Find Romance while cruising the Rhine River
The Rhine River is considered one of the most romantic stretches of water in the world.
Cruising along past castles and vineyards is sure to set your heart a flutter!
My husband and I enjoyed this magical river cruise after spending a week exploring the Netherlands.
Sailing the Rhine is a different experience than the Danube, a busier river, but the breathtaking Rhine Gorge with all of the castles makes up for the traffic.
It is very easy to imagine yourself as royalty in your own fairytale as you glide by the palaces.
Romance aside there are fantastic excursions included to keep you busy during the day.
I really loved Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum in Rüdesheim!
There was a player piano that had several violins mounted inside, each violin played one string along with the piano creating a perfectly coordinated song.
The trip up to Heidelberg Castle was fascinating! Parts of the castle is in ruins but a lot of it still quite intact, we were able to go inside and explore after an introductory tour and lecture about the history.
Not everyone has had the chance to wander around in a castle, the view is stunning be sure to bring your camera!
On the last day in Breisach we elected to take an optional excursion to Colmar ; it was like stepping into a storybook. Half-timber houses and gingerbread shops decorated the streets and canal ways were the mode of transport in the “Little Venice” section.
Taking a Rhine River Cruise is a wonderful way to experience history, other cultures and enjoy romantic scenery.
If you appreciate wine you will definitely enjoy this itinerary as the Alsace region produces delightful offerings.
Both wine and beer tastings are on the itinerary and unlimited wine and beer are included at lunch an dinner during your cruise!
Meandering the Mekong River ~ Angkor Wat to Thailand
Asia is a fascinating place!
It is so different than the western world in a multitude of ways.
When you visit places such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand you come away changed, a more thoughtful and appreciative person.
Prior to this adventure I had already visited several areas of Myanmar, Beijing, and Bangkok so I did have an idea as to what to expect, but still, seeing in person the art and history of these countries is humbling.
My journey began in Siem Reap where I spent three days exploring the ruins of temples of Angkor.
I wish I had more time as it was fascinating, I probably will return as I couldn't visit them all, and new temples are still being discovered.
Of all of the complexes I visited, Angkor Thom impressed me the most.
It is a maze of gigantic heads, each with a different smirking expression on it's face as if he knew a secret.
Walking through these ancient temples was a phenomenal experience, just trying to figure out how they were able to construct them was mind boggling!
The evening after my final visit to the Angkor complex our guide arranged for a private Apsara dance show for us. These young women must start training their fingers before the age of five to get them to curl back the way they do. The dance is mesmerizing to watch, in fact believers feel that the Apsara’s could hypnotize the rivals of the King of the Gods by this dance.
I took this trip in conjunction with Avalon Waterways, selecting them purposely because their Asia ships have only 18 cabins and I wanted it to be an intimate group.
There were just 20 of us in total which worked perfectly, it felt more like a private yachting expedition than a river cruise.
Each day while on the river we would have two included excursions, one in the morning and a second after lunch.
Some of the excursions were sobering, like when we visited the killing fields in Cambodia and learned about the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.
Others were uplifting, for example when we visited a local school and helped the children with their English lessons, or when we were given a water blessing by a monk. Everywhere we traveled the art on the buildings was so detailed and brilliantly adorned it almost felt like it was for a movie set.
This is the day to day paradox, beautiful gold leafed temples next to shanty houses on stilts.
One consistency was how welcoming and kind the people were, everyone seemed truly happy to see us no matter where I visited. The sunsets on the river were just breathtaking, with no streetlights and only an occasional fishing sampan passing by the views were amazing!
Our day to day lives were immersed with the culture, but we were sheltered in luxury at the same time.
Each cabin on the ship is a suite with a full wall of windows that the bed faces.
The wall opens up to turn the entire room into an open air balcony,the slider has a screen and there is a ceiling fan so if you want to lie in bed and listen to the river you could without concern about "visitors".
Meals were an exciting event! Always available was a “western option” like filet mignon or salmon, but there are choices of regional favorites as well.
I never would have considered trying some of the offerings elsewhere but found I really enjoyed them on the ship and was glad I had the opportunity to widen my horizons.
On our last day of the trip we were brought to a Vietnam restaurant and given a cooking class which was great fun, they sent us home with the recipes we cooked which was a nice touch.
After the cruise I flew up to northern Thailand to do a private tour for a week.
Southeast Asia is a fantastic experience, you will see amazing detail in the art, encounter warm hospitable people and come away with a true sense of how fortunate your own life circumstances are.