Trip to Zurich / Viking River Cruise
21. juni 2025, Schweiz ⋅ 🌙 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 withLæs mere
VRC Day 2 - Lake Zurich Boat Trip
22. juni 2025, Schweiz ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
We did a boat ride on Lake Zurich in the morning.
VRC Day 2 - Walking Tour of Old Town
22. juni 2025, Schweiz ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
After the boat ride we took a walking tour of Zurich Old Town and ate lunch there before walking back to the hotel.
VRC Day 3 - Walking Tour of Basel
23. juni 2025, Schweiz ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
We traveled by bus to Basel and took a walking tour of the city before taking the bus to the boat - Viking Herja.
VRC Day 4 - Walking Tour of Strasbourg
24. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
The boat was delayed getting to Strasbourg because of longer than expected holds on getting through the locks during the night, so it gave us time to relax before enjoying the walking tour inLæs mere
VRC Day 5 - Walking Tour of Speyer
25. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
VRC Day 6 - Walking Tour of Mainz
26. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
The walking tour of Mainz included the Gutenburg Museum, with a demonstration of his printing press, and the Mainz cathedral and cloister.
VRC Day 6 - Chagall Windows
26. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
After the walking tour we went to St. Stephen's Church on our own to see the Chagall windows. These were installed in 1978 when Chagall was 91.
VRC Day 6 - Palace Vollrads Wine Tour
26. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
We visited a vineyard outside of Mainz, along the Rhine. This region is known for its Riesling wines and is considered the wine capital of Germany. We tried three different Rieslings.
VRC Day 7 - Middle Rhine Castles (1)
27. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ 🌧 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 fromLæs mere
VRC Day 7 - Middle Rhine Castles (2)
27. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
These are the castles between Die Lorelei and Koblenz.
VRC Day 8 - Cochem
28. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
We sailed on the Mosel and stopped in the very small and very touristy village of Cochem. It has a beautiful castle that we toured
VRC Day 9 - Bernkastel
29. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
We docked for the morning in Bernkastel. We walked around the village. It is a classic old German village and was lovely to see.
VRC Day 9 - Walking Tour of Trier
29. juni 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 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).
VRC Day 10 - Luxembourg Am. Cemetery
30. juni 2025, 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 GeorgeLæs mere
VRC Day 10 - The Cathedral of Reims
30. juni 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ⛅ 90 °F
Our second stop on the trip to Paris was Reims, where we grabbed lunch and visited the cathedral. The Notre Dame cathedral of Reims is actually larger than the one in Paris, but in the same style. ItLæs mere
VRC Day 11 - Bus Tour of Paris
1. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
The last official event of our Viking cruise was a bus tour of Paris, including a stop at Notre Dame. Bus tours are not the greatest, but the time at Notre Dame was nice. It was a very hot day inLæs mere
Visit to the Petite Palais
1. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F
We enjoyed a bit of a walk that includes the start of a pilgrimage that ties into the Camino de Santiago. We had a lovely lunch before visiting the Petite Palais.
Paris - Orsay Museum (1)
2. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 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. WeLæs mere
Paris - Orsay Museum (2)
2. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F
There were so many amazing paintings. The photos can never do them justice.
Paris - The Rodin Museum
2. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 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. SomeLæs mere
Paris - Versailles Palace (1)
3. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 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 theLæs mere
Paris - Versailles Palace (2)
3. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
The Hall of Mirrors and the rest of the palace visit was an exercise in keeping calm in the midst of the crowd! The Hall of Mirrors has 17 large windows facing 17 large mirrors.
Paris - Versailles Gardens
3. juli 2025, Frankrig ⋅ ☀️ 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 theLæs mere
Stockholm - Arrival
4. juli 2025, Sverige ⋅ ⛅ 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 seatsLæs mere
RejsendeOur trip started out the same way and only got better and better…. I’m sure you will have a wonderful trip!
RejsendeSo many others were surprised that this was our first experience of this sort. I guess we have been fortunate until now! We're not letting that ruin our trip!