Saturday dawned clear and sunny. I was feeling a little better. We took a taxi to Our Chalet, the Girl Scout retreat high up, high in the mountains. I’ve known about this place since I was a Brownie Scout and my mom was our leader. She must have learned about Our Chalet in the 1930s when it was built. She taught us the song “Our Chalet” that her leader must have taught her. Mary spent a summer in 2016 volunteering there and arranged the Swiss part of this trip so I could see the rustic buildings on the side of an alpine valley. So this visit was emotional for me; how I wish my mom could have known that I went there.

We completed our visit to Adelboden with a visit to the woodcarver! In fact, it was a visit to the woodcarver’s daughter, a lovely generous woman who seemed delighted that we were so interested in her work. I bought a little cow as my souvenir.

Well if you have to rest and recover somewhere, how about Switzerland! After our warm and comfortable respite in Adelboden, we took a fast and furious 3 part bus/train directly to the Zürich airport. After canceling our final big event, the train ride through the Alps, we decided to go for full comfort at the Hyatt Regency within the airport. We isolated in 2 luxurious rooms, enjoying huge comfy beds and room service.

Sunday night we took a stroll through the outdoor mall, enjoying raclette made with pink cheese. I’m so glad my sense of taste is intact. I finished this decadent meal with kirsch chocolate bon bons.

Packed, feeling better but wary of a long travel day, on Monday morning we made our leisurely way to the airport. It’s enormous and extremely chick and modern. We found the board for departures and a big red CANCELLED for our flight to Reykjavik. Oh. Weather cancellation.

We got a notice that we could fly the next day, but, being Christmas and thinking of Iceland’s weather, we opted to cancel. I went to Expedia and found a flight on Air Canada to Seattle via Toronto with 2 seats left on premium economy.

So here I am. This is so nice, nicer than first class on Alaska. We have blankets, a pillow and a packet with amenities. Dinner is about to be served, and I really don’t feel like sleeping.

Please note: the satellite internet on our cruise ship is very spotty. So I’m posting now December 7-16.

We had a walk through Amsterdam as far as the dam, the main square with church and city hall. Mary satisfied her final culinary wish: fries with mayonnaise and satay sauce AND bitterballen. These are balls of very soft potato with a little meat, crusted with breadcrumbs and deep fried and served on a stick.

Then we made our way to our Viking River ship, the Sigrun. We were greeted by a women in a red and white Norwegian sweater who brought us to our little cabin. We were well prepared from our railroad hotel for the compact size, but impressed with the understated luxury and bright modern decor. A handsome young man named Alexander appeared at our door and told us to contact him if we need anything.

We enjoyed some wine and cheese and then put all our stuff away in the many drawers and closets. An orientation, safety drill with life jackets and a 3 course dinner followed. It’s 10 pm and we’re in our cozy beds, ready to set sail for Dordrecht.

December 8 Dordrecht and Cruising the Rhine

Mary and I decided to do our own walking tour in Dordrecht. We walked through quiet streets in search of the 12th century cathedral. The streets were narrow and cobbled, closely lined with neat houses and shops. Along the canals, the houses were up to 4 stories tall, resembling those in Amsterdam. But it was so quiet! Only a few tourists from the Viking ship and fewer locals on bikes were out and about. In spite of the rain, we enjoyed our walk.

The red brick cathedral has an imposing tower and fine bells.

I’ve seen many flocks of large birds. I can identify coots, swans, cormorants, brant geese and gulls. At Efteling I saw an English robin and an adorable great tit.

On the way home, we stopped at a cafe so Mary could try genever, a local gin that you drink with a beer chaser.

We cruised up the Rhine for a long afternoon and evening. Relaxing in a comfortable chair, I enjoyed watching industrial areas and long commercial watercraft, as well as windmills and herds of cattle through the Netherlands. The Rhine is up to a quarter mile wide and a greenish gray color. I asked about the water level: it may be a foot lower than usual. The grassy areas are brilliant green, and in some areas leaves remain on trees.

December 9 Düsseldorf and Cologne

We followed our guide to the small Christmas markets in Dusseldorf and sympathized with his effort to kill time while we waited for 11am when the gates opened. I was underwhelmed with the offerings in the stalls, but we took our guide’s advice and tried a roasted pork and onion (and mustard) sandwich. Oh. Delicious to savor on a sunny midday on a bench alongside the Rhine with a mug of rose gluhwein.

Cologne was another matter. Friday night and everyone was out. The market was so packed that it was almost impossible to walk. Fun to see the locals back to enjoying their Christmas tradition! as a contrast, we were able to enter and walk around the great cathedral of Cologne. It was not particularly visible from the crowded square but cavernous inside, peaceful with organ music and flickering candles.

December 10 World Heritage Rhine

Our morning started early with our favorite guided tour. Since I’m not walking normally and Mary is nursing a sprained ankle, we signed up for the “gentle tour” of Koblentz. With only 6 of us in the group, our guide Karin (age 82) eschewed the microphone and took us on what felt like a girlfriend trip shopping. A native of The area, Karin told us about how her mom moved to the countryside during the war and then enrolled her in the French school where the post war troops sent their children. Her dad wasn’t released from Russian POW prison until 1955. This woman had seen a lot; she was so cheerful and fun, a model of fitness for her age. Our short shopping journey felt like an insider visit.

We cruised through the Rhine area with the castles. Just as interesting as the many castles upon the hills were the adorable little towns on the Rhine, the many trains buzzing along the banks and the vineyards on impossibly steep inclines.

This photo is from one of the many towns along the World Heritage Rhine. It’s a church attached to a pub. The number is the kilometers from the source in Switzerland.

Our final stop was Rudesheim. Mike and I enjoyed this little town on our trip in 2019… the town of the vineyard walk and the singing sommelier. On this Saturday night, it was packed. Mary and I enjoyed our walks along the quiet riverbank, the adorable gluhwein cups and some brautworst.

December 11 Mannheim to Speyer

We welcomed a Sunday morning sleep in. We ate breakfast watching our approach to Mannheim with sun lighting up the snow and fog into a strangely industrial beauty. Who knew that the John Deere factory was in Germany! Mannheim also claims to have invented the bicycle and the automobile

Our guide pointed out a music hall with busts of Beethoven and Mozart. She told us the “Mannheim Roller” is a name for a crescendo…that Mozart learned here as a boy. She also claimed that the practice in the string section to bow in unison was invented here.

Today the market clustered around the central feature of the town square, an enormous water tower. Sunday morning at the market was mellow and most enjoyable. Our guide pointed out the modern museum where we found an excellent gift store and coffee shop.

I have really enjoyed seeing the many facets of the riverbanks. Some areas are park like, with paths, trees, green grass and dog walkers. I’ve seen a number of camping areas with caravans (camping trailers) and even shacks. It’s fun to think of walking for miles along the Rhine but you would be stopped dead by the huge factories, tanks, pipes and other huge industrial stuff.

Speyer is a very old town with a charming center. We liked this market best. There were some hand made and unusual items, medium crowds, festive atmosphere and lightly falling snow.

Tonight we learned why all the churches have been dark. Germany is conserving energy in anticipation of shortages this winter due to boycotting oil and gas from Russia.

December 12 Strasbourg

We docked in Kehl, Germany, and took a “panoramic” bus ride to very old Strasbourg, town of crossings; rivers, roads and trade. Strasbourg is today the headquarters of the Council of Europe, the leader of human rights advocacy on this continent. The buildings where this work is done are modern, huge and symbolic. One building looked like a ship; another was unfinished to remind us that there is still work to be done.

My dear friend Claire came to Strasbourg from Reims to see us! We met in the Suzanne restaurant to catch up and enjoy a French lunch. She’s an old hand in France and guided us through the markets, helping me purchase some candied apricots and lovely hand embroidered table runners. Without her, I would not have known that the nuns in Madagascar supervised their parishioners in this needlework.

The cathedral was dominant, medieval and very tall. Inside is an astronomical clock that includes the Christian holy days, the Zodiac, the locations of planets, phases of the moon, time, date and day of the week, and the phases of the human life. I was so interested that pagan, religious and Christian ideas of time were all represented.

December 13 Freiburg and Breibach

This has been a great day. In the morning we bussed to Freiburg, a very old town (as in Roman) nestled within the Black Forest. A light snow had fallen so the trees and hills were dusted white. And it was below freezing cold. The city was getting going when we arrived, prosperous looking citizens walked the streets lined with high end shops.

Our guide pointed out troughs about 18” wide and a foot deep along the streets. They are ancient “little rivers,” tiny tributaries emptying into the Rhine. Today the water was turned off due to the low temperatures but normally water flows freely along the troughs. In the past, the streams carried all kinds of waste but today the water is clean. In the summer, people cool off with their beers and their feet in the water. Children float little wooden boats down the streams. We found some of these little sailboats in the market.

We explored the Christmas and chocolate aisles in a local supermarket and attended an organ concert in the cathedral which has 4 organs. The magnificent low tones reach inside you, vibrating your bones.

Our ship was docked in Breibach and we were able to stroll right into town in the afternoon. This town was small, very well organized and practically empty. We walked up to St Stephen’s church for a great view of the town and nearby forested hills. A coffee with strudel in a cafe with the locals completed a lovely afternoon.

December 14 On Our Own in Switzerland

Saying goodbye to the comforts of the Viking Sigrun was bittersweet, as the last two days were really fun. At 9:30 a taxi was waiting for us, and brought us to the train station in Basel. In a sporting goods store, I found a really nice Swiss backpack to carry all my chocolate and other souvenirs.

Mary is an old hand at taking the train to Adelboden, where she lived one summer volunteering at the Girl Scout Chalet. She knew exactly what todo. First we rode a very nice train to Spietz where we transferred to an 11 minute ride on a commuter train to the delightfully named Fruitigan. At that station awaited a bus with a luggage wagon attached to the back. This quiet Mercedes bus wound up narrow streets to our destination, Adelboden.

I had started coughing on the bus and put on my mask for the 30 minute drive. The lovely Adler Hotel was only steps from the bus station. We delighted in our large room with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Alps from our balcony. But I was still coughing and chose to nap rather than take a walk through the charming town. Mary said I should take a Covid test. The Covid line appeared immediately after I put in the swab. Ugh.

So we had to reconsider our plans. The hotel has been wonderful, sending up meals, extra linens and an electric kettle. They extended our stay when we sadly decided we needed to cancel our scenic Glacier Express ride through the Alps.

December 15 Adelboden

This was a day of rest. I had little energy and spent the day coughing and blowing my nose. The view out the window emphasized that if I have to have Covid, this is a pretty good place for it.

December 16 Adelboden

It snowed last night and the mountains are totally whited out. We decided to go to the doctor. I made the phone call and set up our appointment for 11:30.

The clinic (right above the bus station) in Adelboden is a very nice and reassuring experience. Upon arrival we filled in some paperwork and were quickly ushered into an exam room. The nurse took our histories and vitals, gave us the Covid tests and apologized that we would have to wait 15 minutes. My test immediately showed Covid. Mary’s remained negative. The doctor, a young woman in glasses, took her time examining us, then gave the diagnosis. Covid for me, with no complications. No Covid for Mary, and no other sinus or ear infections. She explained that there is no quarantine requirement in Switzerland so just wear the mask, wash the hands and take it easy. She gave us nose spray and Advil.

After more apologizing that we had to pay, we settled the bill for 304 Swiss francs ($327) and went on our way. I had the energy to visit a souvenir shop and check out the town. Definitely feeling better today.

So I’m going to call my disease “walking Covid.” I feel better today and can partake of the normal tourist world as long as I wear a mask. My medications are Tylenol, nose drops, lots of fluids, rest and cough drops. (Here in the land of Ricola there are many delicious flavors including cranberry and elderberry). My senses of taste and smell are intact so I can enjoy cheese and chocolate if I have the appetite. Mary and I are wearing masks in the room so hopefully I don’t pass it to her. Fingers crossed, I think I’ve gotten off easy. Resting up today for our train ride to Zurich tomorrow.

Mary wanted me to see Efteling, a theme park in central Netherlands. On the first sunny day here, we took a train then a bus, then joined hundreds of people, mostly families, funneling into the gate. Oh my! It really was a park! The theme is enchantment!

Built in 1952 (predating Disneyland) Efteling started as a nature park and playground featuring magic, myths and folklore. We were most charmed by a meandering walk through woods with fairy tale scenes. Rudimentary animatronics enlivened Rapunzel, the 3 Pigs, and many stories I wasn’t familiar with.

We enjoyed several quaint rides including a tiny monorail with snail cars that rode over the playground and a new dark ride called Fata Morgana that was a sort of Arabian Pirates of the Caribbean.

Lunch was at the pancake house. We started with dark beer then moved on to plate sized savory pancakes. Mine was bacon and cheese and it was so delicious. Accompanying the food were dancing pots, pans and wooden spoons activated by a button that was irresistible to the children.

All in all, it was a truly delightful day. People were calm and happy; children were running around. I joined some tired grandparents around a warm fire while Mary took some thrill rides.

Our hotel is right by the central train station. This of course makes little excursions convenient. Also our cozy little room is 7 floors above the tracks ….the sound of the trains is great for sleeping.

Mary is like a local using the trains! She uses her cell phone to purchase tickets and get us through the turnstiles to the tracks. Our first destination today was Delft. I’ve always loved blue and white china, and Delft is the original home of this porcelain produced in Europe. Since the 1600s, the Dutch researched and learned to imitate the china the Dutch East India Company was importing from China. We visited a factory built in 1653: saw the process right through to a woman hand painting a vase that would be fired into the characteristic blue and white china

The gift shop was a wonder, but way out of our price range. Genuine hand decorated china (Royal Delft) from this factory has an elaborate marking system on the bottom of the pieces. Just as the Dutch created fakes of Chinese dishes, modern customers need to be aware of imitations. Just for fun, I looked at pieces on eBay and was not convinced that any of it was genuine.

We enjoyed a high tea at the cafe then took 20 minute Uber to The Hague. Our objective was the Mauritshuis Museum, home of selected Dutch Masters. The small, elegant museum was once a home, and is now a cozy space for “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” I was moved to discover another painting I love, “The Goldfinch.”

Amsterdam is wonderful. And so agree thousands and thousands of visitors. We headed in to the old part of town today, on the inner canals. No objective except to immerse ourselves. So many people. I wanted to walk by the house on Herengracht canal where Mike and I stayed 3 years ago. It was easy to find, and enjoyable to walk this somewhat familiar neighborhood. We had lunch at an old “brown cafe” for inexpensive beer and pea soup.

One has to be really careful of the bikes: they have their own lanes, and unlike cars, do not cede right of way.

Our big event was an nighttime canal cruise. It was an underwhelming tourist trap however we did get to see the winter light instillations.

Ok so tonight I’m going to end with an observation. Maybe I’m feeling like an old lady but this place is dangerous! The pavement is uneven and little steps and holes materialize everywhere. Stairs don’t have bannisters. There are no barriers along the canals! The bikes, cars and buses are silent and sneak up on you. I felt a little woozy and off balance today: Mary says it’s because I’m dehydrated but I think maybe it’s the marijuana that’s in the air.

We love riding the train in Europe so we decided to buy a first class Eurail Pass and enjoy a day looking at the landscape. Our journey stated early on a Danish train to Hamburg. We had facing seats with a table and as soon as we took off a gentleman brought us brown bread rolls with cheese, jam and butter. We enjoyed watching the morning light reveal the flat fields and little towns with detached houses.

A couple of hours in, the announcer came on to tell us that masks were required Germany. Only a specific type of mask (made in Poland) was allowed. Not the blue masks. So we purchased two, and put them on when the announcements began to be in German. Soon a smartly uniformed German lady wearing a blue mask checked our tickets. After four and a half hours, we disembarked in Hamburg.

Wow! The station was packed! I had a bathroom adventure….. The station rest rooms cost a Euro, but the €5 bill I put in the machine got sucked in and no ticket emerged. A kind lady gave me a coin and I was admitted to the spanking clean rest room.

We enjoyed a coffee then boarded our next train, the German ICE to Osnabrück. This train was very nice inside and sped through at 200 kilometers per hour. This was a shorter ride but at some point we stopped and took on a group of unscheduled passengers. This made us late for our short transfer but we made it onto the Dutch train to Amsterdam. Then the fun began.

This train had compartments, with clear doors to seal us off into railroad luxury. Off we went for the remaining 3 hours to Amsterdam. I could still hear the soccer game a few compartments away (the Netherlands beating U.S.) but it was so nice. A young Dutch woman was our only companion.

About an hour into our comfortable ride, the train stopped. The lights went on and off. The announcement was to not try to get out as you will fall on the track. The lights and announcements (technical problems in the engine) went on for a while and then we were instructed to collect our belongings and disembark at the front of the train. So hundreds of us walked through many cars and finally got off onto a sort of platform and walked across the tracks.

We were at a very small station. The doors were locked and no one seemed to be in charge. No announcements, no directions. Our Dutch companion said not to worry; all trains headed west towards Amsterdam. I found a nice looking guy in a safety vest who turned out to be the driver of a short commuter train that was parked on the platform. He told us to get on the train and ride a couple stops, then transfer to a bigger train. At this point the hundreds of not polite tourists and locals crushed into the 2 doors of the little train. Once in, we did find seats but it was crowded with luggage in the aisles, and sadly, a few crying babies.

Two stops later, we followed the crowd and disembarked again, then got on another very nice local train to the airport. I was glad to have GPS to have an idea where we were. A couple hours later this train disgorged us right into the center of the airport where Mary got us on the subway to our destination, Amsterdam Centrum. There we unloaded at the main train station and quickly walked over to our hotel.

So our first class train ride was about 15 hours and, I think, 6 trains. We were in bed by 10:30 and had the best sleep of our trip.

Our sightseeing started with a visit to Christiania, a section of Copenhagen that was established as a commune in 1971. You go through a gate from an orderly upscale neighborhood to a grubby mishmash of older buildings, walls covered in graffiti and questionable stores and eateries. Mary liked the “art,” but I felt uneasy and was relieved to head out the gate that said “ this way to the EU.”

We also visited the Church of Our Savior that has an immense pipe organ held up by elephants.

We joined the tourists on a 90 minute canal tour where we learned more about the Royal Opera House (they had professional divers dive off the roof into the canal) and the various neighborhoods. The canals were dug hundreds of years ago to expand harbor commerce. The tour guide was a young rosy cheeked Dane who reminded the passengers at least a dozen times to sit down as we passed under bridges.

Copenhagen. December 2

More impressions of Denmark

1. Mary and I can pass as Danes! People start speaking to us in Danish and we have to request English (that everyone seems to speak fluently). The Danish people are tall, very good looking people. Many are blond or red head. Older women seem to go grey naturally and they look great. The dress code outdoors for women is puffer jacket/coat, scarf and hat. Men wear black overcoats and look really smart.

2. We have encountered many reminders of Hans Christian Anderson; his statue, references to where he lived and then a charming ride in Tivoli retelling his stories. I noticed swans and ducks in the canal, and we got to see the famous Little Mermaid statue. It’s really little! One night Mary and I listened to one of his stories…about a preacher and his dead wife; it was so maudlin.

3. Back to food. We have enjoyed Danish open sandwiches, smørrbrød, every day. Toppings like pressed salmon, herring, roast pork sit atop rye bread and are layered on with creamy dressings, pickled cabbage, fresh dill, etc. You eat with knife and fork. I would love to try to recreate this at home but finding the bread will be the challenge.

Today I enjoyed doing some errands. I found a walk-in hair salon called Come on In and got a barber style haircut. (It looks good.) When it was time to pay I was told they only accept cash. I didn’t have any! (Everyone, even the guy roasting nuts in a cart, wanted a card. ) They directed me to a cash machine a few blocks away and so I was able to settle up. Then I visited a small supermarket for provisions for our long train ride tomorrow. Fruit, cheese, skyr, and organic grainy crackers.

Today was our big day to visit Tivoli Gardens, our original objective for our stay in Copenhagen. Mary chose our hotel, the Palace, because it’s almost across the street from Tivoli. We are right in the middle of the old city, next door to the Rødhusplasen (city hall). The old hotel has modern remodel inside; our room is small, kind of zen but with a beautiful high end bathroom and an ornate metal chandelier. My favorite features are the outstanding breakfast included and the chimes from the bell tower on the Rathaus every 15 minutes between 8 am and midnight.

Mary’s lovely friend Emma came over from Oslo to join us. We walked across Hans Christian Andersen Ave to the gates of Tivoli for the 11 o’clock opening. One of the original pleasure gardens in the world, Tivoli is small, bordered by an iron fence over which you can see modern buildings and that bell tower. No lines at all for the rides; low level roller coasters and children’s rides. Mary and Emma rode the Chinese junks.

Tivoli was all out for Christmas. Artificial snow, twinkly lights, quiet music, little stores with Christmas items and seasonal food. It was low key and easy, and once it got dark, more people showed up and it felt really festive. We were charmed by the slow pace and innocent, old fashioned feel, and a traditional smørrebrød (open sandwich) lunch. It was fun to imagine families coming here as long ago as the 1840s.

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This evening we joined the locals for a performance of West Side Story at the Royal Danish Opera House. This 21st Century structure is on the canal: we reached it via a short dark foot ferry ride. We had great seats….front row first balcony…..that provided a good view of the stage and the five rounded balconies inside. The main material appeared to be wood and the overall impression was being inside towers of circles.

We were expecting the show to be in English but it was totally in Danish! It was a bit of a stretch to believe that these tall blonde young men were gang members, but the singing and dancing were great and the performers had a lot of heart. I did recognize Shark, Jet and Tony, and occasional words in Castilian Spanish, but otherwise we had to rely totally on our memory and the context to follow the story. The orchestra was situated in back of the stage, and it’s entire floor moved up and down. Without words, I paid more attention to Bernstein’s lush score and orchestration.

First Impressions of Copenhagen

1. Dark. It’s midwinter, no denying that. Sun rises around 8 and sets at 3:45. Overcast skies, dimly illuminated rooms, modest street lighting.

2. In contrast to item 1, the Danes are big on Christmas lights and displays. Here is a very long pedestrian street lit up all the way with hearts and little white lights. We enjoyed our first gløgg and Christmas markets.

Charmingly, many children are wearing little red Nissan (elf) or Santa hats.

3. Butter. Butter on everything. Unabashed. No apologies. We had roasted chestnuts with whipped butter.