ROLLIN' ON THE RIVER

ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER

She says:

After 6 days on the boat, we all seem to be falling into a comfortable routine…not too difficult to do, since the Andrew, the Program Director, and his staff make it so easy for us.

Every evening just before dinner, Andrew holds a quick briefing in the cocktail lounge to give us an outline of what’s in store for the following day.  When we get back to our cabins after dinner, there’s a copy of the “Viking Daily” on our turn-downed beds that gives activity times on one side, and a brief description of the shore visit we’ll be making on the other side.  I don’t agree with my esteemed co-author that we’re over-regimented, and that we’re sometimes like rats in a maze trying to find some free time.  There’s no Day-Trip Nazi with a clipboard making sure we follow a tight schedule; if we choose to sleep or read all day we’re welcome to, but if we want to be occupied, there’s a lot to keep us entertained. 

Every day, there’s an excursion of some sort on shore.  So far, most have been in the morning, which means getting up earlier than we usually like to on holiday, but since we’ve had to adjust to a 6-hour time difference anyhow, we decided we’d be able to adjust to a 6:30 wake-up time as well, and so far we’ve been  on time every day.

A typical day goes like this:

For early risers, there’s a light breakfast in the lounge (coffee, juice, and pastries) starting at 6 AM and continuing till 11 for those who sleep too late for the fabulous dining room breakfast that runs from 7-9.   In the dining room, there’s a buffet: fresh fruit, yogurt, steel-cut oatmeal, muesli, cold meats and cheeses, fabulous breads, rolls, and pastries, and a hot table with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, home fries, baked mushrooms, baked beans, etc.  There’s also a chef at the buffet who makes omelettes to order, and if you don’t see anything you like, you can order from a menu that includes pancakes, French toast, and Eggs Benedict.  We aren’t worried about the calories because, according to our waiter on the first day, there are no calories in any of the food served on this trip.  If you can’t trust your waiter to tell you the truth at a time like this, who can you trust?

They tell us that at 7 AM every morning we can go to the upper deck (or to the library if it’s raining) for Qi Gong exercises.  What’s that, you ask?  How the heck would we know?  Who’s awake enough to exercise without coffee?  But I’m sure it’s healthy.

While shore excursions are usually walking tours of towns, cities, World Heritage sites, or castles, and are usually led by local guides who really know their subjects, occasionally we’ll meet in the lounge and be briefed by a local expert beforehand and then go ashore on our own with a map to explore.  There’s always plenty of time after a walking tour to do some more wandering on our own, whether it’s to shop, visit a museum, or hunt down a local pub and sample the local food or drinks.  Throughout the trip, there are also optional tours with an additional cost that people can choose to take: bus trips to other towns, pub crawls to sample local beers, a classical concert in Vienna, etc.  Shore excursions can last anywhere from 2 or 3 hours to half a day, depending on the attraction we’re visiting. 

Back on the boat, there’s plenty of time to sit and watch the river going by, to read, or to sit in the lounge and sample the cocktails.  Often, local people come on board to speak or perform.  So far, we’ve had an expert on the old dykes and windmills at Kinderdijk, a man who talked and answered questions about Germany today, a talented trio who played the works of several German composers, and a glass blower who entertained the group with entertaining running commentary as he demonstrated his skills at the front of the room, making glass figures and candlesticks. 

Lunch can be eaten in one of two places.  The lounge serves soup, salad, sandwiches, and a few surprise items in a casual setting.  Yesterday they announced that it was German street food day and served sausages, pretzels, meatballs, German potato salad, berliners (jelly donuts), fresh German peaches, strawberries, plums and apricots,  tray after tray of desserts and all the beer we could handle.  The dining room is more formal, with a salad bar, breads, pasta, local pates and cheeses, and a changing daily menu that offers regional specialties like Dutch veal stew or roast German pork, and hot sandwiches.  We quickly learned that the dining room has a huge advantage over the lounge for lunch: it serves free wine, and the wine’s delicious.  It’s also the best place on the ship for great coffee.

At 3:30 there’s usually coffee with a sampling of regional desserts.   A couple of days ago, the chef gave a demonstration on how to make Rudesheimer coffee, a process that involves melting sugar over a flame, pouring German brandy over it, adding it to hot coffee, and topping it with a mountain of cream.  Delicious, but potent stuff!

6 PM is the start of the cocktail hour.  Near the lounge, there’s a wall of machines that serve free coffee, espresso, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate, and tea 24 hours a day.  There’s always free bottled water available, as well, and generous quantities of good-quality wine are free at lunch and dinner in the dining room.  All other drinks must be paid for.  When we came on board, we were introduced to an optional plan that provided all the drinks you wanted for 2 weeks at a low price: 299 Euros (about $375) for the 2 week cruise.  We decided that we’d never be able to drink that much, so we pay as we go, but this is the time of day when it’s easy to see who opted for the plan and is working hard to make its cost worthwhile by working their way down the list of available cocktails. 

At 6:45, the Program director goes through the next day’s itinerary and then the chef runs through the evening’s menu and the accompanying wines of the day, and we all rush into dinner as if we hadn’t been eating all day.  To start, the menu will have 2 or 3 appetizers, plus a soup and a salad.  Memorable examples: wild mushroom soup, lime-marinated jumbo shrimp with mango salsa, and the best crab cakes I’ve ever tasted.  Main courses usually consist of a meat or poultry, a fish or seafood, and a vegetarian option: seared scallops, roast duck, macadamia-encrusted black cod, to name a few that I’ve enjoyed.  Desserts include fruit, ice cream, sorbets, and regional specialties like plum cake and nut pudding.   As the chef (who looks as if he loves his own creations) always says in his nightly briefings, “Yummy, yummy”. 

Dinner ends around 9, and then it’s back to the lounge where Konstantin, the pianist, usually entertains as we sit and talk to our fellow travellers.  At least, that’s how it starts.  Then he’ll play a familiar song and people start to sing along to the Beatles or other ‘60’s songs.  Then a few will dance, and Konstantin encourages participation with a few more familiar songs.  One advantage to being on what a certain cynic calls a floating geriatric ward is that we all enjoy the same music...and I’m not talking about Bach or Beethoven. One night we had a silly trivia contest before the music started, dividing into teams and trying to answer tough questions like “How many 2 cent stamps in a dozen?” or “Why can’t a man living in the US be buried in Canada?”  Andrew told us in advance that the questions would require thinking outside the box.  You know me; I LIVE outside the box, so I spent the night telling my team members they were trying too hard.  There are 12 of everything in a dozen, and men who are living anywhere can’t be buried because they aren’t dead.  What was the US president’s name in 1980?  Well, what was YOUR name in 1980?  He was Obama then, too. We came second.  Our downfall was this question: How many animals of each sex did Moses take on the ark?  We brilliantly said there was one of each sex, but overlooked one tiny detail:  it was NOAH who did all that; Moses didn’t have an ark.  Doh! 

Of course, not everyone participates; some go back to their rooms to watch CNN or a movie on tv.  Whatever we choose to do, most of us feel we’ve had a fun, busy day, and go to sleep happy, ready for whatever adventures the next day will bring.