On 9/1/2024 10:27 AM, -hh wrote:
> On 8/31/24 5:13 PM, Tom Elam wrote:
>> On 8/30/2024 9:38 AM, -hh wrote:
>>> On 8/30/24 9:15 AM, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>> To sum it up, fun but not as much as we thought it might be.
>>>
>>>
>>> That happens.  On our own last trans-Atlantic outing, we both caught
>>> some sort of not-CoVid bug around ten days in, which was unpleasant.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Arriving Paris on time we elected to take a taxi to the hotel. Given
>>>> it was 4 of us the taxi was not that much more than the train/Metro
>>>> and a lot less hassle. The hotel transfer was on us as we arrived
>>>> several days before the Viking tour started.
>>>
>>>
>>> Price break on four makes it worth doing AFAIC, even before
>>> considering your later comment about your travel companion's lower
>>> physical shape.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Took our friends to see some museums, the tower level 3, other
>>>> spots, and had some incredible meals. However, the friends are not
>>>> in the best physical shape and that limited our options. We traveled
>>>> by Metro, Uber, taxi and RATP. They were fascinated by the Notre
>>>> Dame crypt, Montmarte and Musee D'Orsay.
>>>
>>>
>>> I've really enjoyed the Orsay; its also a nice place to plan taking a
>>> lunch break, in the cafe that's "inside" of the clock face.
>>>
>>>
>>>> The tower experience was slightly compromised by rain and poor
>>>> visibility, but at that point we had no other options for another
>>>> day. The just-concluded Olympic games had a few streets closed and
>>>> the Champ de Mars still occupied by venues and blocked off.
>>>>
>>>> Leaving Paris by Viking bus via the Luxembourg American cemetery we
>>>> arrived the Viking ship at Trier. Spent a week+ on board, visited
>>>> some Moselle/Rhine River towns in Germany and France. A WWII buff, I
>>>> was amazed the the Allies ever made it across the part of Moselle
>>>> valley we saw.
>>>
>>> I learned awhile back that my father did one of those Mosel
>>> crossings, somewhat proximate to the town of Zell, if I recall
>>> correctly.  I understand that the river looks somewhat different
>>> today, as the dam system for ship navigation has changed over the
>>> decades (less current; possibly slightly higher average water levels
>>> too).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Viking's U.S. marketing portrays the company's river cruises as
>>>> exceptional. In our experience with prior European river cruises
>>>> they are not. The ship needed some cosmetic refurb, on day 1 a
>>>> "technical issue" delay caused us to miss our first stop, and the
>>>> food and crew service was very good, but not great. We also had a
>>>> few tour guides that did not speak great English. My wife had to
>>>> assist one with translating the excellent French of a local vineyard
>>>> owner.
>>>
>>> I don't recall the details why we skipped using Viking in EU, but
>>> we've had good success with Uniworld and AMA Waterways.  One
>>> trade-off for comparing these two is that Uniworld had free DIY
>>> laundry onboard (helps lighten the bags) but AMA had better wines &
>>> wine stewards at dinner.
>>>
>>>
>>>> On the other hand we had a medical emergency that led to an
>>>> unplanned stop. It was handled well and did not cause any issues for
>>>> the schedule.
>>>>
>>>> Arriving Basel we did the ship's included city tour that was very
>>>> well done. That afternoon we departed for Zurich, toured that city
>>>> center for a day and a half by tram with a lake boat ride thrown in,
>>>> and had a great meal on the last evening. Jolly good fun.
>>>
>>>
>>> There's a traditional swiss restaurant that I'd like to get back to
>>> in Zurich, IIRC, not far from the Fraümunster: a good spot for Rösti.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Had a bit of a tram experience. The hotel was a few miles west of
>>>> the lake and city center. Departing the hotel on line 4 for our
>>>> dinner the tram stopped after about 10 minutes and it was announced
>>>> that there had been an accident ahead involving a tram and car. Line
>>>> 4 was being delayed and diverted. Almost all the passengers left the
>>>> tram. Two young locals offered to show us how to get to our
>>>> destination. We followed their instructions and arrived via a
>>>> different route with minimal delay. Could have figured that out
>>>> ourselves but their assistance was very helpful.
>>>
>>>
>>> Things like that happen.  Fortunately, you weren't time-stressed such
>>> as heading to the airport for a departure flight.  Have had that
>>> happen with a train issue in Belgium.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Flights back through Philly were both on time. Got to experience the
>>>> 787 for the first time too.
>>>
>>> IIRC, the 787's Polaris is a bit more roomy than on their 757 version.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Next year? I'm voting for 2 weeks in southern/western France via
>>>> rental car. The wife has veto power but there is a still lot we have
>>>> not seen. And Hugh, I checked with National. My age is not an issue
>>>> for them.
>>>
>>>
>>> Been meaning to get around to a "drive around" in FR as well: several
>>> different directions though (Normandy, Mont-Saint-Miche, Bordeaux,
>>> Chateaus, etc).
>>>
>>> Plus one probably unknown to Americans sight is the city of Bourges,
>>> as there's a huge cathedral there that gets compared to Notre Dame
>>> (but without crowds), plus an evening walk through its old timbered
>>> houses section is nice: tastefully lit.  A single overnight is
>>> adequate; figure it as 3.5+hrs (175mi) drive due south of Paris.
>>>
>>> And on the rental car, the important thing here is that the risk of
>>> age restrictions is now on your checklist to verify in advance,
>>> instead of getting blindsided at the last minute by it.
>>>
>>>
>>> -hh
>>>
>>
>> We ate in that same D'Orsey restaurant. Much nicer than the small
>> snack bar on the ground floor.
>>
>> I think the onboard AMA experience is every bit as good as Viking. But
>> their excursions are better and the cabins a bit larger. My take is
>> that Viking has become so big that with multiple ships in a port as
>> seemed to happen frequently they have issues with smaller places some
>> of the AMA excursions we liked. Example - the small music museum at
>> Rudesheim. I also remember that the guides were better and we had more
>> free time in port.
>
> FWIW, some of this also depends on which river you're on, as the ships
> on the Rhine have grown in size which limits where they can dock.
>
>
>> I just today watched a YouTube on touring France that may change my
>> mind a bit about next year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8RdNGT1jz8
>
> [rearraging]
>
> > We have done 2 weeks in Normandy/Brittany and about the same in Paris
> > plus 2 trips that took us to the south coast. Time to branch out.
> > Massif Central, Loire Valley and Alsace are high on my list.
>
> Yes, there's a huge number of regions in France that US tourists are
> utterly unaware of.  There's some pretty wild scenery/canyons someplace
> that I can't recall at the moment.  I think I could easily do 5-6 trips,
> not too much unlike we've already done in Germany.
>
>
>> Taking the TGV to a city then renting the car if you need it could be
>> a lot of fun, even if a bit more expensive. Thoughts?
>
> We used the TGV to go from Paris (Gare de l’Est) to Colmar/Strasbourg
> (near the Rhine) in 2022:  it was straightforward, pretty easy, and
> quite fast city to city:  Strasbourg's just 1:45.  I've also used the
> Brussels to Paris "Thales" express too; IIRC, its just ~90 minutes or so
> as well.
>
> For Colmar, the train station's not super-central, so it was an easy 4-5
> block walk pulling our bags.  Once there, there was one day where it
> would have been good to have had a car, but it was also good to not have
> to worry about parking a car the rest of the time.  The 'car day' was a
> trip out of Colmar to an outlying village of Eguisheim, which is known
> for the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (a 13C chapel) and several
> Alsatian wine producers, as the shuttlebus the city offered was over
> capacity & ran too infrequently.  But it is just as well though, as many
> of the Eguisheim visitors were loading up their cars with cases of wines
> to drive home; carting away a lot isn't really an option when flying.
>
>
> -hh
>
>
>

You should have gone to this gem too: https://riquewihr.fr/fr/ or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riquewihr

Just 7 miles east of Colmar. Very small and great wines. I just ordered
a case of Riesling from a small winery we know there. Shipping was a lot
more than the wine!