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Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy Subject: Re: The trip to France, Germany and Switzerland Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2024 13:07:39 -0400 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 210 Message-ID: <vbfcsr$t567$1@dont-email.me> References: <vasgkp$g000$2@dont-email.me> <vasi1i$gq5j$1@dont-email.me> <vb012h$156br$1@dont-email.me> <vb1tk2$1fpao$2@dont-email.me> <vbf655$rtg4$3@dont-email.me> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Fri, 06 Sep 2024 19:07:40 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="bff121e79533af919a090f86c440495f"; logging-data="955591"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19tFy2yNbrBdHK1ENKSQhq5HtDBkQFA2KM=" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:SWcKc/11hGr037igxZEmg6x4/Ow= In-Reply-To: <vbf655$rtg4$3@dont-email.me> Content-Language: en-US Bytes: 10628 On 9/6/24 11:12 AM, Tom Elam wrote: > On 9/1/2024 10:27 AM, -hh wrote: >> On 8/31/24 5:13 PM, Tom Elam wrote: >>> On 8/30/2024 9:38 AM, -hh wrote: >>>> On 8/30/24 9:15 AM, Tom Elam wrote: >>>>> To sum it up, fun but not as much as we thought it might be. >>>> >>>> >>>> That happens. On our own last trans-Atlantic outing, we both caught >>>> some sort of not-CoVid bug around ten days in, which was unpleasant. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> Arriving Paris on time we elected to take a taxi to the hotel. >>>>> Given it was 4 of us the taxi was not that much more than the >>>>> train/Metro and a lot less hassle. The hotel transfer was on us as >>>>> we arrived several days before the Viking tour started. >>>> >>>> >>>> Price break on four makes it worth doing AFAIC, even before >>>> considering your later comment about your travel companion's lower >>>> physical shape. >>>> >>>> >>>>> Took our friends to see some museums, the tower level 3, other >>>>> spots, and had some incredible meals. However, the friends are not >>>>> in the best physical shape and that limited our options. We >>>>> traveled by Metro, Uber, taxi and RATP. They were fascinated by the >>>>> Notre Dame crypt, Montmarte and Musee D'Orsay. >>>> >>>> >>>> I've really enjoyed the Orsay; its also a nice place to plan taking >>>> a lunch break, in the cafe that's "inside" of the clock face. >>>> >>>> >>>>> The tower experience was slightly compromised by rain and poor >>>>> visibility, but at that point we had no other options for another >>>>> day. The just-concluded Olympic games had a few streets closed and >>>>> the Champ de Mars still occupied by venues and blocked off. >>>>> >>>>> Leaving Paris by Viking bus via the Luxembourg American cemetery we >>>>> arrived the Viking ship at Trier. Spent a week+ on board, visited >>>>> some Moselle/Rhine River towns in Germany and France. A WWII buff, >>>>> I was amazed the the Allies ever made it across the part of Moselle >>>>> valley we saw. >>>> >>>> I learned awhile back that my father did one of those Mosel >>>> crossings, somewhat proximate to the town of Zell, if I recall >>>> correctly. I understand that the river looks somewhat different >>>> today, as the dam system for ship navigation has changed over the >>>> decades (less current; possibly slightly higher average water levels >>>> too). >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> Viking's U.S. marketing portrays the company's river cruises as >>>>> exceptional. In our experience with prior European river cruises >>>>> they are not. The ship needed some cosmetic refurb, on day 1 a >>>>> "technical issue" delay caused us to miss our first stop, and the >>>>> food and crew service was very good, but not great. We also had a >>>>> few tour guides that did not speak great English. My wife had to >>>>> assist one with translating the excellent French of a local >>>>> vineyard owner. >>>> >>>> I don't recall the details why we skipped using Viking in EU, but >>>> we've had good success with Uniworld and AMA Waterways. One trade- >>>> off for comparing these two is that Uniworld had free DIY laundry >>>> onboard (helps lighten the bags) but AMA had better wines & wine >>>> stewards at dinner. >>>> >>>> >>>>> On the other hand we had a medical emergency that led to an >>>>> unplanned stop. It was handled well and did not cause any issues >>>>> for the schedule. >>>>> >>>>> Arriving Basel we did the ship's included city tour that was very >>>>> well done. That afternoon we departed for Zurich, toured that city >>>>> center for a day and a half by tram with a lake boat ride thrown >>>>> in, and had a great meal on the last evening. Jolly good fun. >>>> >>>> >>>> There's a traditional swiss restaurant that I'd like to get back to >>>> in Zurich, IIRC, not far from the Fraümunster: a good spot for Rösti. >>>> >>>> >>>>> Had a bit of a tram experience. The hotel was a few miles west of >>>>> the lake and city center. Departing the hotel on line 4 for our >>>>> dinner the tram stopped after about 10 minutes and it was announced >>>>> that there had been an accident ahead involving a tram and car. >>>>> Line 4 was being delayed and diverted. Almost all the passengers >>>>> left the tram. Two young locals offered to show us how to get to >>>>> our destination. We followed their instructions and arrived via a >>>>> different route with minimal delay. Could have figured that out >>>>> ourselves but their assistance was very helpful. >>>> >>>> >>>> Things like that happen. Fortunately, you weren't time-stressed >>>> such as heading to the airport for a departure flight. Have had >>>> that happen with a train issue in Belgium. >>>> >>>> >>>>> Flights back through Philly were both on time. Got to experience >>>>> the 787 for the first time too. >>>> >>>> IIRC, the 787's Polaris is a bit more roomy than on their 757 version. >>>> >>>> >>>>> Next year? I'm voting for 2 weeks in southern/western France via >>>>> rental car. The wife has veto power but there is a still lot we >>>>> have not seen. And Hugh, I checked with National. My age is not an >>>>> issue for them. >>>> >>>> >>>> Been meaning to get around to a "drive around" in FR as well: >>>> several different directions though (Normandy, Mont-Saint-Miche, >>>> Bordeaux, Chateaus, etc). >>>> >>>> Plus one probably unknown to Americans sight is the city of Bourges, >>>> as there's a huge cathedral there that gets compared to Notre Dame >>>> (but without crowds), plus an evening walk through its old timbered >>>> houses section is nice: tastefully lit. A single overnight is >>>> adequate; figure it as 3.5+hrs (175mi) drive due south of Paris. >>>> >>>> And on the rental car, the important thing here is that the risk of >>>> age restrictions is now on your checklist to verify in advance, >>>> instead of getting blindsided at the last minute by it. >>>> >>>> >>>> -hh >>>> >>> >>> We ate in that same D'Orsey restaurant. Much nicer than the small >>> snack bar on the ground floor. >>> >>> I think the onboard AMA experience is every bit as good as Viking. >>> But their excursions are better and the cabins a bit larger. My take >>> is that Viking has become so big that with multiple ships in a port >>> as seemed to happen frequently they have issues with smaller places >>> some of the AMA excursions we liked. Example - the small music museum >>> at Rudesheim. I also remember that the guides were better and we had >>> more free time in port. >> >> FWIW, some of this also depends on which river you're on, as the ships >> on the Rhine have grown in size which limits where they can dock. >> >> >>> I just today watched a YouTube on touring France that may change my >>> mind a bit about next year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8RdNGT1jz8 >> >> [rearraging] >> >> > We have done 2 weeks in Normandy/Brittany and about the same in Paris >> > plus 2 trips that took us to the south coast. Time to branch out. >> > Massif Central, Loire Valley and Alsace are high on my list. >> >> Yes, there's a huge number of regions in France that US tourists are >> utterly unaware of. There's some pretty wild scenery/canyons >> someplace that I can't recall at the moment. I think I could easily >> do 5-6 trips, not too much unlike we've already done in Germany. >> >> >>> Taking the TGV to a city then renting the car if you need it could be >>> a lot of fun, even if a bit more expensive. Thoughts? >> >> We used the TGV to go from Paris (Gare de l’Est) to Colmar/Strasbourg >> (near the Rhine) in 2022: it was straightforward, pretty easy, and >> quite fast city to city: Strasbourg's just 1:45. I've also used the >> Brussels to Paris "Thales" express too; IIRC, its just ~90 minutes or >> so as well. >> >> For Colmar, the train station's not super-central, so it was an easy >> 4-5 block walk pulling our bags. Once there, there was one day where >> it would have been good to have had a car, but it was also good to not >> have to worry about parking a car the rest of the time. The 'car day' >> was a trip out of Colmar to an outlying village of Eguisheim, which is >> known for the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (a 13C chapel) and >> several Alsatian wine producers, as the shuttlebus the city offered ========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========