The while-we-wait-for-river-cruises photo quiz

[gnome12]

I have no idea where it is, but it is really cute!

[dogs4fun]

Looks like a Swiss village?

[jpalbny]

Just now, dogs4fun said:

Looks like a Swiss village?

 

There's a reason for that. 😉

 

[Renmar]

Gruyeres -Rhine river (could also be the Rhone but I wonder if it would be navigable at that point) - Switzerland.

 

Theo

[Renmar]

4 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

There's a reason for that. 😉

 

Very good Cheese, 

 

Theo

[dogs4fun]

Oh, yes - you are correct Theo.  I just utilized Google's photo search & it immediately offered photos of Gruyeres including almost the exact photo posted by @jpalbny.

Looks like a charming town.

Edited April 30, 2021 by dogs4fun

[jpalbny]

Theo has it. We stopped here in September 2015 when I was touring around in my new Audi. After driving the three passes to the east of here we stayed in Thun and visited Lauterbrunnen and other attractions close by.

 

Then we turned west and went up through Jaunpass to Gruyères. The village and its eponymous Château were just so picturesque. Of course we toured the cheese-making factory and got a bunch of samples. About an hour down the road we parked along the road overlooking Lac Léman and ate our cheese, seated on a bench with this as a backdrop. Out of this world.

 

 

From here we turned northward and drove all the way to Mainz. It was a long day but lots of beautiful scenery along the way. This part of the trip convinced us to go back to Geneva a year later over Christmas, to explore the lake at a more leisurely pace. A drive-by certainly doesn't do it justice.

 

To answer your question, I found an Avalon itinerary which visits Gruyères as part of a pre-Rhine cruise extended trek through Switzerland.

 

Over to you @Renmar

 

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

@dogs4fun, it is an iconic view. And I knew that a Google search would solve it immediately because I did one prior to posting. But it's jjst too pretty not to post...

Edited April 30, 2021 by jpalbny

[dogs4fun]

4 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

@dogs4fun, it is an iconic view. And I knew that a Google search would answer because I did it prior to posting. But it's jjst too pretty not to post...

It is lovely - never been there (maybe one of these days when we can once again travel to Europe).

I rarely use the Google search - it usually doesn't help with this crew (yourself included). 🙂 Hope that you didn't take my previous comment as criticism.

Edited April 30, 2021 by dogs4fun

[Renmar]

I will post right away so our European friends can have a crack at it before they retire for the night.

 

There are many similar plaques in this city. Try to find this one. 

Location -City - Waterway/River.

 

Theo

[notamermaid]

That is Gruyère of cheese fame? Amazing, if Switzerland wasn't so expensive...

 

Perhaps I will make it to Lac Leman and the area on a day trip from Konstanz some time.

 

notamermaid

 

[dogs4fun]

Amsterdam? Rhine cruise? If it is in Amsterdam, I've no idea where the building is located.

Okay, back to work for me.

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by dogs4fun

[dogs4fun]

Aha - found it! On the Herengracht (#394 to be precise) in Amsterdam. What does it signify? 

I will declare a wildcard if I am correct as I really must get back to the task at hand.

Edited April 30, 2021 by dogs4fun

[Renmar]

2 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

Aha - found it! On the Herengracht in Amsterdam. What does it signify? 

I will declare a wildcard if I am correct as I really must get back to the task at hand.

You are correct, I knew it was going to be quick. I think it does not signifies anything in particular. A lot of houses in the older cities in Holland have some kind of plaque on their building. Sometimes it depicts their profession or something in the family. You can find a lot of those here;

 https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/amsterdam-gable-stones

 

Your turn @dogs4fun (or as you indicated-Wild Card)

 

Theo

[gnome12]

31 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

After driving the three passes to the east of here we stayed in Thun and visited Lauterbrunnen and other attractions close by.

 

Then we turned west and went up through Jaunpass to Gruyères. The village and its eponymous Château were just so picturesque. Of course we toured the cheese-making factory and got a bunch of samples. About an hour down the road we parked along the road overlooking Lac Léman and ate our cheese, seated on a bench with this as a backdrop. Out of this world.

Back in 2006 I was cycling in this area; I rode across the Jaunpass, finishing the day in Charmey. Next day I skipped Gruyères, as I chose to visit the Château de Chillon on my way to Montreux.

[jpalbny]

We came back and got Chateau de Chillon during the 2016 Christmas trip to Geneva. So much to see, so little time! That must have been an amazing trip on a bicycle. Though my 4L V8 probably did better on the hills. 😉

 

[Renmar]

11 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

So much to see, so little time!

That is one of the reasons we are planning a 2 or 3 month travel around Europe whenever we are allowed to travel again. It is a fun thing to do while "locked up" at home. The only thing we can not do is make any concrete plans and/or bookings. 

We have been to Europe many times after we immigrated to Canada in 1976 but there are still so many places we have not been such as Vienna - Prague - Spain - Portugal. A long river cruise would take care of a few of our bucket list items. Also looking at either renting a car and do all the driving or maybe even get an European rail Pass. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

Theo

 

 

Be Kind-Be Calm-Be Safe.

 

[gnome12]

22 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

We came back and got Chateau de Chillon during the 2016 Christmas trip to Geneva. So much to see, so little time! That must have been an amazing trip on a bicycle. Though my 4L V8 probably did better on the hills. 😉

 

On this particular trip, I skipped a bunch of hills by taking the train or ferry for parts of rides, particularly when I had things that I wanted to see in town. For example, I took a ferry to Luzern because I had a museum that I wanted to get to. The next day I wanted more time to explore Luzern, so I took the train from there and got off so that I could go to the Ballenberg Open Air Heritage museum, and then on to Interlaken.

[gnome12]

2 minutes ago, Renmar said:

That is one of the reasons we are planning a 2 or 3 month travel around Europe whenever we are allowed to travel again. It is a fun thing to do while "locked up" at home. The only thing we can not do is make any concrete plans and/or bookings. 

We have been to Europe many times after we immigrated to Canada in 1976 but there are still so many places we have not been such as Vienna - Prague - Spain - Portugal. A long river cruise would take care of a few of our bucket list items. Also looking at either renting a car and do all the driving or maybe even get an European rail Pass. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

Theo

 

 

Be Kind-Be Calm-Be Safe.

 

It's a bit harder as a single. I don't want to rent a car, because I can't really drive and navigate at the same time while still being able to see the scenery. As to rail, for the cycling trip I couldn't justify a rail pass, but I purchased a 50% off card for 99 Swiss francs (at the time; I'm sure it is more now) that got me 50% off all rail, bus, and ferry, including all the high mountain trips that only get 50% off with a rail pass. (At least that was the rule in 2006 when I did this.)

 

But train travel in Switzerland is incredible; almost every line runs at least hourly, and they are always on time.

[notamermaid]

The Swiss train system is famous for being excellent. Much of the rest of Europe is quite good, too. You know, some better than others but it is really worth exploring what is possible with a train in Europe. From Switzerland you can get to so many great places. They have started introducing more night trains again, as well, i.e. countries reconnecting themselves to holiday regions, trying to get away from car and plane journeys. Would love to do more train travel.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Trains are our second favourite after river cruising. We’re looking at a round trip London - Venice - Prague - London on the Orient Express to calibrate our 50TH which was last year but hopefully next year. We did the Venice trip for our 25th. CA

[sharkster77]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

The Swiss train system is famous for being excellent. Much of the rest of Europe is quite good, too. You know, some better than others but it is really worth exploring what is possible with a train in Europe. From Switzerland you can get to so many great places. They have started introducing more night trains again, as well, i.e. countries reconnecting themselves to holiday regions, trying to get away from car and plane journeys. Would love to do more train travel.

 

notamermaid

 

My favorite crazy factoid about Swiss rail is that the clocks in every train station are simultaneously synchronized every 3 minutes!!!!!  And every Swiss rail clock has the same clock face.  While in Lucerne I purchased a watch with the clock face.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, sharkster77 said:

My favorite crazy factoid about Swiss rail is that the clocks in every train station are simultaneously synchronized every 3 minutes!!!!!  And every Swiss rail clock has the same clock face.  While in Lucerne I purchased a watch with the clock face.

Yours has stopped 🤣

[sharkster77]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Yours has stopped 🤣

Well played, Jazz!

 

Seriously, nothing could be easier than using Swiss rail for a post-Rhine cruise stay in Lucerne.  Basel to Lucerne, 1 hr, multiple trains run each day, followed by Lucerne to Zurich airport, again, 1 hr, multiple runs.  Both stations had employees roaming the platforms answering questions, making sure everyone is on the right train.  Our Basel--Lucerne train was cancelled, and the rep immediately sent us to another platform to catch another train that was also going to Lucerne.

 

If only we could make Amtrak that convenient AND easy...............

 

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by sharkster77

[notamermaid]

From what I have learned on this board, Amtrak has a long way to go (pun intended) till it reaches passenger service standards of Europe (the high standards, not the basic standards). But for that you also need more people who want to reduce their carbon footprint and not fly short distances. Seriously, within Germany I would never book a national flight unless it was a dire situation. I do not like flying and you can get to all major cities by fast train, okay, perhaps overnight stay needed, but I would do that. France has adopted the policy of even banning some flights if it is quicker by train. The TGV system is supposed to be great. But I do not know the policy details, you would have to look it up.

 

I think we are on a wild card.

 

If you have recently joined or have been reading in the background, why not post a photo? Remember, you can post a photo from a land trip if it shows a place on a navigable river or canal - big enough for river cruise ships that is. Or a place that is an excursion from a river cruise. Anywhere in the world, from the Mississippi to the Mekong.

 

notamermaid