Regular readers of my travel blog know that when I go on trips, I like to sum them up with “ten things I learned” posts. They kind of tie our trips together nicely, and readers seem to enjoy the concise wrap up more than the blow by blow accounts. So, with that in mind, here are ten things I learned in Basel last week.
10. Basel is just over the French and German borders. Okay… so in fairness, I did kind of already know that, but I don’t think I realized just how close it is. I read last night that a person could walk to either of the borders from the center of Basel in about 40 minutes. A lot of people who work in Basel live in either France or Switzerland, because it’s less expensive.
Yes, that’s a hooker.
9. Basel has a “red light district.” Last Sunday, Bill and I walked across a bridge over the Rhein River and soon found ourselves in an area that kind of gave us the heebie jeebies. I looked down and noticed a strange looking pictograph on the pavement. It looked like a stick figure of a prostitute. Sure enough, that’s what it was. Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, but the city was having trouble with prostitutes trying to get business in areas where they weren’t supposed to be hooking. So they came up with the pictographs to inform them and the public, I guess, as to where it is acceptable for prostitutes to find their johns.
8. Taking off your jacket in a museum could earn you a reprimand. Last week, I learned that carrying a jacket in a museum somehow puts priceless artifacts at risk. It’s best to use a locker if you want to shed your coat, lest you get a stern talking to from a guard. 😉
7. The Basel Card will get you half price admission in museums and free rides on the trams. We got our cards from the hotel. It has a QR code that you can upload to your phone.
Yikes! But it was so worth it!
6. It’s possible to spend $1000 on lunch and not feel overcharged. The trick is, you must go to one of the top restaurants in the world. Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl is one of the best.
I thought I loved croissants (Gipfeli in Switzerland)… I loved the roll more.
5. Switzerland has better rolls than Germany does… Just my opinion, of course.
4. It’s worth it to take the train to Basel from Frankfurt. Bill and I almost always drive when we take short breaks. This time, we decided to take the train. It was very fast and easy. On the way down, it took about three hours non-stop. Not driving the car meant we didn’t have to find or pay for parking in Switzerland. There was plenty to do in the city, so we didn’t miss having our wheels.
Worth a visit!
3. The Historical Museum of Basel is truly amazing! Housed in a former cathedral, this museum offers three floors of exhibits from many eras. English translations are available. It also has a public toilet (basement) and a great gift shop. Just don’t take off your jacket without putting it in a locker.
2. It pays to reserve your seats on the train… and double check your car. Seat reservations are cheap, and the guarantee your right to sit where you want to. If you are confused about which car you need to get on, be sure to ask an attendant. You don’t want to have to walk the entire train to get where you need to go.
And finally, 1. Basel is a good base for exploration of eastern France, southwestern Germany, and Bern… I always like going to border cities. They usually offer a lot of bang for the buck. Basel is nice enough to visit on its own, but it also gives you access to cities like Mulhouse, France, Freiburg, Germany, and Switzerland’s capital city, Bern, which is just a short train ride away. We haven’t been to Bern yet. Maybe that will be the next town we go to, if we manage another visit to Switzerland.
Well… that about does it for my series on Basel. We’ll have to see where we managed to go next. Hope you have a great Sunday.
Monday, January 20th was a day I’d been dreading. Not only did it mean our holiday was over, it also meant inauguration day. And since that awful event took place on Monday, I can see why I was dreading it so much. But then, one of the reasons we went to Basel in the first place is because I worry that we might not be able to enjoy such trips in the future. Trump seems to be wanting to turn the United States into his own private fiefdom.
In any case, I predicted it was going to be a difficult day, and it was. We got up early, and I made a video from our hotel room…
It wasn’t a happy day…
I took some photos of the sunrise…
Then we went back to the Bachmann Confisserie for another quick breakfast. Unfortunately, the fresh squeezed orange juice was a little too acidic for me. I ended up losing breakfast. But at least it tasted good going down. We also bought some whiskey truffles for home. I wish we’d bought another box, especially given what’s happened this week.
Soon enough, it was time to check out of our luxury hotel, Les Trois Rois. We brought our bags down to the lobby, where a bellman was quick to order us a cab. Bill checked out of the hotel and was presented a jar of tropical fruit jam. It looked a bit like the jam we had in the restaurant when we had our sumptuous lunch there. They also gave us some sparkling water for the train ride.
A friendly cabbie took us to the SBB rail station. He had to stop the car and help Bill put on his seatbelt, because the female end was recessed into the seat. It was kind of funny. Usually, Bill has to help me!
We were a bit early, so we lugged our bags to a bakery for some hot drinks and a second breakfast for me. I liked the music in there so much that I decided to make a new playlist called “Gay Vegan Bakery”. It has upbeat pop songs on it. Everything they sold in the bakery was vegan, and for the most part, I enjoyed the hot chocolate and chocolate chip roll I had. I also liked their house rules…
Wish our government had these rules.
Then it was time to board the train. This was where things went awry. Bill had booked the same seats in the same car that we had going down to Basel. But he led us to the wrong end of the train. I kept saying I thought we were going the wrong way, but he didn’t listen. So we were on the last car, instead of the first car. The train had fourteen cars. He had booked us in first class, and we were sitting in second class, in the wrong seats.
So we started the long walk to the other end. Meanwhile, there were police on the train talking to some people, clogging the aisle. At one point, Bill got off at a stop and covered more ground that way. By the time we got to our seats at the front of the train, there was a woman sitting there. But she smiled and willingly moved, because we had reserved the seats. There was also a very tall German guy who didn’t seem all that friendly.
Our trip to Mannheim, where we had to switch trains, went relatively smoothly. But then, when we got off our train, we had to haul ass to the next train that would take us to the Frankfurt Airport stop. Our seats on that train, likewise, were in the first car. We had to move quickly to get on it at the right spot. And once we got there… again… someone was in our seats. But this time, it was a young mother with a small child and a baby. She had her stuff spread all over the table and seemed to think we should move to another seat. Obviously, she hadn’t reserved the seats, and was hoping we’d let her have ours, even though we paid extra to reserve them.
After she reluctantly moved, I looked at Bill’s face, and he appeared to be about ready to cry. Bill is a very kind, sensitive man, and making the mom move had made him feel like shit. I was more annoyed than feeling guilty. I mean, yes, it makes one feel shitty to displace a mother of two little kids when it’s obvious they need the room more than we do. And if we’d had a chance to collect ourselves, we probably would have just let her have the seats, since we were only on the train for one stop. But obviously, the mom had spent the money to get first class tickets. She also clearly had money, based on all the baby and kid gear she had, complete with an expensive looking metal water bottle. Why didn’t she pay a little more to reserve the space she clearly needed? Why put people who follow the rules in the awkward position of having to ask her to move? It’s manipulative behavior, and that pisses me off. It shouldn’t be tolerated.
But… again, it all happened so fast. In retrospect, if we’d had a moment more to think about it, we might have just taken unreserved seats, even though Bill did pay to reserve the ones the mom was occupying. There are signs on the seats showing if the seats are reserved. I imagine if she moved back into the seats, she was probably asked to move again by the next people who had properly reserved them.
Anyway… we got back to Frankfurt slightly delayed, but had no problem finding a cab back to Breckenheim. And unless you live under a rock, you already know why the rest of the day sucked. We went from sunny Basel in neutral Switzerland to cold, cloudy Germany, where far right wing politicians are wanting to copy what is happening in the United States. It’s very unsettling.
We had a good time in Switzerland, though… and later, Bill went to get Noyzi and Charlie, and they were happy to be home. Tomorrow, Bill has to go on a business trip. I will be here alone all week, watching part of our backyard fence being repaired. Right now, there’s a temporary metal fence erected that isn’t very secure. There’s a tall gate and a shorter panel that fences off a “hole” in the corner. The rest of the “fence” is thick bushes. Noyzi can’t penetrate them, but Charlie probably could.
At first, I thought the half done fence was permanent, since the workers had told me they would finish it yesterday. It was the kind of job our previous landlady had done– put up a fence that was basically useless for security purposes. Our landlord later told Bill that they would be putting up a much more secure fence later that will restore our privacy. Fortunately, our dogs don’t seem interested in escaping. They prefer the coddled pet life to their old street dog life.
I guess I’ll just try to keep the faith that everything is going to work out somehow. Unfortunately, all we can do is try to get through these uncertain, troubling times. But at least we have beautiful memories of Basel, and all its splendor…. from Michelin three star food to red light districts to sublime sunrises on the Rhine/Rhein River.
I truly hope we can do it again sometime.
Stay tuned for my ten things I learned post. I’ll probably put it up tomorrow.
Featured photo was taken yesterday from our balcony at Les Trois Rois…
Several weeks ago, Bill and I were sitting at our dining room table, listening to music, drowning our sorrows, and worrying about the future. I realized Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend was coming up, and that MLK day would be the day Donald Trump invaded the White House once again. I am not a Trump fan by any means, and I am truly worried about the damage he’s about to wreak on the world. So, with that in mind, I told Bill I wanted to try to visit as many places as possible before we get kicked out of Europe.
I’m only half kidding about the prospect of being kicked out of Europe. I fear it could be a real possibility, as Trump takes revenge on anyone “important” who has ever crossed him and pisses off our allies. I resent the hell out of this, by the way. No American signed up to be used as a pawn for an unhinged, demented narcissistic sociopath to get even with others. I despise Trump, and I don’t want him influencing any part of my life. But I’m also a realist. I know that he has power I’ll never have. So… we’re going to try to be as normal as possible for as long as possible. It’s normal for us to travel.
Last April, Bill and I visited Horben, near Freiburg, a lovely city in southern Germany. We went there after it won our traditional coin toss. The losing city was Basel, Switzerland, where I had discovered a beautiful looking hotel right on the Rhein River. The hotel, called Les Trois Rois, appeared to have most of everything we love in a luxury property, including a three star Michelin restaurant called Cheval Blanc. Bill and I had long been wanting to try the elite cuisine one finds at Michelin restaurants with three stars. But last April, Basel lost the coin toss… and then in the fall, when I hoped we could visit, they didn’t have availability for one of the nights we needed.
Finally, as MLK weekend approached, we decided it was time to, at long last, visit Basel, a Swiss city right next to the German and French borders. We’ve been trying to get there for a long time, but always seem to end up in other places. Not this time. A little Swiss neutrality was just the ticket, just as it was in 1930s and 40s Europe. So we booked a Queen balcony room with a river view at Les Trois Rois, and quickly decided that instead of driving, we’d take the train.
Taking the train was mostly a great idea. I’ll get more into why it was only “mostly” a great idea as this series progresses. For now, I’ll just say that overall, taking the train was the best thing to do, but it wasn’t without its problems.
Bill also booked us a table at a really interesting restaurant called Alchemist, which is located just steps away from Les Trois Rois. He picked it because of its unusual concept. I’m glad he did that, even if the food was not generally what I’d generally seek out for myself.
We knew Basel would have art galleries and museums, and we did have a chance to visit one very extensive museum, which I’ll write about as this series progresses. I hope you’ll stick around, as I try to distract myself from the new order taking over Washington, DC. Switzerland is a good place to be, but especially when one needs a semblance of sanity to prevail. I think we got that in Basel over the weekend. I hope we can go back again someday.
The featured photo is AI generated… I hope to have my own photos very soon.
Last night, I made a booking at a hotel I’ve been eyeing since last April, when Bill and I decided by coin flip to visit Horben, near Freiburg. If Horben hadn’t won that coin flip, we likely would have visited the city of Basel, in Switzerland. It’s a city we’ve driven past and talked about exploring, but have never actually gotten around to making a booking.
Last spring, when I was planning our trip to the very new Luisenhöhe resort in the Schwarzwald, I noticed a very beautiful hotel in Basel that seemed to be right up our alley. The hotel is called Les Trois Rois, and it’s expensive and historic… And we are going to visit there for three nights over the MLK weekend. Why? Because since Trump is coming back into office, the future seems hazier. We want to take advantage of being able to travel while we still can. And after the new year, Bill is going to be busy. That is, if Donald and Elon don’t interfere with what he’s doing.
A screenshot of the hotel
We briefly thought about going to Paris. We haven’t been to Paris since 2009, and I have been wanting to go there. But Paris is a huge city, and it will be cold and probably rainy… and Basel is more compact, with lots of museums, art galleries, and such. It seems appropriate that it’s in a neutral country, too… but right by the German and French borders.
I think we will travel to Basel by train, since it only takes about 3 hours to get there from here. It will spare Bill the aggravation of driving and trying to park. We can get first class ICE tickets on Deutsch Bahn fairly cheaply, if we opt for the no frills ones… The lovely thing about Basel is that it’s close to Bern, another city we’ve never seen. Maybe we’ll go there, too, if the conditions are right.
I booked us a river view room with a balcony. It may turn out to be a waste of money, depending on the weather. However, I know the hotel is on the banks of the Rhein, so if we do have decent weather, it could turn out to be a great choice. It was a bit of a splurge, and will be even more expensive than our visit to The Duke Suites was. But, it’s Switzerland, and Basel is a city that offers more to do than the lovely hamlet of Nistelrode does. I liked Nistelrode a lot, but to be honest, the area it’s in isn’t long on attractions. Basel will keep us busy. Maybe it will take my mind off of the impending disaster that is about to befall the United States.
I know not everyone thinks the next Trump term will be a disaster. Fair enough… and I hope they’re right. I don’t want to go through a disaster. But I just don’t think it’s going to be a good time for anyone… So we’re going to let the good times roll while we still can, and hope for the best. Or maybe, just pray to God that we manage to get through this impending fiasco without completely fucking up the whole world and losing everything.
SIGH…
Anyway… Les Trois Rois has a Michelin starred restaurant. I’ll have to check and see how many stars it has. If anything, we’ll drop a lot of money, but we’ll also be exposed to some beautiful things, if only for a short while. It should be nice.
Perhaps we can visit Paris in the springtime, if we don’t go to Spain… or get deported by the newly fallen German government.
I mentioned in part one of this series that I had originally wanted to book us a few nights in Bamberg. Over the years we’ve been living in Germany this time, we’ve heard over and over again how great Bamberg is, and given that it used to have a US Army installation, a lot of military affiliated people know firsthand what a great town it is. I also knew about it because that’s where the famous Rauchbier (smoked beer) is made. I had tried that beer before our visit last Wednesday, but I was eager to try it on draft.
So, even though we had another cold, rainy, windy day greeting us, Bill, Parker, and I decided we’d take the train to Bamberg and see why everyone seems to love it. The train from Würzburg, which, incidentally, also used to have a US Army post, takes about an hour to reach Bamberg. We decided that was the best way to get to the city.
After breakfast, Bill drove us to the train station and managed to find a parking spot against all odds. He was very careful to buy an all day ticket (18 euros) for the lot, as the Würzburg train station is notorious for fining people who don’t pay– even if they’re only in the lot for a couple of minutes! He also bought us first class tickets for the train, which just meant we were at the front in a somewhat quieter area. 
I can’t say the ride to Bamberg was especially exciting, as it was grey, dreary, and rainy. We managed to get a group of four seats and sat almost in silence the whole way. When we got to Bamberg, we walked to the center of town, where Bill had planned for us to have lunch at Schlenkerla, a historic restaurant that serves the beer and very hearty German food. I did notice that Bamberg is a very charming town. I especially enjoyed the enchanting Rathaus, which famously juts out over the middle of the Regnitz River. I didn’t get a chance to take a lot of spellbinding photos on Wednesday, due to the crappy weather. But, when we go back– and I’m sure we will– I will take more pictures.
Schlenkerla was pretty packed when we got there. I was surprised, given that it’s February, and the weather was not good. We ended up sitting at a Stammtisch, and I sat in the wrong spot. The waitress chastised me, which really annoyed me. I’m out of practice of being yelled at by Germans, having moved out of Swabia. Bill asked me if I wanted to just leave, but I sighed and said no, since we were already sitting down. I cheered up when she brought us a round of nice, fresh, Rauchbiers. I know they are an acquired taste for many, but I do like me some smokey beer.
As for food, we had more heavy German fare. Bill and his mom both got roast beef plates with vegetables and horseradish. I got a pork knuckle with sauerkraut and potato dumplings. I don’t usually get knuckles, because I can’t finish them. But the one I had on Wednesday was manageable. Bill and I also tried a Rauchweizen, which was like a wheat beer with smokey flavor. It was a bit lighter. I think Bill preferred it to the Rauchbier. By the time we finished lunch, the restaurant had emptied out. 
I liked what Bill and his mom had. It was a little less extreme, too.Legendary brewery!This knuckle was delicious and not too huge.
We walked around Bamberg to burn off some of our lunch. I can’t say it was a really enjoyable walk, thanks to the wind and rain, but at least it wasn’t super cold. I managed to visit a few more churches, too, and Parker bought some gifts for her co-workers in Texas. One other thing I want to mention is the very convenient public WC near the Rathaus. That was a lifesaver after lunch! St. Elisabeth’s Church had beautiful windows on display.
St. Elisabeth’s Church…St. Martin’s Church.
Our stay in Bamberg was brief, as the weather was getting worse as the afternoon wore on. But now that I have an idea of what the town looks like, I know I want to go back and explore it some more. The train ride back was a bit more crowded, as it was quitting time. Our guide at the wine tasting mentioned that he lived in Bamberg, which probably meant he got on a train going the other direction just as we were leaving. Bamberg is definitely enchanting. Bill and I will have to go back and enjoy it when the sun is shining and Biergartens are open!
Here are a few more artsy photos of Bamberg… It really is a handsome town, even when the weather sucks.
As much as I looked forward to being on our cruise, I’m genuinely happy to be home again. I think two week vacations are a bit much for me. On the other hand, I can’t think of a single segment of our trip that I’d want to omit. We had a good time in Oslo and Bergen before we got on our cruise. I’m actually kind of glad we were in Norway first, as judging by the sounds of some of our fellow passengers, I would have gotten a cold on the ship. It was better to endure the first part of that ordeal on dry land, even if I was sick on my birthday!
Bill has gone to fetch Noyzi, and I’m sitting here wondering how to start this series. I read through my older posts and it looks like I did a pretty good job covering most of the Norway portion of our trip. So maybe instead of doing what I usually do and writing a blow by blow for each day, I’ll just be more concise. It’s not like I get tons of readers, anyway.
Crocodile…
So, to sum up our trip–
*It started on June 16th with two nights in Oslo, a rather gritty city that was surprisingly hot during our visit. I saw many electric cars in Norway, but especially in Oslo! I think they are definitely the wave of the future. We stayed in the Saga Hotel in Oslo, which was a Best Western affiliated hotel in a residential area of town. There was no air conditioning, which made things kind of unpleasant, as it was hot in the room, and noisy outside.
*On June 18th, we took the Bergensbanen, an electric train, on a 6.5 hour trip from Oslo to Bergen. It’s said to be the most scenic train journey in Europe. We were in a private compartment, because by the time I booked in late April, the individual seats were all taken. We liked the compartment, except for the jerk who parked himself in front of our window during the most beautiful parts of the trip. I still managed to get some lovely photos. Pro-tip– if you ever take this trip yourself, make sure you have some local currency or bring along some food. The credit card machine went down during our journey, so we couldn’t buy lunch. I was CRANKY when we arrived in Bergen.
At the Bergen Aquarium.
*We arrived in Bergen during the afternoon of the 18th. I booked us at the Clarion Hotel Havnekontoret. It’s in a historic building, and offers some unusual perks. They have a snack during the afternoon and a no frills evening dinner. Both, along with breakfast, are included in the room rate. Once again, the room lacked air conditioning, which I would have expected in Norway, of course. But since it was warm there, it was not very comfortable, and it was even louder there than it was in Oslo. If you ever stay at this hotel, be sure to go to the rooftop and see the views of the harbor area. Next door is an excellent museum that is worth a visit. There’s also a beautiful Lutheran church right there, also worth a visit. Bergen offers a lot of things to do, and we would have done a lot more, if I hadn’t gotten sick. But beware of the throngs of cruise passengers! 😉
*On June 22, we flew on a very uncomfortable, tiny plane from Bergen to Stockholm to stay for our free night at the Nobis Hotel. I say it was “free”, but actually we paid for it by booking concierge class on Regent Seven Seas Splendor. I was a little worried about the process of checking in because we were there due to the cruise. There was no problem, though. We just mentioned Regent; they found our names; and it was all set. Our night at the hotel was fine. They gave us vouchers that helped offset the cost of a late lunch. I really enjoyed the bar, as the bartender made some wonderful, unique cocktails. My favorite was the Strawberry Basil Smash, but I also loved the Stockholm cocktail. Both were very refreshing designer cocktails. I wish we’d spent at least one more night in Stockholm. I didn’t get to see much of it.
*On June 23, we were transported by bus to Regent Seven Seas Splendor at Stockholm’s port. It was at this point that I really started getting a strong hit of our fellow Americans. I don’t spend a lot of time with Americans in my everyday life, so it was a bit of a shock. Mainly, I was just surprised by just how LOUD Americans are. Everywhere we sat, we heard other people’s conversations, complaints about jobs, family members, and business deals. The funny thing is we managed to fool quite a few Europeans by acting like Germans. I also noticed that on this cruise, we didn’t really make any new friends. The couples we talked to were all from Europe, too! But I was grateful that there wasn’t any obvious political chatter. I also noticed that Regent seems to be extremely LGBTQ friendly. There were a lot of same sex couples aboard, having a good time!
Now that I’ve gotten to the cruise portion of the trip, I’m going to start my series with that, since I have many pictures to share. Then, I will be discussing our hotels and restaurants in more detail, in case anyone’s interested in booking any of them. I may also offer some commentary on attractions we visited. Writing about this trip may keep me busy for the rest of July! 😀
Below are some more photos that I didn’t share in earlier posts. The first batch includes Oslo and Bergen pics…
“Fat here”? I bet someone did some impromptu editing…Historic museum in Oslo, where we saw exhibits about Samurai warriors, looked at mummies, and learned about money.The Nordic countries are very LGBTQ friendly. This was an exhibit about famous homosexuals in history.The crowded ship we took on our Oslo fjord cruise.A very old Norwegian lighthouse.Norwegian countryside.This JERK hung outside our door during the best parts of the train ride.Arrival in Bergen.My birthday dinner. Lovely presentation, but I had to send it back for more heat.A 3D exhibit at the Brygge Museum.Funicular in Bergen.Flying into Stockholm.You can eat whale in Bergen.A little library made from a former phone booth.Polar bear!Bill in the Magic Ice Bar. I was in the process of getting sick.I hated these in our Jettingen house, but liked them in the Stockholm hotel.Strawberry Basil Smash.Swedish burger.
Bill and I got to the train station bright and early this morning, ready to catch our 8:23 AM train to Bergen. The train, just like a lot of the cars, runs on electricity. It’s very quiet, and doesn’t run very fast, so the trip took until just after 3:00 PM. Our cab driver this morning had a Virginia ball cap on. He said he’d just been to Richmond to visit his son, who lives there. Crazy coincidence, since I’m from Virginia myself.
The train journey made me nervous, but I also eagerly anticipated it. I had read a lot about how beautiful the journey is. Now, I can say with certainty that it IS a beautiful, scenic ride. However, some people are incredibly focused on themselves. That truism was driven home as the Spanish guy in the next train compartment parked himself in front of our door and window for a long time, seemingly oblivious that he was blocking the view. That was very annoying, especially when people needed to pass him, and he’d lean on our door. I don’t know why he thought it would be okay to camp out there, especially since he had his own window. My guess is that he figured his wife would object.
I did manage to get a lot of stunning photos, though… and I also got a few videos. The scenery from the train does change with the seasons, so I might be persuaded to do it again in a different season. I’m also glad we had a compartment, as it mostly minimized irritation.
We arrived in Bergen cranky and hungry, because the credit card machine on board went down and Bill didn’t have any local currency. We did manage to get some snacks in the morning, but we missed lunch. I was in a foul mood when we disembarked, because I was a bit hangry.
But, after a slightly annoying check in at our hotel, we managed to find an Irish pub that was playing really nostalgic 90s era music. Bill loved it. I felt a little better after a blood sugar bump, then we went to the fish market and had some seafood for dinner. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was good enough.
It’s going on 8 PM now, and we’re both tired. I think we’ll turn in early. I hope there won’t be a lot of noise.
The featured photo was taken on a day cruise we took in Oslo, Norway, back in 2009.
It’s not so often that I travel blog during the work week. We have the pandemic to thank for that, as it made taking normal trips a lot more difficult for the past couple of years. In 2023, things are pretty much back in full swing. I expect Europe will be, once again, teeming with people this summer. In fact, I expect there will be more people than ever.
A week ago, we did a champagne bucket draw, and Finland won. That meant planning a trip that included a stop in Finland. I marvel at the changes our plans have undergone within about ten days. We went from planning a Helsinki based trip that would include land based stops in the Baltic countries, to pulling the trigger on a luxury cruise, with a week in Norway beforehand.
When you see the words “luxury cruise” in my blog post, of course it goes without saying that this trip is going to be pricey. We are going to sail on Regent Seven Seas’ newest completed ship, Splendor, in June. An even newer ship, Grandeur, will be sailing this year, but I don’t think she’s had her maiden voyage yet. So, as of this writing, Splendor, which was built in 2020, is Regent’s newest. This will also be the newest ship we’ve ever sailed on, as we usually opt for either SeaDream or Hebridean Island Cruises, both of which offer luxury on much smaller and older vessels.
One of many Regent Splendor cruise ship tour videos on YouTube.
I chose this particular cruise on Regent mostly because of the itinerary, which includes a stop in Helsinki, as well as most of the Baltic locations we wanted to visit, along with a couple of other stops. It’s not our first Baltic cruise, though.
Our very first cruise was on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas, back in 2009, and that was also a Baltic cruise. It was only four nights, and included stops in Tallin, Estonia and Copenhagen, Denmark, with embarkation in Oslo, Norway, and debarkation in Stockholm, Sweden. On that trip, we spent a couple of nights in Oslo, which we both really enjoyed. The cruise was loaded with Norwegians, and we found that we really enjoyed their joie de vivre. 😉 Later, we encountered a friendly bunch of them on our second SeaDream cruise and vowed we’d visit Norway again. So that’s why we’re doing a week in Norway, too… and staying longer, so we can see more of Norway than just the city of Oslo. Below are a few photos from our cruise from Norway to Sweden in 2009… As you can see, I need to take more photos of beautiful Norway, at the very least! That was before I had an iPhone.
When I saw Regent’s June 23 Stockholm to Copenhagen cruise, I knew it was a no brainer to book it, because I was finding it very difficult to plan a land based trip including Finland and the Baltics… And yes, before anyone comes at me, I know there’s a large body of water we’d have to cross to get to the Baltics. I was planning a few days in Finland, then a ferry ride to Tallin, where I naively thought we could arrange train travel or maybe rent a car or something… At this writing, a train route is being constructed to make that vision come to fruition in the future. As of now, though, it’s just not convenient. 😉 I also realized Bill wouldn’t want to be driving so much, and I wouldn’t want to be flying so much.
The cruise solution was simply more practical, and it was available during the time we wanted to travel. And– we had the money to pay for it, thanks to a big tax refund. Even better was the fact that the sailing I found was on sale… which was a damned good thing. In fact, I should have waited another week, because the price went down again, and it was quite a significant drop! Some people would probably tell me to cancel and rebook, but I’ve already had lots of words with my bank. Oh well… you win some, you lose some.
Anyway… last night, we were trying to decide how long we wanted to stay in the places we’re visiting before the cruise, and how we wanted to travel to them. It didn’t take us long to decide to visit Bergen, which is a very beautiful city on Norway’s west coast that offers enchanting scenery, fresh seafood, and lots to do. However, from Oslo, it takes seven hours to drive there or take the train. We could also fly; that takes just an hour. But if we fly, we’ll miss the incredibly beautiful scenery on the way, and have to deal with everything that flying entails nowadays.
I thought maybe we’d drive and stop somewhere on the way, maybe do some exploration. Unfortunately, renting a car in Norway, especially for a one way trip with drop off in another city, is VERY expensive. Gas and food are also very expensive in Norway, plus there are tolls on the road we’d be using.
The route from Oslo to Bergen is also rather devoid of places to stay. There are a lot of apartments to rent, and a few hotels that are either in the middle of nowhere or have dodgy reviews. I wouldn’t mind renting an apartment, but I’d hate to do that for just an overnight. Most of the ones I found were pretty bare bones, too. I did manage to find several hotels that allowed me to book now and pay later, and can be canceled up to the day of arrival. Clarion Hotels for the win! They even have a hotel out in the middle of nowhere that I considered booking, but then I thought again.
Finally, I think we decided we’d just take the train… which means we now have to decide if we want to leave at 8:23AM or 12:05PM. The later trip is notably less expensive, but slower. I suspect we’ll go for the morning time, so we can get to Bergen in the afternoon. If we wanted to spend another night in Oslo, we could get a really (relatively) cheap train fare… but then we’d be paying for another night in Oslo, which is legitimately a nice city, but one we’ve already seen. It’s not a super pretty town, either, although I do remember enjoying the day cruise we took on the Oslo Fjord in 2009.
So, once I found a hotel that offers parking, in case we drive after all, I went to book plane tickets. A flight from Bergen to Stockholm takes one hour and twenty minutes. I found seats on SAS– Scandinavian Airlines (although when I hear SAS, it reminds me of a cursed statistics program I had to use in grad school). I tried to book with my PenFed card, but for some reason, PenFed refuses to send texts with codes to overseas phone numbers, nor will they send the confirmation codes to emails. So that means I can’t authorize charges through their stupid two factor authentication program.
I went to USAA, which did successfully send me a text. But, even though I entered all of my information, gave them a fingerprint, and tried to authorize the charge, they still declined it and blocked my card. At 10PM, I was calling USAA– for the second time in a week– to ask them to unblock my card and authorize payment, so we can get from Bergen to Stockholm. The lady I spoke to last night was very nice and professional, unlike the other person I talked to a few days ago, who was quite rude to me.
We finally got the plane tickets sorted, and now we just have to confirm where we’ll be sleeping for our night in Stockholm. I had wanted to stay longer in Stockholm, since we never really got to see the city when we were there in 2009, but that would have meant arranging for another night there. Our night in Stockholm is already included in our cruise fare, so adding another would mean going to another hotel or paying more to Regent. I think we’d prefer another night in Bergen, anyway.
All that’s left to do now is buy train tickets, or arrange for a car to get us from Oslo to Bergen. I’ve even mostly paid off the credit card companies. I paid off the deposit and Lufthansa tickets last week, which I booked through PenFed. Then, this morning, I accidentally paid USAA for the rest of the cruise fare. I had only meant to send them $1000 today, but ended up requesting to pay the whole bill. Luckily, there was enough money to pay for it. Thanks again to Bill’s decision to pay taxes all year and get a refund, we had the cash available. Edited to add: I just got us our train tickets… good thing, too, because the seats were already sold out, and I had to get us a compartment for six people instead. That was another $500. At least it’s changeable and refundable.
Living in Germany sure has been good for us…
But dammit… the fares went down 2,000 euros this week!!!!
Oh well. We’re sure to have a great time. I look forward to blogging about it, and experiencing new places on a different cruise line. I’ll be surprised if I’ll want to give up small ship cruising for Regent permanently, but we’ll see. I suspect that if I ever spot a hot deal like the one they’re offering right now for our cruise, I’ll want to jump on it. Especially if we have the money!
If you’re curious about what we’re in for on our journey from Oslo to Bergen, have a look at a couple of videos… I think it will be unforgettable.
Let’s hope for sunny weather!
Looks good!
And yes, I know we don’t have to spend this much money to have a good time… but I have definitely done my fair share of cheap traveling. It’s nice to have an upgraded experience, and I’m grateful we have the opportunity. We never thought the day would come.
We woke up Sunday, August fourth, to lots of rain. We weren’t in the mood to look for breakfast under those conditions. We also had a train to catch. Originally, we were going to leave Edinburgh at about 10:00am, but Bill was fretting that we’d have to switch trains in Stirling. With a tight connection and rain, he worried that we’d have trouble. On Saturday, before he picked up dinner, Bill stopped by the train station and spoke to a very helpful man who told him that if we took the 9:29am train, we wouldn’t have to switch trains. Unfortunately, since it was less than 24 hours before the train was due to run, we couldn’t reserve our seats. But, he said on a Sunday morning, we’d have no trouble getting seats… Yeah, right.
Bill and I decided to brave breakfast at the hotel. We took the elevator to the breakfast area. I immediately noticed that it had a smell reminiscent of French Residence Hall at Longwood College, circa 1991. Longwood is now Longwood University and French is no longer a dorm, but the smell of stale beer and puke tends to leave an indelible mark on the ol’ olfactory organ. To be fair, the elevator smelled more like stale beer than vomit, but I couldn’t be certain. I think someone might have spilled beer in the lift and neglected to tell someone. The floor was sticky and, yes, smelled a bit like a frat house after a raucous party. I wasn’t impressed.
Breakfast is not included in the room rate at the Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel. However, in addition to the usual buffet offerings, they do have cooked breakfasts at the hotel. It looked like the main waiter was training someone new. Everyone wore jeans and t-shirts with aprons and, having once waited tables myself, I could tell the new girl was doing a “trail”. Unfortunately, as her trainer was teaching her, he failed to notice us sitting there neglected for several long minutes. I finally shot a cranky look at a busser, who kindly clued in his colleague.
Bill wonders where the wait staff is…
Garden environment… nice for breakfast, but missing a real bar.
Scrambled eggs with salmon.
The aptly named “bacon butty”… my butty is bigger now.
I went with the Bacon Butty, which is aptly named. It was basically a soft bun with a bunch of back bacon in it. It tasted okay, but wasn’t the most imaginative dish. Bill had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, which he seemed to enjoy.
After breakfast, we checked out. I probably sounded irritated as I told the receptionist about the condition of the elevator. She quickly made a note of it, and again, told Bill about their air conditioning woes. I suppose we could have made more of a stink than we did, but I think we were just ready to get on our way to Inverness. The staff called us a cab and we were soon whisked off to Edinburgh’s huge Waverly train station.
We got to the station at just the right time, as a huge flood of Asian tourists showed up minutes after we did. We were able to find benches to sit on, since there was no track assigned to the Inverness bound train. I passed the time by people watching and reading all of the stuff on the walls. I get a kick out of British nannyism signs, as well as the historic notes one finds everywhere in Scotland… even in the train station!
Those stairs were a challenge with five bags.
But we were rewarded with interesting tidbits about Sir Walter Scott.
Glad to know that ScotRail pays a living wage…
One view on the way to Inverness.
A wonderful mom…
We finally hauled our bags to the correct track and waited for what seemed an eternity for the doors to open. In Germany, when the trains pull up, they let people get on and wait on the train. In Scotland, they don’t open the doors until just before the train leaves. Lots of folks were standing around, peering into the cars. It looked like many people had seat reservations. We did on our original train. At one point, as we waited impatiently for the go ahead to board the train, a recorded female announcer requested that everyone leave the station due to an emergency. It was a false alarm, but some people were noticeably confused and annoyed. I was among them.
The doors finally opened and everyone rushed for a seat. Fortunately, eagle eyed Bill spotted two seats facing the direction of travel that weren’t claimed. Bonus, they were right next to the WC and there was plenty of space for our bags. We were lucky, though. Not everyone managed to score a seat. One American couple got on the train and the wife peevishly said that she couldn’t sit backwards or she’d throw up. That turned out to be a prophetic statement.
I couldn’t help but wonder what second class was like on ScotRail, as the window had an enormous booger stuck on it. It was grossing me out, and I was reminded of the old school bus we rode on in Islay on a previous Hebridean cruise. There were boogers on that, too, but at least they had a good excuse. It was a school bus, after all, and there’s no class system on a school bus.
The loudspeaker on the train was also kind of messed up. It kept cutting in and out, making it sound like we’d landed somewhere in India or Pakistan instead of Scotland. I got a raw video with the sound in it. I’ll have to turn it into something shareable at some point. We had a good laugh about it, though. I posted on Facebook that as long as no one vomited, I’d be okay. Again… I tempted fate.
The first stop after Waverly Station was Haymarket. A young mom with three little girls took the two free seats facing Bill and me. I was immediately reminded of my good friend, Julie, whom I met at Longwood College in 1991, when she was a freshman and I was a sophomore. Julie is a very maternal person. She teaches school and has two sons and, I swear, the Scottish mom who joined us could have been her twin twenty five years ago.
The mom, whose name I later learned was Iona, was amazing. Her eldest daughter looked to be maybe eight or nine years old. She was pretty independent. The other two girls I would guess were about five and maybe two or three years old. The middle aged one sat opposite me. She had big brown eyes and long, luminescent red hair that gently curled down her back. I thought she was adorable, even though she was a little grumpy at first. Iona asked her what was wrong and the redheaded girl, I’ll call her “Em”, said she needed the toilet. Iona asked her why she wasn’t “using her words”.
Over the course of our three hour journey, I watched Iona lovingly tend to her little girls. Em, especially, needed help, since she suffered not one, but two bouts of motion sickness. Iona came equipped with food, games, and even a tiny portable fan that she directed on Em after one bout of vomiting. She never lost her temper and took every opportunity to correct her daughters’ behavior. I thought they were very well-behaved, for the most part. Iona told us they had another long journey once they got to Inverness. They were headed to a northern island to see relatives and would be traveling until at least 5:00pm.
I could not help but be reminded of an experience Bill and I had in France back in 2014. We were on a very full train going from Marseille to Nice. A mom on that train brought her two little girls with her. One girl was about eight and the other was a toddler. Mom basically sized up Bill and me, noted how kind and helpful Bill is, and just left her daughter with us while she took care of the little one in a different car. Iona was a refreshing change of pace. She never let the girls out of her sight and really impressed me with how good she was with them. We should all have a mom like Iona.
We were seated in first class, but ScotRail is decidedly low class regardless of where you sit. There was no dining car and though the WC functioned, we watched person after person fail to lock the door properly. Consequently, quite a few people got interrupted mid whiz, including Bill. Next time, instead of taking the train to Inverness, we’re renting a car. However, I am glad we took ScotRail this one time. The ride up to Inverness was pretty, if not a bit crowded. I also enjoyed meeting Iona and her adorable girls.
We arrived in Inverness in the early afternoon and found a taxi to take us to Rocpool Reserve, the best hotel in Inverness… or so we’ve heard. Stay tuned for the next post for my impressions.
Given that we’d already spent so much money on shows and knowing that a move always requires more spending, I hesitated slightly before I bought the tickets. When we go to concerts, they usually turn into major spending events. I usually book us a nice hotel, so we don’t have to worry about driving far to get to the venue or trying to park (although we made the mistake of driving to the Elton John show). I also don’t bother with “nosebleed” seats. There was a time when those were the best seats I could afford, but now I want to sit closer, which always means more money.
I asked Bill what he thought about seeing the Eagles, even though the band’s legendary frontman, Glenn Frey, passed away in January 2016. After some thought, Bill was okay with attending the show. Now it was time to choose a city. I had a choice between Cologne and Munich.
We had been in Cologne once before, back in May 2012, when we took our very first Space A military “hop”. I remember we stayed at the Ibis in the train station, which was fine for a night when we were totally exhausted, but probably wouldn’t do now that I’m older and richer. I also know Munich is expensive, since we did a blind booking out of Cologne on Germanwings (now known as Eurowings) during that same Space A hop and got Munich. Don’t get me wrong– Munich is so much fun; but it’s super pricey. Even average hotels down there cost a mint. Munich is also further away from us, now that we’re in Wiesbaden.
Both of the shows were on work nights, but the Cologne show was the day after Memorial Day, so we decided it would be easiest to go to Cologne. Bill would use up one less vacation day, and both the concert tickets and the lodging were less expensive than Munich. Now that we’ve been back to Cologne, I can say that we’ll probably go there for more shows. Not only was it super easy to get to the concert venue, it’s also super easy to get to Cologne from where we live. And, as a bonus, we discovered an amazing hotel in the Excelsior Hotel Ernst! As long as we can afford it, I think the Excelsior Hotel Ernst has effectively ended our Ibis days in Cologne.
This trip was also important, because it provided an excellent opportunity for our dogs to try out a new doggy pension. When we lived in Stuttgart, we used Dog on Holiday, which I would absolutely recommend to anyone. In fact, we’ve decided that anytime we need to go to or through Stuttgart with our dogs, we will try to have them stay with Max and Christine. But it wasn’t practical to take the boys to Dog on Holiday from Wiesbaden, so we needed to find a place for them closer to our new town. In February, we visited the Tierpension Birkenhof, and arranged for our boys to have their first stay during this quick trip to Cologne.
I got us fifth row seats!
With all of the arrangements made, we set off for the “city of pleasant smells” on Monday of this week– Memorial Day. Since our hotel was super close to the train station and the train station had a stop near Cologne’s Lanxess Arena, which was where the Eagles would be “crying”, we decided to take the Inner City Express (ICE) train from the Frankfurt Airport. The Tierpension Birkenhof is fairly convenient to the airport, although not as convenient as Max’s pension is to the Stuttgart airport.
The Tierpension Birkenhof was recommended to Bill by one of his co-workers. It’s always interesting to see the differences in the “doggy hotels” in Germany. When we were in Stuttgart the first time, we used to use Hunde Hotel Haase, which was a beautiful facility in Bad Niedernau, a very country hamlet south of Stuttgart. Kiersten, the lady who ran it back in those days, was absolutely awesome. But, when we came back to Stuttgart in 2014, she’d left and took the hotel’s good reputation with her. We used the Hunde Hotel Haase a couple more times, but kept hearing horror stories about dogs that were left there. That’s when we switched to Dog on Holiday, which has been universally great, despite it’s somewhat urban location.
Tierpension Birkenhoff is a rather large facility that cares for dogs and cats. It’s located in a somewhat suburban area, yet it’s near farmland. The owner doesn’t accept VAT forms, and we haven’t yet met him. We have met two of his employees, both of whom seemed very kind.
I have noticed that each German dog facility has its quirks. At the Birkenhoff, you’re not allowed to bring your own dog bed. I’m not sure exactly why this is… I think it’s because the other doesn’t want to have to worry about the owners’ beds getting dirty. Nevertheless, it does make things somewhat more convenient for us, since we’re about to trade in our RAV 4 SUV for a Volvo SUV and will probably have to bring the dogs in my Mini Cooper next time they stay. Mini Coopers are small. Dog beds take up a lot of space.
Frankfurt Airport train station to Cologne Messe
Once the dogs were dropped off, we made our way to the Frankfurt Airport. Bill had reserved parking with ACS at the airport, which turned out to be very convenient, once we figured out where P4 was. The reserved spots are reasonably priced and located near the terminal, so there’s no need to haul heavy bags long distances from far away lots. Frankfurt Airport is a bit more confusing than Stuttgart Airport is. It’s huge, and finding parking can be super confusing and annoying. But now that we know where the ACS parking is, I’m sure we’ll use it all the time. It really made parking super easy.
Frankfurt Airport also has a big train station, making it easy to access a lot of cities. If we had left from Wiesbaden, it would have taken a lot more time, required us to park in the parking garage from Hell, and we would have needed to change trains at least once. From Frankfurt Airport, it was a straight shot to Cologne.
I like how, in Germany, “bullshit” isn’t a bad word. You’ll even see it on billboards.
We had time for lunch, so we stopped at a restaurant called Little Italy, not to be confused with the Little Italy in Wiesbaden, which has become one of our favorite Sunday lunch stops. The Little Italy at the airport is in the shopping area called The Squaire. It’s not long on ambiance, but the food and service are good.
Mmm… food!
Bill went vegetarian with spaghetti and fresh vegetables, tossed in a little olive oil and washed down with a tempranillo.
I had a very lovely tagliatelle salmone. The salmon was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth. I love salmon that isn’t overcooked, and they did a really good job with this. However, I probably would have preferred about half this much food.
With lunch sorted, we headed down to the platform where we’d catch our train to Cologne. But then, about ten minutes before we were to depart, our original train was cancelled due to some people on the tracks. Don’t ask me what that means. I have no idea. Bill ran up to the Deutsche Bahn (DB) information kiosk, where he was advised that we should take another train.
Instead of dropping us directly at the Cologne Hauptbahnhof, would go to the Cologne Messe stop. That would require us to take a city train one stop over the Rhein River. The nice thing about the train we took was that it went directly from Frankfurt to Cologne, with no stops. It was also practically empty, which was a good thing, since changing trains also erased our seat reservations. Within an hour, we were whisked to Cologne, having flown past beautiful scenery at about 280 kph.
I was surprised by how fast our trip from Frankfurt to Cologne was on the ICE train. It was also very comfortable, since the train has clean toilets and a restaurant. We did not use the restaurant during our trip to Cologne, but it was nice to have had the option.
Bill checks the schedule…
This is the life. First class all the way. Second class probably would have been fine, too.
We could have taken a more leisurely train to Cologne and probably saved some money, but this was a really nice way to get where we were going. It’s been too long since our last train trip. I think we need to take them more often.
It was a simple thing to take the S-bahn over the Rhein River to get to Cologne’s main station, home of the city’s majestic Dom and our hotel, the Excelsior Hotel Ernst.
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