in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Our ship is the Mani.

Our first afternoon at Dock in Basel Switzerland was spent with safety drills. WHEN THE HELL IS HAPPY HOUR???? \240😂

It didn’t take long to find a favorite waiter, Benz. This was our first dinner on the ship at dock in Basel. He is hooking us up with the Gruner Veltliner. \240Although Viking offers free house wine and beer with dinner, there is something called the Silver Spirits Beverage Package, which of course we jumped at. I am beginning to think we are the only ones who have it. 😂. We can have our choice of wine anytime.

Mom in Breisach, Germany. They have these European Horse-chestnut trees all over. I have never seen them in the USA. The flowers are almost like huge lilacs. They come in white and in a dark pink variety too.

The Fortress in Breisach. I am standing in the region where “my people” the Krafts are from!!!

This afternoon we took a 30-minute excursion into France to Colmar. \240Very quaint beautiful town they call “Little Venice” with the river/canal running through it. \240Viking gave us two options: a walking tour or a mini-train. Mom wanted the mini-train.

Mom in the streets of Colmar, France

While everyone else is intersted in photogaphing historic monuments, churches and architecture, I am smitten with the unique trees. Colmar had these Sycamore trees all over. I have never seen one before. (That’s me in front). 🙂

After returning from Colmar, there was time before dinner so I took another walk into Breisach. Mom is jetlaged but insisting that she is only tired. She took a shower to get a second wind. It is a beautiful day.

They have these darling little wheel barrels filled with flowers all over the little town of Breisach.

And potted palm trees all over. Yes…more tree photos!

VIVA LA FRANCE!!!! \240This morning we arrived in France and had a morning walking tour in Strausbourg.

The Notre Dame Cathedral - Strasbourg from afar.

😂😂😂

Our tour led us through the Petite France area of Strausbourg on the way to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Prior to the 1900s Petite France was a scummy area with prostitutes, etc. \240Now it is a high end area.

We came across an Egyptian Goose family. The guide said it is unusual to see them in Strausbourg. The babies were darling!!!

It was a Sunday morning and a lot of the shops were closed.

Mom was feeling sick. She was blaming it on the breakfast 😂🤢🍷 Happy Mother’s Day!!!! \240

Titter Lezotte at the Notre Dame Cathedral - Strausbourg.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Strausbourg. It is just as pretty as Paris!

This afternoon, I am heading out of Strausbourg to the Alsatian wine region on the wine tasting tour. I got the bus 10 minutes early and was the first one on the bus! 😂. Mom is not coming. She is in the room in a “prone position”.

We drove through the Alsatian countryside. First we drove through Rosheim, France. This little town on the Alsatian wine road is called Boersch, France.

We stopped at a little town called Obernai, France.

The Alsace region of France is known for its storks. The Alsatians build perches (for nests) on the top of their roofs so that the storks don’t build nests in their chimneys. Unlike other birds, storks keep the same nest their entire life.

A stork on a roof in Obernai, France

In Obernai, I notice this place called Saint Odile. It really caught my eye because my Great, Great Grandmother was French and was named Odile Goulet. Other than in genealogy, I have never seen this name before. (Odile is pronounced oh-DEAL)

A few minutes later when we were back on the tour bus, the tour guide starting telling the story of Saint Odile. Saint Odile was born in the 900s (10th century AD). She was born blind. Her father was the Duke of Alsace. He did not want a blind daughter. The mother sent her to live with some peasants. When she was 12 she was baptized and her sight miraculously was restored. When she returned home her father tried to marry her off but Odile said she loved God and didn’t want to marry. The psycho father then tried to kill her but she was able to escape him. Finally he agreed to build a monastery for her where she lived the rest of her life.

Saint Odile was a healer and washed a blind man’s eyes with water which restored his sight. Today people still go to this monetary to be healed with the water.

We got back on the bus and headed down the Alsatian wine road. After passing the little town of Goxwiller, we arrived in Gertwiller, France and the winery Zeyssolff.

We had the wine tasting down in the wine cave. We tried 4 whites: Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Muscat and Gewurztraminer. All were dry and all were very good. I repeatedly hear that the Europeans make these wines dry. It is the Americans that like them sweet. 🤮. The last wine we tasted was a Pinot Noir, the only red grape grown in Alsace region.

After the wine tasting, I returned to the ship for dinner with Mom. \240I have my wine tasting glass as a souvenir! 🍷

On the morning walking tour of Speyer, I loved this walkway lined with more European Horse-chestnut trees.

Approaching the cathedral built by the Romans.

The Cathedral in Speyer which is a Protestant cathedral built by the Romans.

More beautiful pristine colored buildings in Speyer.

Streets in Speyer lined with Wisteria.

The Unicorn on the top of the building means it is an apothecary/pharmacy.

The Main Street in Speyer

After the Speyer walking tour, the bus picked us up and drove us to a port town called Worms (of all things) where we met the ship.

This afternoon we are cruising. We are heading for Rudescheim, Germany. \240I spent some time on the sun deck.

Happy Hour on the ship before leaving for dinner offsite in Rudescheim, Germany \240

Baby Geese near our ship in the Rudescheim port.

We did an off-site dinner excursion at Drosselhof in Rudesheim, Germany

Dinner at the Drosselhof in Rudescheim, Germany. The best thing served at dinner was the wine! 🍷

Our live entertainment at the Drosselhof!! 😂

The streets in Rudescheim, Germany. This woman in the turquoise \240(I think her name was Becky) actually told me at dinner that she thought I was in my 30s and she was serious!!!! \240🥰👏💃

This morning we took off from Rudescheim on our way to Koblenz Germany. We will be cruising most of the morning. We are currently near Bacharach, Germany.

Continuing our journey up the Rhine River passing Oberwesel, Germany.

The famous Lorelei Rock. According to legend, the beautiful Lorelei maiden used to sit and sing sweetly. Sailors who passed the rock at nightfall were lured to their doom, transfixed by her beauty and song as the rapid water lashed their vessels against the rocks.

Marksburg Castle, a medieval castle with its distinctive free-standing tower.

Stolzenfels Castle, a 19th century Prussian King rebuilt this 13th century castle along the Rhine.

Arriving in Koblenz we see the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, also built by “my people” the Prussians. There was an optional excursion this afternoon to see this Fortress but of course I signed up for the Moselle River wine tasting outing. 🍷💕

We arrived in Koblenz while we were eating lunch outside. Koblenz, Germany is where the Rhine River meets the Moselle River.

This afternoon we took an excursion along the Moselle river to the Moselle River Valley for wine tasting. This is the Moselle Valley \240Bridge. The Autobahn runs over it! 🚗

Along the Moselle River the vineyards are planted on very steep hills. They grow mostly all Rieslings.

This shows the ladders that run up the hills. Vineyard workers carry the grapes down these ladders at harvest.

The Moselle River near the town of Winningen, Germany.

Prior to going to the winery in Winningen, Germany we drove up to a scenic overlook to see views of the valley and the town of Winningen.

We got out at this scenic overlook. This picture does not do it justice. We gasped when we saw it; the town of Winnigen, Germany was so beautiful from above!

We are overlooking Winningen, Germany. The bright yellowish-green on the top of the hill in the distance is where they are growing grape seed for grape seed oil.

We arrived at the Winery in Winningen, Germany called Weyh Weingut.

The vineyards around the winery. Again, the area was much prettier than these pictures show.

This is Pablo, the 13-year-old Golden who lives at the winery. He is VERY nice!!!!

We went into the wine tasting room for the tasting. These were the four wines that we tasted, all Reislings. The first one was the driest (trocken means dry) and it was my favorite. They were all really good, but the last one was a little too sweet for my taste. \240It was almost like a desert wine. Mom loved it. 🙂

The actual winemaker was the person that walked us through the tasting. The winery had been in his family for generations.

After dinner I took a walk around the port of Koblenz, Germany.

Continuing my walk around Koblenz, Germany. \240It was so beautiful at night.

It was getting dark so I decided to head back to the ship docked in Koblenz, Germany.

I continued my after-dinner walk by walking around the track on the top deck of the ship. We will be taking off soon on our way to Cologne.

View of the Fortress from the top deck of the ship.

View of Koblenz, Germany from the ship.

This morning we are still cruising. We are scheduled to arrive in Cologne, Germany at 8:00am.

This morning we took a walking tour of the old city in Cologne. Most of the time was spent at the Cologne cathedral, a gothic structure.

The Cologne cathedral is the biggest church in Germany and the 2nd tallest church in the world.

Construction of the cathedral started in 1248 and was not completed until 1880. The cathedral was built to house the shrine of the bones of the three Magi, the three kings who paid homage to the infant Jesus.

Although 96% of Cologne was destroyed in WWll, this Cathedral was damaged but was not destroyed. They say 60 to 70 bombshells hit the building and damaged it.

Mom in front of the fountain on the side of the Cologne Cathedral.

This tile floor (under glass) was discovered during WWII and dates back to the 2nd century A.D.

Our tour took us to the old town of Cologne with its colorful buildings.

The Germans spell and pronounce Cologne as Koln.

More Wisteria-lined streets in Cologne.

Unlike the Cologne Cathedral, which is a gothic structure, this church is a Roman structure.

Our first stop was Peters Brauhaus.

In Cologne, the beer is called Kolsch. It is served in tall skinny glasses. They do so because the locals like to keep their beer cold. The servers come by and regularly replace your glass with a fresh Kolsch unless you put your coaster on top of your glass. This beer is EXCELLENT!!!

The food clearly isn’t as good as the outstanding food on the ship but it is cool to experience what the locals eat.

Mom learned a German Word…. She is saying Prost!!!! \240(Cheers!)

Dinner and Kolsch at Peters Brauhaus. The woman next to me was a pill but she looked exactly like Glenn Close. I don’t know why these people go on these pub crawls when they don’t like beer. 🤔

Our next stop was Papa Joe’s. The woman in the doorway is Stephanie, our guide. \240The Kolsch at Papa Joe’s was excellent too!! 🍺

Papa Joe’s had interesting wall and ceiling art!

Papa Joe

This one was Mom’s favorite!

“Just Do It” is the Papa Joe bar owner who came to welcome us.

Amy and the Dancing Machine!

At Papa Joe’s.

Our third stop was Pfaffen Brauerei Ausschank.

Another tasty Kolsch!!! \240In the background is the tray they serve the glasses in, called a “crown.” \240

Fourth stop…. I have no idea what this place is called \240🤪

Based upon the glass, I am presuming that the Brauhaus was called 100 Jahre Haus Zims(?). 😵. This Kolsch was good too but it was the heaviest one we had. (My least favorite).

Back to the ship where I ran into Catherine, the artist from Washington DC/West Virginia, with her purple Aura. The bar tender, Maria, made us a Chocolate Cake shot, which I did not need, but I got the recipe! \240🙂😵. (Catherine reminds Mom of Carol Wickstrom.)

The ship cast off last night from Cologne about 10:00pm heading for the Netherlands. This morning we are cruising.

Cruising in the Netherlands. We don’t arrive in Kinderdijk until about 4:00pm.

Cows along the Netherlands shoreline.

At lunchtime we arrived at a little Dutch \240town called Gorinchem. \240Some people are getting off for an excursion to a cheese farm and then they will meet the boat in Kinderdijk. \240The boat doesn’t leave again until 1:45 so we are going to take a little walk.

Our little walk in Gorinchem, Netherlands.

Gorinchem is a cute little town with canals.

Titter Lezotte in Gorinchem, Netherlands

The view from our ship room balcony. Our first windmill sighting! \240And it was working! Gorinchem, Netherlands.

At about 4:00pm we arrived in Kinderdijk, Netherlands. Close to the Rhine are the Kinderdijk windmills, which are the water management system for the Netherlands. Because Holland is below sea level, these windmills helped drain the water away from the flat marshy lands. It is said that these windmills built the Netherlands.

This windmill was built in the 1700s.

People live in each one and are responsible for operation of the windmill. One of the windmills is operated by a 16th generation family member.

Kinderdijk means “children’s dike” and some say it refers to a legend surrounding St Elizabeth’s Flood of 1421, which took many lives. After the storm a local boy went to inspect the damage to a dike. He was astonished to see a wooden cradle rocking on the water and a cat jumping back and forth on it, trying to keep it from tipping over. Inside was a sleeping baby girl, safe and dry. Looks like Ruby!!!!

This Windmill is a museum which we entered to see how the windmill operators live.

Inside the living quarters in the windmill.

Inside the windmill.

A guy who was working at the Windmills was actually wearing these wooden shoes…..not as a costume! \240I asked him if they were comfortable and he responded that “you get used to them.” His feet were “killing him” the first week he wore them. 😂

Titter Lezotte in Kinderdijk, Netherlands

This morning we took a walking tour of Amsterdam. \240Dutch Pancakes. 🙂 Unfortunately we didn’t have any.

We found some tulips! \240😂

The Amsterdam canals.

The buildings were beautiful in Amsterdam.

They started this in Germany and now they are doing it in the Netherlands. Out on the sidewalk in front of the houses they have these elevated plaques. They contain the names of Jews who lived in the house and the date and place they were murdered.

We had lunch in the courtyard of our hotel Pestana Amsterdam. \240I don’t think anyone was aware but this woman was actually sitting there commando! \240She couldn’t find her underpants this morning! 😂

Mom outside our hotel

We had dinner at a small restaurant in Amsterdam called La Casa di Michael.

The lasagna was good but the Prosecco was excellent!!

I had to take a picture of our shower it is so cool. It is in the middle of the room. \240The writing on the shower walls is a copy of the original marriage certificate between Rembrandt Van Rijn and Sakai Van Uylenbirgh from 1634.

This afternoon was the Anne Frank House. Mom called this very helpful guy at the door “John Madigan”.

inside, no photos were allowed (other than this). What a wonderful, powerful, educational, impactful, emotional experience. We entered the actual living quarters the Frank family was in. It wasn’t behind glass. I cried the entire time. Although my ancestors were not Nazis (they moved from the Black Forest area to the United States), I am ashamed to be 1/8th German. 😔

We had a couple of hours before our canal cruise so we took a walk.

Amsterdam is so beautiful! 💕

Mom on the streets of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

We took a canal cruise on Flagship Amsterdam. I picked this one because it had wine and cheese! 🙂🍷🧀

Our boat was called the Titanic. 😂

The top of the cruise boat was open in some places. We grabbed a spot under the open. It was a gorgeous day!

Cruising along…..

with our Wine and Dutch cheese.

This is a houseboat on one of the canals that is an AirB&B. Snoop Dogg and JayZ have stayed here.

This is the section of the canal where you can see 7 bridges.

This is a sight I thought I would never see! \240Mom overdid it with all the walking. Her knee was so sore that she could barely walk this morning. The hotel got the wheelchair to get her to the airport shuttle.

After checking in at the Amsterdam Airport, I headed straight for the Assistance Desk.

This young girl from Amsterdam was very nice and was training to be a flight attendant. The Airport was huge so it was the right call!

At London Heathrow, waiting for our connection to Chicago. The “Assistance Desk” took us to this waiting room until the gate was announced for the Chicago flight.

Once the gate was announced they picked us up for transport to the gate. Beep beep beep beep. 😂

Mom was mad I kept taking so many pictures! 😂