Fortunately, the first plane on the trip home didn’t leave Geneva until about lunchtime, allowing us a fairly leisurely morning to enjoy breakfast and pack. The first leg of the trip was from Geneva to London, and went off without a hitch, recognizing, of course, that Heathrow is always a bit of mess.
And even the leg from Heathrow to Chicago wasn’t too bad except for the lack of leg room in the plane, especially when the passenger in front kept his seat reclined the whole way—to which he is entitled even if a bit inconsiderate.
And then the third leg of the trip from Chicago to Little Rock was okay except for sitting on the tarmac in Little Rock for over 30 minutes waiting for a gate to open (despite it being 10:30 PM and only a couple other planes at the airport. After picking up our luggage, we were transported to the parking lot, and arrived home about midnight.
Overall, the trip was a good one, despite my being sick for over two weeks. The Switzerland extension was definitely our favorite part of the trip. It is our opinion that Viking had slipped a bit since our last three trips on their ships; our room was not serviced as well, and the general tone of the river cruise was not as upbeat. However, the food was excellent, the excursions were great (though not as good as we had formerly experienced), and the staff friendly. It’s probably our last trip using Viking, not so much because of the aforementioned conditions, but we don’t plan to travel internationally as much as in the past. And, if we do cruise there are several much less expensive alternatives.
As of this writing we don’t have any more long trips planned this year, and will enjoy the heat and humidity of Arkansas for the remainder of the summer, and hopefully, nice fall weather for golf and pickleball.
After breakfast we met at the train station and caught a cogwheel railway through the adjacent Alps to Gornergrat. The top two photos below are from our hotel room window.
Opened in 1898, the Gornergrat cogwheel train is the world’s oldest electric mountain railway still in operation and has been built solely for tourist purposes. The 33-minute ride is incredibly scenic: the train offers a birds-eye view of Zermatt with the Matterhorn silhouette towering over it, lakes, forests, and numerous other peaks, valleys, and glaciers. From the top of Gornergrat, a mountain summit after which the railway is named, one can admire spectacular 360-degree views of Matterhorn and 29 other 4000-meter high peaks, as well as Gorner Glacier.
Along the way, the views of Matterhorn were near breathtaking. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I’d see this famous, spectacular mountain.
Gornergrat (10,285 feet) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Corner Glacier southeast of Zermatt.
Gornergrat, upper right corner of photo
At the top of Gornergrat, the views of several glaciers overpowered the surrounding landscape.
After loads of photos, Kay and I caught the cogwheel railcar and rode “down” to the first stop from the top, Station Rotenoden. At the stop an ensemble of people dressed in native costumes played music commonly associated with the Swiss Alps on Alpine horns and an accordion. Their appearance was at the entrance to an Alpine garden containing many plants in full bloom. This was also the “trailhead” where we began an almost 3 mile hike down the mountain and around a lake to the next “whistle stop”, Station Riffleberg. This was our favorite day of the entire trip.
Back at the the town of Zermatt, we made our way to the hotel, not realizing how tired we really were—and the twenty minute walk was mostly uphill.
As for Zermatt, it remains almost completely free of internal combustion vehicles—apart from the local police service which uses a Volkswagen car, and the refuse collection lorry. It can be reached by train only and electric vehicles are used locally.. These electric vehicles, mostly small trucks and vans, are plentiful and driven very fast in the narrow cobblestone streets. Along with bicycles everywhere, walkers must remain on alert at all times.
Today’s post is all about travel from Zurich to Zermatt. We departed Zurich mid-morning Wednesday and traveled by bus to Chur.
We departed Zurich mid-morning Wednesday and traveled by bus to Chur. The scenery was magnificent.
Chur is an Alpine city in eastern Switzerland. It is Switzerland’s oldest city, dating back over 5,000 years. Winding streets in the car-free old town lead to the 13th-century, three-naved Cathedral of the Assumption. The Romanesque Cathedral was finished in 1272 after more than 100 years of construction.
We lunched at a cafe on the 5th floor atop a department store, Manor Chur, reminiscent of those in the “old” days of multistory department stores in Little Rock, Memphis, etc. Manor Chur provides a shopping experience for all the family; department store items, food, and the restaurant is all under one roof over an area of 86.000 square feet.
After lunch, we boarded the Glacier Express Railway in Chur for a panoramic journey to Zermatt. This was the highlight of the day. From Chur, the train follows the course of the Rhine through the gorge climbing slowly through alpine valleys. The train route slowly steepens to finally reach its summit, the Oberalp Pass (6,670 feet). From there the train continues is down and up journey, passing through several alpine villages before entering a lengthy tunnel. After the tunnel, the train follows the course of the Rhone River, and passes through more alpine villages before going through another spiral. After a steeper section the train finally arrives in Zermatt at 5,302 ft, after several hours of travel.
Aboard the Glacier Express, we were served adult beverages throughout the afternoon and a chicken curry based lunch which was quite good.
We arrived in Zermatt early in the evening, surprised to find that we were in the Viking group that had to walk 20 minutes to our hotel. We were quite disappointed as we expected better from Viking. Nevertheless, the walk was fine, and our hotel was 5-star rated and very nice indeed. In as much as it was near 9 pm, we unpacked enough to sleep and retired for the evening.
Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community; the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 was followed by a rush on the mountains surrounding the village, leading to the construction of many tourist facilities. The year-round population (as of December 2020) is 5,820, though there may be several times as many tourists in Zermatt at any one time. Much of the local economy is based on tourism, with about half of the jobs in town in hotels or restaurants and just under half of all apartments are vacation apartments. Just over one-third of the permanent population was born in the town, while another third moved to Zermatt from outside Switzerland.
From Basel, we were transported to Zurich by bus. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and is its economic and financial center. This city is in the north of the country.
Zurich is an upmarket banking city and the financial capital of Switzerland. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that it’s often labelled as the most expensive in the world, and we can personally attest to its expensive nature! Zurich is famous for luxurious lifestyles, high-end shopping, and fancy chocolates. However, despite its expense and extravagance, it is also ranked as one of the best cities to live in the world. Boasting highly urbanized districts that sit amidst historical and cultural areas, Zurich is also the biggest city in Switzerland. It is also extremely well situated. It sits right on Lake Zurich and has the waters of the River Limmat running right through it. And all this at the foot of the Swiss Alps.
The Old Town is Zurich’s tourist hub.
Zurich’s waterfront along the Limmat River is a beautiful and popular area, featuring the Limmatquai promenade with picturesque views and famous church towers.
The Fraumunster is a church in Zurich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women and which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. Fraumünster was once part of Fraumunster Abbey founded in A. D. 853. In 1272, the bones of the first two abbesses, Hildegard and Berta, were placed in the south wall of the church transept.
About 1300, someone painted a fresco above their resting place. Someone painted over the original mural which was uncovered in 1847. Franz Hegi made a watercolor copy of the original in 2006. Today, it belongs to the Evangelical Reformed Church of the canton of Zurich and is one of the four main churches of Zurich, the others being the Grossmunster, St. Peter’s, and Prediger churches.
The Grossmunster is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zurich. Its congregation forms part of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich. The core of the present building, near the banks of the Limmat, was constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, which was, according to legend, originally commissioned by Charlemagne. Construction of the present structure commenced around 1100 and it was inaugurated around 1220. The twin towers of the Grossmunster are regarded as perhaps the most recognized landmark in Zurich
The “green tower with clock” in Zurich refers to the clock tower of St. Peter’s Church. It’s a prominent landmark in Zurich, known for having the largest clock face in Europe. The tower itself is predominantly green, with a distinctive wooden roof covered in larch shingles.
Prediger is the last of the four main churches of the old town of Zurich. First built in 1231 AD as a Romanesque church of the then Dominican Predigerkloster, the Basilica was converted in the first half of the 14th century, the choir between 1308 and 1350 rebuilt, and for that time an unusual high bell tower was built, regarded as the highest Gothic edifice in Zürich.
I did not go on this excursion due to a significant head cold. All photos are by Kay.
Basel is located in the northwest of Switzerland in the border triangle between Germany, France and Switzerland. Basel is Switzerland’s third most populous city. The city on the Rhine is considered the country’s art and culture capital. Basel is a city with three official languages: French, German, and Italian.
Basel’s old town is filled with picturesque alleyways and over 200 fountains.
Swiss chocolate, of courseFrom the year 1367Who said the Swiss were stoic?
Highlights include the town hall and the cathedral. Basel Minster is a religious building in the Swiss city of Basel, originally a Roman Catholic cathedral and today a Reformed Protestant church.
The original cathedral was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic styles.
The Basel Town Hall is a 500-year-old building dominating the Marketplace. The Town Hall houses the meetings of the Cantonal Parliament as well as the Cantonal Government of the canton of Basel-Stadt.
Daniel Bernoulli, a famous mathematician and physicist was a native son of Basel. Bernoulli’s principle is a key concept in fluid dynamics that relates pressure, speed and height. The resulting Bernoulli Equation is often written as:
P + 1/2ρv² + ρgh = constant, where
Pressure (P): The force exerted by the fluid per unit area.
Velocity (v): The speed of the fluid.
Density (ρ): The mass of the fluid per unit volume.
Elevation (h): The height of the fluid above a reference point.
Gravity (g): The acceleration due to gravity.
The majority of my graduate work in engineering involved Bernoulli’s principle.
Guide and plaque honoring Daniel Bernoullil
We spent our “downtime” in a small plaza, Basel’s Petersplatz, watching cultural dances and children riding on the beautifully decorated, illuminated Frankfurt horse carousel. The antique carousel has a “horse” made by Peter Philip Schneider in Frankfurt, Germany, around the late 19th century. The horse is a rare, hand-carved and painted example from the golden age of carousels. It is a standing style carousel horse, intricately detailed and professionally restored.
Strasbourg is eastern France’s largest city in the historic region of Alsace. and the official seat of the European Parliament. The city has about 300,000 inhabitants; Strasbourg’s metropolitan area had a population of 860,744 in 2020, making it the eighth-largest metro area in France. Strasbourg is one of the de facto four main capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels, Luxembourg, and Frankfurt), as it is the seat of several European institutions, such as the European Parliament, the Eurocorps and the European Omsbudsman of the European Union. Strasbourg is such a lovely city.
Together with Basel (Bank for International Settlements), Geneva (United Nations), The Hague (International Court of Justice), and New York City (United Nations World Headquarters), Strasbourg is among the few cities in the world that is not a national capital that hosts international organizations of the first order. Strasbourg’s historic city center, the Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. It is home to the largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque. It is also Albert Schweitzer’s hometown (see first photo below).
Statue of Albert SchweitzerVery old half -timber houseMacarooms
Strasbourg has become one of my favorite cities in the world, along with Prague, Paris, and San Francisco.
Our walking tour of Mainz focused mainly on the Old Town and its many historic assets.
Mainz’s Old Town is a charming area known for its historic buildings, picturesque squares, and vibrant atmosphere. It features winding streets, half-timbered houses, baroque churches, and is a place where history and modern life intertwine. The Old Town also offers a variety of shops, restaurants, and wine taverns, making it a popular destination for both locals and tourists. The Old Town is the oldest part of Mainz, with a history dating back to Roman times. It boasts a mix of architectural styles, including half-timbered, baroque, and rococo façades, creating a unique and picturesque streetscape. The Wood Tower is a mediaeval tower in Mainz, Germany, with the Iron Tower and the Alexander Tower one of three remaining towers from the city walls. Its current Gothic appearance dates to the early 15th century. It is so named because wood used to be piled next to it on the bank of the Rhine.
Many smiling locals were enjoying coffee and pastries at the several outdoor cafes in the Market Square. Market Square is Mainz’s most popular square and is dominated by the iconic Mainz Cathedral. The square became a popular trading place when the cathedral was built in 975. Traditionally, merchants offered wool, cloth, fur, baked goods, and fruit and vegetables. Products were set out in large baskets on the floor. The Renaissance market fountain was built in 1526. The water fountain was an important source of fresh water for nearby residents. In 1889, a Madonna figure was added to the fountain. Most of the houses in the square date to the 18th century. World War II bombs heavily damaged Market Square. In 1975, Mainz celebrated the thousandth anniversary of the cathedral and committed to re-designing and rebuilding the square. Many of the buildings were rebuilt with historical facades. The market takes place Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and we were fortunate enough to have visited on a Friday. Also, as an aside, Market Square hosts a vibrant Christmas Market during the Christmas holiday season.
Mainz also has some quirky traffic lights.
The magnificent Mainz Cathedral, or St. Martin’s Cathedral, dominates the skyline and is a major attraction in the Old Town. It is situated near the historical centre and market square.
This Roman Catholic cathedral church has stood witness to more than 1000 years of history and is the site of the Episcopal see of the Bishop of Mainz. Together with the cathedrals of Worms and Speyer, the Mainz Dom represents the summit of Romanesque cathedral architecture seen in Germany. Predominantly Romanesque in style, the cathedral has however had later additions to it, making it a wonderful blend of architectural styles from various eras. It is a beautiful experience to see the six red sandstone towers of the St. Martin’s Cathedral rise above the Mainz cityscape with half-timbered houses. To give you an idea about the historic importance of this cathedral, it is enough to say that through the centuries, seven coronations were hosted here. During the World War II, almost 80% of Mainz was destroyed by bombing, but the cathedral had stood unharmed. It is almost completely surrounded by buildings. The largest dome shows a blend of Roman and Baroque styles and beneath it is the transept separating the west chancel from the nave and smaller east chancel. Many supporting pillars in the nave are adorned with carved and painted statues.
The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world, located opposite the cathedral in the old part of Mainz, Germany. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, a native son of Mainz and the inventor of printing from movable metal type in Western Europe and focuses on him and his inventions. The museum’s collection includes two original Gutenberg Bibles that date back to the middle of the 15th century and are widely regarded as some of the finest books of all time.
The reconstruction of Gutenberg’s workshop is another main attraction, and our guide demonstrated what the printing process would have been like in Gutenberg’s day.
The Collegiate Church of St. Stephan, known in German as St. Stephan zu Mainz, is a Gothic hall collegiate church located in the German city of Mainz. It is known for windows created by Marc Chagall. St. Stephan was originally built in 990 at the order of Archbishop Willigis, who also initiated the building of Mainz Cathedral. The current church building dates from the late medieval era; construction of the main area of the church began in about 1267 and was completed in 1340. St. Stephan was heavily damaged in the bombing of Mainz in World War II. The Chagall choir windows in St. Stephan are unique in Germany. Between 1978 and his death in 1985, Russian Jewish artist Marc Chagall created nine stained-glass windows of scriptural figures in luminous blue. The figures depict scenes from the Old Testament, demonstrating the commonalities across Christian and Jewish traditions. Chagall intended his work to be a contribution to Jewish-German reconciliation, made all the more poignant by the fact that Chagall himself fled France under Nazi occupation.
Finally, the record heat that has enveloped this part of Europe has disappeared and temperatures are now more “normal” with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s—a welcome change indeed.
This is our second visit to Koblenz, having toured here August 17, 2015. Koblenz, a major German city, is at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine Rivers. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post in 8 BC.
The Rhine Gorge was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002, with Koblenz marking the northern end because of its beauty as a cultural landscape, its importance as a route of transport across Europe, and the unique adaptations of the buildings and terraces to the steep slopes of the gorge. Some of the sites we visited are discussed below.
The statue of Kaiser Wilhelm rises imposingly here, at 37 meters high.
The Electoral Palace in Koblenz is one of the most important palace buildings of early French classicism in southwest Germany and is one of the last residential palaces built in Germany immediately before the French Revolution. Elector Clemens Wenzeslaus had the Electoral Palace built between 1777 and 1786. From 1850 to 1858, the Prussian Crown Prince and later Emperor Wilhelm I resided here as Prussian military governor. In 1944, the Electoral Palace was destroyed down to the outer walls and rebuilt in 1950-51.
The St. Castor Basilica is the oldest preserved church in Koblenz. The collegiate church, consecrated in 836, was the scene of significant historical events. The monastery of St. Kastor was the meeting and arbitration place of emperors and kings as well as their descendants. In 842, the Romanesque church was the venue for the negotiations of the sons of Emperor Louis the Pious, which led to the partition of the Frankish Empire in the Treaty of Verdun the following year. The building in its present form dates mainly from the middle of the 12th century. On July 30, 1991, Pope John Paul II elevated the Castor church to the status of basilica minor. Together with the Liebfrauenkirche and the Florinskirche, the St. Castor Basilica shapes the silhouette of the Koblenz old town.
On the highest point in the Old Town stands the Romanesque Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche), also known as the Notre Dame Church.
Although what’s seen today dates from the 12th century with later 15th-century additions, there’s evidence pointing to a much older 5th-century place of worship having been built here by the Romans. Notable features include its splendid Gothic choir and the attractive onion-shaped Baroque towers with their four bells, famous for tolling the “Reveler’s Bell” at 10pm each evening.
We also toured the 12th-century St. Florin’s Church (Florinskirche), notable for the old cannonball above the baptismal vault — a reminder of the destruction of the city during earlier wars — and its picturesque setting overlooking an attractive public square.
The Old Town (Altstadt) district of Koblenz has been painstakingly restored after the devastation of WWII. Highlights of our walking tour included the Town Hall (Rathaus), built between 1695 and 1700, in front of which is the humorous Schängelbrunnen, a monument designed in 1940 by Carl Burger and dedicated to poet Josef Cornelius, who penned the lyrics for the city’s “hymn” (watch out for the spitting boy!).
The town clock in Saint Florin’s market in Koblenz contains more than one face. It’s adorned with an image that according to local lore represents Johan Lutter, a 16th century robber. Though he was sentenced to death and lost his head in 1536, his visage still keeps watch over Koblenz’s Old Town from beneath the clock. The face’s eyes roll back and forth as the pendulum moves, marking the passage of time. When the clock strikes the hour or half hour, the whimsical sheet metal man sticks out his tongue to mock the good citizens of Koblenz. This depicts the gruesome yet morbidly comical expression Lutter supposedly made in his final moments. Some legends even say he continued to roll his eyes and wiggle his tongue after his head lay severed from his body.
Today’s upstream sailing took us by castles at almost every bend of the Rhine River.
One of our favorite things about cruising with the Viking is their easily accessible, espresso, cappuccino, and/or latte at any time of the day. Kay and I awoke relatively early, 5:00 AM, and I went to the cappuccino machine and made us each a cappuccino and picked up a couple of muffins for a pre-breakfast snack. The coffees were very tasty.
After catching up on news and mail, and hot showers, we went to breakfast and enjoyed eggs Benedict with a few sides and, of course, fresh coffee. And then it was off to catch the bus for both a bus and walking tours of Trier, Germany. Trier is Germany’s oldest city, dating back to Roman Times. Trier is a southwestern German city in the Moselle wine region, near the Luxembourg border. Founded by the Romans, it contains several well-preserved Roman structures like the ruins of Roman baths, an amphitheater just outside the center and a stone bridge over the Moselle River.
Among the best preserved Roman structure is the Porta Nigre Gate.
The Porta Nigra Gate was built in grey sandstone after 170 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storeyed towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. The gate was used as a town entrance for centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier. In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. It guarded the northern entry to the Roman city
The Archaeological Museum displays Roman artifacts, including The Trier Gold Hoard. The gold is a hoard of 2516 (or 2518) gold coins with a weight of 18.5 kg found in Trier, Germany, in September 1993 during construction works. It is described as the largest preserved Roman gold hoard worldwide..
Among Trier’s many Catholic churches is Trier Cathedral.
Because of its significance during the Roman and Holy Roman empires, several monuments and cathedrals within Trier are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Today was the hottest day of the year in Trier—22 degrees above normal with accompanying high humidity.
We each had difficulty sleeping, so the 5 am alarm was not needed. We reorganized our suitcases, tagged them, and moved them to outside the hotel room door for delivery to our day’s tour bus and ultimately to Viking’s long boat Herja.
Breakfast at the hotel buffet was preceded by long lines to be seated, at each of the four coffee machines, and at the eggs preparation counter. With an infected tooth cavity, soft foods were the order of the morning for me while Kay sampled a number of dishes.
After boarding the bus and suffering through Monday morning’s rush hour traffic, we were transported to Reims where we toured the Reims Cathedral.
The cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims meaning “Our Lady of Reims“), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of Reims, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France. The cathedral is considered to be one of the most important works of Gothic Architecture. A major tourist destination, it receives about a million visitors annually. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Reims Cathedral is renowned for its magnificent stained glass, particularly its rose windows and the modern additions by Marc Chagall.
After leaving Reims just after lunch, we were driven to Luxembourg American Cemetery to honor those Americans from WW II.
A short drive later found us boarding the Viking Herja where we would spend the next several days.
Our luggage then arrived and we met with the other passengers in Herja’s lounge for an introduction to the crew leaders, a welcoming and orientation meeting, and a champagne toast. Dinner included a bacon based appetizer, pork tenderloin medallions with fried cabbage, patty, and delightful pudding cake (similar to crème brûlée).
Collection of trails and greenway quotes, terms, acronyms, tools as well as trail publications and presentations and 100s of photos from my bicycle and hiking adventures. .
This journal was begun several years ago, and reflects an accurate record of each day fished. Please enjoy it, and remember that fish are too valuable to be caught just once, and the places they live are too valuable to be mistreated.
Dunngone's Photos and Blog 