Rhine River Cruise on the Avalon Felicity
During the last week of July, we took an extended family trip on the Rhine River. My parents, sister, and I had such a great cruise two years ago on the Danube, that we decided our next one was to be on the Rhine. Besides, we had family along the route that we were interested in visiting as well. The four of us were joined this time by my cousin, her husband, and their friends.
After all my traveling around either on my own or with Miloš, I’m kind of not a fan of big groups, so I tended to opt out of the group tours that the ship had to offer. Instead, I preferred to explore the towns and cities on my own – going where I wanted to go and at my own pace. Here’s a bit of an overview and some highlights of all the great places we got to visit.
We flew into Zurich, Switzerland and had some time to explore the city. It’s very pretty, but honestly, after my visit to Basel last year (where the cruise officially starts), I think it would have been better to have that time to explore Basel. But we still had a lovely jet-lagged lunch at an outside cafe and marveled at how clear and blue the water was in the river. We were then all bussed out to Basel and taken directly to our ship.
Starting that night, and every night, we had excellent dinners. Always with a choice of soup, starter, entree, and dessert. Of course you always get unlimited wine and beer with dinner. My sister, Amy, and I enjoy getting dressed up, and we made a point of dressing up for dinner every night. It’s always fun to put on a pretty dress! (What can I say, I’m girly like that.) Of course, you are not required to get dressed up at dinner, we just like to.
However, the first night, being a bit celebratory, ended up with too much alcohol consumption on my part. After a certain point, I don’t remember much. I just vaguely remember getting back to my room, and crying about how much I missed Miloš, while everyone was trying to calm me down by reminding me that I’d be seeing him in a week. And the next day, some people told me how well I sang, as I apparently had shown off my opera skills for some people. Anyway, my condition led me to miss all of Strasbourg, France, as I lay in my bed feeling the after-effects of the previous night. (Hey, it happens.)
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One of the really huge highlights for us was our visit to Heidelberg, Germany. I was so upset that it wasn’t longer! We only had a few hours in the afternoon, but we made it count. You see, my dad’s cousin Richard lives there with his wife, Edith. (Well, my dad and Richard’s moms were first cousins, so whatever kind of cousins that then makes them. Daddy had last seen him back in 1988 when he went over to settle my grandmother’s affairs after her passing.) Anyway, we made plans to meet up with them, and spend our time with them while in Heidelberg. It was truly a wonderful experience! They were so nice! We went out for beers and lunch and then walked around town. The town itself is just beautiful and charming, with quaint German buildings along the cobbled streets, and the castle ruins on the hillside above, all along the Neckar River. The day was also a great mental workout, as Richard and Edith don’t really speak English, so it was up to my dad, my cousin Dolly, and myself to be the ones communicating in German with them.
I was also happy to be in Heidelberg, as it’s the setting for the Romberg operetta, “The Student Prince,” which is the show that I’ve officially been in more than any other production in my performing career. Seeing the castle ruins up on the hillside over the Neckar River made me think of all the wonderful music I got to sing in that show. (Ah, good memories!) It was kind of sad to say good bye when it was time to leave and get on the bus back to the ship. I hope I’ll get back to Heidelberg sooner than later for another visit – Richard and Edith are super nice people, and it’s good to be connected to family that lives far away.
There was also a morning in Mainz – which was nice to walk around – it has a lovely cathedral and lots of shopping in the town area – although I have to say, it wasn’t one of the highlights – at least for me. Here are some pics from Mainz…
