Rhine River Cruise Day 1

We are in Basel Switzerland!  

We left yesterday evening and flew from Dulles airport to Amsterdam then from Amsterdam to Basel.  We arrived around noon time.  Travel to Europe is different now but it is definitely doable. Just have to be sure you know each country's requirement to enter and also your tour company's requirements.  The tour company like Viking requires a you to be vaccinated and to test daily.  So you just need to have all your documents in order and have a good attitude things can and probably will happen but typically everything in the end is fixable. 

Here are a couple sunrise pictures as we approached Amsterdam this morning.

So we boarded our KLM flight and Michael declared that the dinner they served was the best airline meal he had ever had.  Then to our surprise before we landed at 6 am they gave us a hot breakfast sandwich.  Got on the next flight that was only about an hour and guess what they fed us again....an egg salad sandwich and if you know me you know I love me some egg salad. 

We arrived in Basel and were greeted by Viking reps and directed to the bus to bring us to the boat.  These are not ships because they are small and hold about 190 passengers and they are called River Boats.  I should have taken a some pictures of our room but maybe later when I feel more organized.  We opted for a French balcony so the door opens for fresh air just no balcony but we won't be in our rooms much anyway.  Too much to do and see. 

After doing our first of many Covid tests...yes right now daily saliva test...that was interesting because I suffer with dry mouth but we succeeded and turned them over for testing.  We did have a PCR test on Wednesday that was negative but Viking goes the extra mile for passenger safety. 

We had a nice lunch and below are a few pictures!

Michael's Zucchini and Mint soup 

Michael also got a Mediterranean Tuna Toast 

Susan and I opted for the Alpine Salad 

Mark got the Fish and Chips

Susan, Mark and I got the Black Forest Ice Cream 

Michael went for the Blueberry Tart

After lunch we did a walking tour of Basel and a few pictures are below as well.

See the Frog?  This is where you get married in Basel.  The story is that this groom changed his mind about getting married and tried to run away from his bride. But she was unhappy and she  put a curse on him and turned him into a frog.  He is waiting for someone to come and kiss him and turn him back. 

See the astronomical clock on this old Catholic Church and now is a Protestant church.  

To say we have walked a lot today is an understatement. I still plan to do some stretching tonight on the Peloton App after dinner because you know I have to keep that streak alive. But the point of this was to let you know that already with no exercise my Apple watch says I have done 75 mine of exercice today and I have walked 3.7 miles already. 

I promise to share more tomorrow.  But I know after dinner I will be ready for bed.  So dinner photos to come tomorrow. Come on you know it really is about the food with us.  

Tonight at 9 pm we set sail for Breisach, Germany where we will be doing a morning tour of the Black Forest then in the afternoon Michael and Mark will be doin the Colmar in World War II museum and memorial tour.  

Surprise we found out that it we are going to experience Daylight Savings time here tonight and I thing that all our stops change tonight. 

Stay tuned we are getting ready for a safety drill now. I just wanted to get the blog out for everyone.