03-29-2023 Flying to Amsterdam for a Rhine River Cruise

In 2010, when I retired, I had a bit of money saved.  It was my dream to treat each of my adult kids to a fabulous trip to wherever they wanted to go.  I gave each of them a chance to pick and choose among any of the options I could reasonably afford.  

My eldest daughter, Deborah, was first in 2011 and chose a special charter Legendary Blues Cruise with Holland America from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean.  I treasure every single memory of this trip, with coincided with her birthday. That cruise was more or less a seven-day, 24-hour-a-day party of blues music and dancing, and we had a fabulous time together, even if I did wear out a lot and had to retreat to the stateroom now and then.

The next year, 2012,  with my middle daughter a long-haul truck driver with her husband, and too busy to go when it was her turn, I offered the next mother/daughter trip to my youngest daughter, Melody.  She chose a guided tour with Go-Ahead Tours of Eastern Europe and we spent two weeks touring Budapest, Vienna, and Prague.  Another incredible trip that I will never forget. We ate and walked and laughed our way through the entire trip.

My son wasn't into traveling out of the country, and I thought maybe I could take him scuba diving in Florida, which he loved. With his ongoing health problems, he said all he wanted was for me to visit him in Missouri, which I did several times. That had to suffice for the mother/son trip.  We had some good times together on these trips.

It was 2018 before my daughter Deanna could take some time off to spend three weeks in Italy with her choice for a mother/daughter trip.  Deanna preferred to travel independently, staying in just a couple of places.  We spent a week on the Amalfi Coast, and two weeks in Florence.  It was another trip I will never forget.  We hiked the steps of Positano, ate gelato, and gawked in awe at the art and cathedrals in Florence.

More than a year ago, while sharing Sunday brunch with Deborah here at home, she got all teary as we talked and remembered our cruise together back in 2011.  I didn't quite understand until she tried to explain.  She said, "Mom, I want to take you on a trip where I can be more present with you.  The last time I was into having fun, dancing, and partying, and didn't spend enough time with just you." "I want to treat you to something special, maybe a Viking River Cruise".  It was such a sweet and endearing thought that I could only protest a little bit before we got excited together about planning one more mother/daughter trip, only this time SHE was the one taking ME on the trip.  Wow.

We spent a bit of time making the decision about where to go and finally decided on the Viking River Cruise on the Rhine, from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland.  I have been on several ocean cruises but never a river cruise.  Deb and I thought that it might be something I could do with a bit less difficulty than the type of traveling I did in the past with Melody and Deanna when I could get around a bit more easily.

As the time approached for our departure, we got more and more excited.  We were happy that COVID seemed to be receding and the ship and the airplane no longer required the negative tests within 72 hours of departure.  This has been a nightmare over the last three years for some of my traveling friends, so I was glad we didn't have to deal with it.  We did have COVID home tests and N95 masks with us, however, and made sure we were careful to avoid anywhere that might trigger an infection before leaving.  Both Deborah and I were fully vaxed and neither of us had contracted COVID during the pandemic.

Packing was a bit problematic because it was impossible to predict the weather in Europe in early April.  Our departure was scheduled for March 29, and while it could be chilly and rainy, we also wanted to have comfortable clothing for our time on the ship, and something a bit cooler to wear in case the days warmed up.  Springtime is unpredictable just about anywhere it seems. 

We both bought lightweight and warm puffer coats which served us well throughout the cruise. What a great invention.  Deb and I put a lot of thought into packing with carry-on only, so that we could avoid the problem of dealing with baggage claims and lost luggage.  It worked on the way over, but on the way home we did have to buy a simple little duffle to pack more easily and have room for a few keepsakes.

Deb made all the arrangements for the trip and chose to let Viking make our flight arrangements.  We also chose Viking excursions and a three-day extension in Switzerland at the end of our trip. By the time March 29 rolled around we were excited for the trip to begin.

Deb and me waiting in Medford for the first leg of our trip to Amsterdam

The first leg of the trip was easy.  We flew right out of Medford, Oregon, just a short distance from home for each of us.  Mo drove us to the airport and Deb left her car here at Sunset House for the duration.  

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to get my little red walker tagged for a gate check and were surprised to discover that having a disability can be a bit of a good thing when flying around the world.  In Medford, I was led to the front of the line for a security check and whisked right through.  Most of the time Deb was allowed to go right with me as my "assistant".  Sometimes she was bothered because she thought it didn't look as though she was actually assisting me, but no matter, it worked great.

Do you see that look of anticipation as the plane taxis down the runway in Medford?

The flight from Medford to Seattle was short and sweet.  Deb had the window seat but it didn't matter much since the skies were cloudy and the beautiful chain of volcanoes along the route wouldn't have been visible to me anyway.

Our layover in Seattle was just 5 hours, long enough to relax a bit and find something to eat before we embarked on our overnight flight direct to Amsterdam.  I did do my best to wear my mask throughout the flight except for when I was eating or drinking, but sometimes when I was trying to sleep it was especially difficult. 

I don't remember much about the flight except that it was very very looooonnnngggg. We flew Delta economy and there wasn't much leg room or arm room or any kind of room at all.  We were supposed to arrive at 1PM in Amsterdam, but there was a bit of a delay and our plane didn't arrive until an hour or so later.

We were glad we had no checked baggage to worry about.  Once again, at the Amsterdam airport, my walker was delivered to me at the jetway, but they had a wheelchair waiting for me as well.  Deb followed along with my walker as the assistant whisked us through the airport, through passport control, and down to the baggage area where we were to meet our Viking representative.

Once we arrived, we saw no sign of the representative in the baggage area and we didn't have a clue which exit door we were supposed to meet them.  It wasn't very clear which exit we needed.  We walked outside and sat a bit before I called the 24-hour emergency number for Viking.  Ch-Ching...ten bucks for a day of usage on my Verizon phone.  They did answer, however, and told us to return to another door where a representative would be waiting for us.  

I do believe I look a little bit tired in this photo after flying all night

After this little bit of kerfuffle, we were on a bus and whisked off to the ship at the Amsterdam cruise terminal.  I was glad that we had booked through Viking and that they were responsible for getting us to the ship.  Sometimes those kinds of transfers can be extremely complex and at least we didn't have to worry that the ship would sail without us. 

In no time we were at the terminal, through the check-in process, and on the ship.  The Viking Gersemi carries just 180 passengers, and the process of boarding is much simpler than I was used to on a big ocean-going cruise ship.

Our travel days were over and we were ready for our days on the beautiful and historic River Rhine on the lovely Viking Gersemi.

Gersemi, named for the Norse Goddess of Beauty, is a beautiful longship with a total length of 443 feet, carrying just 190 passengers with a crew of 53.  This is considerably different from any ship I have traveled and I was looking forward to a very different experience than ocean cruising provides.  Gersemi is much more intimate, with few people and smaller spaces for gathering.

However, our stateroom was especially roomy.  Even though we knew we might not be sitting outside on the veranda in early April weather, Deb opted for the veranda stateroom because it was considerably larger than the French Balcony staterooms which have a floor-to-ceiling window, but no actual veranda on which to sit and enjoy the view.  The larger stateroom gave us much more room for the twin bed configuration that we preferred.

When we boarded the ship, our stateroom wasn't quite ready and we were instructed to relax in the lounge for a short time before going to our room to unpack before the dinner hour at 7.  That is something else that is different about a river ship.  Meals are at specific hours, and there aren't a lot of in-between options if you get hungry before the appointed hour.

We weren't the least bit hungry.  Deb had purchased the drink package, and for the duration of the cruise, we had the choice of whatever wine or cocktails we might like.  

On this first afternoon, we enjoyed a cocktail while waiting for our room to be ready. 

Before going down to our room, we explored the ship a bit, enjoying the views of Amsterdam port in the sunshine and trying to ignore the predictions for rain and overcast skies that were coming for the next couple of days.

We were delighted to see just how roomy the stateroom was, with plenty of storage, and ample room to move around with the two twin beds Deb had requested, and even some space for my little red walker.

Before dinner, we enjoyed a casual get-together in the lounge for a brief talk about the ship and what to expect from our time on board.  We were introduced to our captain, Istvan Fekete, the hotel manager, Nebojsa Milosevic, the Maitre d, Marko Nosonjin, and our program director, Nancy Van Turnhout. At that time we also were instructed as to the use and location of our life jackets and emergency procedures.  This was a bit different than a big ship muster, but the material covered was quite similar.

Although our city of departure, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, is a wonderful city to visit, we didn't have the opportunity to spend any time there.  Many people had pre-embarkation tours and spoke of their delightful visits, but I will have to save Amsterdam for another visit across the pond.  It is a city that is especially enjoyable to explore on foot or by bicycle, neither of which is especially attractive to me anymore. 

Amsterdam is a patchwork of waterways formed by about 90 islands connected by 1,500 bridges.  The legacy of the Dutch Golden Age lives on in gilded mansions and the lush paintings of Rembrandt and other Dutch masters that adorn the museums.   I do wish there had been time for us to visit the Van Gogh Museum, or the Anne Frank Museum, both located in Amsterdam.  

It is funny, but I barely noticed much of what we ate that first evening.  Everything was new and different and we were very tired from our nearly 24 hours of travel. I know we ate in the dining room, but I have no idea what we ate or even if it was any good. We knew that the next few days would be filled with incredible experiences, beautiful cities, interesting lessons in history and culture, and hopefully good food as well.  

It has been a very long day and I fell instantly asleep until.....there was a very loud, very strange clanking noise coming from outside our stateroom....