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Europe 2025
  • Terry Gustafson
  • Terry Gustafson

Europe 2025

We combined the Zurich to Paris Viking River Cruise with the Rick Steves Scandinavia tour. We also included an extra couple of days in Paris so we can finally see Versailles. Mary celebrated her birthday along the way! Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 20, 2025
    Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    Our happy faces at the airport on 6/19.
    Our slightly less happy faces on 6/20 hoping to make it to Zurich.Meeting our friends Rick and Ginny for our 4th trip together.Outside our hotel.A statue of a music student outside our hotel.We saw street food vendor festival at a park near the hotel.After a lovely fondue dinner with Rick and Ginny.Mary's favorite spot in our hotel room.

    Trip to Zurich / Viking River Cruise

    June 21 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 75 °F

    We set out to the airport on Thursday, 6/19, but after multiple delays we ended up Ubering home and rescheduling our flight for 6/20. In the process we lost the money for the hotel on 6/19, along with the money for a food tour we had booked. We also lost our premium seats on United when our flight had to be rebooked with Swiss Air.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The Niederwald Monument
    Eherenfels CastleMouse TowerEhrenfels CastleRheinstein CastleReichenstein CastleReichenstein CastleSooneck CastleSooneck CastleHeimburg CastleHeimburg CastleNollig CastleStahleck CastlePfalzgrafenstein & Gutenfels CastlesPfalzgrafenstein & Gutenfels CastlesGutenfels CastleSchonburg CastleThe Nazis disguised the entrance to rail tunnels to look like castles to avoid bombing.Die LoreleiDie Lorelei

    VRC Day 7 - Middle Rhine Castles (1)

    June 27 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 66 °F

    We did a day sail from Mainz to Koblenz in order to see the castles along the middle Rhine. It was a rainy, blustery day. This is the only portion of the trip that overlapped with our 2022 VRC from Budapest to Amsterdam. It was blustering back then as well when I compare the photos!Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    1There are two cathedrals side by side, one for the community and one for the bishop.There was a festival in town.Porta Nigra - the Black Gate - one of the best preserved Roman artifacts in the city.Porta Nigra from the other side.Statue of Karl Marx, who lived in Trier.

    VRC Day 9 - Walking Tour of Trier

    June 29 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Trier was the final stop of the actual river cruise portion of the Viking Cruise. It is the oldest city in Germany, dating from 16 BCE when the Romans founded it. It was another hot day (90+ degrees).

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    Patton died in a car accident after the Battle of the Bulge and was buried here at his request.1I like to find a grave of someone from Ohio, along with a grave of a Jewish soldier.

    VRC Day 10 - Luxembourg Am. Cemetery

    June 30 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    We left the boat at Trier and headed toward Paris. Our first stop on the way was the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. There are over 4000 graves, including the final resting place of George S. Patton. Most of the deaths were the result of the Battle of the Bulge that occurred in the nearby Ardennes forest. It reminded us of the American cemetery in Florence.

    This was also our first time in Luxembourg!    Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    We crammed the four of us into a small Uber. The bags barely fit!
    This is a cut away model of the Paris opera house.1Degas and ballerinas.We love Monet!The Starry Night by Van Gogh. Amazing!

    Paris - Orsay Museum (1)

    July 2 in France ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    We moved from the Viking hotel to the Hotel du Champ de Mars, near the Rue Cler. We walked from there to the Orsay Museum after we checked in. Orsay is one of our favorite museums in the world. We listened to the Rick Steves audio tour of the Orsay and walked through it.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The Thinker at the Rodin.
    The Kiss.AphroditeVictor HugoHell's Gate at RodinThe Shades from the top of Hell's GateThe Burghers of CalaisSome of Rodin's paintingsThe Kiss in marbleA smaller version of the ThinkerThe Cathedral - A personal favorite of mineThe Harvesters by Van GoghRodin in his studioMan Walking at the RodinWe took a short walk after dinner to see the Eiffel Tower.

    Paris - The Rodin Museum

    July 2 in France ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    We walked from the Orsay to the Rodin Museum, stopping for lunch along the way. We were struck by the number of duplicate statues that were made from the Rodin molds. And the molds were scalable. Some of the statues in the outer courtyard were cast recently (ca. 2010) from molds created in the early 1900's. There was overlap in some of the works between Orsay and Rodin.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    We had a lovely breakfast with Rick and Ginny before heading off to the tour.
    Mary had crepes with lemon and sugar in honor of Rowan. They were delicious.2The ceiling frescos were amazing, each after a Greek god.The King's bed chamber

    Paris - Versailles Palace (1)

    July 3 in France ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    We booked a tour of Versailles Palace with Viator. The tour provided train transportation from near our hotel out to Versailles, along with a guide (Wei) through the palace, along with tickets for the gardens. This was our first trip to Versailles. Wei was hard to hear sometimes because of the ambient noise from the crowd at the palace.

    It was a beautiful morning and day, with moderate temperatures (high of 78). It was delightfully cool in the morning for a change    Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The BallroomThey were playing classical music and synchronizing the fountains to the music. Amazing to watch.There were hundreds of statues throughout the gardens.The Dragon FountainLooking back at the Dragon Fountain

    Paris - Versailles Gardens

    July 3 in France ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    After the tour of the palace, we went to the gardens and spent the afternoon on our own. There was plenty of shade and the temperatures were reasonable. We took our time and grabbed a snack out in the gardens.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The view of all the islands around Stockholm were a beautiful sight from the plane.
    Our roomOur room opens on to this little terrace.Mary really likes this little sofa bed in our room.The view of the harbor was lovely in the early evening.

    Stockholm - Arrival

    July 4 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    We took an Uber from Hotel du Champ de Mars to CDG. I was so grateful that I do not have to drive in Paris!

    We flew Norwegian Airlines from CDG to Stockholm. It is a low budget airline. All the seats were identical and there was no snacks. Fortunately, we had purchased a great baguette with ham and cheese at the airport. The airline required that we check our bags and it took ca. 30 minutes to get them.

    We took an Uber to our hotel. It is the starting hotel for the Rick Steves tour (Home Hotel Wellington) and we were able to get the same room that we were to have for the tour. The hotel provides breakfast and dinner, along with an afternoon snack. The staff were so friendly and helpful! We have an amazing room! It opens on to the terrace, with our own sitting area.

    We took a long walk down to the water after dinner. It was nice and cool (ca. 70), particularly compared to Paris!    Read more

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