We departed Canberra, heading to Zurich, via Melbourne and Singapore:
QF815 Depart Canberra 3.00pm
Arrive Melbourne 4.10pm
SQ208 Depart Melbourne 6.25pm
Sunday 26th July 2015
Arrive Singapore 12.20am
The next flight departed from gate A4 and ground staff were assisting people on the Zurich flight through security. We were onboard before the gate closed and the flight was delayed so all people from the Melbourne flight could make the flight on time.
Push back at 1.45am. Airborne at 2am.
Arrive Zurich 8.00am
Unfortunately Bill’s luggage didn’t arrive with us, although mine did, so Bill had to make a claim at the lost & found luggage counter. One good thing about the delay, we could check into our room straight away, once we arrived there.
After a shower and a change of clothes we headed out for a walk around the area.
After lunch we went for another walk through the old town area and on the way back to the hotel, while sitting having a rest, one of the tourist River boats went by and Bill thought that would be a good way to see a bit more. We found out where they started from and boarded the next boat and spend a lovely hour on the river and lake. 
Back to the hotel for a wine and some people watching.
Back to the hotel for a wine and some people watching.
We headed out again around 6.30ish, looking for somewhere to eat. After checking out what was on offer over at the railway station, we went back to the hotel cafe and shared a club sandwich with chips + a beer each at the Cafe Gourmet. Back to our room. I did some hand laundry and after checking online to see if Bills bag is showing up anywhere - it wasn’t - I went to bed.
Monday 27th July 2015 - Day 1 of the river cruise
Thankfully Bill's bag arrived mid morning, so all was well. After a midday checkout, we and a few others were picked up and taken to the Scenic Jade
in Basel, arriving there around 3.15pm.
Met a few of the other passengers. Met our cabin steward, Cheryl and our butler Erwin. Early buffet dinner and then at 7.15pm a safety talk and info session in the lounge.
Checked out the sun deck.
and had a fairly early night.
Tuesday 28th July 2015 – Day 2
The ship departed Basel just after midnight. Had a good nights sleep.
When we went down to breakfast, we discovered that we are moored next to another smaller ship the "Lafayette". After breakfast, we departed around 8.30am on our excursion to Colmar, which is 21 kilometres from Breisach. There is 1 bus going there and 3 buses doing the Black Forest Train ride excursion. The Scenic 'Tailormade' system while on a guided tour, worked well today.
After the included walking tour, we were to meet at 12.30 to go back to the bus and then back to the ship. The included tour finished around 11.30, so we had an hour of free time. I had spotted a tea-towel that I wanted to buy, so we went back to that shop and then bought a coffee and sat and people watched for a while, before heading towards the meeting point. The old part of Colmar is very pretty.
They have a few canals and even have flat boat tours along the canal ways.
Also little trains, that take people through the old part of the town. An enjoyable excursion for me, as I like walking. Bill, perhaps not so much. The weather was nice. Cloudy and around the early 20c.
We were back at the ship by about 1.30pm and had a quick lunch before going up to the sun deck to watch the ship go through another lock, as we departed for Kehl, at 2pm.
At around 2.30, we had our safety drill. Now we know where to gather, if something was to happen and we need to abandon ship. :).
3.30 to 4.00pm, was a talk in the lounge, discussing the Scenic Free Choices for the next 3 occasions. We only had to choose the first 2, pre-tour.
We went back to the cabin after that talk, and Bill managed to work out where we are, on a map that they supply, of the cruise route.
6.30 and we are all back in the lounge for our daily Port Talk, given by the cruise director. 6.45 was the Captains Welcome Cocktail, where the 'head' staff of the different sections were introduced to the passengers. Then at 7.00 was the Captains Welcome Dinner. There were 4 couples who had their cocktail with the Captain, Lamos Szilagyi and the Hotel Manager, Johann.
A couple from the UK, a couple from Newcastle, a couple from New Zealand and Bill & I. After the cocktail, we then all went down to the Crystal Dining Room, for a delicious 5 course meal. There were 2 or 3 choices for each course or there was the Chefs Suggestion. Both Bill and I opted for the Chefs Suggestion. I wish I had a copy of the menu as I can't remember what everything was called. Suffice to say that the food was delicious and the conversation, diverse.
Sometime during dinner, we docked at Kehl. Johann and the Captain left the table after coffee and we guests chatted for a short time after and then dispersed for the evening.
Wednesday 29th July 2015 - Strasbourg - Day 3 - Kehl to Gambsheim
We opted to do the "Shopping with Chef", excursion today, so went down to the Jade Lounge just before 9am, to join the other 13 people who were also doing this. It took about 15 minutes to drive into the old part of Strasbourg and once we were off the bus, we then walked to a local market, which is held every Wednesday and Friday.
I have been to Strasbourg once before and the walking tour that I did that time, came into the old city from a totally different direction. That took in the canals of Strasbourg.
The 461 foot high spire made Strasbourg Cathedral the tallest building in the world in the 1500's, until the Ulm Cathedral was completed in 1890. There are some really beautiful old houses in the old town and it is also possible to do a boat tour of the town, along the canals.
4.30pm and we are on our way to Gambsheim, where we should arrive at 7pm. Today has been cool and this morning and earlier this afternoon, showery. As we leave Kehl, there is lots of heavy industry on the bank of the river.
Thursday 30th July 2015 - Mannheim - Day 4
Today is our excursion to the Hockenheimring Formula 1 Race track.
This was a great excursion and there were only 12 of us on the tour. We met our local guide for the ship to ship trip, at the bus. He was a bit of a hoot re some of his comments about German drivers and he is German.
Then when we arrived we met our local Hockenheimring guide.
First up was a visit to the museum, which houses many old motor bikes
and a few old racing cars.
There were some wonderful old motor bikes here.
From the museum we then went to the 5th level of the Southern or main stand, which gave us a great view of the track.
From there, down to the 4th level, which is the corporate level. After hearing more details about how the track has evolved and changed over the years,
we then went down the elevator, boarded the bus and went around to the Mercedes-Benz stand, which had a view of the outer parts of the race track.
Another interesting talk by the guide. This guy actually works for the race track and it was interesting hearing how changes to formula 1 have impacted on the race tracks that host the races. Bertie Eggelston and his company are not flavour of the year and haven't been for a few of them.
From that stand, we were then bussed close to the pit area. There is an event happening here. I didn't note the name of it but it is a competition between university teams from around the world, who have made a scale working models of a formula 1 car.
There was list of all the competing universities and there would have been over 100 of them and probably anywhere from 16 to 20 students in each team. Various teams were going through sound and braking tests while we were there. The camping ground next to the track was full of tents, where I guess the students are living.
After walking through the pit area, we then visited the winners podium.
We ran overtime, as the talk from the guide was so interesting.I could have spent even more time there, hearing what he had to say.
Back to the ship, arriving just after 1pm and once all were onboard, we departed Mannheim on our way to Rudesheim, where we arrived around 7pm.
Friday 31st July 2015 - Rüdesheim to Koblenz - Day 5
We went down to breakfast around 8. Bill had his usual sausage, scrambled eggs & bacon, while I had a fresh omelette. Nice and hot and very delicious.
After breakfast, we then all gathered on shore, to get on the little trains
that then took us into old Rudesheim proper, where most people visited the Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum.
We opted not to go there but on reflection, perhaps we should have, as at that early hour, nothing was open, not even the cable car.
We wandered for a short while and then Bill headed back for the ship while I went up on the cable car (it was open by then) to the massive Niederwald Monument.
The view from up there.
After the cable car ride, I also walked back to the ship. It's a pleasant walk of only 15 minutes, if that. As its our anniversary today, and Bill has booked us into the Portobello restaurant for tonight's dinner, I thought I had better look nice, so I made another hair appointment for 11.30 this morning.. Maya did a good job the other day and the price was very reasonable plus I have to somehow use the onboard credit that we have.
We went down to the daily Port Talk at 6.45 and when that was finished we were then escorted to the Portobello restaurant for our dinner. All up there is seating for only about 34 people and you have to book but everyone on board gets to have dinner here.
A very lovely meal and near the end of it, the staff came along with Kris (the pianist) playing an accordion and sang a short song to us, to celebrate our anniversary. Very sweet of them and when we got back to our cabin, this is what we found on the bed.
Saturday 1st August 2015 - Cochem - Day 6
The view from our cabin first up this morning.
Cochem are having their annual Medieval Festival today and when we started our walking tour at 9am, there were virtually no people around the old town but by the time I walked back down from the castle later in the morning, the place was teeming with tourists, not only on foot but cars everywhere trying to find a car park. The usual population of Cochem is 5,800 and they have about 1.5 million visitors during the summer season and I think a lot of them are visiting today.
The festival started at 10am with medieval characters marching through the town square and then on up to the castle. They fired 3 or 4 rounds of canon fire at the beginning of the parade.
First up were the drummers,
then maidens carrying their baskets.
Next came guys carrying lances
and then another group of basket carrying maidens.
Soldiers with swords, farmers, acrobats and jugglers followed.
The prince and princess and more court entertainers.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself today.
Sunday 2nd August 2015 - Moselle Valley Cruising - Day 7
I woke just before 7 and then got up at 7. Another sunny day ahead of us, cruising up to Bernkastel. There are lots of vineyards along this part of the Moselle.
Sunday 2nd August 2015 - Moselle Valley Cruising - Day 7
I woke just before 7 and then got up at 7. Another sunny day ahead of us, cruising up to Bernkastel. There are lots of vineyards along this part of the Moselle.
We sailed past a riverside caravan park and the vans are set up very nicely. The annexes look very opulent.
11.20am and we are approaching the 2nd lock for the day. This one also took us up. Along side the lock we were in, was another one that is for small craft. There were a couple on their JetSki going through, as we were heading in the other direction
There are quite a few "trailer" parks along the river bank. The one thing that I have noticed, is that all the caravans are in one area and all the campervans/mobile homes are in another, so perhaps "never the twain shall meet" by the river side.
Monday 3rd August 2015 - Bernkastel - Day 8
The countryside on the way to Trier is very pretty. Low Mountains and gentle rolling hills and then along one section of the Moselle, one side of the river is flat and the other side, very steep hills, again, all covered in vines.
The countryside on the way to Trier is very pretty. Low Mountains and gentle rolling hills and then along one section of the Moselle, one side of the river is flat and the other side, very steep hills, again, all covered in vines.
We arrived on the outskirts of the city, around 10 and after doing a short drive around, we then left the bus to start our walking tour.. It started in front of the Porta Nigra,
around 10:30 and we stayed with the guide for an hour and then had free time, until meeting up again in front of the Porta Nigra at 1230.
Trier, which was a Roman colony from the 1st century AD and then a great trading centre beginning in the next century. It became one of the capitals of the Tetrarchy at the end of the 3rd century, when it was known as the ‘second Rome’. The number and quality of the surviving monuments are an outstanding testimony to Roman civilisation.
First up was an introduction to some of the housing and what it used to be like.
Then onto the market square and the important houses around that and the fountain.
Then we proceeded to the High Cathedral of Saint Peter. It is a Roman Catholic Church and it is the oldest cathedral in Germany.
Right next to the Cathedral, is the Church of Our Lady, which is the oldest Gothic church in Germany, built in the 13th century. It has a cruciform floor plan.
From there we continued onto the Basilica of Constantine, or Aula Palatina. This is a Roman palace basilica that was built by the emperor Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century. It is a huge red brick building with a lovely timber ceiling
and a very modern organ.
On the way back to the ship, our guide took us via another route that had a beautiful overview of a bend in the river with a small town and the vineyards climbing up the hill.
The ship set sail around 9.45pm. According to the programme, we don't arrive in Koblenz until 12 noon, so It's a late start tomorrow.
The temperature here today ended up at 34c and I never did get in to Bernkastel. A couple of people who walked over there, said it was far to hot. I just might have to come back at some time.
Some pics of the afternoon / evening snacks that are delivered to our cabin every day.
Tuesday 4th August 2015 - Koblenz Day 9
We arrived in the outskirts of Koblenz before 11am but by the time we slowly made our way out of the Moselle and into the Rhine and then docked, it was closer to 11.30 before people could get off the ship. Still ahead of schedule though.
We had a light lunch again at the River Cafe. There was an included walking tour of the town in the early afternoon but as I have visited here before and the weather, although not cold, is certainly damp, I gave that tour a miss. There was a Scenic SUNDOWNERS event up at the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, departing the
ship at 4pm, so I went to that. Bill opted to stay on board.
View of the junction of the Moselle & Rhine Rivers at Koblenz, from the cable car.
Weather aside, this 'Sundowner' event was a total waste of time, in my humble opinion and I am not usually critical of things, unlike Bill.
It was supposed to start from the ship at 4pm but in reality it was 4.15pm. There was the cable car ride up to the fortress and then a walk to the restaurant for the drink and nibbles and we had been advised that the last cable car departed at 6pm. I will have to check my photos to see what time things happened BUT why take people to a particular place, if they don't have time to visit that place. You could easily spend a day at the fortress, visiting the various museums there. As we had all of the afternoon here, perhaps they should have had a "free choice" option to visit the fortress and then the Sundowner event after that. People who would like to visit the Fortress could do that and then tag on the Drinks and canapés after.
Dawn had broken and the sun was just coming up over the horizon, so I guess we are traveling in a northerly direction.
We went down to breakfast at 7 and then to the lounge afterwards and back to the cabin at 8. Bill and the others departed for the Coal Mine excursion at 8.30 and the walking tour groups departed at 9.00. There were 3 buses for Duisburg and 1 for the coal mine.
We went down to breakfast at 7 and then to the lounge afterwards and back to the cabin at 8. Bill and the others departed for the Coal Mine excursion at 8.30 and the walking tour groups departed at 9.00. There were 3 buses for Duisburg and 1 for the coal mine.
Apparently this region, the Ruhr region, is the most heavily industrialized area in Europe and Duisburg is Germany's largest steel producer. Duisburg is situated where the River Ruhr joins the Rhine. According to the blurb, a boat tour of the extensive industrial harbour may not be romantic but it is fascinating nonetheless, especially if combined with a visit to the Museum of German Inland Shipping. The Gothic Salvatore Church is one of the city's few old buildings and contains the tomb of the important geographer, Mercator. He died in 1594. The Wilhelmina Lehmbruck Museum has the best collection of 20th century sculpture in the country along with a good selection of modern art in other media. End of blurb.
Duisburg is a very modern town and does have some interesting 'street art' pieces.
One of the older areas of the town, where there used to be grain silo's and warehouses, has been renewed. The city has managed to bring the water to that area, so they now have an inner harbour.
Lots of office buildings, museums, residential and also many restaurants.
They use a lock system to make sure that the water level in that area, stays high. No souvenir shops though. Just local everyday stores, so the city apparently doesn't rely on tourism for their $$$$$$'s.
There is a seafood buffet in the dining room this evening but we are having a room service dinner instead. Todays daily programme doesn't say when we get to Maastricht, so I'm assuming that we will be sailing through the night.
When we returned to our cabin after the daily talk, Cheryl gave us our daily programme for tomorrow and we dock in Maastricht at 9am tomorrow morning.
Tonights sunset.
Thursday 6th August 2015 - Maastricht - Day 11
Went to bed around 10.30pm last night, after finishing off a bottle of champagne and almost a full bottle of Reisling. I woke sometime around 3am, just as we were going through a lock. Was awake again around 6am and closed the drape, then snoozed to 7am.
The walking tour, that almost everyone on the ship did this morning, was really interesting. We were divided into 5 groups. The guide we had in our group of about 20, was also a bit of a character, which made for a fun, interesting morning. Apparently Maastricht is the birthplace of Andre Rieu, the violinist. It is a town and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the capital city in the province of Limburg. It is located on both sides of the Meuse river, at the point where the Jeker River joins it.
We are docked between two lovely looking pedestrian bridges and right next to the old part of town. According to our guide, Maastricht University is a problem based solving/learning university and they also do a lot of research. They don't have a university campus but the students are taught around the city at about 48 different sites, depending on what they are studying.
What used to be a part of town that the poor people lived in, has had a renewal over the years. The area had almost become derelict, when it was decided to turn it into a shopping area, so many of the shops are now housed in the old buildings, which have been refurbished. Some very upmarket boutiques too.
We were due to sail at 10 pm but didn't get away until 10.19pm, so I guess the onboard entertainment did an encore.
Friday 7th August 2015 - Nijmegen Day 12
I woke just before 7am this morning and I don't know what the temp was outside but we had 100% precipitation.
The sun is out now and there is some heat in it. We are currently sailing along the Maas-Waal Kanaal.
It's 11.15am and we are at Nijemegen but we are barely moving, so it will be interesting to see where our berth is and how long it takes us to get there, in the mean time, we are passing a huge industrial complex with some barges and houseboats tethered along the edge of the canal. I can see a lady in her bikini, painting parts of her houseboat. Maybe just a touch up paint job. Her dog is sitting near her.
Nijmegen, historically anglicized as Nimeguen, is a municipality and a city in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is situated on the Waal river, close to the German border. It is a fine example of a mix of modern and historical architecture (a chapel from the 15th century) can be found at the Mariënburg square. The city of Nijmegen is an interesting mix between old and new. Past and present go hand in hand; historic buildings are interspersed with fine examples of modern architecture.
Nijmegen, the oldest city in the Netherlands, is situated on a range of hills near the River Waal. The surrounding area features hills, woods and polders, creating a varied countryside offering a range of recreational opportunities to both citizens and tourists. If you are wondering what a 'polder' is, as I was, it's a piece of low-lying land reclaimed from the sea or a river and protected by dykes, especially in the Netherlands.
Most towns in the Netherlands are fairly flat, so the city is unusual, re the range of hills. Interesting though that the guides in Maastricht yesterday, also said that Maastricht is the oldest town in the Netherlands.
Some of the articles from an art exhibition held in one of the churches.
A beautiful sunset tonight.
Saturday 8th August 2015 - Veere Day 13
I got up at 6.30am. The waterway that we are currently on is very wide and it has just opened up to even more expanses of water. It's like a huge delta.
We went down to breakfast just after 7am and while having breakfast, we slowed down a lot and sailed past a sign that said Marima Veere. We are not too sure if we have arrived or not, as I'm sure that Gary said yesterday that we weren't due until 11am and it's now only 7.30am.
Well we did arrive at 7.30 this morning. Apparently what often happens, is that another boat/ship is often berthed here when Scenic arrives, so they have to wait away from the berth for a few hours before they can dock. Today we were lucky as no other ship was here, so we came straight in.
After breakfast I went for walk into the town. It is a very pretty little place and you would be hard pressed to get lost.
Veere (pop. 1,500) is a delightful historical village built on the shore of the Western Schedlt, on Walcheren island in the province of Zeeland. Its touristic popularity is disproportionate to its size, with no less than 4 million annual visitors in the municipality (which also includes the beaches of Domburg) - mostly Dutch, German and Belgian. Veere obtained city rights in 1353. It was once a fishing town, but the small marina is now used for pleasure yatchs. Facing the marina, the 15th-century Scottish House reminds us that Veere used to be a staple port for the wool trade with Scotland between 1541 and 1799.
Sunday 9th August 2015 - Antwerp Day 14
I think the ship departed Veere, somewhere around 10pm last night. Bill didn't go to the show but went up to the sun deck to watch the departure and to see in what direction we headed. He did catch the tail end of the show on the cabin TV.
I woke around 5ish and I think we were already docked in Antwerp. We weren't moving anyway. Rolled over and went back to sleep. According to the daily sheet, we weren't due to dock until 9am, so getting in early was great. Down to breakfast just after 7 and then we went on the included Antwerp walking tour that left at 9am.
After a very light lunch, we then lazed around. The ship departed the berth at 3.20pm, did a U turn in the river and sailed with the current for 20 minutes, then did another U turn and sat for about 15 minutes before proceeding into a lock. And there we sat. I think we finally departed that lock just before 5pm. We then proceeded through the huge/immense Antwerp port. The part that we sailed through was immense and as we only travelled along one way, the rest of the port has to be HUGE.
Down to the lounge for pre dinner drinks. Pre-embarkation talk, then captains cocktails and then down to the dining room for the captains farewell dinner. A spectacular sunset tonight and I didn't bring my camera.
We then went to the lounge for an after dinner drink, then back to the cabin to finish packing before our departure tomorrow morning.
Monday 10th August 2015 - Amsterdam Day 15
We were fortunate that a room was ready for us when we checked in, so once the luggage came in from the bus, we just grabbed our carry-on's and took them to the room, as I wanted my camera. As it was, I barely took any photos while out and about. The only thing we did, was to take a canal cruise and it is next to impossible to take decent photos from them. That lasted for an hour and by then it was lunch time, so we went to the sky lounge for a wine and fish & chips. After that, we double checked our departure pick up time tomorrow and I then decided to go for a walk.
I walked back past the front of the railway station, then straight down Damrak to the National Monument, which is opposite Dam Square. Masses of people there and in the Dam Square too. The last time I was here in Amsterdam, it was Autumn and the crowds were minimal. I then walked past Madame Tussaud's and the Royal Palace along Paleisstraat, until I reached the Singel Canal. I had been thinking about going to the Mango Plaza but the inner city is awash with people and I just couldn't face so many people in the shops. I took a right turn at the Singel and walk along for a few bridges and then crossed the Singel at Herenstraat. I walked back along the other side of the Herengracht Canal until Raadhuisstraat, then crossed back to the Singel Canal and then back onto Paleistraat and back to the hotel the way I came, stopping to buy myself some water and a fridge magnet.
We had dinner at the hotels Sky Lounge. I opted for Chicken Bits and Bill had a hamburger that was supposed to be 'medium' but was undercooked plus the condiment bowls that should have had tomato sauce & mayonnaise in them, were empty. Bill was less than impressed and in the end, didn't eat the burger and didn't have to pay for it either. Back to our room and the red wine was very nice.
Tomorrow we start the long journey home to Canberra. Our flight leaves Schipol at 1115 on the 11th and we get back into Canberra at 8:20pm on the 12th.
We had dinner at the hotels Sky Lounge. I opted for Chicken Bits and Bill had a hamburger that was supposed to be 'medium' but was undercooked plus the condiment bowls that should have had tomato sauce & mayonnaise in them, were empty. Bill was less than impressed and in the end, didn't eat the burger and didn't have to pay for it either. Back to our room and the red wine was very nice.
Tomorrow we start the long journey home to Canberra. Our flight leaves Schipol at 1115 on the 11th and we get back into Canberra at 8:20pm on the 12th.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the river cruise. It was nice to unpack once only and the cabin we had was one of the Royal cabins, so there were a few extra perks included, like laundry and a AUD300 onboard credit, which I managed to spend most of, seeing Bill had paid for it.
I wouldn't mind doing another cruise but Bill has said that he has no desire to every travel to Europe again, so if I did one, it would be by myself and the single supplement is astronomical, so I doubt that it will ever happen.
