Author Archives: Serene

After a sea day we arrived at our first port, Olympia Greece.   Our destination was the Ancient Olympic Grounds. The ancient games were in honor of Zeus, the father of Greek gods and goddesses. Roman mythology has similar gods, … Continue reading →

After our Viking cruise, we spent a few days in Switzerland and then headed to Rome. The reason to go to Rome was to embark on a Holland America Cruise. The cruise-port for Rome is in the city of Civitavecchia about … Continue reading →

We were going up 3454 meters into the Swiss Alps.  We were headed to Jungfraujoch – the Top of Europe.  We were going to see, or go through, three peaks:  Eiger, Monch and Jungfraujoch.   Our first segment from Zurich … Continue reading →

Our plane to Zurich was late leaving Paris. Despite a nine hour time difference, our travel agent was aware and had already called to reschedule the driver picking us up at the airport in Zurich. She is golden. Even though it … Continue reading →

Randy was not feeling well so he stayed at the hotel while Connie, Warren and I went on a small group tour to Normandy. Warren’s father had served in Europe during World War II so it was very important to … Continue reading →

After being under the planning and protection of Viking for about two weeks, this was the day we were making our own way. We wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower, have a cruise along the Seine and tour the Louvre … Continue reading →

My lasting memory of Paris may be the heat.  We live in Phoenix so we are used to hot weather but we aren’t used to very little air conditioning.  Fortunately our hotel had AC but we weren’t in Paris to … Continue reading →

We continued the bus ride to Paris with our guide.  She spoke about the belief that French people are rude.  She said not everyone is rude but it is the waiters who cause the problems. Parisian waiters have a life … Continue reading →

Today was the day we left the Viking Alsvin.  Our room steward, Jovan , thanked us for being his tidiest guests. We said goodbye to the sweetest wait person Kristhina.  We had connected with her several times and learned about … Continue reading →

The town of Bernkastle was first recorded in civil documents in the year 1291.  It has always had a population of about 1000 because of the limited space available. Landshut Castle was destroyed by fire in 1692.  It has recently … Continue reading →