Viking River Cruise - Day 1

 

 

After our exploration of Basel it was time to set sail on our river cruise.  We caught a taxi out to the docking area at Dreiländereck only to find that we couldn't see our ship anyway. The information Viking gave us did mention that there was a second dock that they sometimes used so the taxi driver then took us up to there - diddly squat. At this stage we were starting to get worried! The lovely taxi driver rang the contact number for us and was told that the first docking area was correct - the Viking Sun was docked alongside another river cruise ship and could not be seen from the dock!

 

Note to Viking: perhaps some signage would be useful in cases like these - it's not like we have xray eyes and can see through one ruddy ship to the other. We were not the only ones caught out!!!!

 

After grateful thanks to the taxi driver and a few more Swiss shekels placed in his hand, we then boarded the first ship, walked across the lobby, across a gangway and arrived aboard the Viking Sun our home for the next seven days :)

 

The ship was well appointed with a lounge area, library and large dining room (below).  We loved the fact that you were not allocated to a dining table but were free to sit anywhere and we met quite a few lovely people over our copious meal breaks :)  The food was very good with lots of choices - we usually had lunch in the Lounge where they had a range of different foods each day!

 

 

 

Our room was on the third floor, quite roomy and with floor to ceiling sliding doors. Don't you love the swan on the bed?  This was the attention to detail that was common on this cruise.

 

After dinner we set sail for Breisach in Germany but that's a whole different saga .....





Yodel lay hee hoo - Basel

 

 

On Saturday 15 September we flew from Terminal 5 (the new one) Heathrow to Basel - a short flight of just over an hour.  We cleared customs quickly at Basel and headed off to the city on the free shuttle. We had booked a night's accommodation at the Ibis near the railway station which was handy to just about everywhere.

 

 

We had lots of time to explore this beautiful city which was made easier by the Basel Card which allows you to travel free on public transport (buses, trams) while staying in the city. First stop was the Rat Haus (Council Chambers). a rather apt name :)

 

 

 

Our first view of the mighty Rhine

 



 

and a wonderful view of the Munster

 

It was near the Munster that we were stopped by a group of young guys out on their buck's night and I was asked to sign the condemned man's shirt :)

 

The following day we went exploring the streets and alley ways of Basel.  We were sitting down on the banks of the Rhine when we saw a horse and cart procession

 

 

Basel was in the grips of a fun bike marathon and we dodged cyclists of all ages and abilities through out the city. We headed uphill and stopped at the St Peter's Church (Peterskirche) a very old and beautiful building!

 

http://www.aswitzerlandattraction.com/switzerland-attractions-ah/st-peters-church.htm

We then explored down near the Rhine and came across St Alban Tor a former city gate in the city wall

We really enjoyed Basel and would like to see more another time :)