Exploring Basel, Switzerland

We were all so tired when we returned to the room that we all slept very well awakening around 6:30 am.  Although that was half past midnight back home, we appeared to be adjusted to the time zone here that is six hours earlier.  Another outstanding breakfast awaited us in the lobby of the Pullman Hotel and we were all quite full when we left for our morning walk.  We had packed and prepared for departure but had not checked out of the hotel.  We took an electric streetcar and walked to a church that we had seen earlier called the Elizabethenkirche.  Although relatively recently built by European standards in the early 1800s, the architecture was very beautiful.  We all enjoyed the steam punk metal and water sculpture in the courtyard near the church.  

From there we walked to the Rhine River and took the walking path downstream toward the French/German border.  We decided that we needed to head back to the hotel for the noon checkout so we made our way to the nearest streetcar stop.  We stopped at a local Swiss grocery store where we bought some Swiss chocolate bars as souvenirs for family and friends.  We were back at the hotel around 11:15 where we met John, a human resources consultant from New York City who was coming on the same Viking ship.  Our limo driver Rene, met us at 11:30 and brought us to the Viking ship, the Kvasir.  Emily & Ian’s room was ready so they checked in but our room was still being cleaned.  We had a nice lunch of soup and sandwiches before heading out for a walk in the area. 

The ship was docked in a very industrial area with recycling plants and industrial vessels docked so we walked into the nearby Basel neighborhood just to see what was there.  

We continued walked from Switzerland into Germany and were surprised that we did not have to show documentation or go through customs.  The agent at the border just waved us through as we walked across.  We walked around a small park in Germany then walked across another footbridge into a small village in France.  We walked to a little park in the village square but didn’t stay long before retracing our steps back through Germany into Switzerland and back to our ship.  Of course, we stopped for snapshots at the juncture of the three countries.

We went up on the sun deck for a couple of hours chatting with Ian & Emily and enjoying the view of the river.  We got acquainted with the ship and our rooms.  Although the ship can accommodate 190 guests there were 174 aboard on this cruise.  Most are from the US but there are people from every part of Great Britain, Australia, Canada and other locations.  People are here of all ages but most are retirees. 

Our cabins have what is called a French balcony which is a sliding glass door overlooking the river.  Since we are on the third floor we have a very good view.  The cabins are small, mostly taken up by the bed but the space is used very efficiently.  The room has a small refrigerator and adequate space for clothes and travel items.  There are spacious lounges and dining areas throughout the ship so no one appears to spend much time in the cabins. 

We went to our rooms to change for dinner then met up with Ian & Emily in the lounge for the pre-cruise briefing with the staff.  There were a lot of bad jokes and an overview of the trip before we headed for dinner up in the dining room.  We were happy to be joined by a nice couple from Connecticut.  He is on the faculty at University of Connecticut Medical School and she is a financial planner.  Both were very pleasant and made outstanding dinner conversation.  Our first course varied from a beef consommé to a goat cheese Brule.   All of us ordered the beef with mashed potatoes and vegetables prepared Austrian style.  I had the walnut ice cream for dessert but the others had the selection of chocolate pastries.  We could choose from a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Malbec as our wines and both were very good.  Both the service and food were excellent.  The wait staff, maître d, Paul, and the head chef, Mario, came to each table to assure that each guest was happy with the meal and the service. 

We went to the foredeck after dinner to finish our wine and enjoy the view as the ship left the dock at Basel.  Around 9:30 we decided to turn in and watch the ship go through the locks on the Rhine River from our rooms.  We are all looking forward to visiting Breisach tomorrow and taking a short tour through the Black Forest.  From what we have seen so far, the Viking River Cruise people are taking great pains to assure that everyone is enjoying the trip.  The degree of pampering is a bit more than we would prefer but the staff onboard is very professional and accommodating.