Europe Archives - Pacific Northwest Explorer

Wachau Gorge, Austria

by Alan K. Lee

In 2022, my wife and I had the pleasure of taking a river cruise on the Danube, beginning in Budapest, Hungary and ending in Passau, Germany. Along the way, we toured Bratislava, Slovakia, spent a day exploring Vienna, Austria, and visited several other smaller cities and towns on the Danube. Most of the actual sailing took place at night, but we spent one beautiful afternoon cruising through the fabulous Wachau Gorge between the towns of Krems and Melk in northern Austria.

The Wachau Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (listed as the Wachau Cultural Landscape), known for its medieval history and architecture, but also for its modern-day vineyards and wineries and its riverine landscape. The Wachau Gorge is bookended by the town of Krems and the hilltop Gottweig Abbey and the town of Melk and the spectacular Melk Abbey on the south bank of the Danube.

Our day started with an early morning arrival in Krems and a morning tour of Gottweig Abbey a few miles south of the town.

Gottweig Abbey was founded in 1083 and has been continuously occupied for more than 900 years. The current structure was built in the 18^th century. (Viking River Cruises is the only cruise line that tours Gottweig Abbey, but also the only one that does not tour the larger Melk Abbey at the upstream end of the gorge).

Upstream of Krems, the valley narrows and the roughly 25 miles between Krems and Melk feature steeper slopes bordering both sides of the river with the occasional castle looming above the riverside towns. The town of Dunstein, seen in the featured photo at the top of this post, is particularly beautiful.

Most of the north shore of this stretch of the Danube is part of a nature park (Naturpark Jauerling Wachau) and is largely wild, managed to protect wildlife habitat and the natural environment. It’s also spectacularly beautiful.

Late that afternoon, we sailed past the town of Melk and the huge, and hugely popular, Melk Abbey. Like Gottweig Abbey, the original Melk Abbey was founded nearly a thousand years ago (in 1089) and has been continuously occupied ever since. The current structure dates from 1702. I would have loved to tour the abbey, but with several river cruise ships already docked there, I understand why Viking skips it.

Upstream of Melk, we spent the evening hours cruising the Wachau Valley, an agricultural area with many small riverside towns and vineyards.

The following morning found us in Linz, Austria. We didn’t see much of Linz because we took an all-day trip to the beautiful and well-preserved medieval village of Cesky Krumlov, Czechia. Then it was on to our final destination on the cruise, Passau, Germany.

After the cruise, we extended our trip to Salzburg, Austria and Munich, Germany. One of the advantages of river cruising is that you get to see a lot of places in a short amount of time. But one of the disadvantages is that you don’t spend much time in any one place. We were able to spend several days in Salzburg, though, and several more in Munich and the Bavarian Alps, through a relatively inexpensive addition to our cruise offered by Viking. Several of the friends we made on the cruise took a different extension (also booked through Viking) to Prague.

The two river cruises that my wife and I have taken (the other was on the Rhine) were both very enjoyable, hassle-free experiences (except for all of the Covid-19 tests that we had to take during our Danube cruise, but that is now in the past tense). Both featured an immersion into medieval history, beautiful riverside cities and villages, and beautiful stretches of natural habitat that is rare in Europe. I can personally recommend both cruises, and river cruising in general. If you’re interested in river cruises or are just curious, check out my European River Cruises post for more information and advice.

Posted April 15, 2024.

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria is a city steeped in history going back to at least 500 BCE when the Celts first settled in the area. It was later occupied by the Romans, was the capital of the Habsburg Empire, and then the de facto capital (according to Wikipedia) of the Holy Roman Empire. Vienna is also the spiritual home of classical music. Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Schubert, Mahler, and many others lived and worked in Vienna, and many of the most acclaimed classical music works were composed and first performed there.

There’s so much to take in that Vienna cannot be fully appreciated on only a short visit. And my wife and I had only one full day to absorb as much of the city as we could on our 2022 Danube River cruise. But it was a memorable day.

Unlike Budapest and Bratislava, the historical center of the city does not lie directly on the Danube. We had to take Vienna’s subway system from the riverfront to the medieval center, which lessened the sense of going back-in-time that we have felt in exploring some of the other ancient European cities that we’ve visited. But the old city is truly magnificent. It is home to some of the most spectacular medieval architecture that can be found anywhere in Europe.

St. Steven’s Cathedral, Hofburg Palace, the Vienna State Opera House, the Albertina art museum, Maria Theresa Plaza, the Kunst Historical Museum, Mozart’s residence, and many other museums and places of interest are all within a half mile radius of each other in the historic center.

Belvedere Palace and Schonbrunn Palace, two of the more spectacular examples of Vienna’s medieval architecture, are a little farther afield and weren’t on our walking tour but are must-see attractions if you have more time than we did.

On our walking tour we chanced upon students of the Spanish Riding School exercising some of the famous Lipizzaner Stallions in the Burggarten park adjacent to the Hofburg Palace.

Besides being the cultural and historic center of Austria, Vienna is a modern city of two million people that has been ranked several times as the world’s most livable city, so there is much more to explore than just the medieval center.

Vienna is also a city of many beautiful parks and natural areas. After our walking tour of the medieval center, we crossed the Danube and spend some time in a beautiful park on a long, narrow, tree lined island between the main channel of the Danube and the Neue Donau side channel.

We likely will never return to Vienna – too many places we haven’t seen, and too little time left in our lives – but it’s one of the places that I would to return to if I ever check off all of my bucket list destinations. I left Vienna feeling like I didn’t get more than a tiny taste of what it has to offer. If you have a desire to visit Vienna, check out Visiting Vienna’s Guide To Vienna webpage to begin your planning. And plan to spend at least three or four days there. There is just too much there to see in a day or two.

And if you do go to Vienna, visit Budapest, too. And include Salzburg on your itinerary, as well. You won’t regret adding either of those cities to your trip.

Posted April 4, 2024 by Alan K. Lee

All photos ©Alan K. Lee, except as noted

Bern and Basel, Switzerland

When travelers think of Swiss cities, Bern and Basel probably don’t come immediately to mind. In fact, Rick Steves’ Switzerland guide book doesn’t even mention Basel. And even though Bern is the capital of Switzerland, it is not nearly as well known as Geneva, Zurich, and Lucerne. But both Bern and Basel have charming and interesting medieval city centers and are well worth exploring.

Basel is located on the Rhine River where the borders of Switzerland, Germany, and France meet. The city center straddles the river, and the city’s suburbs spill into both Germany and France. Bern is located on the Aare River midway between Geneva and Zurich, about 40 miles as the crow flies south of Basel .

BASEL

When my wife and I did a Rhine River cruise a number of years ago, Basel wasn’t really on our agenda. It was just the place where the cruise ended, where we would spend the night before extending our trip to the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Berner Oberland section of Switzerland.

Since our guide book didn’t cover Basel at all, we didn’t know quite what to expect. But, after disembarking the ship in the morning and taking a taxi to our hotel, we took advantage of having the rest of the day to explore the city.

We first headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art, part of the Kunstmuseum. On the way there we discovered an old section of the city (the St. Alban District) that is as picturesque and has all of the charm of the other medieval city centers we’ve visited, but with few tourists and no crowds.

After touring the museum, we spent the rest of the day sampling Swiss cuisine and exploring more of the city center, including Basel Cathedral (Basel Minster) and the Basel Town Hall (Rathaus), which has been the seat of government for 500 years. All in all, Basel was a delightful surprise, and a fitting end to our Rhine River cruise.

I later learned that Basel is considered by many to be the cultural heart of Switzerland. The Kunstmuseum (linked above), which opened in 1661, is the oldest public art museum in the world. The Museum of Contemprary Art is also the oldest contemporary art museum in Europe. And the and the University of Basel, founded in 1460, is the oldest university in Switzerland. Clearly, there is a lot of history here.

BERN

Bern also wasn’t really on our radar before the trip. After our stay in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, it was an overnight stop on our way back to Amsterdam and our flight home. But we had booked a hotel room in the old medieval city center, and had the afternoon and evening to explore the old town.

We wandered our way through the medieval center and down to the Aare River at the point of the peninsula that the old city is located on. The Aare is strikingly beautiful, colored turquoise blue by the glacial silt it carries. We lingered along river for a while before crossing the relatively new (built in 1840) high bridge (Nydeggbrucke) on our way to a couple of cold beers at the Altes Tramsdepot, a restaurant and pub housed in what was once a transit center.

The restaurant and the viewpoint next to it provide a good view of the river and the old city. And below, along the river, you can sometimes see brown bears, which are the symbol of Bern, in the Bear Park (Barenpark). The bears were not out and about when we were there, though.

Just downstream of the Nydeggbrucke, the older Untertorbrucke is a good vantage point to photograph the river and the high bridge. The current Untertorbrucke was constructed in 1489 to replace a wooden bridge built in 1256.

Back in the medieval city center (all of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site), we visited the Bern Cathedral (Bern Minster) and the Swiss Assembly building (the Bundeshaus). On the grounds of the Bundeshaus we found a rock garden with rocks from places around the world that have Switzerland in their name or are somehow associated with Switzerland. The Wallowa Mountains in Oregon are often referred to as the “Switzerland of America,” and, sure enough, one of the rocks in the rock garden came from Joseph, Oregon.

The following morning we boarded a train for an all day journey back to Amsterdam, where we spent a few more days before flying back to Portland. The Rhine River cruise, our foray into Switzerland, and our exploration of Amsterdam were all quite incredible experiences. I just wish that we had been able to spend more time in Switzerland, including Bern and Basel. They are both very interesting cities and we barely scratched the surface of what is there for the visitor. I hope to return someday, and I think that most travelers will find even a brief visit to Bern or Basel as worthwhile as we did.

Originally posted February 27, 2021 by Alan K. Lee. Updated and reposted February 9, 2024.

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland

It’s been almost a decade since my wife and I visited Switzerland, but the memories haven’t faded. One of the highlights of our visit was the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Berner Oberland section of central Switzerland. It is by any measure one of the most spectacularly beautiful places in the world.

We came to Switzerland after a Rhine River cruise that ended in Basel, Switzerland. From there we continued on to the small village of Murren, perched on the edge of the glacier carved Lauterbrunnen Valley, some 2300 feet above the valley floor.

Looking down on Murren from the Birg cable car station

To get there, we took a Swiss Rail train from Basel to Interlaken, then transferred to a local train that took us to the village of Lauterbrunnen where we boarded a cable-car lift that took us up the side of the valley. From the upper cable-car station it was a short 15 minute ride on a narrow gauge railway to Murren. If that all sounds a little complicated, it wasn’t. The train to Interlachen was direct with no stops. There was almost no layover in Interlachen. The cable car station in Lauterbrunnen is a short walk through a tunnel under the main street. The gondola was waiting for us in the station. The narrow gauge train at the top was there waiting for us to arrive. It all ran like the proverbial Swiss watch. It couldn’t have been easier.

You can also reach Murren by taking a local bus up the valley from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg. From there you can ride the lift that takes you first to the little village of Gimmelwald, then to Murren. From Murren it continues to the top of Schilthorn at an elevation 9744 feet. Gimmelwald is Rick Steves’ favorite village in the area, and it is certainly a picturesque and charming little village, but it’s tiny and accommodations are limited. Murren has many more lodging options and tourist services, but it is more crowded and very much a tourist town.

After getting settled in our hotel in Murren, we went for a hike above the village. Even though it was cloudy and none of the surrounding mountains were in view, the slopes of the valley are dotted with meadows and patches of forest, and are spectacularly beautiful. We hiked to Allmendhubel, where there is a children’s playground and a small cafe. Murren and Allmendhubel are connected by a funicular, but it was not running at the time. The trail to Allmendhubel passes a restaurant and inn called Sonnenberg. And not far from there is the Pension Suppenlap, another inn and restaurant. Both are high above Murren. There is a service road to them, but it is not open to the public. The only way to get to them is to walk. (Murren also has no public vehicular access.)

The meadows above Murren are grazed by cattle in the summer. Local farmers have huts (called alps) at various heights above the valley floor. The alps are manned by a team that tends the cattle and turns the milk produced into the local cheese. Each alp also has a herd of pigs that are fed the leftovers from the cheese making process. In the fall the farmers move their livestock down to the valley floor, sometimes in bad weather by the same gondola that transports the summer tourists.

Jungfrau Massive viewed from near Murren

Across the valley from Murren are the peaks of the Jungfrau Massive – the famous Eiger, Monch in the center, and the highest, Jungfrau. They were in the clouds the day we arrived, but the following morning the sun was shining and the three mountains were there in all their glory. Quite a sight, to say the least.

Schilthorn cable-car approaching the Birg station

We rode the cable-car from Murren up to the top of Schilthorn that morning. The first leg of the ride takes you to the Birg station where you transfer to another gondola that takes you to the top of Schilthorn. At Birg there is a walkway out over the edge of the cliff where you can look straight down through the grated floor hundreds of feet to the rocks below.

At the Schilthorn summit there is a revolving restaurant and viewing platform with panoramic views east across the valley to Jungrau, Monch, and Eiger, south and west to a seemingly endless expanse of mountain peaks, and to Lake Thun and the town of Thun to the north. Part of the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed at the top of Schilthorn and the there is a Bond World 007 exhibit and theater there that’s at least worth a quick visit.

That afternoon we took the cable-car down to the valley floor. A short bus ride took us to Trummelbach Falls. It’s hard to describe just how amazing this waterfall is. It’s actually a series of ten cascades, or chutes, inside the cliff face. The top and bottom of the falls are narrow slot canyons only a few feet wide, and the central part is completely within the mountain. From the bottom an elevator takes you up inside the mountain to a series of walkways, tunnels, and stairs that follow the cascades through the caves and slot canyons. Even in mid-summer when we were there the volume of water blasting through the mountain was awe inspiring. There just isn’t anything like this anywhere else in the world, as far as I know. It’s certainly the most incredible waterfall I’ve ever seen. You simply can’t capture the magic of this place with a camera. You have to see it to understand how truly mind boggling it really is.

Lauterbrunnen is a short bus ride from Trummelbach. It’s bisected by a busy road and crowded with tourists, but has a few good pubs and restaurants. It would be just another tourist town if it weren’t located where it is. The town is crowded up against the thousand foot high vertical wall of the valley. On the other side of the Weisse Lutschine River the eastern wall of the valley rises to the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau peaks. A half mile from the town, and visible from almost everywhere in the valley, Staubbach Falls cascades 974 feet down the canyon wall. And there are many other waterfalls lining both sides of the valley. Did I say this place is spectacularly beautiful?

The next morning we rode the train and lift down to Lauterbrunnen, then took the electric powered cog railway through Wengen and on up (way up) to Jungfraujoch, between the Jungfrau and Monch peaks, via a tunnel through the interior of the Eiger and Monch. Jungfraujoch, at an elevation of about 11,300 feet, is the highest train station in Europe. Mountain climbing by train! It’s hard to believe that the rail line was built more than a hundred years ago. It was cold, windy, and blindingly bright at the top, but magnificent. I probably took 150 photos that morning. Very, very cool place.

On the way down from Jungfraujoch we stopped at the Kleine Scheidegg station for lunch, then got on the wrong train. We wound up going to Grindelwald instead of Lauterbrunnen, but it was a very scenic wrong turn. From Grindelwald the train took us back to Interlaken. We then took another train back to Lauterbrunnen.

We left the next morning, but reluctantly. We could easily have spent a week or more there and not run out of things to do and see. For one thing, it is an absolute hikers paradise, and we did only that one relatively short hike to Allmenhubel. I hope to return someday when I can more fully explore this incredible area. It’s truly one of the most beautiful places in the world.

From Lautenbrunnen we travelled to Bern and then to Basel before returning home. Both are well worth visiting. Click here to view my post on Bern and Basel.

Originally posted by Alan K. Lee, June 8, 2019

Updated and re-posted March 6, 2021 and January 31, 2024

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Isle of Man

Even though my only visit to the Isle of Man came almost twenty years ago, at the end of an almost month-long vacation to Scotland and England’s Lake District, the three days we spent on the Isle of man were memorable.

The Isle of Man lies in the Irish Sea, halfway between Liverpool and Belfast. My sister in law had visited the island previously and thought we would like it, so my wife and I added it to the itinerary for our 2006 trip to England and Scotland. And I’m glad we did. The Isle of Man is a very interesting and charming place, and certainly one of the most unique places that we have visited in our travels.

Not quite an independent country, the Isle of Man is officially a Protectorate of the United Kingdom. The UK is responsible for the island’s defense and representing the island in international affairs. But the Isle of Man is not actually a part of the United Kingdom. The island’s parliament, which has been in existence since the 10th century, governs all domestic matters, and the island has its own legal and political systems and its own currency. (The British Pound is also legal tender on the Isle of Man, but the reverse is not true, as I found out when I accidentally tried to pay a bar tab back in England with an Isle of Man £20 note. The barkeep was not amused, to say the least.)

Getting to the island is relatively easy. It is no more than a 30 minute flight from any major city in the UK or Ireland. We, however, traveled to the island by passenger ferry from Heysham, England, which takes about two and a half hours. Ferries from Heysham and Liverpool run year round. In the summer months, there are also ferries from Belfast and Dublin to Douglas, the capital and largest city on the island.

Getting around on the Isle of Man is also easy. There is a government run bus system that covers the entire island. And since it is a small island, only roughly 300 square miles in size, all of the towns on the island are within about twenty miles of each other. There is also steam powered railroad running between Douglas and Port Erin in the south, and an electric railway running between Douglas and Ramsey in the north. And there is even an electric railway running to the summit of Snaefel, the highest peak on the island.

We stayed in Douglas and spent most of our time on the island exploring the city, but we also ventured to Peele, on the west coast, by double-decker bus, and to Port Erin by the steam train. Neither of us had ever ridden in a double-decker, and the train was one of a kind. I’m not sure which was more fun, riding in the front seat of the upper deck on the bus, or riding the little steam train on its leisurely journey to Port Erin.

On our train ride we met a local gentleman who was happy to pass on some of his knowledge of the island and its history. We found the Manx people to be friendly and welcoming.

The Isle of Man has an interesting history. It has been ruled by the Celts and the Vikings, and it has, at various times, been part of Norway, Scotland, and England. But the Manx people have a strong sense of their own identity and have managed to maintain that identity for more than a millennia, regardless of who ruled the island. Tynwald, the Isle of Man parliament, is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in the world. And human occupation of the island goes back to at least 6500 BC.

The Isle of Man is known for the short-tailed Manx breed of cats. The island is also the home of a four- and sometimes six-horned breed of sheep, and a population of red-necked wallaby, which have become established on the island after escaping from a wildlife park. We saw many of the odd looking sheep, but no cats or wallabies, sorry to say.

Motor sports fans know the island for the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy motorcycle races. For two weeks in May or June, the island becomes one giant racetrack. The TT, as it’s known, was first held in 1907, and is probably the most famous motorcycle race in the world today.

The Isle of Man was a popular tourist destination for a good part of the 20th century. But the advent of cheap flights from Great Britain to southern Europe led to a significant decline in the tourist industry. Today, the economy of the island revolves around banking, insurance, online gaming, and information technology.

While the Isle of Man might not be a tourist destination in its own right, at least for those of us from North America, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and I would like to go back someday. It has been some time since we visited, but given the island’s long history, I doubt that its essential character has changed much over the past seventeen years. I’m sure it remains a worthy addition to any trip to Great Britain or Ireland.

Originally posted by Alan K. Lee, December 4, 2020. Updated and re-posted August 28, 2023.

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Isle of Skye, Scotland

The Isle of Skye is often described as magical or mystical, and having been there I understand why. It’s beautiful, wild, and unforgettable.

The Isle of Skye was one of the highlights of the trip my wife and I took to Scotland back in 2006, and even though it has been more than fifteen years since our visit, the memory of our visit hasn’t faded. (One of the other highlights of that trip was our visit to Edinburgh.)

The Isle of Skye is both remote and at the same time the most accessible of the Hebrides Islands thanks to the Skye Bridge connecting the island to mainland Scotland. Getting to and getting around the Isle of Skye is relatively easy even if you don’t rent a car. There’s no rail service to the island, but buses run daily from both Glasgow and Inverness, and there is a local bus serving the island villages.

The local bus won’t get you to the more remote parts of the island, but if you want to explore the island’s outer reaches, there are bus tours available from a variety of operators. And there are many boat trips that will give you a different perspective on the island, take you to other nearby islands, and possibly give you an up close look at some of the marine mammals and birds that inhabit the islands.

Dunvegan Castle (sourced from Wikimedia Commons and credited to bea y frida)

We had a rental car, and driving on Skye’s many one lane (single track) roads was something of an adventure at times, but we had no misadventures. We spent most of our time on the island exploring the north and west coasts. Highlights of our tour include Kilt Rock, Neist Point, and Dunvegan Castle , the oldest continuously occupied castle in Scotland and the ancestral home of Clan MacLeod.

Another highlight for me was the many sweeping vistas of the open fields and farmhouses, and the rocky shores of the island. I tried to capture some of the magnificence of those views, but no photo can do justice to the breadth and scope of the scenery to be had there. It has to be experienced in person.

While on the island, we stayed at the White Heather Hotel on the harbor in the town of Kyleakin, just across the Skye Bridge from the mainland. The hotel markets itself as a small hotel with the hominess and personal service of a bed and breakfast. We found the staff to be friendly and helpful, and our room was clean, nicely furnished, and more than adequate for our needs

Ruins of Castle Maol silhouetted against the setting sun

We found the White Heather to be a great base for our exploration of the island, but there are many other hotels and guest houses on the island. Check the Isle of Skye Visitor Guide for a full listing of available accommodations.

Portree, on the east coast of the island, would also make a good base your explorations. It is the island’s largest village (population 2500) and there are numerous hotels and other accommodations to choose from. It’s also more centrally located than Kyleakin. The town of Dunvegan, in the northwest part of the island, is another popular base of operations.

I have no hesitation in recommending the Isle of Skye as a destination that should be on your bucket list. It’s a wonderful place and Scotland as a whole was a great place to start our explorations in Europe. Scotland is both different enough from the U.S. to be interesting and a bit exotic and alike enough to be comfortable and inviting.

We didn’t get to see all Skye has to offer in our short stay, and I would love to go back and explore the island further. But a big part of the allure of travel, for us at least, is exploring new places and new cultures, and there are so many other places that we have not yet visited that we may never make it back to Skye. But I will always treasure our visit and will never forget either the island or its people.

Originally posted by Alan K. Lee, October 3, 2020. Updated and re-posted August 1, 2023.

All photos © Alan K. Lee, except as noted

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh

The City

When my wife and I were planning our first trip to Europe, Scotland was the destination we settled on, and we were not disappointed. Beautiful wild lands, castles everywhere, friendly people, 1500 years (or more) of history – that trip had everything. And Edinburgh was where we spent the most time. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the historic heart of the country. It’s a beautiful and fascinating city, and no visit to Scotland is complete without spending at least a day or two in Edinburgh.

That trip was more than 15 years ago and some things may have changed greatly since then, so I won’t go into much detail as to what to do, where to stay, where to eat, what things cost, and so forth. But there’s much to Edinburgh that is timeless, and undoubtedly has not changed in the years since our visit.

Central Edinburgh is divided into the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town includes Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mile connecting the two, and the area to the south. The New Town stretches from Princes Street Gardens, directly below the Castle, to Queen Street Gardens and the adjacent area to the north. The Old Town is the historic center of Edinburgh, and also the site of the present-day Parliament. As far as the New Town goes, new is a relative term since construction of the New Town began in the 1760s.

Both the Old Town and the New Town have their charms, and both deserve at least some of your attention. We spent most of our four days in Edinburgh exploring the Old Town, so I’ll focus on that part of the city.

Edinburgh Castle

Built atop a volcanic outcropping called, appropriately enough, Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline of the city. The first castle on Castle Rock is thought to have been built in the 12th century, but none of that structure remains. The oldest remaining structure in the Castle is St. Margaret’s Chapel, dating to the mid 13th century. Most of the other remaining structure dates to the 16th century or later.

At the Castle, history and legend abound. You can visit the Great Hall, where the Scottish Parliament once convened, and Queen Mary’s Bedroom, where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI. You can see the Scottish Crown Jewels in the Crown Chamber, tour the French Prisons, and see the huge five-ton cannon known as Mons Meg. Plan to spend several hours at a minimum exploring the Castle.

The Royal Mile

The Royal Mile begins at Edinburgh Castle and runs downhill to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. I was surprised by how much there was to see and do in that mile long stretch. We spent most of two full days exploring it.

Just below the Castle, the Overlook Tower and the Camera Obscura are worth a visit. The camera obscura casts a fascinating real-time revolving image of the surrounding area onto a circular table. Nearby is the Scotch Whisky Heritage Center where you can learn about the making of Scotch Whisky and sample a variety of different whiskies.

Although we didn’t go inside, St. Giles Cathedral, also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a magnificent structure that predates most of the structures in Edinburgh Castle. The cathedral was built between the late 14th and early 16th centuries. Entrance to the cathedral is free, but a small donation is requested.

One of the attractions of the Royal Mile are the “closes,” underground passageways that were once narrow streets or walkways between houses. The upper floors of some the houses were demolished and the lower stories used as foundation for the Royal Exchange, built in the mid 18th century, leaving the closes below ground. Some of the closes remain as passages between the Royal Mile and the streets to the south, and organized tours of some of the more subterranean closes, such as the Real Mary King’s Close, are available.

Other attractions of the Royal Mile include the John Knox House, the Writers’ Museum, the Huntly House, and The People’s Story, a museum housed in the historic Canongate Tolbooth, built in 1591.

You will also find the Scottish Parliament buildings at the lower end of the Royal Mile near Holyroodhouse. Their contemporary, modernist design stands in stark contrast to the traditional and historical structures around them. And while I in fact like the design, to me they look out of place in their setting.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse

At the bottom of the Royal Mile lies the Palace of Holyroodhouse. All that remains of the original palace, built by James IV in the 16th century, is the North Tower. Most of the existing structure was built by Charles II about a century later. Adjacent to the palace are the ruins of the nave of an Augustinian abbey built in the 12th century.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Monarchy in Scotland, but the palace is open to the public when King Charles III is not in residence. We did not tour the interior, but it comes highly rated. You can visit the Throne Room, the Picture Gallery, and the King’s Bedchamber, and Tour the King James Tower, where Mary Queen of Scots lived. For more information, check the Royal Collection Trust website.

Arthur’s Seat. Photo by Claudel Rheault, sourced from Wikimedia Commons

Adjacent to the palace is Holyrood Park. Here you can climb to the top of the 823-foot-high Arthur’s Seat where you can get a panoramic view of Edinburgh Castle and the city beyond.

Beyond the Old Town

The most striking features of the New Town are the Princes Street Gardens, pictured above, and the Scott Memorial, pictured below.

We didn’t make it to Queen Street and Queen Street Gardens, but the photos I’ve seen and the guidebook descriptions make me think we missed something there.

A little farther afield in the West End, though within easy walking distance of the New Town, is the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, one of Edinburgh’s many museums. After days of being immersed in ancient history and medieval art, it was nice to see something more contemporary.

On the walk back we discovered a path along the Water of Leith that took us to Dean Village, a charming little community that dates to the 12th century. (The Bald Hiker website just published a post on the Water of Leith walk – all 13 miles of it. Click here to view the post).

On our visit we stayed at an old hotel just east of Calton Hill. With its many monuments, including the Nelson Monument and the Lincoln Monument (which is in fact dedicated to Abraham Lincoln), Calton Hill is one of the more scenic and picturesque locations in Edinburgh. From the top of the hill you have a panoramic view over the city and to the Firth of Forth and the Port of Leith, where the Royal Yacht Britannia, once Queen Elizabeth II’s private yacht, is berthed. Since its decommissioning in 1997, the yacht has been open to the public.

Festivals

Edinburgh is not completely lost in its history. It has a modern, contemporary side as well, and it is a city of festivals. The biggest and most famous is the Edinburgh International Festival, held every August. Running simultaneously with it is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in which anyone and everyone is given free rein to put on whatever kind of performance they choose, wherever they can find a place to perform it. The Fringe bills itself as the largest artistic festival in the world. And if that were not enough, there is a film festival, a jazz festival, a television festival, and (some years) a book festival that also run simultaneously with the International Festival.

Conclusion

I don’t know if we’ll ever return to Edinburgh. I would love to, but traveling to Europe is not something we can do every year, and there are probably too many places that we have not yet visited for us to be retracing past steps. If you have not been to Edinburgh, though, I highly recommend that you visit at some point, if possible. It’s a wonderful place and visiting is a much richer experience than I can convey in words and images. And Edinburgh was just the beginning of our travels in Scotland. Look for an updated post on the Isle of Skye, and perhaps one or two others down the road.

Originally posted by Alan K. Lee, September 16, 2020. Updated and re-posted July 10, 2023.

All photos © Alan K. Lee, except as noted

Florence, Italy

In 2018 my wife and I had the great pleasure of visiting Florence, Italy. It was the final leg of our 2018 trip that also included visits to Cinque Terre, Lucca, Pisa, and Siena.

There is probably no other city in the world where history, culture, and art intersect as strongly as they do in Florence. Walking the streets of the old city center, you are walking the same streets that Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo, the Medicis, and Machiavelli walked. You are literally walking in their footprints. That’s a very powerful and pretty magical connection. Never mind that there are tens of thousands of other visitors walking those same streets.

If you an art aficionado, you have a problem here – you simply can’t see everything worth seeing unless you have an unlimited amount of time to spend in Florence. There are dozens of galleries, museums, and palaces, and hundreds, probably thousands, of statues and other significant pieces art scattered around the city. Many of Florence’s churches have impressive art collections, as well. We visited many, but by no means all, of the major galleries in our four days there.

The two most acclaimed art museums in Florence are the Uffizi Gallery and the Galleria dell’ Accademia. The Uffizi has the most extensive collection of Italian renaissance art in existence, and the Accademia is home to Michelangelo’s David. Though very crowded, both are absolute must sees if this is your first visit to Florence.

Statue of Orpheus, Medici-Riccardi Palace

The Duomo Museum is also highly worth visiting, and the Bargello has the best collection of early Florentine sculpture. The Palazzo Medici-Riccardi and the Palazzo Vecchio both also house significant works of Florentine art. The Galileo Science Museum, the Museum of San Marco, and the museums in the Palazzo Pitti are also highly recommended by the guide books. We weren’t able to visit any of those, however.

The history and culture of Florence is intimately tied to the Catholic Church, and many of the city’s churches are among the major attractions of Florence, including the Church of Santa Maria Novella, the Santa Croce Church, the Brancacci Chapel, the Medici Chapels, the San Miniato Church, and, of course, the Duomo cathedral (officially the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) and the Baptistery (the oldest structure in Florence, built in the eleventh century).

Construction of the cathedral started in 1296, but the nave wasn’t finished until 1420, and the dome wasn’t completed until 1436. (The Lantern that tops the dome wasn’t added until 1472). The dome of the cathedral is by itself one of the wonders of Florence. When the cathedral was designed no one had any idea how to build a dome spanning 150 feet, especially one that began 180 feet off the ground. Nothing like it had been built before. No one knew if it could be built. Filippo Brunelleschi, who both designed and built the dome, had nothing to guide him. He literally had to invent the engineering techniques and much of the equipment needed to construct it as he went. It is still the largest masonry dome in the world. The Florence Inferno website has more information on construction of the dome. There is also a fascinating episode of the PBS series NOVA depicting the building of the dome that I highly recommend. There is a link to that at the end of this post.

Entrance to the Duomo cathedral is free. Because of that and because the cathedral is one of the most prominent attractions in Florence, the lines are long – many blocks long when we were there. The cathedral opens to the public at 10:00, except Sunday. Mass (which is open to the public) is held at 10:30 on Sunday, and the cathedral opens for public tours at 1:30. A €15 combo ticket gets you into all of the other Duomo attractions, including the Campanile, the Baptistery, the Duomo Museum, and the climb to the top of the dome (which also requires reserving a time in advance).

City view from the top of the Duomo dome

Since we were climbing the dome, we skipped the long line to get into the Duomo cathedral. Climbing the dome does not get you into the main floor of the cathedral (except for a small roped off area as you exit), but does give you a birds eye view looking down on the altar and the 500 foot long nave from halfway up, and gives you an up close view of Vasari’s magnificent painting that covers the dome’s ceiling. And the view of the city from the top of the dome is spectacular, especially if you’re there near sunset, and makes the 463 step climb definitely worth the effort.

After our dome climb, and a short rest, we climbed the Campanile (bell tower), also known as Giotto’s Tower. While the view of the city is essentially the same as from the cathedral dome, from the Campanile you have a great view of the dome itself. The 414 step climb to the top of the bell tower is slightly less taxing than the climb to the top of the dome (unless you climb them back to back like we did). If you just want a good view of the city, the more sensible option would be to just climb the Campanile and skip the dome, but climbing both is certainly doable for most people.

We stayed at an Airbnb rental near the city center, and walked everywhere we went. All of the major attractions of Florence are within easy walking distance of each other. The closer to the center of the city the more expensive hotels and other accommodations tend to be, of course, so staying outside of the center and taking a taxi or bus in makes some sense. (Even if you have a car, I would advise not driving into the city center). Our Airbnb was reasonably affordable and only a ten minute walk to the Duomo, though, so that is also a good option to consider if the cost of accommodations is a concern.

There is just too much to Florence to cover here. If you’re planning a trip, do your homework (Rick Steves’ guide to Florence and Tuscany is a good starting point), pick the sights you have to see, and plan accordingly. But also leave time to explore the city, especially areas away from the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio. Sample the local cuisine (the food was very good at every place we ate, so don’t be a slave to guide book recommendations), drink some wine, and get a feel for the city. Visit the Pitti Palace (closed on Mondays) and the Boboli Gardens in the Oltrarno area south of the river, take in the sunset from the Piazzale Michelangelo (also in the Oltrarno), or just wander at random. You will find interesting, artistic, and historical attractions wherever you go.

There is simply no other place like Florence. If you are contemplating a trip to Tuscany, Florence has to be at the top of your list of places to visit. And you should spend enough time there to get a real feel for the city. There’s just too much history, too much art, and too much of the soul of Italy there to not experience as much of it as you can.

I don’t know if we will ever return to Tuscany, but there is still much to see if we do, in Siena, Lucca, and Pisa as well as Florence. And the hilltop villages in central Tuscany that we did not make it to on this trip beckon.

Click here to watch the NOVA episode on building the Duomo dome. To view other posts from our trip, click on the links below:

Cinque Terre Lucca Siena

Originally posted 11/4/18 by Alan K. Lee. Updated and re-posted 8/24/20 and 6/20/23.

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Siena, Italy

Siena, Italy is a hilltop city in Tuscany, about 30 miles south of Florence. Siena was a medieval rival of Florence, on par with Rome, Genoa, and Venice. It ultimately lost out when Florentine forces captured the city in 1550. Florence became the political and cultural center of Tuscany, and Siena languished for centuries. But Siena’s loss is the visitor’s gain. While Florence flourished, Siena remained much as it had been in 1500, and the historical center (“centro storico”) retains much of its medieval character.

We traveled to Siena by train from Lucca. The train station in Siena lies at the base of the hill. Taxis are readily available to take you up to the main city, and there is a shuttle bus, also. The other option is a long series of indoor escalators (beginning in a shopping mall across from the station), which is what we took. From the top of the escalators it is a short walk to the Porta Camollia gate in the old city wall.

Our arrival happened by chance to coincide with the 2018 running of the Mille Miglia (“Thousand Mile”) classic car rally, which was passing through Siena that day. The city was full of old, and some not so old, exotic cars. Being a bit of a car guy, that was an unexpected bonus for me.

We found our Airbnb rental without a problem, but actually getting in took a couple of hours. The building door code that we were given didn’t work, but a resident let us in. The key was supposed to be in the door to our unit, and it was, but our unit was off a hallway that was behind a locked door. Calling the management company got us nowhere. Eventually, my wife made an international call to Airbnb back in the States, and they contacted the local people, who sent someone out to let us in. How they expected us to get past that locked door is beyond me. Another example of “this is Italy,” I guess. But once settled in, the rest of our visit was thoroughly enjoyable.

Piazza del Campo viewed from part way up the City Tower

The cultural hearts of Siena are the Piazza del Campo and the Duomo di Siena. Both are within a few blocks of each other, making it easy to get at least a taste of Siena, even if you have only part of a day to spend there. Siena, at least the centro storico, is easily walkable. Vehicles are restricted to residents, taxis, and service vehicles. The hill top is roughly Y-shaped, with the three limbs radiating out from the Piazza del Campo (sometimes called Il Campo). The streets are narrow and winding, much like Lucca, and it isn’t difficult to get lost. But if you have a good map and are paying attention to where you’re going, it’s not difficult to find your way around.

Church of San Domenico (Chiesa di S. Domenico)

Climbing the City Tower (Torre del Mangia), adjacent to Il Campo, will give you a birdseye view of the city and help you orient yourself. The tower is 330 feet tall and the climb is about 400 steps, so you need to be in decent physical condition, but the exertion is worth the effort, if you can manage it.

The Piazza del Campo is the civic center of Siena, and has been since the 13th century. It’s a great place to just sit and people watch, drink a glass of wine or pint of beer, and relax between your explorations. City Hall (Palazzo Publico) faces the plaza and houses the Civic Museum and provides access to the City Tower.

Directly across the plaza from City Hall is the Fountain of Joy (Fonte Gaia). The original fountain was built in the early 1400s and was a source of clean drinking water for the residents of Siena. What you see in the plaza is a copy, but the original fountain can be seen at the Santa Maria della Scala museum next to the Duomo, where it was moved to preserve it.

The Piazza del Campo is also the site of the famous Palio horse races that are held every summer. Each horse represents one of the 17 contrades (neighborhoods) in Siena and competition between the contrades is fierce. Winning the Palio is a very big deal in Siena.

The Duomo di Siena, a few hundred yards west of Il Campo, is the religious heart of Siena. Built in the 1200s, the cathedral predates Florence’s grand Duomo. Plans to expand it to surpass Florence’s cathedral were scuttled by the Black Death that killed a third of the population in the 1350s. The expansion plan was never revived, but even as is, the Duomo is still plenty grand.

Original stained glass window from the Duomo, displayed in the Duomo Museum

A woman we met in Cinque Terre earlier in our trip told us that the Duomo in Siena is the second most beautiful church (after the Vatican) that she has ever seen. I don’t know if I would go that far, but it is definitely impressive and worth a few hours, or even a half a day, to see all that it offers. The Duomo Museum and the cathedral are absolute must sees if you’re visiting Siena.

We spent most of our two days in Siena wandering around with no set agenda. It’s just a magnificent city, and everywhere you go you will find something worthwhile to see or do. There are lots of interesting little shops and art galleries, scenic streets and alleys to explore, and of course, plenty of cafes and restaurants for you to sample the local cuisine. We largely ignored the guidebooks and just picked cafes that looked interesting to us, and we didn’t have a bad meal at any of them.

Chiesa di S. Maria di Provenzano (left) and Basilica di S. Francesco (right)

One of our wanders took us to the Basilica di San Francesco and the adjoining Oratoria di San Bernadino. Both the buildings and grounds are strikingly beautiful, and we lingered for what seemed like hours. And I’m sure there are many other churches in Siena that are just as beautiful. In fact, I don’t think there is anyplace in the centro storico that is not beautiful.

If you’re interested in the history of Siena, the Civic Museum, the Duomo Museum, and the Santa Maria dell Scala museum are must visits. And if you are interested in the art of Siena, be sure to check out the Pinocoteca Nazionale and the Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana, both near the Duomo.

We were able to explore only a small fraction of the city, but Siena is so beautiful and so charming that we would love to return some day and spend more than just two days there. While Lucca has a very interesting and largely authentic centro storico, Siena’s is equally interesting and authentic, and it’s burnt sienna colored brick buildings and dramatic hilltop location make it more beautiful and give it more charm than Lucca. And while it doesn’t have Florence’s art and cultural heritage, I would pick Siena over Florence if I could only revisit one.

Our trip to Italy began with five days in Cinque Terre, followed by two in Lucca. Following our visit to Siena, we spent another five days in Florence, soaking up the history, art, and culture of the city, and literally walking in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Trip of a lifetime.

Originally posted October 10, 2018 by Alan K. Lee

Updated and re-posted April 18, 2021 and June 11, 2023

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Lucca, Italy

by Alan K. Lee

Lucca was the surprise of our trip to Italy in 2018. Our primary destinations were Cinque Terre, Florence, and Siena. I honestly had never heard of Lucca before we started planning that trip, but the guidebooks and online reviews made it sound interesting, so we added it to our itinerary, and I’m glad we did. The following is an updated and slightly edited version of a post on this site from 2018.

Lucca, Italy is a modern city of about 85,000 people, located about ten miles northeast of Pisa and 40 miles west of Florence. But the old walled city was what my wife and I came to see. Lucca has one of the most intact medieval city centers you will find anywhere in Europe. The historic center, or centro storico, is relatively compact, easily walkable, and almost unchanged from medieval times.

Lucca is an ancient city, founded by the Etruscans, probably on the site of an earlier Ligurian settlement. It became a Roman colony in 180 BC. Little remains of the Roman city, though. Most of the old city is of medieval origin, but some of the streets date to the Roman settlement, and a hint of the Roman amphitheater can be seen in the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro. The popular Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the old Roman forum.

Lucca became an independent state in 1160 and retained its independence for 500 years. In the Middle Ages Lucca grew rich from the silk industry. Banking was also an important source of wealth for the city. More recently, the city was conquered by Napoleon and given to his sister Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi in 1805. It later became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, then the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, and finally the modern Italian State in 1861.

One of the attractions of Lucca is the medieval city wall. Lucca is one of the few ancient cities in Europe with an intact wall. The wall is a wide earthen structure faced with brick, constructed between 1550 and 1650. The top of the wall is now a tree-lined park with a wide pedestrian/bicycle path. The 2.5-mile-long path is a popular walking, jogging, and cycling path.

Bicycles can be rented for about €5/hour or €20/day at several shops in the old city. Riding or walking the wall is a good way to get a view of the city, and a good place to people watch, too. You will see many locals, as well as fellow tourists, walking and riding the walls or just relaxing on park benches. There are also several places where there are tunnels inside the structure of the wall that are surprisingly interesting and well worth seeking out.

Inside the walls, the old city has many fine old churches, plazas (piazzas), palaces (palazzos), and villas. Getting around can be confusing, as the streets are narrow and lined with tall (4-6 story) buildings, and some much taller towers that block out any visual reference points. On a cloudy day it can be difficult to orient yourself. You may come out onto the street and have no idea which way is north. A city map and a good guidebook are essential. Rick Steves’ guide to Florence and Tuscany has a chapter on Lucca and is a good reference. His walking tour is a good way to see the major sights.

We wandered around without a set itinerary and got lost on several occasions. Wandering aimlessly and getting lost has a certain appeal, but one time we couldn’t find the side street where we had left the bikes that we borrowed from the owner of the Airbnb we were staying in. Eventually we figured out that we were on the opposite side of the city than we thought we were. We retrieved the bikes and rode back to our rental, but only after walking almost all of the 2.5-mile wall.

Some of the major attractions in Lucca are the Piazza San Michele and the Church of San Michele (Chiesa di San Michele), the Cathedral Museum (Museo della Cattedrale), the Guingi Tower (Torre Guingi) and Villa Guingi, the Casa di Puccini (the birthplace of the opera composer Giacomo Pucccini), the San Martino Cathedral, the San Giovanni Church, the Church of San Fediano, the Pallazzo Mansi, and the Palazzo Pfanner. All of these are described in the Rick Steves guide, as well as other guidebooks.

Climbing the 220 steps of the Torre Guinigi gives you a good view of the city and you’ll find an interesting little grove of trees growing on the summit of the tower. This was the first of our tower climbs during our trip. More would come in Siena and Florence, culminating with our back-to-back climbs of the Duomo and Campanile (Giotto’s Tower) in Florence (both 400+ steps). Lucca once had 160 towers like the Torre Guingi, all private residences of wealthy merchant families. Only a few remain. A combination ticket that gets you into both the Torre Guinigi and the Clock Tower costs less than €10. Most of the other attractions in Lucca are similarly inexpensive, mostly between €5 and €10.

There are no shortages of places in Lucca to get a good meal, something we found true everywhere we went in Italy. There are some fine dining establishments that are recommended the guidebooks, but we found the sidewalk and piazza cafes that are so abundant all had very good food at surprisingly affordable prices. It’s hard to go wrong, wherever you choose to dine. Gelato is serious stuff in Lucca, too, as it is everywhere in Italy.

If you’re visiting Tuscany, Lucca should be on your itinerary, even if you only have an afternoon to explore it. Siena is prettier, and Lucca doesn’t have the history or art and culture of Florence, but it is more authentic and much less touristy, and has its own appeal. You won’t regret it.

For more on our 2018 trip, check out my posts on the wild beauty of Cinque Terre, the art, history, and culture of Florence, and the beauty and charm of Siena.

Originally posted September 17, 2018. Updated and re-posted April 14, 2021 and May 21, 2023.

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Cinque Terre

by Alan K. Lee

The following is an expanded and updated version of an August 2018 post on this site.

After years of talking about visiting Italy someday, my wife and I packed our bags and headed across the Atlantic in May 2018, bound for Cinque Terre and Tuscany. We left Portland on a Wednesday afternoon and landed in Florence on Thursday afternoon (local time), sleep deprived and feeling very jet lagged.

It took a while for us to find our Airbnb rental. In addition to being sleep deprived, we discovered that the street addresses in Florence are not sequential – 50 daVinci, for example might be somewhere between 200 and 500, with 51 daVinci blocks away – something we found both nonsensical and frustrating. But the beauty, charm, history, food, and art of the country, and people we encountered, more than made up for the country’s shortcomings.

Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio, Florence

Once we finally found our rental and got checked in, we spent a little time exploring the center of the city, then crashed early and tried to make up for our sleepless night on the plane. In the morning we made our way to the train station in central Florence and, with a little help from a Trenitalia agent, boarded our train for Cinque Terre, where our next Airbnb was waiting for us in the town of Manarola.

We chose to stay in Cinque Terre because most of the tourists are day trippers and we thought we might get a more authentic and less crowded experience in the mornings and evenings. That turned out to be true to a certain extent. A lot of other visitors had the same idea that we did, though. But it didn’t matter. It’s just an incredibly beautiful place.

Cinque Terre coastline looking north toward Manarola (center) and Monterosso (far distance).

Cinque Terre consists of five small villages (cinque terre translates to “five lands”) perched on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea between Pisa and Genoa. All five of the villages are remarkably well preserved. The whole area is a national park, so development is very restricted. There are no big resorts or hotels, and cruise ships can’t dock anywhere in Cinque Terre. Vehicular access and parking are also very limited, making it more difficult to get to Cinque Terre than other parts of Italy, especially for tour buses. There were plenty of tourists even in May, to be sure, but the incredibly beautiful location and the charm of the villages themselves make the hordes of tourists less objectionable.

Riomaggiore is southernmost of the five villages and the first you come to if you’re coming from Pisa or Florence, as we were. We didn’t spend much time there, just enough to walk up the steep main street from the harbor where we could get a good view of the town and the surrounding area.

Manarola is the next village. We spent most of our time there, since we were staying there, but I think it is also the most beautiful of the five villages, so we would have spent a lot of time there regardless. You could make an argument for any of the five being the prettiest, though, and a lot of people would vote for Vernazza.

Corniglia is the middle village, and the only one not on the water. It’s also the least visited. Many visitors may skip Corniglia because of the 380-step climb from the railroad station to the town, but if you can manage it the climb is well worth it. Corniglia is the least touristy of the five villages, but there are still plenty of interesting sights to see and places to visit, and also plenty of good places to eat and drink.

Vernazza has a pretty harbor and the view from the top of the Doria Tower is stunning. There are also a maze of narrow pedestrian alleyways lined with flowers in brightly colored pots that are a joy to explore. And Vernazza probably has more cafes and restaurants than any of the other villages.

Monterosso al Mare is the northernmost of the Cinque Terre villages and the only one with a beach. It is also the largest and most touristy of the five, but it still retains much of its original charm.

Because we would not be home on Mother’s Day, my two stepdaughters bought my wife (and me) tickets to a pesto making class and lunch at the Nessum Dorma Restaurant in Manarola, something I would not have done on my own, but which turned out to be both a good introduction to Italian cuisine and loads of fun. And the food was very good, including the pesto that we made ourselves.

Sea caves between Monterosso and Vernazza

The next day we made our way to Monterosso al Mare. There we took a guided kayaking trip along the coast to Vernazza. Along the way we were able to paddle into a couple of sea caves and to the base of a waterfall. Pretty cool stuff, and well worth the expense. Getting out on the water gives you a completely different perspective, and photo opportunities that can’t be had from shore. This was definitely one of highlights of the trip.

View south from Corniglia, looking toward Manarola

We found that the best way to get to Cinque Terre, and the best way to get from town to town, is by train. The train system in Italy is much better than some have portrayed it (at least when the employees are not on strike). Trains run on time (or close), run frequently, and the system is easy to use. It can be confusing at first, especially in large train stations like the Santa Maria Novello station in central Florence. But the Trenitalia agents were helpful, and after our first day we traveled around for the next two weeks without incident (except for the ticket machine that took our cash but didn’t give us the tickets).

Tickets for the local trains in Cinque Terre cost €5.00 each way regardless of your destination. If you’re in Riomaggiore, tickets to Manarola (which is a two-minute journey) cost the same €5.00 as tickets to Monterosso, so it can get expensive if you’re trying to see all five villages in a day. You can buy a Cinque Terre Train Card at any of the train stations that allows unlimited train travel between the villages and also north to Levanto and south to La Spezia, but unless you are making a lot of stops the savings are small (or non-existent).

Note: There are two types of Cinque Terre Cards. The Trekking Card gives you access to the Blue Trail from Corniglia to Monterosso. The cost is €7.50 for a one-day pass and €15.00 for a two-day pass, with discounts for seniors and children. The Train (Treno) Card also gives you access to the Blue Trail, plus unlimited access to the National Park shuttle busses, free use of public toilets, free wi-fi at train stations, and free entrance to some of the museums in La Spezia, in addition to unlimited train travel. A one-day Train card currently costs €18.20 for adults, €14.80 for seniors (70+), and €11.40 for children (4-11). One-day family (two adults and two children) cards are €47.00. Two- and three-day cards are also available. The Cinque Terre Travel website has a lot of good information on the train system.

Another way to get from village to village is by boat. There are large tour boats that make regularly scheduled trips from village to village (except Corniglia) at reasonable rates. They can be crowded and don’t run except in calm conditions. (Because they are too large for the small harbors they nose into the rocky shore and even a little chop can make getting on and off dangerous).

The tour boats weren’t operating on the day we had set aside for a tour, but we had already been out on the water kayaking, so it wasn’t a great loss. There are also private boats that can be hired. They are more expensive, but if you have a small group of people, hiring a private boat can be more affordable on a per passenger basis.

View from above Corniglia, looking south to Manarola

Hiking opportunities abound in Cinque Terre but be prepared for some serious elevation changes. The popular low elevation Blue Trail between Corniglia and Manarola and the Via dell’Amore between Manarola and Riomaggiore were both closed because of landslides when we were there. The Via dell’Amore’s reopening is scheduled for some time in 2024, but this being Italy, don’t hold your breath. When the Blue Trail between Manarola and Corniglia reopens is anybody’s guess. The Blue Trail between Corniglia and Monterosso was open we were there, and remains open as of May 2023, but again, this is Italy, so don’t count on it. Hiking the Blue Trail requires a Cinque Terre Trekking Card. All of the other trails in Cinque Terre are free.

View from Volastra, looking north to Corniglia (center) and Monterosso (far distance)

We did take the park shuttle from Manarola up to the village of Volastra, then hiked the high route from there to Corniglia. Most of that trail is relatively flat and has great vistas from Manarola all the way to Monterosso. The final portion to Corniglia is steeply downhill. After exploring Corniglia we returned to Manarola by train.

There are miles of other trails from Levanto north of Cinque Terre to Portovenere to the south. Definitely check out the Italian Fix website if you’re planning to do any hiking in Cinque Terre, as it has a lot of information on hiking in Cinque Terre and vicinity and is updated frequently.

Our five days in Cinque Terre passed quickly, then we were on to Lucca for a few days, then Siena, with a brief stop in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower, and finally back to Florence.

Would I go again? In a heartbeat. I could probably spend every evening for the rest of my life sitting at one of the cliffside tables at the Nessum Dorma restaurant in Manarola, looking across the little harbor to the colorful houses stacked one on top of another, sipping a local wine and munching on cheese and bruschetta or focaccia, and be perfectly happy.

Originally posted August 20, 2018. Updated and re-posted May 8, 2023.

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Cesky Krumlov

by Alan K. Lee

Czesky Krumlov is a small city in the Czech Republic about 85 miles south of Prague on the Vltava River. The old town section of the city, with its well preserved Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture and a castle complex that towers over the city, is one of the top tourist destinations in the country, drawing more than a million visitors a year.

You’ll see a lot of superlatives in descriptions of Czesky Krumlov: romantic, charming, magical, fairytale-like, enchanted, and so forth. If that sounds a bit Disneyesque, the town does have a bit of a theme park vibe. But it’s undoubtedly beautiful and the old town is ancient and authentic. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992.

You’ll also see Czesky Krumlov described as unbearably touristy. Many of the comments I read on tourist forums recommended spending the night in the city so that you can see the city in the evening after the tour buses have left and in the morning before they arrive. My wife and I were there in early June, a little before peak season. There certainly were many other tourists there, but I wouldn’t call it unbearably crowded. And the beauty of the city and its undeniable charms would have trumped the detrimental aspects of any crowds, anyway, in my opinion.

The Cesky Krumlov Castle complex , with its Baroque Theater (one of only two remaining in Europe that are open to the public), is probably the biggest tourist draw. There are four different tours of the castle that you can take, all lasting from 45 minutes to an hour with adult admission prices of 180 to 280 Czech Korunas ($7 to $12 at current exchange rates).

Another top attraction is the 15th century Church of St. Vitus in the historic old town area.

Floating the Vltava River through town is another popular activity.

For my money, the best part of our visit was simply wandering around the historic center, walking the cobblestone streets and taking in the wonderful architecture, the beauty of the Vltava River that meanders around and through the town, and finding some of the charming and quirky things that set Czesky Krumlov apart. The old town area is car free and pedestrian friendly.

We didn’t do any of the castle tours or tour the Castle Garden. But our tour guide gave us a good deal of information about the town and its history, and we had plenty of time to just wander around the old town on our own. And that was enough to make it well worth the long bus ride from Linz.

Guided walking tours are available for about $40-50 per person, but you don’t need a tour guide to enjoy the sights. We spent only one afternoon in Czesky Krumlov (we were among those hordes that arrived on tourist buses), so we hardly experienced all of its charms. The only regret we had about our visit was that we didn’t have more time to spend there.

Everyone visiting Prague and/or Vienna (or doing a Danube River cruise) should consider adding Cesky Krumlov to their itinerary. It is an absolutely beautiful city and a wonderful place to visit. The guide books and reviews were right, too – you should spend the night there, if you can, and give yourself plenty of time to fully explore this fascinating town. More information about Cesky Krumlov can be found here.

My wife and I visited Cesky Krumlov as part of a Danube River cruise that we took earlier this year (2022) on Viking River Cruises. If you’re interested in more information about river cruising, check out the Viking website and our river cruising post.

Posted October 26, 2022

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Bratislava

by Alan K. Lee

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, but it is less known and less visited than its neighboring country’s capitals, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. You won’t find many guide books devoted solely to Bratislava. Prague, Vienna, and Budapest are all great cities and there are a multitude of reasons to visit them. But Bratislava has its own charms, and anyone traveling to the region should consider adding it to their itinerary.

Bratislava lies on the Danube River, between Budapest and Vienna. It’s a mere 35 miles from Vienna, and about 100 from Budapest – a short hop by train or car (or in our case, by boat) from either. My wife and I were fortunate to have visited all three cities on a Danube River cruise last spring.

We spent less than 24 hours in Bratislava, so we didn’t get to know the city well, but saw enough of it to think that another day or two (or more) wouldn’t have been wasted.

Our day in Bratislava began with a bus tour that took us through parts of the city and up to Bratislava Castle, 290 feet above the river. The first castle on the site was built around 1000 AD and was remodeled, expanded, and rebuilt a number of times. In 1811 the castle burned and lay in ruins for 150 years. The present castle dates only to the 1960s, but looks and feels much older. The ruins of Devin Castle, another important historic site, lie about seven miles west of the city center..

After the castle tour, we did a guided walking tour of the old town area along the river. Among the highlights of the old town are St. Martin’s Cathedral, the old Slovak National Theater building, Michael’s Gate, and the historic Hlavne namestie (town square).

Roland Fountain (aka Maximilian’s Fountain)

The Bratislava area has a long and varied history, like many central European cities. The region was part of the Roman Empire from the first to the fourth century AD. After Roman rule ended, what is now Bratislava became part of the first Slavic nation. In the 10th century, it became part of the Hungarian Empire, then became part of the Hapsburg Empire in the 16th century. During the reign of Queen Maria Theresa in the 18th century Bratislava flourished, and was the capital and largest city in Hungary.

In the 19th and 20th centuries Bratislava’s influence waned, becoming a sleepy regional center of no great significance during the Soviet era. But Bratislava today is a vibrant, modern city with a diverse population and a surprisingly Western European vibe.

Neighboring Vienna is internationally recognized as a center of classical music and culture, but Bratislava has its own deeply rooted history of arts and culture. Mozart gave a concert in Bratislava at the age of six, and Franz Liszt’s career began (at nine years of age) with a concert in Bratislava. And Hayden, Beethoven, and many other prominent composers performed or conducted concerts in Bratislava in the 19th century. Today, there are a number of music festivals in Bratislava throughout the year, and the Slovak National Theater has been staging performances for more than a century. (The old Slovak National Theater building is the featured photo at the top of this article).

As with most ancient European cities, religion has played a central role in both Bratislava’s history and culture. Every major city that we’ve visited in Europe has a central cathedral and Bratislava is no different. St. Martin’s Cathedral may not be as large or grand as some others, but it has a significant place in the history of the region, politically and culturally as well as spiritually. The cathedral was completed in 1452, and from 1563 to 1830 it was the coronation site for the crowning of eleven kings of Hungary. It was also the site of the first performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in 1830 and Franz Liszt conducted his Coronation Mass in St. Martin’s in 1883.

There is much for the visitor to see and do in Bratislava, the vast majority of which we did not have time to take in. But I’m glad that we were able to see at least a portion of this small but interesting and historic city.

Posted September 14, 2022

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Salzburg, Austria

by Alan K. Lee

Salzburg, Austria is a beautiful, charming, and historic city on the turquoise blue Salzach River. Salzburg’s old town (the Altstadt) is wonderfully preserved and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It would be easy to imagine yourself time traveling back to medieval days while walking its streets were it not for the hordes of (other) tourists who are drawn to Salzburg in all seasons.

Salzach River, Mulln Church (left), and Slazburg Christ Church tower (right)

Salzburg was Mozart’s birthplace and boyhood home, and that draws many classical music fans to the city. And much of The Sound of Music was filmed in and around Salzburg. That draws many of fans of the movie (and there are millions of them).

Many visitors come for the summer Salzburg Festival with its classical music concerts, opera, and theater performances. Others come in January for the Mozart Festival. And just the beauty and charm of the city draws many more. But despite the crowds, Salzburg was one of the highlights of our recent trip.

Even if you have only one day to explore Salzburg, the Altstadt is compact, easily walkable, and full of historic sites, wonderful baroque architecture, palaces, gardens, churches, museums, restaurants, and much more. You can pack a lot into one day. My wife and I did just that.

We arrived in Salzburg on a Sunday afternoon. Our first stop was the Hellbrunn Palace (Schloss Hellbrunn) on the south edge of the city. This was actually the last stop on a bus tour of Sound of Music filming locations in the rural area east of Salzburg. We didn’t tour the palace, but the large surrounding park provides plenty of shade on sunny days, and the palace’s garden is beautiful and renowned for its trick fountains (you might get wet) and whimsical sculptures. You’ll also find the pavillion where “Sixteen Going On Seventeen” in the The Sound of Music was filmed, although it has been moved from its original location.

Our only full day in Salzburg started with a guided walking tour of the Altstadt that took us first to the Mirabell Gardens where parts of The Sound of Music were filmed. Fans of the movie will recognize the Pegasus Fountain, the Dwarf Garden, and the Vine Tunnel. We didn’t tour Mirabell Palace (Schloss Mirabell), but entrance is free, and you can attend evening chamber music performances in the Marble Hall, where some of the young Mozart’s earliest performances took place.

Our tour then took us to Mozart’s residence (Mozart-Wohnhaus) where he lived from age 17-25, and across the Salzach River to his birthplace (Mozarts Geburtshaus), now a museum. In the Altstadt you’ll also find the Salzburg Cathedral (Salzburger Dom), the Mozart Plaza (Mozartplatz) with its large statue of Mozart, the Residenzplatz, a large plaza with a 15 meter (50 foot) tall fountain, the Salzburg Museum, and many other historic and interesting sites. Guided walking tours of the Salzburg Altstadt are available for as little as $10 per person, and Lonely Planet has a guide to free things to do in Salzburg that includes a self-guided walking tour.

Although you can have a great time and see a lot of interesting sites without spending much (or any) money, purchasing a Salzburg Card can save you a good deal of money if you want to visit the Fortress, tour Mozart’s birthplace or residence, and visit any of the city’s many museums. A Salzburg Card also gives you free rides on the city’s public transit system. Cards can be purchased that are valid for 24, 48, or 72 hours. Twenty-four hour cards cost €30 for adults. Forty-eight hour cards are €39, and seventy-two hour cards are €45. Children 6-12 are half price. Cards are about 10% less in winter.

Model of the Altstadt and Fortress made entirely of salt, Fortress Museum

The Salzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg) looms over the Altstadt and can be seen from most of the city. It’s one of Salzburg’s must see attractions. Our tour didn’t include the Fortress, but we had all afternoon on our own, and it was our first stop. We took the funicular, but you can also walk up. Either way, I’d recommend getting “all inclusive” tickets that get you into the museum, arsenal, princely chambers, and the Magic Theatre. The current price for an all inclusive funicular adult ticket is €16.60 (about $17). Walk-up all inclusive adult tickets are €12.60 (about $13).. Admission is free with a Salzburg Card. Even if you don’t have a Salzburg Card, the Fortress is well worth the price of admission, even if just for the amazing views of the city and surrounding mountains. Climb the observation tower for the best views.

View of Salzburg from the Salzburg Fortress

After touring the Fortress, we returned to the Cathedral and toured the interior. The exterior of the cathedral is not as grand as cathedrals in many European cities, but the interior is stunning.

There has been a cathedral on the site for more than 1200 years. The original cathedral was built in 774 AD and burned down in 842. The second was severely damaged in the 16th century and was demolished. The current cathedral dates to 1628. The cathedral was damaged in World War II by an Allied bombing raid, but was rebuilt after the war, and reopened in 1959. It is by any account spectacularly beautiful. Entrance to the cathedral is free.

Our final stop that afternoon was the Augustiner Braustubl beer garden. Most of the seating is outside, under a canopy of trees. It happened to be a holiday, though, and the place was packed (but maybe it always is). We had to settle for a table in the smoking section under a second story patio, but that was fine. It was open to the main garden area and only a couple of people were smoking. And the beer was good, and cheap. There are other beer gardens, of course, but the Augustiner Brewery is ancient and iconic. The Munich brewery dates to 1328. The Salzburg brewery is a little younger. It’s only been there for 400 years. It opened in 1621.

That evening, we dined at a local restaurant not far from our hotel. It wasn’t listed in our guide book, but the food and the service were both very good, the prices reasonable, and by the look of things, the locals vastly outnumbered our fellow tourists. The moral here is don’t be afraid to ignore the guide book recommendations. You can find good, authentic Austrian cuisine at a restaurant that doesn’t cater to tourists, and you can dine like a real Salzburger.

Residence Fountain and Salzburg Cathedral

The next morning we were off to Munich, but our brief time in Salzburg left a lasting impression on us. We definitely recommend visiting Salzburg at some point in your life, if you can. It certainly gets two thumbs up from us.

Our tour of Salzburg was an extension of our recent Danube River cruise. A river cruise can be a good way to get at least an introduction to European history and culture. And the cruises themselves have their own charm and have several advantages over both other types of organized tours and independent travel. Rhine and Danube River cruises, in particular, are popular with Americans making their first trip to Europe. But we also found that many of the passengers on our ship had done at least one prior river cruise or had made other visits to Europe, or both.

Our cruise began in Budapest and ended in Passau, Germany eight days later. In between we visited Bratislava, Slovakia, Vienna and Krems, Austria, and Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. And we spent an afternoon cruising the beautiful Wachau Gorge. If you think you might enjoy a European river cruise, check out our river cruising post here for more information and a few tips.

Posted August 6, 2022

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Budapest, Hungary

by Alan K. Lee

Budapest, Hungary was one of the highlights of the Danube River cruise that my wife and I took in 2022. I knew very little about Budapest or any of that part of Europe before our visit, and it had never been very high on my bucket list of travel destinations. But some friends had visited Budapest a few years ago and liked the city, and for a variety of reasons my wife and I decided a river cruise would be a good way to ease back into international travel. So, we took the plunge and booked the cruise when Europe was reopening to foreign visitors and it looked like the pandemic was waning. (For more on river cruising in general, see the link at the end of this post).

Among the many things that I found out on our visit is that Budapest is a truly ancient city. The area was originally settled by Celtic tribes more than 2000 years ago. The Romans established the city of Aquincum near the site of present day Budapest around 100 AD, and the area has been home to many different peoples over the past two milleniums, including Bulgarians, Magyars, and Ottoman Turks, who ruled the area for 150 years. After the Turks were driven out of Budapest in 1686, it became part of the Hapsburg Empire.

What is now Budapest was originally three cities, Buda and Obuda (Old Buda) on the west side of the Danube River, and Pest (pronounced “pesht”) on the east side. In 1849 the first bridge (the Chain Bridge) across the Danube was completed linking Buda and Pest. The three cities merged in 1873, creating the city of Budapest as we know it today.

One of the other things that I discovered is that the city’s long history and the many, diverse cultures that have contributed to the city’s growth over the centuries gives Budapest a unique character, unlike any of the other European cities that we’ve visited. And while it has a long history rooted in Eastern Europe, Budapest today has as much of a modern Western European vibe as it does an ancient Eastern European one.

View of the Hungarian Parliament from Castle Hill

Another thing that I discovered is that Budapest is much bigger than I anticipated. The metropolitan area has a population of over three million, making it the second largest city on the Danube River. Only Vienna is larger. There is simply no way to experience all that Budapest has to offer in one short visit. We had only one evening and the following day to explore the city.

On our first evening there, we walked across the Liberty Bridge and did some exploring along the waterfront of the Buda side of the river. After crossing back to the Pest side, we briefly explored that side of the river before returning to the Viking “longship” that we would call home for the next week. We were pretty significantly jet lagged by that time, and called it a night after having dinner on the ship.

We were up early the next morning. Before breakfast we did some more exploring on the Pest side, including the huge Central Market. We were there early, though, and most of the market stalls were not yet open. That was followed by a guided tour that took us through Pest on a motor coach, then to Castle Hill on the Buda side of the river.

After a guided walking tour of Castle Hill we had some time to explore on our own. We didn’t have time to visit the Hungarian National Gallery, the Royal Palace, or the Castle Museum. But we were able to take in the magnificent architecture of the Matthias Church and the sweeping views of the city from the Fisherman’s Bastion, as well as the many splendid statues and other structures that adorn Castle Hill. It wouldn’t be hard to spend most or all of a day on Castle Hill. It is definitely one of the top attractions in Budapest.

That afternoon we crossed the Liberty Bridge again and climbed to the Citadella and Liberty Monument on the summit of Gellert Hill (Gellert-Hegy). Unfortunately, both the Citadella and the Liberty Monument were undergoing renovations and were fenced off. But there were good views of the city and climbing the hill was a nice workout. Afterwards we took a different trail down to the river and crossed the Elizabeth Bridge to Pest where we had a couple of very refreshing beers at a local pub. (The prices listed were in Hungary’s official currency, the Forint, so I had no idea what those beers cost until I got my credit card statement. The two pints came to about $3.50 each.)

One of the advantages of a river cruise is that you get to see a lot of places and get at least a taste of the local history and culture. But the down side is that you don’t stay long enough in any one place to even begin to see everything worth seeing. That was certainly the case with our time in Budapest. It’s a magnificent city and I would love to come back when we have more time to explore its sights and dive into the culture a little more.

Visiting one of the city’s famous thermal baths is one of the many things that we didn’t have time to do. There are over a hundred thermal and mineral springs in Budapest and dozens of bath houses. I also wish we could have visited the Roman ruins of Aquincum. And I’d like to have spent more time on Castle Hill and explored more of the Pest side – City Park, Parliament, the Basilica of St. Steven, the Great Synagogue, and more. The list goes on. Unfortunately, we had to move on.

Our ship departed after sunset. Many of the buildings along the river front, the bridges, the Royal Palace, the Parliament Buildings, and Castle Hill were all lit up. It was a striking and very beautiful sight. Quite a nice way to leave the city. Hopefully, we will be back some day.

Viking Longship “Kadlin” docked on the Pest side of the Danube

If you’ve never done a river cruise, but think you might like to, click here for more information on river cruising in general, and during the pandemic in particular. And look for future posts on this site about other places we visited on our cruise.

Posted July 15, 2022

River Cruising

by Alan K. Lee

My first experience with river cruising came on a Rhine River cruise that my wife and I did in 2015. That was one of the most stress-free, relaxing vacations we’ve ever taken, and we fell in love with Europe on that trip. In 2018 we did an independent tour of Tuscany and Cinque Terra in Italy, and we were in the beginning stage of planning another independent trip, this time to Portugal and Spain, when the Covid-19 pandemic put all our travel plans on hold. We did no traveling at all in 2020, except for one trip to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, and very little in 2021. But toward the end of 2021 it looked like the pandemic was waning, and countries in Europe were reopening, so we began thinking about another trip across the Atlantic.

There were still a lot of different and seemingly ever-changing travel restrictions from one country to the next, though. Planning a trip seemed like a pretty daunting task. So, we started thinking about an organized tour of one kind or another. I wasn’t completely sold on another river cruise at first, despite the entirely positive experience we had on our Rhine River cruise. But a river cruise does offer a good middle ground between an organized tour and independent travel, and allows you to get a taste of a variety of cities, other destinations, and often multiple countries, in a short period of time. There are down sides, of course, but since our first river cruise was such an easy and enjoyable experience, we decided maybe another river cruise would be a good way to ease back into international travel.

We ultimately decided to take the plunge and booked a Danube River cruise, despite the risks. And there were significant risks, both health-wise and financial. The risk of catching Covid-19 was still there, of course, but the cruise line’s testing and vaccination requirements (more on those later) were more strict than any of the country’s that we would be visiting. That helped ease the fear of catching Covid. The financial risk came from having to pay for the trip upfront with no guarantee that the trip would not be cancelled or that we would not be able to go because one or both of us tested positive for Covid, or some other circumstance beyond our control. And cancel-for-any-reason travel insurance is expensive, so much so that we decided to forego it.

I was considerably more concerned with the financial risk than the health risk. The cruise line promised to provide a voucher for a future trip if the trip was cancelled on their part due to Covid or other reasons. But I had read stories about cruise lines not fully living up to those promises. And if we had to cancel the trip, or failed to pass the required pre-trip Covid testing, we might lose the entire cost of the trip.

Since we had to provide proof of a negative test taken no more than 72 hours before our flight, we didn’t know until less than 48 hours before boarding our flight that the trip would actually happen. But we both tested negative, and the trip came off as planned. The photos here are from that trip.

Once on board, we were tested again for Covid, and then three more times during the voyage. Fortunately, we tested negative each time, as did all of the people we got to know on the cruise. At least four couples did test positive during the cruise, though, and were removed from the ship. And then we had to pass a sixth test before we could return the U.S. That all added a bit of stress to this trip that didn’t exist on our Rhine River cruise, but we still had a very enjoyable trip.

If you’re contemplating a river cruise, start planning well in advance of your intended departure. Cruises often sell out early, and the more desirable staterooms go quickly. Early booking also usually gets you a better price. We booked our Danube cruise six months in advance, but we still had to settle for a basic stateroom on the lowest deck (our window near the ceiling was just barely above the waterline). The better staterooms on the deck above ours were already fully booked, as were most of the more expensive suites on the top deck.

Both of our cruises were on Viking River Cruises, and both were very enjoyable and problem free. Viking is the largest river cruise line, but there are many other river cruise lines operating in Europe and elsewhere. Uniworld, Tauck, AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, and others all offer a variety of river cruises.

Viking caters to middle aged or older couples (children under 18 are not allowed on Viking cruises), and river cruise lines haven’t typically catered to families or single travelers in the past, but that is changing as cruise lines look to expand their clientele.

Itineraries, cruise length, amenities, number and type of shore excursions, and river boats sizes and number of passengers vary, both between cruise lines, and often between different cruises offered by the same line. Prices also vary between cruise lines and by seasons.

The more research you do, the more likely you will find that cruise that perfectly matches your needs and desires. The Affordable Tours website is a good place to start. It gives a good overview of the benefits of river cruising, river cruise destinations, information about most of the cruise lines, and suggestions for which lines to check out based on your preferences. Check out the cruise lines’ web sites, also. And there are other websites that provide information on river cruises, as well.

Before our 2015 Rhine River cruise, I was not sure that river cruising would be to my liking. But by the second day of that voyage I knew we had made a good decision. That cruise is easily the most relaxing trip I’ve ever taken. We simply had nothing to do except sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery. Everything was taken care of for us. Most meals were provided, and the food was superb. That was a pleasant surprise.

Another surprise was the quality and variety of the shore tours. The Heidelberg tour, for example, was conducted by a grad student at Heidelberg University working on his doctorate in history. We got a college course worth of local history packed into a two hour tour. And the pub crawl in Cologne was almost worth the price of the whole cruise. Most of the actual cruising was done at night, so on most days we spent the majority of our time on shore. There was at least one free tour each day, and usually one or two optional, extra cost tours. And there was always time to explore on our own at each port of call.

Viking lost a lot of their staff during the pandemic downtime, and many of the crew members on our Danube cruise were new and still learning their jobs. The level of service and the quality of the meals was a notch below that of our Rhine River cruise, but still nothing to complain about. And without exception the crew members on our ship were friendly and eager to please.

Viking “longships” carry about 190 passengers. Some of the ships on other lines carry as few as 125 passengers. With relatively few other passengers and a small ship, you have plenty of opportunities and ample time to get to know your fellow travelers on a week long cruise. Meeting and getting to know people from other places and other walks of life that share your wanderlust is one of the benefits of a river cruise. Most of the people on the cruise were Americans, but the crew members came from all over Europe, and there was a surprising amount of interaction between the crew and the passengers.

River cruising is not for everyone, but my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed both of our cruises. If you think you might enjoy a river cruise, check out the various cruise lines and search out other peoples opinions. You might find a reason that will stop you from going, but if not, give it a try. You might love it.

Look for more on our Danube River cruise in future posts on this site. And if you’re interested in learning more about our Rhine River cruise, click on any of the links below.

Amsterdam and Kinderdijk

Cologne and the Middle Rhine

Heidelberg to Strasbourg

Freiberg, Colmar, and Basel

Posted July 5, 2022

Rhine River Cruise: Freiburg, Colmar, and Basel

The final leg of our Rhine River cruise took us to Freiburg, Germany, Colmar, France, and Basel, Switzerland.

On the next to last day of our cruise, we docked at Breisach, Germany, after an overnight sail from Kehl. After breakfast a number of us boarded a bus that took us to Freiburg im Breisau. Others opted for a day long bus tour of the Black Forest.

Freiburg

Freiburg is a city of about a quarter of a million people, located on the western edge of the Black Forest, about 15 miles east of the Rhine River. It is another ancient city, founded in 1120 at the intersection of trading routes from the Mediterranean to northern Europe and from the Rhine River to the Danube.

“Freiburg” translates to “free town” and the city has a long history of independent minded and educated citizens. Freiburg has long been an academic and research center, and today is home to the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg and several other universities. The city has an interesting mix of old and new, provided by the city’s long and valued history and the youthful energy generated by the large university student population.

Freiburg residents have a strong environmental commitment, and Freiburg is known as an “eco city.” In 1995 the city council passed an ordinance allowing only “low energy” buildings to be constructed, and Freiburg has become home to a growing solar power industry and is a leading center of green energy research and development.

Much of Freiburg was destroyed in WWII by Allied bombing raids (and one, mistakenly, by the German Luftwaffe in 1940). The city’s cathedral, though, was spared, and the city was rebuilt along its medieval plan, so its city center retains the look and feel of a medieval town. Most of the historical center is a car-free pedestrian zone, which also adds to its medieval feel.

The city has an unusual network of street gutters with flowing water diverted from the Dreisam River. These “bachle” were originally built to provide water for livestock and for fighting fires. They are at least partly responsible for Freiburg never having had a major fire, unlike almost every other medieval town.

To the east of the historic center, Schlossberg hill rises almost 900 feet above the city. A funicular railway takes visitors part way up the hill to a restaurant with a good view of the city below. Hiking trails lead higher, to a park near the summit with an observation tower. While we didn’t have time to take the funicular and hike to the summit, we did have enough time after our guided tour to hike part way up the hill to get a good view of the city.

Freiburg is a beautiful and very interesting place, and I wish we had been able to spend more time there. But we had to return to the boat with the rest of the tour group. After lunch, we once again boarded a bus for a second excursion, this time across the Rhine to Colmar, France.

Colmar

Like Strasbourg, Colmar has changed hands between France and Germany several times over the centuries and its local culture is a mix of French and German. It’s also similar to Strasbourg in look and feel, with its half-timbered buildings and cobble stone streets. And Colmar is even older than Strasbourg, dating back to at least the early ninth century.

One of the first things we saw upon arriving in Colmar was a scaled down replica of the Statue of Liberty. It’s there because the creator of the statue, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, hailed from Colmar. In addition to the Statue of Liberty, Bertholdi created many other large-scale sculptures and fountains, including the Lion of Belfort. The Bartholdi Museum, located in what was once the Bartholdi family home, contains scale models of the Statue of Liberty and the Lion of Belfort used in creation of those works, as well as many of Bartholdi’s other works. Other Colmar museums include the Unterlinden Museum, the Musee du Jouet (Toy Museum), and the Hansi Museum, dedicated to the works of Jean-Jacques Waltz, a native of Colmar known for his satirical works and his opposition to German control of the region.

Colmar is known for its white wines, and one of the optional tours that many of our fellow passengers took advantage of was a tour of the areas wineries and vineyards. A variety of grapes are grown in the region, including reisling, gewurtztraminer, pinot gris, and pinot blanc. Colmar and the Alsace region have been producing these wines since the early middle ages.

After our organized tour of the city, we had time to wander around the town for awhile on our own. The old town of Colmar is interesting, historic, and one of the prettier towns we visited on our cruise. Part of the old city along the Lauch River is known as Petite Venise (Little Venice). That comparison might be a little off the mark, but it is certainly picturesque. I took many photos of Little Venice and we would have lingered there longer, but, alas, once again we had to return to the ship with our fellow passengers or get left behind. One of the downsides to river cruising, I guess.

Basel

Our cruise ended the following morning in Basel, Switzerland. We rather reluctantly said goodbye to our Viking Longship and the friends we had made on the trip.

After disembarking the ship and taking a taxi to our hotel, we had the rest of the day to explore the city. Since Rick Steves’ Switzerland guide book had not a single mention of Basel, I didn’t have high expectations. But we discovered, on our way to Museum of Contemporary Art, an old section of the city (the St. Alban District) that is as picturesque and has all of the charm of the other old city centers we’ve visited, but with few tourists and no crowds.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the city center, including Basel Cathedral (Basel Munster), and the Basel Town Hall, and sampling Swiss cuisine. All in all, Basel was a delightful surprise, and a fitting end to our Rhine River cruise.

The end of our cruise wasn’t the end of our vacation, though, as we continued on to the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Berner Oberland section of Switzerland. Look for a future post on that delightful extension of our trip.

Posted by Alan K. Lee, May 2, 2019

All photos by the author

Rhine River Cruise: Heidelberg to Strasbourg

The fourth full day of our Rhine River cruise took us to Heidelberg, Germany. Day five found us in Strasbourg, France.

After docking for the evening in Rudesheim (see my previous posts on Amsterdam and Kinderdijk, and Cologne and the Middle Rhine), our cruise ship sailed overnight to Manheim, Germany. After breakfast on board we ventured to Heidelberg by bus. First stop was Heidelberg Castle.

The road to the castle is steep and narrow and there are several hairpin turns that were definitely not built with tour busses in mind. It took a good bit of maneuvering and a bit of time, but the driver had obviously done this before and we made it up the hill without incident.

Heidelberg Castle overlooks the old city, and is largely in ruins. The first structure was built on the present site around 1300. Shortly after the first castle was built, a second was built higher up the mountainside. The second castle was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1537 and nothing remains of it today. The remaining lower castle was heavily damaged in the early 1600s during the Thirty Years War, and almost completely destroyed by the French in the late 1600s. A portion of it was restored in the late nineteenth century and the ruins of the rest of the castle were stabilized and remain in the condition they were in at the time.

Our tour guide was a graduate student working on his doctorate in history at Heidelberg University, so we got a wealth of local history during our tour, told in an entertaining and often humorous manner. The castle ruins are a treasure trove of photo opportunities, as well. I could easily have spent a full day, or more, at the castle, but had to move on with the group.

After touring the castle, we made the short trip back down to the old city. We opted for an abbreviated tour by our guide, giving us ample time to wander the city on our own. Like many of the old medieval centers in European cities, the historical center of Heidelberg is quaint, picturesque, and thoroughly charming.

We spent an hour or so exploring the old city, then stopped at a sidewalk cafe at one of the hotels for lunch. While there, another of the couples on the cruise joined us. Fran and Victor, from Santiago, Chile, were one of the few non-American couples on the cruise. Coincidentally, Victor, who is a surgeon, had been sent to Heidelberg some time previously by the university hospital where he practiced (they had some sort of reciprocal relationship with Heidelberg University), and had stayed in the same hotel at which we were dining.

While we were touring Hedielberg, our cruise ship had sailed upstream to Speyer, where we rejoined the ship. The historical center of Speyer was only a short walk from where our ship was docked, so we had plenty of time to explore it that evening.

Speyer has a long history, dating back to its founding by the Romans in 10 BC. The Speyer Cathedral, begun in 1030, was the site of the 1526 Diet of Speyer that temporarily suspended the Edict of Worms that had banned Martin Luther in 1521. In 1529 a second Diet of Speyer essentially reinstated the Edict of Worms. Supporters of Luther then issued a Letter of Protest, and henceforth became known as Protestants.

The Altpoertel (Old Gate), one of the other major sights in Speyer, was built in the 13th century. One of the 68 original towers of the old city’s wall, the Altpoertel is one of the largest medieval city gates and towers in Germany.

That night the ship took us to Kehl, Germany while we slept. There the Rhine forms the boundary between Germany and France, and the next morning we bused across the river to the city of Strasbourg, France . Neither my wife nor I had been to France before, so this was an interesting excursion for us.

Strasbourg today is home to the European Parliament and a number of other European Union institutions. In the past, it has been part of German territory, so its culture is a mix of French and German. In fact, it has changed hands between France and Germany four times in the last 150 years. Our tour guide’s grandparents lived under both French and German rule, and had to make the transition from one to the other three separate times. France and Germany have very different legal and political structures, as well as languages, so it must have been very difficult to adapt each time the city changed from one to the other.

The historic city center of Strasbourg, the Grand Ile, is an island in the Ill River, which flows through Strasbourg before joining the Rhine. The Grand Ile has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. The Ile is full of magnificently preserved and very beautiful examples of medieval architecture, particularly the Strasbourg Cathedral, which was constructed between 1176 and 1439. Its 466 foot high north spire made the cathedral the tallest building in the world from 1647 until 1874. The cathedral is also noted for its massive (18 meter tall) and intricate astronomical clock, completed in 1843. The current clock replaced an earlier one built in the 16th century, the remains of which are preserved in the Museum of Decorative Arts.

We had a wonderful time wandering around Grand Ile on our own after the end of the organized tour, taking lots of photos, and having a leisurely lunch, dining outside at one of the many local cafes. After returning to the ship, we walked into the town of Kehl and did some further exploring.

From Kehl, the ship sailed that evening to Breisach, Germany. Our excursions on the following day took us to Freiburg, Germany and Colmar, France. Look for an upcoming post on those outings.

Posted by Alan K. Lee, April 12, 2019

All photos by and property of the author

Rhine River Cruise: Cologne and the Middle Rhine

The second and third days of our Rhine River cruise took us to Cologne, then the villages and castles of the Middle Rhine region. After leaving Kinderdijk (see my previous post) on the afternoon of our first full day of cruising, our “longship” navigated its way to the Rhine, and then upstream to Cologne overnight.

“Love locks”, Hohenzollern Bridge, Cologne

My wife and I took two guided tours on the second day of our cruise. In the morning our guide led a tour of the old historic city center. Normally that includes a tour of the cathedral, but it was Sunday, so tour groups were not allowed in. We had the afternoon to ourselves, though, so we were able to tour it independently later that day – a very impressive structure, one of the largest cathedrals in Europe.

We also spent a good bit of time that afternoon exploring the Museum Ludwig (modern art, including a large collection of Picasso’s), and the nearby Roman-Germanic Museum, which preserves a Roman villa from the third century B.C. that was unearthed during the construction of a bomb shelter in 1941. Both are adjacent to the cathedral. If you’re an art and history buff, those are two places you do not want to miss.

Cologne ( Koln) was founded by the Romans in the fist century A.D. (The Roman name for the city, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, was shortened and became Cologne to the French and Koln to the Germans.) The city was heavily bombed during World War II, and 95% of the central city was destroyed. Only the cathedral, city hall, and a few other buildings survived. A lot of the rebuilding was done in a style to match the surviving buildings, so much of what you see when you visit looks old and historic, but is in fact less than 70 years old.

Cologne’s city hall is built on the site of the ancient Roman Praetorium, which was the seat of government of the Roman province of Germania Inferior until 475 A.D. The Praetorium was destroyed in an earthquake in the late eighth century. Cologne municipal government was formed around 1100, and the original city hall building was constructed in the mid-12th century. The current structures date from as early as 1330.

Construction of the Cologne Cathedral began in 1248. In 1478 construction was halted and the cathedral remained unfinished for another 400 years. It wasn’t until 1880 that it was completed to the original medieval plan. The cathedral was damaged by a number of bombing raids in WWII, but remained standing, and repairs were completed in 1956.

Detail of the Cologne Cathedral exterior

Our second tour in Cologne was an optional pub crawl that evening, led by a local guide. In Cologne each pub has a working agreement with one of the local breweries that produce the local brew, called kolsch. Each pub serves only one brand of kolsch, so to sample a variety of different kolsches, we visited four pubs. Kolsch is served in small seven ounce straight-sided glasses. You never have to order a refill. An empty glass is considered the order and will be refilled without your asking. A coaster placed over the top of the glass is the signal that you do not want a refill. Needless to say, we had a great time, drank our fill of good beer, and the guide managed to get all of us back to the ship before it left that night.

Spay, Germany, viewed from Marksburg Castle

The next morning found us in Koblenz. After breakfast on board, most of us boarded a bus that took us to Marksburg Castle. It’s not the prettiest castle along the Rhine (in my opinion), but it is the most intact. It is the only castle that was never attacked, so you get a better peak at what castle life was like back in the middle ages. Many of its rooms display historically accurate recreations of how they looked and functioned in medieval times. It was all very interesting, but also very crowded.

Back on the ship, we spent the afternoon cruising the Middle Rhine Valley (sometimes called the Rhine Gorge), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here the Rhine flows through a narrow valley with picturesque villages along the shore and many castles high above the river on the ridges either side.

The cruise ships travel this section of the river during the day both because it is the most scenic part of the river and because it is difficult to navigate in places. The famous Lorelei Rock is on this section of the river.

Late that afternoon we docked in Rudesheim and spent the evening exploring on our own. Rudesheim is a small, picturesque town, like many that we passed earlier in the day. It was a pleasant end to a very nice day. By this point I was fully onboard with the idea of doing more river cruising in the future. Maybe the Danube next time, perhaps.

Our cruise continued with stops in Heidelberg, then Strasbourg and Colmar, France, and a tour of Freiberg, Germany before disembarking in Basel, Switzerland. Look for future posts on the remainder of our trip.

Posted by Alan K. Lee, 3/21/19

All photos by the author

Rhine River Cruise: Amsterdam and Kinderdijk

Our Rhine River cruise began in Amsterdam and our first port of call was Kinderdijk, Netherlands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Neither are actually on the Rhine River, but a network of canals that crisscrosses The Netherlands and connects to the Rhine allowed our “longship” to sail from Amsterdam to Kinderdijk, and then on to the lower Rhine.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a major transportation hub as well as a popular tourist destination. Many travelers headed to other places in Europe travel through Amsterdam, and many of them stay for a day or two. Many others come to Amsterdam for a variety of reasons – to visit Amsterdam’s many outstanding museums or the famous (or infamous) red light district, to tour the Anne Frank House, some to experience the liberal and tolerant culture of Amsterdam, and a few, I’m sure, come for the “coffee shops” where they can smoke marijuana in public without risk of arrest.

I came for none of those reasons, but simply because it was the embarkation point for our cruise, and because my wife wanted to visit Amsterdam. I had no real desire to see Amsterdam. But I quickly fell in love with the city. It’s crowded, noisy, and surprisingly dirty. Dam Square, the heart of Amsterdam, is filled with people elbow to elbow during the day, and filled with their left behind trash in the evening. The Nieumarkt Square, which our Airbnb rental faced, didn’t quiet down until two or three in the morning. Normally, all of that would be reason for me to dislike a place. But none of it really mattered.

There is a vibrancy and energy to the city that is a more than a little bit intoxicating. It’s a thoroughly modern city, but with a long and deep history. It is Dutch, certainly, but it is also one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. Almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks English, but there is little about the city that is evocative of either England or America. No city in the U.S. even remotely resembles Amsterdam. And therein lies much of its appeal. It’s exotic and yet very approachable and understandable. The people are friendly. The atmosphere is relaxed. It’s easy to feel at home there. And it’s an immensely interesting place. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that there is something for everyone there.

Getting around Amsterdam is pretty easy. Most of the major attractions are within walking distance of the Central Station. The city also has a good public transit system. But the best way to get around is probably by bicycle. There are plenty of places to rent bikes at reasonable rates, and there are dedicated bike paths everywhere. You will quickly find that Amsterdam is a city of bicycles and bike riders.

Art pervades the city, not just in the museums, but in the streets, and in the culture. Our first night’s stay was in the Art’otel Amsterdam, a boutique hotel near the main railway station (Central Station), that houses a surprisingly interesting gallery. And there are hundreds of other galleries and art museums scattered throughout the city.

The two most prominent museums, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum are both on the Museumplein, as is the Stedilijk Museum (contemporary art and design). The Museumplein is about a mile and a half south of Central Station. That should be one of your must-see destinations. The Anne Frank House is another must see.

Museum tickets can be purchased online. Also check out the Amsterdam City Pass and I Amsterdam cards. Both offer free “skip the line” entrance to the major museums. Tickets to the Anne Frank House are available only online and are not included in either card. Also note that tickets to both the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House are time specific, so advance planning is a must.

Our Rhine River cruise began with boarding our “longship” (the Viking Mani), and dinner onboard. That was the first of many outstanding meals served on the ship – and the first of many pleasant surprises on the cruise. (See my previous post for more information on river cruises in Europe.) The ship left Amsterdam well after dark, and we arrived at Kinderdijk the following morning.

Kindedijk

The largest surviving group of ancient windmills in the world is in village of Kindedijk, Netherlands, located about 50 miles from Rotterdam in the province of South Holland. Kinderdijk was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

The entire area was once one giant peat bog. The first settlers built their homes on the local sand dunes nearly a thousand years ago. Over time, the fertile soil brought others to the area. In the 13th century district water boards were formed to coordinate the building and maintenance of the dikes and canals needed to drain areas of the bog and keep waters out of the resulting polders. But over time the soil of the polders subsided, and the Lek River level rose due to siltation.

After a disastrous flood in 1421 killed thousands of people and damaged or destroyed many of the dikes, the water districts decided a better system of water management was needed, leading to the construction of a group of stone windmills in 1738 and an additional group of wooden windmills in 1740. Of the original 20 windmills, nineteen survive and remain operational.

The name Kinderdijk means Children’s Dike. Legend has it that after the 1421 flood a cradle was discovered bobbing in the flooded fields. In the cradle were an unharmed baby and a cat. The cat was said to be jumping from side to side to keep the cradle balanced and preventing it from tipping over.

In the late 1800s steam powered pump stations began taking over the primary pumping needs. These were replaced by diesel powered stations in the early 20th century. During World War II the occupying German army commandeered all diesel supplies, so the residents had to once again rely on the windmills to keep their land dry.

Currently two large electrically powered pump stations provide the primary pumping power, but the old windmills remain operational and serve as a backup to the modern pumps. One of the old pump stations now serves as a visitor center, and two of the windmills are open to the public.

From Kinderdijk our cruise joined the lower Rhine River and proceeded on to Cologne, Germany. Look for future posts on the rest of our Rhine River cruise, including Cologne, Heidelberg, and Freiberg, Germany, the castles of the Middle Rhine, and Strasbourg and Colmar, France.

Posted by Alan K. Lee, 3/1/19

All photos by the author