Ronald J. Jack
Email: ronjackbc@yahoo.ca
THE GRAND EUROPEAN TOUR - Amsterdam to Budapest
Some Friendly Advice
If you purchase this fifteen day travel plan from Viking River Cruises, it is an all-inclusive package - i.e.. air, shuttle, hotel overlooking Amsterdam Harbour, the Five-Country Cruise, shuttle at Budapest, and return flight. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider making your own air reservations and even the hotel bookings. There are several important things to consider:
A) You are booking a year or more ahead. Standard cancellation insurance is expensive, and Viking's policy on refunds is nothing short of confiscatory. No insurance? You will lose most of your money.
B) There is no 15th day. Viking has to empty the Longship at Budapest as fast as it can, which means they book you on very early flights out of Budapest. When I realized we would have to get up around 3:30 AM to pack and eat (that's when they start serving breakfast) that is when I was forced to make my own air reservations (British Airways). As a result we left the Longship at mid-morning, and Viking honoured the airport transfer agreement - they hired a coach for our remaining party of ten.
C) The trip is five-country, but NOT language immersive. Our group was composed of two groups - Western Canadians and a large block of folks from New England. ALL printed material onboard is in English, and it is the language used by the staff and the hired guides. In addition, the average age of guests onboard was 60 - 65. (I was 56 and only encountered one guest younger than myself.) You are cocooned. Viking certainly knows the demographics of each block of passengers, but I am not sure they would share that information with your travel agent.
D) We took out travel insurance and paid $250 for extra medical coverage. The truth is that Viking staff and crew go to extreme lengths to ensure their passengers suffer no discomfort or injury. If you are healthy, basic coverage is fine.
E) Our travel agent told us gratuities were included in the invoice. That wasn't true, so you are responsible for those extras. Mid-way through our cruise we were transferred to a second Longship, so we went through two pay-cycles with provided envelopes, and using Chinese red envelopes to give extra to staff we especially appreciated. Our total was US$ 900, but would have been about US$ 800 had we kept to one boat.
F) Laundry service is horribly expensive, so bring enough fresh clothes for two full weeks. (I may publish the laundry price list in an upcoming Blog articles.)
The preceding list is meant to inform and empower you, and not to discourage you in any way. A Viking River Cruise is one of the best gifts you will ever give to yourself.
E) Our travel agent told us gratuities were included in the invoice. That wasn't true, so you are responsible for those extras. Mid-way through our cruise we were transferred to a second Longship, so we went through two pay-cycles with provided envelopes, and using Chinese red envelopes to give extra to staff we especially appreciated. Our total was US$ 900, but would have been about US$ 800 had we kept to one boat.
F) Laundry service is horribly expensive, so bring enough fresh clothes for two full weeks. (I may publish the laundry price list in an upcoming Blog articles.)
The preceding list is meant to inform and empower you, and not to discourage you in any way. A Viking River Cruise is one of the best gifts you will ever give to yourself.
Buy the Package, Enjoy the Package
I had months to prepare, if I wished, a list of famous landmarks or sites I thought more significant than those chosen for us. But then I questioned why someone might be insistent on striking out on his own each day, after paying for excursions and services chosen by professionals. I knew I was going to enjoy myself, but still doubted that all of my expectations could be met. What really SOLD us, and turned simply waiting into genuine anticipation, was a cruise presentation we were invited to at Shadbolt Theatre in Burnaby, a few weeks before departure. We returned home CONVINCED, and I have to thank our Expedia travel agent, Olivia Lopez, for including us.
For a time I thought I would film the entire trip. That would entail research and, at minimum, some cooperation from the members of our group. Tricky, and an imposition. Also, I dreaded many hours of editing after the return home. My wife reminded me that there would be ten digital cameras in our group, and nothing would remain unrecorded. She was right. We logged more than 3,000 still images ourselves, and several video sequences. If you are interested in the history of architecture, urban planning and heritage preservation, as I am, here is an important consideration. The Europeans are fond of erecting large, visually appealing and very informative display boards around construction sites, archeological excavations, and more. There is simply not enough time on a walking tour to read much of it, so you must photograph those which interest you most. My wife carried an iPad Air that takes very high resolution images. She kindly recorded every board and banner I believed I would enjoy consulting again later. An example:
I did think it important that we have a rough appreciation of what we would encounter during each stop on our route, and it was easy to locate a travel blog (maintained by a Dutch couple) who had taken the same tour. Other than that, I read only one book in preparation for the trip - Modris Eksteins' SOLAR DANCE: Genius, Forgery, And the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age (2012). Van Gogh has always been my favorite painter, and it is quite possible that this trip would be my only chance to visit Amsterdam and the Van Gogh museum. The book whetted my appetite for my first encounter
The default Viking Cruises hotel in Amsterdam is the ultra-modern Movenpick, on the harbour front beside the cruiseship terminal. But there are more than a hundred hotels of traditional design on the city canals, adjacent to the heritage venues we all planned to visit. My friend Charlie Lin chose one using an Internet booking service. We stayed two nights at the Hampshire - Hotel Prinsengracht, which was an easy walk to my primary destination - the Van Gogh Museum. In fact I paid for an expensive room overlooking the canal, but we were given keys to a very ugly, and badly fitted out room in the rear, looking out on an overgrown garden. I would have walked out, but the other four couples got their canal views and were happy. No big deal. The saving grace was that the night manager (an immigrant from the Dutch East Indies) was a willing and spirited conversationalist when the time zone difference sent me downstairs before dawn. He also provided a superb continental breakfast.
Visitors to the Van Gogh Museum are encouraged to use
the display boards outside to take their "souvenir shots".
There is also a "selfie-room" provided inside the building.
We took our establishing shot outside with Vincent, but I
have yet to take a "selfie". Narcissism is not in my DNA.
Visitor access to Van Gogh's work is incredibly generous. You can stand virtually "nose-to-nose" with your favourite canvases, a privilege I have still not recovered from. Sometimes I found myself examining his creations from multiple angles, enjoying how light played with the textures. Minute detail, never apparent to me in art books, is memorable. Little things can tickle my imagination. For example, I noticed that even the dimmest flame he shaped when depicting the household lamps of the peasantry, (ref. The Potato Eaters) still required at least three colours. I thought I had seen all of his drawings and paintings, but the museum collection contains several surprises. A day with Van Gogh was not simply a high point of our trip, but one of the great days of my life.
We had two full days in the old city, under a gorgeous sky that illuminated the urban canal network and displayed all of the city's ornamental iron and carved stonework at their best. It was an ideal way to prepare ourselves for the coming cruise, because our cars were parked in Canada and Taiwan, and we suddenly became pedestrians again. We certainly needed to adjust to the slower rhythms of life if we were to absorb the richness of our surroundings, and truly enjoy the services that Viking River Cruises was about to offer us. I recall my principle thought as I walked Amsterdam streets and rode the handy canal boats was, "These people deserve to be proud of this great city. Who wouldn't love to live here and spend their days in an endless journey of urban adventure and discovery?" It was an impression that would repeat itself as each day unfolded.
THEN AND NOW
With each of my travel blogs I plan to incorporate a Then and Now feature. This will of course emphasize the authenticity of our travel experience. Much of Europe's built-heritage survived the two World Wars, and it was our great privilege to walk through, climb over, sit on or touch with inquisitive fingers, a cornucopia of wonders. I assembled my set of "Then" photos after returning, in preparation for writing this travel-Blog.
The Canal behind the Church of St. Nicholas circa 1890.
In the far distance we see the spire of De Oude Kerk.
Lina Lin, my friend and neighbour here in Burnaby, helps with this comparison. The old canal warehouses are almost untouched. I am looking toward the church seen in the 1890 photo. It still exists, but today is captive to Amsterdam's Red Light district on the Oudekerksplein, which encircles it.
The canal behind the Church of St. Nicholas, Amsterdam.
The canal, church and warehouses are as they were in 1890.
Next: Our Beautiful Longship
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