A slow morning, a visit to the post office for a postcard drop and just a general mosey around until midday to do a final pack and checkout of the very convenient Basel Hotel.

I used my final and leftover Swiss francs on an Italian leather pair of loathers because I had blisters from shoes I had with me.

I found it hard to reach Viking to ask them what time we were to board, so I just went off the itinerary pack they gave us, and decided to aim for 3ish after a bite to eat in Basel.

When we were walking around Basel in the morning we did see a Viking ship from one of the bridges, and guessed it might have been it - it was.

It was hard to believe – the sun was out and the temperature was 30 degrees, it felt like we were in Australia for summer.   Locals were out in force, sitting at outside cafes and swimming in the Rhine enjoying the heat.

We found a local cafe and had a nice lunch, a pizza like meal – Leanne and I tried to guess the words on the menu before we read the English one, to get acquainted and ready for the German language.

It's getting exciting after coffee and iced tea (I seemed really thirsty with the heat) around 3ish, we take a taxi to the dock where our ship Viking Tor is awaiting us.

We were lucky to arrive with immediate check in, not many passengers had arrived yet.

Our room – wow - how cool – very modern – Room 312, perfect for Leanne and I, we worked out where we’d store our things, shared cupboards and areas so we would be setup for the week. I joked with Leanne and said I’d teach her what it was like to have a sister.   

The flowers and chocolates arrived for Leanne’s birthday, I had to arrange it all yesterday at a florist, a beautiful basket of colourful flowers and Swiss chocolate to be delivered to the room for her arrival.

There was a bottle of sparkling wine in the room also.    6.30pm came around quickly so I went and joined the welcome aboard session so Leanne could have first shower and get ready for dinner.

Our Captain is Eddy van Klei.   It was just the safety session, where things were and general information which I could pass onto Leanne.

We had to make decisions on extra tours also, just chose two, one to Colmar Village and the other a night in Rudesheim. There were enough tours already included.

Viking has 34 ships on the river, and ours is number 14. The TV is set up really well, so you can watch from the room where we are going, and then there is lots of info, and a heap of movies. Leanne was happy to see all the series of Downtown Abbey available to her.

Dinner in the dining room is at 7pm as was cast off, we arrive at 7.45pm, the restaurant was full, however we were lucky enough to get a window seat.    Three course al-carte meal – just like a restaurant menu with four things to choose from each course.   I actually decided to try the wine, and to my surprise it was a very, very nice, easy wine to drink , I had to stop myself from asking for more. Guests at our table were all lovely, a British couple from Somerset and an American couple from Colorado.  

We were sailing and not long after, we arrived at a big lock, I excused myself from the table so I could go on the top deck to watch the opening of the gates and to take photos.   I forgot that I would get wet as the door raised above us.

As we were getting ready for an early night we did go through another lock, and the wall was hard up against our balcony.

Leanne retired, and I decided I’d get all my photos sorted from my memorable Switzerland adventure sorted out and attached to the blogs I had finished.

"Good Bye" Switzerland, you showed me a wonderful time in a beautiful country, have no complaints, I’d suggest to anyone to visit Switzerland and take the time to visit all the places I found and more.

Switzerland is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, with more than 70 percent of its area covered by the Alps in the centre and southern sections, and the Jura in the northwest.

Quote:

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality, and then there are those who turn one into the other.