Amsterdam to Basel: Ira on the Rhine.

> what floor are you on?

Avalon had a short sale for this trip which I managed to catch, so we are on Deck 3.

Pros: Almost silent, vibration-free sailing, no diesel fumes

Cons: Same deck as aft lounge: too easy to have cookies and coffee.

Ira

Hey SP and PS,

May you have the kind of weather we are having now.

Ira

Very Early Oct 17

We are now in France, on the Mosel approaching Thionville.

Yesterday we stopped in Bernkastel, which we had visited last Spring, so we lazed about on the boat and didn't partake of the guided walk or the wine tasting.

Bkfst, lunch, tea and dinner were all very good. I decided to skip the late night snack.

We left Bernkastel about 14:30 of a beautiful afternoon and made our way up the Mosel as the sunlight shifted from a bright white to a mellow gold.

Perfect day on the river.

See Pix.

And 1 more

I really like 2822. Love that red ivy or whatever the cover vegetation is.

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Looks like red (or turned red in autumn) vine to me. We get these round here, sometimes people plant them deliberately at a house wall.

Like it as well.

Thanks for sharing I_r_a, you have chosen a perfect week for travelling. :) Mist in the morning, sunshine in the afternoon on autumn colours.

notamermaid

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We caught a sale too but still will stay on the ground floor. We will most likely have cool and showers but that's ok with us. We like the coffee/cookie room too.

Hi All,

Busy, busy, busy.

Up at 06:45 for a morning excursion - today it's Strasbourg Fr.

In the afternoon another tour - route du vin today.

Nothing but bkfst, lunch, tea, happy hour, dinner, entertainment, late night snack before falling exhausted into bed.

I promise, I will catch up.

Ira

A person who is tired of croissants is tired of fife.

A person who is tired of croissants is tired of fife.

Glad you are back, Ira. This post made me smile. :)

Looking forward to your comments on the tours in Strasbourg Fr.

Enjoy your day

Looking forward to more of this very entertaining trip report.

Hi gnome,

I was told that the vegetation is pinot noir grape.

Ira

Hi gnome,

I was told that the vegetation is pinot noir grape.

Ira

Thank you. It looks lovely.

Hi All,

Got back home last night after a somewhat hectic end to our trip.

Once I am unpacked and have everything restowed, I'll continue my report.

ciao,

Ira

If there is anyone out there still interested,

I have been called away on family business for about 3 days.

I'll try to get something out while I'm away.

Ira

Ira, I would love to hear your review, but family comes first. If you are to busy, don't worry about it. Hope all is well.

> what floor are you on?

 

 

Avalon had a short sale for this trip which I managed to catch, so we are on Deck 3.

 

Pros: Almost silent, vibration-free sailing, no diesel fumes

 

Cons: Same deck as aft lounge: too easy to have cookies and coffee.

 

Ira

LOL about being too close to the cookies and coffee!! Our room on the Tauck MS Treasures was on the same floor as the bistro (which had the hot drinks machine and all the free goodies. It was too easy, as you say! Enjoying following your travel progress!

Dh and I are not geriatric, and we still canceled our first night's plans in Amsterdam. It's hard to want to go out and be adventurous in the cold and rain! A good nap in the room and a filling dinner around the corner was perfect in the end. Have a great trip. We did our Rhine cruise last month and had a great time.

So just how much does it rain in Amsterdam in the fall? We started our cruise there on October 7 and got thoroughly drenched while walking around the first day. Our umbrellas broke from the wind and had to buy new ones...it was not a nice way to start the Amsterdam to Budapest voyage! Still we forged on and managed to see at see a few of the sites that were on our list.

If there is anyone out there still interested,

 

I have been called away on family business for about 3 days.

 

I'll try to get something out while I'm away.

 

Ira

We’re definitely still interested. Planning the same general itinerary for October, 2019.

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Still interested! We are considering the same cruise in 2018. We've done two cruises with Avalon, but on the older ships, and would like to hear your opinion on the panoramic suites!

Reading your posts -- we sailed Avalon Tranquility II on the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel Sept 23-Sept 30, 2017, and enjoyed the entire trip. Did 3 days in Amsterdam per cruise and did 4 days post cruise in beautiful Switzerland. This was our 2nd Avalon cruise and we are ready to go again.

We are doing this itinerary in June with Uniworld. We are flying Chicago to Vienna for 3 nights , on to Amsterdam on the 15th. Riverboat on the 18th. We want to extend the Switzerland part. We get off the boat in Basel but thinking about thinking about staying in Zurich. How did you spend your 4 days in Switzerland?

Elyce

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Elyce --We took cab from ship to Basel train station to meet up with DD & SIL that had been touring Germany. We rented a car driving from Basel to Zurich. Stayed first night at Park Hyatt Zurich (great location for walking), did a fast tour of Central area of Zurich. Next morning EARLY drove from Zurich to Interlaken for train ride to Jungfraujoch (Sphinx Observatory). Down mt to Grindelwaid. 2nd night in Lucerne (Hotel Des Balances) - great location and nice hotel. We drove to Liechtenstein (saw castle and had passports stamped). Spent one night in Bern and another night in Lusanne. Last night at Radisson Blu Hotel Zurich Airport. Switzerland beautiful country -- hope to return one day.

Thank you for the information. It sounds like you had a nice time in Switzerland. We are thinking it would be best to get to Zurich. We do not want to take a car. Therefore we would take tours out of Zurich. Thinking Zurich would be a better city to tour from instead of Basel

Elyce

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Elyce --We took cab from ship to Basel train station to meet up with DD & SIL that had been touring Germany. We rented a car driving from Basel to Zurich. Stayed first night at Park Hyatt Zurich (great location for walking), did a fast tour of Central area of Zurich. Next morning EARLY drove from Zurich to Interlaken for train ride to Jungfraujoch (Sphinx Observatory). Down mt to Grindelwaid. 2nd night in Lucerne (Hotel Des Balances) - great location and nice hotel. We drove to Liechtenstein (saw castle and had passports stamped). Spent one night in Bern and another night in Lusanne. Last night at Radisson Blu Hotel Zurich Airport. Switzerland beautiful country -- hope to return one day.

I’m exhausted after reading this-that’s a lot of travel in so few days[emoji3]. We did two nights in Lucerne, pre-cruise, and also stayed in Hotel Des Balances. It was an easy train ride to Basel.

I prefer the smaller town to the bigger city of Zurich. (And it’s another easy train ride between Lucerne and the Zurich Airport)

Robin

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