On 9/6/2024 1:07 PM, -hh wrote:
> On 9/6/24 11:12 AM, Tom Elam wrote:
>> 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!
>
> Riquewihr is similar and was the either/or choice, as we also visited
> Srasbourg too.
>
> There's a lot of such small towns w/wineries in the Alsace region; I
> think we have a Karen Brown guidebook which has a couple of self-driving
> routes that's on the "to do" list .. my basic conclusion is that if one
> wants to get to such small villages, it is better done with a rental car
> than by mass transit as we had done.
>
>
> -hh
>
>

The case arrived Saturday. It was shipped by a local wine merchant. I'm
guessing the vineyard/store owner just put the case together and paid a
friend who does this more often to send it via FedEx. It was clearly
labeled as wine, but I did not get an itemized receipt.

That shop's Riesling is incredible. Smooth and with a pleasing mineral
finish. Great with seafood.