OMG! This trip is going to be AWESOME~ I just returned from our site inspection trip on the Avalon Tapestry, and did the entire itinerary exactly how we will be doing it on our cruise (with a few little tweaks as we normally do to enhance the trip).
Amsterdam is amazing, and if you have not signed up for the optional 2 night package with us, don't miss out! It's not only that you get to do things together with other Olivia travelers, but we get priority tickets without standing in line for hours for the Anne Frank House! That itself is worth it! You are also getting a special tour of the Gay area of Amsterdam along with all the other common tourist stops. We will be able to recommend great restaurants, things to do and places to see!
Our cruise begins on Sunday, and really the day is yours to enjoy however you wish before meeting us at our hotel for the transfer to the ship at about 4PM. We will have some optional excursions available to sign up for at the hotel if you wanted to go to the Van Gogh Museum or the Rijks Museum, or maybe to the Kukenhoff Gardens. So if any of you are arriving on the day of sailing, you can take a taxi to the Hotel -about 50 Euros, or a train from the airport - about 7 Euros which is only a 10 minute walk from the train station to the hotel. You can leave your luggage there, and take an optional tour or just explore the city on your own.
The following morning (Monday) we have a canal ride on the famous Amsterdam Canals to give us a nice overview of the city. We have about an hour of free time after this, then we set sail for Cologne and have the entire afternoon to relax on the sun deck and watch the world go by.
Cologne is going to be fabulous. Not only have we hand-picked wonderful guides to give us a city tour, but we are also working with the women's community to offer assistance after the main tours to get people to the Chocolate Museum, the Sports Museum or some assistance back to the main shopping area! We have also picked a very popular local brewery to meet for dinner as an option for the evening, where some of the other local women will be meeting us as well. You know Cologne is the home for the 2010 Gay Olympics, so they really want to make a good impression on us! And, we have found a local lesbian singer who just might join us on board and share a few fun songs for us.
All in all, the trip was magical with beautiful castles that we pass by on the way to the next city. There are a lot of churches, but we have decided that our tour guides will save them for last on each of the tours and give you the option for more free time in the towns, or to join them for the church tours since we know some of you may be interested to see many of these Gothic style churches that each town is so proud of, while others may just want to shop, taste the chocolates or have a pastry and coffee and watch the world go by.
Heidelberg was exceptional, as well as the small town we visited. Two wonderful surprises were the "optional " tours being offered. One is a wine tour in Strasbourg to the Alsace countryside that is well known for white wines, and especially Rieslings. I ended up buying a wonderful Pinot Gris and a Gewürztraminer. Don't miss this if you are a lover of the sweeter wines.
The other tour that was just added, again optional (meaning it costs extra - something like $40) was a trip to Colmar. What a quaint, beautiful village. It is also known as the "Little Venice". We may change this up a bit so you can be there a little longer as there were some wonderful cafés and places to eat, and a great museum to visit but on the tour we just did not have the time to do it all.
Going to the Black Forest was fun to see. Again, we may change this up a bit as well as the drive up itself is quite beautiful. They take us to a store that sells Cuckoo clocks and lots of other "touristy" things, as well as serve cherry wine samples and black forest cake. But, in all honesty, do this included tour only if you want a cuckoo clock, or would just enjoy the drive through the Black Forest, and enjoy the cherry wine and black forest cake. Otherwise we think you would enjoy the small town we dock near much more for free time or perhaps some lunch. They have a lovely market there as well. We would definitely shorten that "Black Forest" tour tour just a bit so you have plenty of time in the smaller town as well.
Lots of time on the River Rhine to enjoy the scenery and relax! We know you will really enjoy this trip. So glad we are going in April as this is when the flowers should be in bloom. Though it was a beautiful time to be there in the fall and watch the colors start to change, it was so cold. I was wearing my Chicago winter jacket, scarf and mittens most of the time. Everyone I talked to said that April is a beautiful time to be there. And, from our experience last year on the Tulip cruise, I remember beautiful weather in the 70's!
As soon as I have more free time, I will post some photos to this group site. Looking forward to seeing all of you in April!
Jill