"Once-In-Our-Lifetime"

Ice cream

First thing bright and early on Oct. 1, we headed to the airport for our once-in-a-lifetime trip.  We had tried to take this last year for our 50th anniversary, but of course "COVID".  It was rolled over to this year and up until about two weeks before I wasn't sure we would be able to go.

But, we went.  It was fabulous.  And I highly recommend a European River Cruise.  Especially with Uniworld.    I'm one of those people who never understand why anyone would want the good news first followed by the bad.  I always want the bad news first, to assess and think through, followed by the good news - the hope, the happy ending, even if it's a small happy ending.  So I'm going to just jot down a few things we experienced, I learned and some thoughts.  Starting with the bad, intending to end with the good.

• Sitting in an airport for 11 hours isn't any fun.  Especially when the final result is a cancelled flight. Which cancelled flight then meant we stayed overnight in a local hotel. Which replacement flight was then late taking off which mean we missed our connecting flight in Amsterdam (my least favorite airport) so had to take the next one (and last one of the day - whew, so glad we made it!) which turned around half an hour into the flight, back to Amsterdam for a replacement plane.  Seriously.  I'm not making this up, IMO no one could. Tried to laugh this off, but by the time we finally ended up at the hotel, we were a bit weary.

Farmer's Market

• Because our flight was cancelled, our COVID test for flying timed out and we each had to get another one.  For the trip we ended up spending just a few dollars shy of $1,000 for COVID tests.  The upshot:  I am so grateful not only for the resources, but the locations for getting those tests so we could continue our trip.

• I have a new appreciation and respect for those who end up surrounded by people whose language they don't speak.  Between the thick accents and the COVID safety masks, I found most people speaking English fairly unintelligible.  I kept blaming it on my hearing.  :^)

• I have a fundamental issue (and yes, this one is all me and I can't even explain why, it's just the way I think) with paying to use a public toilet.  And then having the toilet paper dispensed one square at a time. 

• But...I learned that castles weren't all just for pretty like the standard fairy tale castle we often see depicted.  They were for protection and housing as well. We saw so many castles and churches they began to be hard to distinguish one from another.  I also learned that the Baroque style so popular starts to feel a bit overwhelming after a while. At one place, we went from Baroque (overly ornate) through to rooms that were more simple, and I could actually feel my shoulders relax. 

potato chips, yum

• The Husband will talk to the dogs (and they were everywhere) wherever he is, and all the children, too. 

• A river cruise where the ratio is 1-1 (cruise staff to passengers) means there is a lot of pampering going on. I've never experienced that kind of pampering treatment.   When there are only 42 (which ended up being 36 because six people left) passengers on a ship with 150 capacity, the group is small enough that you end up being more "connected" than you might like.  It's harder to be invisible, which actually is more where I prefer to be.  And being the only people there who weren't drinking alcohol or coffee or tea made us even more an oddity. Cocktail hour where the cruise director had her little chat with us about what to expect the next day was pretty mandatory.  I drank a lot of ginger ale, and it's a good thing I like it. 

• I learned that a morning hike along the river (can't remember which one, I think it was the Inn) in the fog and chill was just as wonderful as my morning walks here at home.  It was quiet, we were away from the bustle of the towns for the first time and I loved it.

Along the river

• Buffets are a bit more challenging in COVID times. The ship's way of handling it was to have you go around with a staff member and point out what you wanted and then he'd dish it out for you.  I learned to be very specific about the number of items or size scoop I wanted, they were so very generous.  I also learned to say thank you in a number of obscure-to-me languages - which I've already forgotten.

• We both learned that when you're a tad apprehensive about drinking the water, apple juice (especially sparkling apple juice) goes fairly well with most every food.

• We both stepped on the scales this morning with breath held.  After all the food (and we didn't stint, wanting to try everything local that we could) we expected to have to be seriously restricting our food intake.  Both of us ended up weighing precisely what we weighed pre-cruise. 

• Locks on the river are kind of fun.  But best enjoyed during the day when you can really see what's going on.  We slept through quite a few of them.  I also learned that I love sleeping on a ship on a river. Very good sleeping conditions.

• I prefer being on the Autobahn in Germany with a driver who keeps both hands on the wheel and isn't poking (and peering) in the console while driving. 

• We (luckily) timed our visit to the Marienplatz in Munich to the noon hour when the glockenspiel on the big tower in the square played it's music and the characters danced.  It took about 15 minutes but was very fun to witness. We heard the famous Passau organ in concert, were treated to entertainment on the ship by the Pressburger Duo who were fabulous, went to a private concert with professional caliber violinists, bassist, spinet player and vocalists and were treated multiple times to beautiful classical music.

• Salzburg was a delight. We rode the funicular, saw where lots of scenes from the movie "Sound of Music" was filmed, walked across a couple bridges and on the way to Salzburg visited the Mondsee which is a privately owned lake.  I can't imagine owning an actual lake. 

• We had rain and cold and sunshine and beautiful weather.  We had an abundance of good food.  We went back to our stateroom one night to find a bottle of wine and chocolates and a sweet card because they had found out about our anniversary.  

• The good food included actual Hungarian gyoulash (which is really a vegetable soup) , potato chips that aren't round like potatoes, caviar (won't be ingesting that again) sausages and sauerkraut, schnitzel with lingonberry jam, ice cream served in the shape of a flower, and other local fare that I can't remember but loved how it tasted.

• I've never ridden so many buses.  I was in Amsterdam and Paris just long enough to get my passport stamped, but it wasn't stamped in Slovakia, Hungary, Austria or Germany.

It was an extraordinary trip. We made it home with nary a hiccup in travel. Three flights, 24 hours and we were at home in our own bed, showering in our familiar shower and reveling in our peaceful home.  I will ever be grateful for the blessing of being able to go and indeed it was a huge blessing. Totally aware of what a luxury it was for us.