T
ravel is filled with fun and
adventure, and there are so
many options in making your
dream destination a reality.
In the September/October 2017 issue
of
TODAY , publishers J. Chris
and Larry Mickartz shared how they
celebrated their 20th wedding anni-
versary by cruising the Rhine River
from Basel, Switzerland, to Amsterdam,
Netherlands.
As their story and photos revealed,
they enjoyed meeting new friends and
experiencing history, beauty, fine food
and wines, and local culture as they
traveled through four countries on a
Viking Cruise.
In September 2018, my husband
Tom and I joined a group of thirty
local friends for a similar Viking Cruise
experience with an expanded river
route through even more regions. We
met in Amsterdam to cruise the Rhine
and Danube rivers with our final cruise
destination in Budapest, Hungary.
Escorting us were travel professionals,
Al and Vilma Pinheiro, owners of
Caravelle World Travel in Gilroy.
River cruising is a bit different
from ocean cruising. Ships, known as
“longships,” are much smaller, carrying
about 190 passengers. Ports of call are
close to key destinations. At each port,
an experienced tour guide meets the
ship and takes its passengers on well-
orchestrated land tours. On-board,
meals are prepared by a chef. Featured
foods that reflect local culinary faire
are accompanied by wines from
each region.
The longship provides a more
intimate setting, making it easy to
connect with friends and meet new
people. On this trip, we met a former
U.S. Embassy official, a retired officer
from the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police, an arborist who had retired after
a 50-year career, a real estate developer
from the East Coast of the US, and so
many others, all with fascinating life
stories. Whether we ate on the outside
terrace or in the formal dining room,
there was always a table of friends—
new and old—ready to share a meal
with us.
gmh
Written By Susan Valenta
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
february/march 2019
Unfortunately, with climate change,
longships traveling on the Rhine and
Danube Rivers can no longer access
certain ports due to the low levels of
water, so guests are escorted by bus to the
next location in those situations. Weather
can affect travel; however, you can still
enjoy the experience by being flexible,
keeping a positive attitude, and packing
light. For Jay and Vicki Baksa, “Seeing
places that we had read about in his-
tory books was quite an experience. The
picturesque villages we visited had such
friendly people and it was fun to try the
local cuisine. Sailing on a river boat is
a very relaxing way to travel. We highly
recommend the experience.”
Early into the cruise, I found a
book in the ship’s library called ”A
Little History of the World,” by E.H.
Gombrich. In 1935, at the age of 26,
and with a doctorate in Art History,
Gombrich was invited to write about the
history of the world for young readers.
The book covers history from the Stone
Age to the atomic bomb. It helped me
understand the layers of history we
would observe throughout the trip.
So, it was with this new-found
fascination with history—and
particularly Roman history—that my
friend Georgia Garfink and I took off
on our own to explore the Roman
Praetorium in Cologne, Germany. The
Praetorium was the official residence of
the Imperial Governor of Cologne and
the most important Roman palace on the
banks of the Rhine. Monuments in the
Praetorium date back to a time around
the birth of Christ and display multiple
building phases and archaeological
remains. We even walked through a
portion of an ancient sewer system with
the walls and ceiling in perfect condition
after thousands of years.
Cruising up the Rhine, we arrived in
Koblenz, Germany, and toured our first
castle. Marksburg Castle, built in the 13th
century, provided a glimpse of ancient
history, including a torture chamber with
some of the instruments used to make
people confess. Aside from that, it was
fun imagining life in the castle as we
viewed the kitchen and dining areas and
the medieval privy system.
gmhtoday.com
99