Yesterday was all about visiting Pride & Prejudice sites, today was Bronte's day. We started off with a little tour of Eyam, a town ravaged by the plague in 1666, half of the inhabitants died.  Not that this has anything to do with literature, but the town was unique in that they self-imposed a quarantine … Continue reading Bronte’s Day

Strong clear sunshine greeted us this morning, a great start for our first full day in England.  I had to plan each  day's activities for this part of our vacation as it was necessary to pre-book our accommodation (high season), so today's itinerary involves touring the stately homes of Chatsworth and Haddon Hall, both a … Continue reading A Stately Day

Sunday - We had to jolly old England along this morning, long before we ever set down in Great Britain.  Our transfer to Frankfurt airport left the ship at 7am (naturally I didn't get any sleep past 3:30am), so we had an early start packing Sheila, finding ourselves cups of life-sustaining tea & coffee, and … Continue reading Jolly Ole England

Day 6- Well, not really. We cruised all night again (boy, we're covering some miles here), not arriving in port till 6:30am.  As it was, Karlstadt was just a pit stop to herd us off the boat and onto the tour buses.  We had a long day touring ahead and would not be able to … Continue reading Last Day A Sailin’

Day 4 & 5 - Just a quick little voyage this morning, from 5-7:30am.  We were so busy sleeping, then eating, we hardly knew we were underway!   We docked right in downtown Mainz, so technically in the middle of things, but there was a Fair set up so our view was blocked by a ferris … Continue reading Sailing Along

Day 3 - The first question asked when meeting new people onboard is always:  "Where are you from?"  Interestingly, the 2nd is usually:  "Is this your first river cruise?"  We've learned that most are repeaters, many having cruised China as their first Viking trip.  It's easy to pick out these expert cruisers:  they have the … Continue reading Koblenz > Rudesheim

Day 2 – There’s nothing like the gentle rocking of a ship to lull you asleep.  We sailed thru the night and I think Sheila and I slept thru most of the night.  Our neighbours were enjoying CNN at 6am, so we decided that since we were awake, it was a decent time to get … Continue reading Cruzin’

My solo wanderings have temporarily morphed into a family affair - I'm off on a 3-week European adventure with my mom (aka Sheila).  Leaving from Vancouver, Canada we'll spend a week cruising the Moselle River in Germany from Trier to Wurzburg, then jet off to Manchester, UK for a 2-week drive around the Yorkshire Moors … Continue reading The Adventures Continue…