All Aboard!

 

Yes, we jumped headfirst into long-delayed travel, as I hinted (not too subtly) last time. 

And what better way to shake off the covid doldrums than with a Viking cruise! As long-time readers know, we took one of these wonderful boat rides in 2017, on the Danube. This time we floated (or, rather, churned, since we went upstream) on Europe's other big boy, the Rhine/Rhein/Rijn/Rhin/Rain. (I'll explain the reason for all these translations as I tell you about our journey.)

Our luxurious craft was the Alruna, named for the Norse Valkyrie represented in the painting above, which was prominently displayed on the boat.

Alruna docked at Mannheim, Germany

As you know from the commercials airing all over PBS, as well as from my 2017 reports, life is pretty sweet on board a Viking longship. From the sundeck, where we spent a lot of time enjoying the scenery and playing games (no low bridges this time, so it was open all the time)...

...to the scrumptious food, especially desserts, that was always available in abundance...

...to the impeccably-served dining areas...

...I am totally convinced that the experience is worth the big bucks that it costs.

This time our specific stateroom accommodations weren't quite as splendid as last time, when we paid a little more for a big floor-to-ceiling window. 

the window in our stateroom #110 on this trip

But, of course, you don't spend too much time in your room. And although the windows were a lot smaller, the room itself was the same size as those on the upper decks. We were happy with our choice.

And we were pleased that we were able to eat outside as much as possible: pretty much every lunch, even when it was a little chilly. The rain that we had seen forecast just didn't materialize for most of the trip, allowing us to eat in safer, and pretty fabulous, conditions every noon:

In fact, the bright sunlight was more of an issue most days!

Barge traffic on the Rhine was pretty heavy, providing an endless slideshow of the supply chain in action, as well as some excitement when the traffic got heavier. Such as when we threaded the needle between these two barges:

good steering, Captain!

Of course, there was almost always even better scenery as we sailed along, and we made stops in some amazing cities, too. I'll be telling you all about those excursions over the coming weeks. For now, enjoy another glimpse of our noble ship, this time from [almost] atop the famous cathedral in Köln, Germany:

Alruna sits ready to take us to our next destination