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Europe and Rhine River Cruise
  • Bob And Brenda Kerr
  • Natalie Pechia
  • Petrea Bailey
  • Bob And Brenda Kerr
  • Natalie Pechia
  • Petrea Bailey

Europe and Rhine River Cruise

A 15-day adventure by Bob And Brenda, Natalie & Petrea Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 26, 2025
    Europe and Rhine River Cruise

    DIA

    Aug 26–27 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Mom and Petrea picked me up from the airport as I flew in from Seattle, and they drove from Trinidad.
    We headed right to the hotel and unloaded our luggage.
    We broke open a bottle of wine and proceeded to edit mom's luggage and repacked her. She was relieved to finally be packed.
    We then headed to dinner.
    After dinner, we went back to the hotel.
    We are following the Timeshifter app to help with jetlag. The app says we needed to be in bed 8 PM so it was an early night for us.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise

    DIA to Amsterdam

    August 27 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 16 °C

    Timeshifter app said we should be awake at 5 AM. Consequently, we had a very relaxed morning at the hotel.
    We headed to the airport on the 7 AM shuttle.
    I had arranged an appointment for security, so we breezed through and had plenty of time before our first leg, which takes us to San Francisco.

    We were late getting into San Francisco, and it was a long walk to the next gate. They were boarding last groups as we made it to the gate. Our seats were comfy as we settled in for a very long flight.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    Amsterdam Centraal Train Station
    Lobby Hotel EsthereaRefuge from RainBikes, Bikes, Bikes EverywhereRoyal Palace Amsterdam

    Arrived in Amsterdam Hotel Estherea

    August 28 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We arrived in Amsterdam after a very long 10 1/2 hour flight from San Francisco. Mom and Petrea were able to get a bit more sleep than I.

    I contacted our driver. We met him in the huge welcome hall. He loaded our luggage on a cart, and after a short walk, we were whisked away to our hotel.

    We were so thankful that our room was ready early. After freshening up, we headed out to explore.

    We found a cute sidewalk café to have a late lunch/early dinner during intermittent rain showers.

    We ducked into a church to get out of the rain.

    We headed back to the hotel to grab our raincoats and a cane for mom.

    Since the Timeshifter app indicated that we needed to stay up until 9 PM, we went to investigate the distance to the Central Train station.

    We determined that the train station was too far from the hotel for mom and Petrea to haul the luggage on the 30th while I head to the airport to pick up Natalie.

    Back at the hotel, we put our feet up, organized a driver for the next couple of days, and tried our best not to fall asleep.

    We tapped out at about 8 PM.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    Dinner Cruise Boat
    Anne Frank HouseDinner Cruise

    Touring Amsterdam

    August 29 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Timeshifter had us up at 6:00 AM so we had plenty of time to get ready.

    Had morning coffee in the fabulous hotel parlor. We love the very historic, ornate, fru-fru hotel.

    Our touring began with a taxi ride to the Rijksmuseum. Lora, with Context tours, was our guide. She was amazing! She explained a lot of general Dutch history along with the history of the Dutch masters.

    After the tour, we decided to test our ability to use the public transportation system by taking a tram back to our hotel. We successfully got on and off at our designated stops. The only question remaining is if we actually tapped off with our credit card-if not, we may have a big credit card bill.

    We found a café on the canal by our hotel. Petrea made the best lunch selection.

    We next went back to the hotel and put our feet up for a bit.

    We walked to the Anne Frank House. We were there early, so we had another opportunity for people watching before our tour.

    Although it was sobering, we enjoyed the tour. The Anne Frank house has very steep stairways (some were nearly ladders). Mom did amazingly well! I am so impressed by her agility!

    After walking back to the hotel, we relaxed for a while, freshened up, and headed back out for dinner.

    Tonight, we are doing a dinner cruise through the canals. We are on the same boat that I was on with Bob and the DeGroodts in 2023. Once again, the scenery as we made our way through the canals was wonderful, and the meal was fabulous. During the initial part of the cruise, it started pouring rain. We really enjoyed being on the water during the rain. It soon cleared, and we enjoyed the beautiful architecture of Amsterdam.

    We walked back to the hotel.

    Mom and I did not sleep well at all. But we are not going to let that slow us down.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    Amsterdam Central Station
    1All Together At LastTransfer in FrankfurtHotel in Basel

    Planes, Trains, Autos and More Trains

    August 30 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I will be very happy when this day is over because this is our most challenging travel day.

    I left mom and Petrea at the hotel. They are to have a late checkout, collect all of our luggage, and catch a taxi to the Central Train station.

    Meanwhile, I walked to the Amsterdam Central train station. I stopped at the information desk to ask a kind gentleman which train platforms I needed to be at both to get to the airport to pick up Natalie and to depart for our trip to Basel. Per his instructions, I went to the kiosk and purchased my round-trip ticket to Schipol airport.

    I had a great time trying to figure out how to get to the correct platform and train. It was relatively easy.

    I was at the airport in plenty of time to pick up Natalie, so I obtained a train ticket for her.

    Natalie and I had a bit of difficulty finding each other, so I am thankful for cell phones. It didn't take very long to located each other. It was so good to see her in person after months of planning via email and texts.

    Natalie and I found our platform. I was hoping to catch the direct train, but we ended up having one stop on the way back to Amsterdam Central train station.

    Upon arriving at the train station, I asked a kind information specialist where we could meet taxis from hotels. We followed his instructions.

    I gave Petrea a call, and she said that they were just exiting the taxi. We quickly found her and mom.

    I ran to double-check the platform for our train.

    Petrea and I went shopping for snacks for the train ride while Natalie and mom watched the luggage.

    We caught up a bit and then attempted to make our way to the platform. The entrance turnstiles would not read the tickets on my phone, so I grabbed our printed tickets from my travel notebook. It was not easy to get all 4 of us and our luggage through the turnstile. We may have set off an alarm, but we made it through.

    Of course, our platform was not listed by an escalator. So Petrea and I left mom and Natalie at the bottom of the escalator to the next closest platform. We went up, looked around, did not see our platform, and came right back down. I headed to the information desk and was told that we could take the elevator up to platform 5b. We exited the elevator, and we were dumped off exactly where Petrea and I were at moments ago.

    We chatted for a bit. I saw our train go by on a center track. After passing us, it moved over to our track but much farther up. I thought it would back up, but I was mistaken. The 4 of us quickly grabbed our luggage and began to race up to the train. By the time I got to our train car, threw my luggage aboard, and turned around to find out where my group was, they were right there. Petrea and Natalie hopped aboard with their luggage. My awesome mom was right there! Again, she continues to amaze me.

    The train ride has been very pleasant and we are all commenting how much nicer train travel is compared to airplanes.

    The next challenge is transferring trains in Frankfurt. I am crossing my fingers it goes well.

    The train transfer at Frankfurt was easy.

    During the train ride to Basel, we got a quick view of the Cologne cathedral which just whet our appetite for our future tour.

    When we arrived in Basel, we walked across the street to our hotel.

    The most challenging travel day is in the books.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    CogwheelCable CarTour GroupPampering Feet

    Basel & Lake Lucerne

    August 31 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We made it to Basel 45 minutes later than originally scheduled yesterday.

    We were thankful that our hotel was a quick walk out of the train station and across the street.

    We met for breakfast in the charming hotel restaurant before making our way back to the train station for our day tour.

    Our agenda today was trains, boat, cogwheel train, cable car, gondola, bus and MORE trains.

    We met our tour group consisting of five other people who are all from Texas and jumped on a train to Lucerne.

    We had one train transfer on our way to Lucerne.

    Upon reaching Lucerne, we boarded a boat for a lovely sail around the very scenic Lake Lucerne. Lake Lucerne is overlooked by the majestic Alps, beautiful farmland, and looks to be an outdoor enthusiast's playground. We saw sailors, wind surfers, bikers, rock climbers, hikers, rowers and kayakers. I absolutely fell in love with Lake Lucerne and would be happy to spend time doing all of the above until my body finally gives out.

    We then scaled the heights of Mt. Pilatus via the steepest cogwheel in the world: 48% incline. As we gained elevation, the views continued to get more and more impressive.

    We had lunch at the summit. We spent too much time at lunch, so our time for taking photos was brief.

    We descended the mountain via a 50-person cable car. We exited the cable car mid mountain to take in more views and transfer to a 4-person gondola. Natalie had a couple of deep breathing and eyes closed moments, but she managed not to spray the interior of the gondola with her lunch of bolognese and beer-for which we were all grateful. (Love that Natalie is conquering her fears or at least managing to hang onto her lunch-way to go Natalie!).

    We had a lovely walk to a public bus which we took back to the Lucerne train station where we made our way back to Basel via trains.

    Mom continues to surprise all of us. The cogwheel train was on a steep slope. We had to quickly race up about 30 steep stairs. I told mom that I would go ahead and save her a spot. We got to the car, I turned around and there she was, right on our heels!!! In addition, our guide was a speed demon over the entire 7600 steps that we did today-once again, mom kept up amazingly well! She is proving why we call her Great Diana.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    Lunch with a "View"Walking Tour of Basel

    Embarkation Day

    September 1 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We got to sleep in today; until 8 am! We met for breakfast again in the beautiful dining area of the hotel. We then packed up, checked out of the hotel, and took a cab to the Viking Freya. We checked in and proceeded to the dining area.

    Although we weren't yet hungry, we had a light fare and beverages. Moments into our meal, our eyes were accosted by the surprising sight of an old man in a bright blue Speedo (and nothing else!) walking briskly along the river walk. He stopped at a conveniently placed outdoor shower and vigorously rinsed and scrubbed, front and back, hands-in-Speedo! Then he sat on a bench, removed the Speedo and wrung it out, put it back on, stood, and went on his happy way. We were stunned and amazed! Janos, our waiter was semi-successful at stifling his amusement at my narration and our reaction to the "experience".

    Soon we will head out for the tour of Basel.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    Picture Captures Love and Fun We ShareRoman TowerNatalie and Brenda at Top of Roman TowerView from Roman TowerWatching Locks

    Breisach, Germany

    September 2 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Brenda surprised us by booking a private tour of Colmar and the Wine Road instead of the included walking tour of Breisach.

    We met Jean-Yves, our tour guide, at his van and headed out. We traveled through several quaint villages on our way to Colmar.

    Colmar was the site of a notable WWII battle. We saw the remains of bunkers and city walls, which are evidence of centuries of defense of the Alsace region. Colmar is also known as Little Venice.

    We enjoyed the architecture, flowers, and storks for which this region is renowned.

    We had lunch at a beautiful café where Natalie ("leetralee") had her first taste of escargot and foie gras. She found it to be good but not something that she would ever crave.

    Natalie and Brenda climbed a Roman tower while Petrea and Mom strolled the village streets of what has been voted one of the prettiest villages in France.

    We all had our first taste of Mirabelle from a paper cup out of the back of Jean-Yves' van.

    After a full day of touring, we returned to our ship for a lovely dinner.

    We gathered in our stateroom to program the Airfly devices. We had numerous laughs as all 4 of us jumped on the bed to look out the window as we went through the locks. We are loving our evenings together after dinner.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    Favorite Table on German Night

    Strasbourg, France

    September 3 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We decided to split up this morning thinking that mom may need the Leisure Group because Strasbourg does not let busses into the city center. As a result, there would have been a 15-minute walk, each way, just to the bus, let alone the walking tour of Strasburg itself.

    The highlight of the walking tour was the cathedral.

    After the walking tour, we had free time in which we all met up and did a bit of shopping before returning to the ship. Thankfully, we found a gift shop featuring local items. NOT made in China!

    Upon returning to the ship, we had a delightful German dinner complete with pretzels, of which mom took one for later, and our favorite server, Herlina, dressed in a traditional German costume.

    After dinner, we went to the sundeck as we were making our way through a lock for the first time during the day. It was fascinating to watch the process.

    Another great day!    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    Pipe Organ in CathedralShell Designating Pilgrimage to Santiago de CompostelaHappy Birthday being Quietly SungCoffee

    Natalie's Birthday Speyer

    September 4 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Mom and Brenda were put on the Leisure Group today. Mom said that she didn't want to be on the Leisure Group again. She elaborated that she did more steps trying to get around people than she would have in the regular group. So I ran to guest services and asked if we could be put in our original group. We were told that we just needed to gather with the original group.

    We walked to the town of Spier. Spier is home to the largest Romanesgue Cathedral in the world. We viewed the church from the outside, where our guide pointed out the unique architectural features.

    Speyer is known for the 1529 Protestation by Martin Luther, along with being on the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago De Compostela.

    We shopped a little in town during our free time.

    We were bussed to the town of Worms where we boarded the ship.

    The afternoon consisted of a coffee cooking demonstration and tea.

    It is Natalie's birthday, so we celebrated by having dinner on the ship as we were all pretty exhausted; having walked 10,837 steps which equates to 4.66 miles!

    Natalie was quietly serenaded at lunch and dinner by the wonderful staff.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise
    1Marksburg CastleView from Marksburg CastleNatalie at Marksburg CastleTrain Tunnel in Disguise

    Rudesheim, Scenic Sailing, & Koblenz

    September 5 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We sailed through the portion of the Rhine with the most number of castles. It was "fresh," (Very Chilly) so we were glad that we grabbed our blankets from the stateroom.

    We saw railroad tunnels, which were disguised by the Germans to look like castles, so the Allies would not bomb the tunnels.

    Our cruise director told River legends about the 7 Virgins and the Lorelei Rock.

    After lunch, we toured the Marksberg castle. The Marksberg castle is the only castle that was never conquered.

    Mom decided to stay at the ship.

    Upon returning to the area by the ship, we toured a charming church on the river bank.

    We had another lovely dinner aboard the Viking Freya.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise

    Cologne

    September 6 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    The agenda for today is a morning walking tour of Cologne. The guide this morning was the best of the entire trip. He was very witty, showed us where to buy Eau De Cologne, and the best place for the local beer called Kolch.

    After the walking tour of the city, we left mom in the cathedral. Evidently, we hadn't had enough torture walking miles upon miles. So we decided to climb the 533 steps to the top of the cathedral's spire. We even paid 9 euros each for the pure torture.

    We returned from the climb in one piece, albeit very sweaty. I am happy to report that zero panic attacks occurred during this adventure!

    We collected mom from her people watching activity and did some shopping before finding a place for lunch. We found a pub, had a great German lunch, and sampled the local Kolsch.

    We returned to the ship. I napped. Petrea and mom started packing. Natalie went to the sundeck and called Ron.

    Mom stayed on the ship while the three of us went walking (again, we are gluttons for punishment as all the walking we had been doing, the 533 steps up and 533 steps down the cathedral spire did not provide enough torture). During our walk we saw a wedding reception and a group of young people dancing in the street.

    We had the dining room almost to ourselves as many guests decided to have dinner in town.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise

    Kinderdijk

    September 7 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We had a lovely, leisurely morning and were finally able to sleep in.

    Natalie and I spent the morning packing. Mom and Petrea went to the port talk and then headed up to the sundeck to enjoy sailing into Kinderdijk. Natalie and I met them on the sundeck later.

    When we docked in Kinderdijk, we had a walking tour to the windmills. Our guide was excellent in describing how the windmills functioned.

    We did a little shopping in a gift shop before rushing back to the ship and cleaning up for dinner. This meal was fantastic!!! The chef outdid himself.    Read more

  • Europe and Rhine River Cruise

    Departure Day

    September 8 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    This is the sad day in which we have to leave our lovely ship and travel home.

    Upon reflection of this trip, it was indeed a trip of a lifetime! I couldn't ask for better traveling partners-you women rock!!! I teared up this morning knowing that this trip was over.

    Love you ladies!    Read more

    Trip end
    September 9, 2025
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