Bill's Travels

BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
Well, it hasn’t exactly been a swinging start to the new year anywhere, has it? In Luxembourg all restaurants were closed, as were shops, bars and cafés. For us, our nearest UK family is in Whitstable, Kent, so that was a no-no as it’s a Covid hotspot. Our oldest son is in Western France with his wife, but that’s not a wise choice either. And our youngest son’s home is in Cathedral City, adjacent to Palm Springs and would involve a 9 hour flight there and another one back.

We had a hotel reservation for a room, breakfast and dinner over Christmas but another lockdown put an end to that. So it was just the two of us and a small turkey at the table on Christmas Day.

As for possible outings, although we have the French, German and Belgian borders within a short distance, each one has a different set of requirements for entering, so that wasn’t much of an option either.

The only bright light on the horizon was the delivery of our new car. I had put in the order in Februrary of 2020 because it was the period of Luxembourg’s auto festival, when they offer reduced prices, so I specified delivery in January, 2021. I always lease our cars and the lease on our then current car would expire at that time.

My choice, as I do most of the driving, was for a smaller car than the Mercedes E-Class 350 D we had then. The E-Class was a great vehicle able to transport 4 or 5 people and their luggage in great comfort, quietly and with fuel economy unusual in such a large car.

Our choice this time was for a smaller model, still a diesel and with plenty of extras to make our trips comfortable and thus safer. We settled on a GLC Coupe 400D with 4-wheel drive. We figured that winter tyres and 4-wheel drive would see us through virtually anything the winter would throw at us. We’ve been through the experience of being caught out by a heavy snowfall once before and as we live in an area which is higher than its surroundings we found ourselves with spinning wheels and a bunch of irate drivers behind. Normally, by the time it snows I have swapped the summer tyres for winter ones, but this was in October and in all the years we’ve lived in this country I’ve never seen snow in October. The result was that I had to pull off the road, leave Jackie in the car because she was having problems walking due to knee replacement surgery

that was soon due, and trek on foot for 2 miles through a heavy blizzard to home, get the snow off Jackie’s car, a Mercedes B Class, and drive it back to where I had left her. I was gambling on the fact that the B Class’s front wheel drive would get us through the snow, uphill to our village. Which it did, thankfully.

One of the systems which was on the new car, as it had been on our previous one, was the Eco Stop/Start program. This cuts the engine when you stop the car, for instance at a traffic light, and when you lift your foot off the brake pedal the engine restarts. It’s great for economising on fuel in town driving and particularly when you get stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway.

However, I discovered on the way home from the showroom that occasionally it would stop the engine, as it was designed to do, but wouldn’t start it when the lights turned green. Very embarrassing when you’re driving a brand new car with the showroom gloss still on it.

I called the salesman, whom we’ve known for a long time, as soon as I got home and he invited us to bring it in to him the next morning after I explained that it was one of those most irritating faults: an intermittent one.

Luckily, the fault displayed itself while he was driving it so an appointment was quickly made for the electronic unit that controls the function to be examined and replaced if that was the cause.

So there I was the next Monday morning handing in the car for the electronic experts to do their best.

Later in the afternoon I picked up the car and drove home, only to find after a 15 minute drive the engine stopping at red lights but not restarting at greens. I did manage to get the engine running after a couple of whacks on the starter button but I called the dealer when I got home so now I have an appointment for tomorrow to take the car in and pick up a replacement car, which I can keep until the new one is well and truly fixed.

Please join me in crossing my fingers in hope that the fault can be corrected quickly. I really do not want to live through one of those sagas where nobody seems to know what to do about a glitch that is untraceable.
 
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BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
The news on the car front is all good. Mercedes kept my car from Monday until Wednesday midday and when they called me to tell me it was ready they also informed me that they had replaced the entire ignition system with completely new parts, they had taken the car out for a thorough testing and were satisfied that the ignition problem had been conquered.
I was delighted and drove to the showroom as soon as I could. They handed me my key back with best wishes and apologies, told me where it was parked in the lot and I whipped out to give it a try.
On the drive home I pulled over several times to give it a test. The engine duly stopped, I waited a few seconds, then moved my foot from the brake to the accelerator. The engine restarted perfectly. It has performed like this ever since and is the car I expected when I ordered it. The next time we spoke to my son, who had worked at Mercedes before he left to start his own business in France, I told him the whole story. His answer was that glitches like this happen from time to time. I have to say that Mercedes was prompt in tracing the basic fault, provided me with a replacement car for the period it was in the workshop and carried out the work as quickly as possible. I'm now the happy owner of a car that runs perfectly, and when I've given it a little bit of welly on the motorway it accelerates at a prodigious rate. I haven't given give it a full out blast yet as it's still so new, but it looks very promising.
 

BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
Jackie and I have now both had our Covid vaccinations, the first in March and the second 4 weeks later. Neither of us had any after effects and we are happy that we had both shots without any side effects at all. Our only problem is that restaurants, bars and cafés in Luxembourg are only allowed to serve customers on the terrace (if they have one) between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The only drawback is that it has been very cold here and sitting outside, eating a meal in a heavy coat doesn't exactly appeal to us. We're hoping that situation will improve once these restrictions are lifted, optimistically on 15 May.
 

BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
Great cheering from the Bill and Jackie household. For the first time since the Coronavid outbreak we were able to visit our son in France, where he has created his own business, in partnership with his wife, on the Ile d’Oléron. This island is France’s second largest island after Corsica and produces considerable quantities of seafood and shellfish, principally oysters, mussels, crabs, clams, scampi, shrimp of various colours and sizes, scallops, whelks, winkles and cockles. Fish also play a large role in the island’s economy and it doesn’t seem to matter what time of day you look out over the sea you will be able to spot small fishing boats about their business.

Cod, sea bass, monkfish, daurade, anchovies, herring and mackerel form the greater part of their live fish catch.

Now that Jackie and I have received both Pfizer vaccinations and have received the certificates to prove it from the Luxembourg government, combined with a loosening of the French entry requirements meant that we could take advantage of the end of the quiet season for our son’s company to occupy one of his apartments for 10 days or so.

The autoroutes were fairly quiet - in some places virtually non-existent, except around Paris whre it was also lighter than usual, though still pretty formidable. To break the almost 900 km journey I booked a room at the Relais de Chambord with dinner included. We checked in around 3 p.m. and took a break after our 5 hour drive. We freshened up after relaxing for an hour and went down to the bar for a drink. We sat on the terrace facing the Chateau de Chambord with its amazing array of chimneys and truly felt reinvigorated as we sipped our drinks and watched the passing parade of visitors.

Dinner that evening could be taken either on the terrace or in the dining room. Neither of us enjoy sitting outside to eat so we settled for the dining room where we received excellent service and a memorable meal.

When we ordered our apéritifs our waitress looked at Jackie and said “Hendricks and Fever Tree tonic?” Jackie was astonished that she remembered us from our previous visit which had been before the series of lockdowns began. She looked at me and I sensed a hesitation so I was about to say “whisky” but only got as far as forming the letter W when I saw her face change and she said, “Whisky without ice.”

When she came back wth our drinks she was carrying with them a small ice bucket full of ice cubes. She had even remembered that Jackie loved a lot of ice in her G&T. We congratulated her on her memory and she paid us a remarkable compliment - “Some guests really stay in your memory,” she said. We were quite touched and as she wasn’t busy we chatted to her for a while, asking her about her career, her life and hometown.

Back in our room we made the most of the spare time on our personal terrace, which is surrounded by hedges but gave us an uninterrupted view of the chateau. After a while we thought we should take a look at the gift shop which is just a few metres from the hotel. I particularly wanted to visit this shop because it stocks my favourite French mustard and thus to see what flavours were available there. We had a wander round, picking up of a jar of basil flavoured mustard, some table mats and a couple of fridge magnets (essential gifts for relatives who come to visit, though sadly fewer than before the pandemic).

For dinner that night we had a choice of seating, either on the terrace or inside the restaurant. We settled for the restaurant as neither of us particularly enjoys sitting outside as the sun goes down. That’s the time the mosquitoes and every other kind of biting insect, gather hungrily, eying my bare arms, neck, and any other part of my dermis which is exposed.

This hotel never disappoints us and it didn’t let us down this time, either. It being fairly quiet we were on the receiving end of excellent, attentive service and then were able to chat to some of the staff who had served us on our previous visits, keeping up to date with marriages, births and moves for job changes.

Sleep that night was long and uninterrupted so we arrived at the restaurant for breakfast after most other guests had eaten and left. As we had broken the back of the overall journey the day before we were in no hurry to get back on the road so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and a repacking of our overnight bag before paying our bill and striking out for the Autoroute.
 

BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
Jackie tripped on the steps a couple of weeks ago and dislocated a finger. She was taken to hospital in an ambulance, was x-rayed after an examination was treated and set up with a course of physiotherapy which she is still undergoing. So now, after some high drama and a start to Jackie’s physiotherapy, it’s time to finish off our visit to the Ile d’Oléron with our journey home. We bade our son and daughter-in-law farewell and set off for the autoroute which would take us to the hotel where we would spend the night to break the journey back to Luxembourg.

Normally we would have overnighted at the Relais de Chambord where we had stopped on the way down, but it was fully booked due to the French TV programme which was being broadcast from the grounds of the Chateau and the subsequent crowds of TV people staying on after the broadcast. However, the hotel receptionist recommended another hotel, which he assured me was the same type of hotel as the Relais, and gave me the contact details. I looked it up on the internet and it appeared to be a good recommendation. I called the new hotel, Les Sources de Cherverny, and was able to book a room and dinner.

The drive to the hotel was along autoroutes quieter than most of us have ever seen them due to the pandemic. They were busier as we approached cities - Tours, Poitiers and the next day Chartres. Paris, of course, is always Paris and always busy.

But after leaving the autoroute it was still quite a drive to the hotel, which is in the grounds of the Chateau de Cheverny. It was a pleasant drive, across bucolic pastures, fields of grain and areas of forest, which eventually brought us to the gates of the hotel. The gates stated quite clearly that it was Les Sources de Cheverney hotel though there was no sign of the hotel. Undeterred, I turned onto the lane beyond the gates and hoped for the best. Which turned out to be good enough.

We arrived at a group of buildings with some tables set out in the open air where people were enjoying their drinks. We carried on, not very far, until we arrived at another car park. We had already passed several on our way in but I pulled over into this one as it was close to the main group of buildings. Walking towards Reception we passed the tables where guests were enjoying their drinks. Our appearance, with our overnight bag, attracted some surreptitious attention from the occupants of the tables. I don’t know why we did, as we have the required number of arms, legs and heads, but I suppose when you’re sitting at a table and sipping your drink, any distraction will be welcome.

Not seeing the Reception we enquired in the bar where the helpful young men pointed out the building which housed Reception. We crossed the short distance and explained to the helpful young lady behind the counter that we knew we were a little early to check in but we were willing to throw ourselves on her mercy.

She gave us two options - either we could walk across to the chateau grounds and spend the time visiting there, but we had twice already visited it, so we took the second option, which was to have a drink at the bar.

We made our way back to the bar, attracting the same surreptitious attention from the clients drinking at the outside table. Our welcome in the bar was friendly and helpful. I chatted with the barman about the French whiskies they had.

As something of a connoisseur of whisky I had recently discovered that France harboured a number of whisky distilleries and found that I liked the products of theirs that I’d tried. The barman suggested one that I hadn’t tasted so I told him to serve it the way I like it, no ice, no water, just whisky. And Jackie was more than pleased to discover that Hendrick’s gin was on the shelf, soon to be in a glass in front of her, accompanied by tonic and some ice cubes.

We sat at the bar and chatted with the staff, which is our standard procedure in a new hotel. We find so much information about the surrounding area from the staff, and we learn so much about their lives, their careers, their hopes for the future.

Both our sons, when they left school, opted to enter the hotel business and subsequently studied at hotel school and went on to work in the hospitality industry. They moved on and carved out careers in other fields, our oldest as a Mercedes salesman and our youngest, meeting an American girl and marrying her within a couple of weeks, moved with her to California and when she inherited a considerable sum of money following a family tragedy, subsequently moved to Palm Springs, where he lives to this day.

It’s because of our sons’ experience that we are always polite and considerate with hotel, bar and restaurant staff. It makes me feel better and I hope they feel better for having made our acquaintances.

THE CONCLUSION WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY
 

BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
So, by the time we finished our drinks and our chats with the staff, we were able to check in, so after reserving a table for dinner we made our way back to Reception where our keys awaited us and a young man stood by to guide us to our room.

I should explain that the hotel was not laid out in a traditional hotel manner, but rooms were scattered around the grounds in chalet style, though each was considerably bigger than your average chalet.

We followed the young man a short distance, passing ponds and meadowed areas. Wild flowers grew profusely wherever we looked, many of the blue flowers looked like cornflowers, but then we saw the same flower in a number of colours - dark red, pale blue, white, and other shades. Bright orange California poppies grew in close proximity to wild lupins, red poppies were thick in the grass

Our room was large with one wall a floor to ceiling window looking out across a colourful meadow with flowers nodding in a light breeze. We had an elegant bathroom with high end toiletries and, wonder of wonders, a shower that had a simple to use system. We put out our toothbrushes and shower soap (we prefer our own), unpacked our clothes for the following morning and then relaxed for a while before dinner.

After that, a freshen up in the bathroom saw us ready for our apéritifs and then dinner. We walked slowly back to the restaurant, admiring how the setting sun was illuminating the flowers from its lower position and how their colours appeared to be more intense.

We were greeted as soon as we stepped into the restaurant and asked if we would prefer to sit outside. I know many people love to have their meals in the great outdoors but Jackie and I both would rather sit inside as we find that our meals quickly become cold if there is the slightest breeze.

So we sat inside next to a window giving us a view across the meadows. I felt very mellow to be in such surroundings and was pleasantly surprised when we opened up the menus to find that a three-course meal, with quite a few choices was offered at €45. Our drinks arrived and we studied the menu’s choices as we slowly worked our way through our drinks.

Once we had both decided on our main course I asked the waiter about the local wines they stocked. This area produces mostly white wine and having tried some in the past I was eager to widen my experience of the local products. He made a suggestion, a wine I hadn’t tasted before, so I agreed on that one. And we were both happy that this bottle of Cheverny was extremely good.

Another surprise for us was tha the main dishes were cooked over a woodburning grill where the chef, his grill and his ingredients were all situated. I ordered the catch of the day: grilled cod fillet (dos de cabillaud grillé). Jackie ordered the chicken roasted over the wood fire. When our meals arrived they were excellent - cooked to perfection with accompaniments that complemented the main dish beautifully. And if I ever see any Cheverny wine on sale in Luxembourg I shall snatch up a dozen bottles.

We finished the evening with coffee and cognac. Yes, we weren’t driving anywhere that evening so we felt we could be reckless.

It had been something of a hectic day so both of us slept the sleep of the well fed and well watered.

We took the breakfast buffet the following day and were back on the road shortly after 10 a.m. Once again the autoroutes were relatively quiet except around Paris. We arrived home just after 3 p.m.

We felt our first journey since the pandemic hit Europe went well. The safeguards put in place by the French government did not spoil our enjoyment in any way. The weather was fine and warm so even the requirement that restaurants could only serve meals outside just made our meals more enjoyable.

The next travel plan we have confirmed is a cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam at the end of September. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that nothing unforeseen on the Covid front will cause it to be cancelled.
 

BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
France and Luxembourg have good mutual recognition of each other's Covid treatments and precautions so when we had a free period in our weekly schedules (Jackie recently dislocated her ring finger when she fell on our front steps and is now undergoing physiotherapy) we thought we would drive over the border for an hour or so to visit the Centre Pompidou in Metz where a Chagall exposition has been one of the attractions. It's been so popular that it's run has been extended until 30 August so we thought we'd better get on with a visit before we procrastinate so long that we miss it.

The Centre Pompidou in Metz has an exhibition of Marc Chagall’s life and works. It has proved so popular that it has been extended by several months so Jackie and I have been intending for some time to drive down there and pay a visit to both the exhibit and then to drive over to the Covered Market to make a few purchases. After the market we would have lunch in one of the nearby restaurants before driving home.

We had to keep delaying our visit, first after Jackie dislocated her finger and had medical checks to attend, and then her physiotherapy began. When there was a break in her physio appointments the rains began. They weren’t torrential at the beginning but by 12 July they got heavier and heavier and were mostly nonstop. Occasionally there would be a lightening in the downpours for a short period, but then they would become more intense.

Finally, the forecasts were that the heavy downpour would break at 4 am on 15 July so we decided to go for it. I went online and bought two entrance tickets (€12 a head) valid for 2 hours from 10 am to 12 midday.

We left home just after 8 am to allow for any holdups on what is normally a 1 hour drive. We were on the autoroute heading towards Thionville, the first sizeable town in France on our route when, after sailing happily along, the traffic ground to a halt. I didn’t remember at the time but ahead of us was a stretch of autoroute where cars headed south towards Thionville and those making for Luxembourg City were all converging on the same highway, along which they travelled for several kilometers. We inched along (I wonder if that shouldn’t be centimered along) until we arrived at the point where both streams of traffic diverged again.

Once we passed that point the traffic dropped away on our side of the autoroute and we were able to increase our speed to the highway’s limit - 110 kph at that point - and continue south as happy as pigs in a blanket. Sadly, for those cars heading north we passed kilometer after kilometer of stalled vehicles which moved forward occasionally.

I wondered if this stream of stationary vehicles would still be there when we returned, in which case I would take the first available exit and drive cross-country towards our home village.

However, at that point all I wanted to do was make our way through Thionville and thus on to Metz. Which we did without any holdups.

Arriving at the Pompidou Center we circled it a couple of times searching for the car park. The only one we passed was a fair distance from the entrance to the Center and Jackie, with pain beginning in her one remaining hip joint decided she would wait outside the Center while I parked the car and made my way back to her. This turned out to be fairly simple as the shopping mall where I had left Jackie had a spacious underground car park.

I duly parked the car and made my way to the shopping mall. At the top of the escalator I asked a young man tending a fruit juice stand the way to the Pompidou Centre. I used my best French and he answered, without hesitation, in English. Not only in English but in very good, clear English. I thanked him, complimented him on his English skills and set off. I walked the entire length of the mall until I emerged into the fresh air. I looked around to locate my wife and there she was, calling my name.

At the center we showed our tickets, had the QR code read and were admitted. Marc Chagall was assigned to the top floor so we took the lift and entered into his exhibit. Jackie and I first became aware of Chagall when we visited Israel. One of our tours was to the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem where Chagall created a series of stained glass windowns for the hospital’s synagogue. They were incredibly beautiful with lots of blue tones. We also learnt that they were removed during the Yom Kippur war for preservation and replaced once the threat no longer existed.

The Middle Eastern sun, shining through them, lights up the synagogue in shades of blue, scarlet, gold and combinations of them. As we walked in we stopped dead, so striking were the windows. But it wasn’t only the windows that made such a breathtaking impression. Where the sun, striking through Chagall’s creations, threw amazing images onto the wall, the onlooker is enchanted by the impressions that floods the mind. It is probably the most beautiful room I have ever seen.

The exhibit delved into Chagall’s method of working, showing his preliminary sketches, then his water colour paintings denoting which colours he would use. Then the visitor is cleverly conducted to the finale - closeups of the final works.

What makes Chagall’s windows different from other masters’ creations is that he developed a system of applying paint, sometimes as many as three colours, directly onto the glass, rather than having the glass coloured in the manufacturing process where each colour had to be on separate pieces of glass and then mounting them with lead separators between them.

The exposition covered many aspects of Chagall’s genius, including the inspiration for many of his works. It also delved into the struggles that he underwent, both mentally and physically, as a Jew creating works for Christian churches and cathedrals.

We appreciated that you cannot remove a stained glass window from a church or synagogue to display it in an exhibition, but the creators of the exhibit had hit on a smart means of showing us some of his windows by reproducing them in their settings, even down to the light shining through the windows. Thus, visitors felt as if they were standing in a church, gazing up at the original works of art.

It came as something of a shock to find ourselves back at the entrance to the exhibition and that our visit was finished. We wanted to see more of this brilliant man’s work but we’ll have to start driving to the places where his most iconic creations can be seen, largely places of worship. We’ll have to fit them in with any operational Covid restrictions at that time.

We made our way back to the car and the GPS quickly had us driving up to the covered market, where the car park is right underneath and we had the good fortune to find an empty slot close to the entrance.

The rain was beginning again, lightly this time, but rain which had us scanning our surroundings for a restaurant where we could get some lunch. In this respect it proved to be our lucky day for there, just a few yards across from the market, was the Bistrot de la Cathedrale. There were tables outside but when it’s cold and raining the interior wins hands down. There were plenty of free tables and we were conducted to one close to the window. We ordered apéritifs which we sipped as we went through the menu. Jackie chose salmon à la plancha while I went for - wait for it - fish and chips. Yes, I know, but they were pretty good and I don’t get the chance to have them very often.

After lunch we crossed the road to the covered market to see if there was anything new there. As we discovered, it was by now well after 1 pm and some of the stalls had already closed, including the biggest one. We didn’t see anything that we wanted so we headed for the car park in even heavier rain.

The drive home saw the rain continue to get heavier, but the good news for us was that the autoroutes were clear in our direction, but the traffic heading out of Luxembourg was nose to tail. We arrived home without any holdups.

We decided that in future we would keep up to date on what exhibits are to be found at the Pompidou Centre. We would hate to miss out on something else as brilliant as the Marc Chagall showing.
 

BillB

Well-Known Member
Messages
633
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
Yes, the lockdown and its subsequent variations have been a tough time for people with itchy feet. Like me. And Jacky.

From February 2020 until the present we have undertaken one journey, and that was to visit our son and daughter-in-law in western France for a week. We had booked a cruise with American friends in the Mediterranean late summer 2020 but that was cancelled by Viking, the cruise line we had booked with.

We had paid most of the cost and Viking gave us a choice - we could take our money back or leave it with Viking to be used towards our next cruise once Covid allowed and Viking would add 25% to our cash. We knew that we would want to try to meet up with our friends in the future, so we accepted the second offer.

And lo and behold, in summer this year Viking began opening up its cruises to passengers again. We knew that we would love to be on board on one of the early cruises so we booked for 30 September for a trip from Budapest to Amsterdam. We would be travelling without our friends as they were not ready to face the risks associated with the pandemic.

I didn’t realise at the time how many difficulties we would face, as we not only booked this cruise but looking ahead to our 60th wedding anniversary and considering how best to celebrate it we chose another Viking cruise, this time from Paris along the Seine to the D-Day beaches in Normandy and back to Paris with excursions along the way.

I called my usual contact at Viking in England but was told that they couldn’t take bookings from non-UK residents because of Brexit and that we would have to phone their US office in Los Angeles. But that’s another story.

Most of the other difficulties we faced were caused by Covid, principally because the rules seemed to change weekly, if not daily. We had at least had our two vaccinations in good time so that was one potential difficulty out of the way, but as our departure date approached they began to pile up.

Viking always send their passengers some labels to attach to your luggage when you land at your destination airport. These labels are preprinted with your name and stateroom number so that when the bus from the airport to the ship arrives the passengers do not have to lug them from the quayside as crew members are waiting to carry them on board and deliver them directly to your stateroom while you check in at reception on the ship.

When our tags arrived I couldn’t believe my eyes as they had the wrong name and the wrong stateroom number. I called Viking to ask for new ones, only to be told by the lady I was speaking to that it had never happened before, but that she would have correct ones sent. Nothing happened for several weeks so I called the Customer Helpline and explained. The answer was identical to the first time I called. I waited a few more weeks and when nothing had been sent I called a third time. Finally, I called a fourth time and was assured that new ones would be sent. Which they were. They arrived two days before our departure and when I opened the envelope, which had my correst name and address, I found the tags bore exactly the same wrong name and stateroom number as previously. The first time it had ever happened? It happened twice to me within a matter of weeks!

Our cruise’s scheduled departure from Budapest meant that we had to fly from Heathrow to Budapest and to do that we had to fly from Luxembourg to London. We booked a BA flight to LHR as the most convenient since our flight from LHR to Budapest would depart from Terminal 5 and the flight from Lux to LHR would also arrive at Terminal 5. There was a slight problem in that our Lux to LHR was due to arrive in the evening, so I booked a room at the Terminal 5 Sofitel hotel for that night.

Just 2 days after making the booking we received an email informing us that the BA flight had been cancelled and they would be returning our money. Sorry for the inconvenience, and all that.

Not long after, we received a phone call from Viking, saying that our BA flights from LHR to Budapest had been cancelled and we would instead be flying by KLM from London to Amsterdam and then from Amsterdam to Budapest. I suggested they change the name from British Airways to British Groundways but I was ignored.

The only choice we had was a Luxair flight to London City which departed early evening. Now another problem arises as we discussed the best way to cross London from east to west in the later segment of the rush hour. We figured that ordering a limo would be the least stressfull way of doing it. I went online and discovered a company called Black Lane which sounded just right. I went onto their web site and found it simple to navigate and easy to reserve a limo. I paid there and then.

One of the pieces of red tape demanded by Her Majesty’s government of thieves and liars is a passenger locator form. We accessed it online, filled it in and printed it out. We placed it in the file we would be taking with us.

Departure got closer and it was time to see about our PCR test which was required by airlines and by Viking, though the same test would be good for both. A friend of ours, a frequent flyer ,suggested the testing station set up at Luxembourg airport which he always uses and which often sends him the result within 6 hours. We drove up to the airport, were greeted by a charming, friendly and efficient young lady, posed our questions as to timing of the test in conjunction with our departure, and booked appointments. The cost was €169 each, which was somewhat eyewatering, for a 12 hour test (we would have the results in 12 hours or less) and paid in advance. The young lady and a colleague even ensured that our phones would receive our test certificate which we could show at airports, hotels, etc.

On the appointed day, traffic being unusually light, we arrived earlier than our appointment but as we were the only customers we had our samples taken immediately and sent on our way, feeling that at last something had gone right.

After 12 hours we had not received our results, but we had allowed a margin so we didn’t worry. After 14 hours we still hadn’t received our test results so Jackie went on to the testing company’s website and sent them a message that we were still waiting for our results. We didn’t expect a rapid reply but that’s what we received. Our correspondent told us that this was a new situation and promised that he would get on to the laboratory straight away. Next morning we still had not received our results but Jackie called as it was 8 am and we still hadn’t recieved our results. The man at the other end promised that he would get on to the laboratory immediately and within a few seconds we each received a message that our results were negative and we printed our certificates.

Jackie sent an acknowledgement that we had received both negative certificates and that we were good to go.

The next day we finished our packing, arranged a cab to take us to the airport and checked in. Nobody asked to see any of the myriad certificates we were toting and we were soon alighting at London City airport. Our bags came up quickly and as they came in sight my phone beeped. It was the limo company to tell me the name of the driver and give me the news that he would be at Arrivals in a couple of minutes. We went through the arrivals procedure: passport, customs and out. The only question we were asked was “Did we have our passenger locator forms?” When we said yes we were allowed on our way without even having to show them.

Once out into the Arrivals hall we immediately saw a man holding an iPad with our names in large bold type on its screen. We introduced ourselves and he took our bags and led us out to his car. It was a nice new Mercedes into which he helped Jackie, then slid our bags into the boot and we were quickly on our way.

It couldn’t have been an easy drive for him because on top of the traffic there were numerous holdups when cars were queuing at petrol stations and the line built up out onto the road. When the road had two lanes the queue built up on the left hand lane, leaving the right hand lane for moving traffic. When there was only one lane we joined the line for petrol and drove straight on when we reached the end of the line.

Our driver knew quite a few shortcuts which had less traffic and took advantage of them. We were grateful for his skill when we arrived at the Heathrow Sofitel in good time for dinner. I was more than satisfied with Black Lane’s performance and would happily use them again.

When we checked in we asked what was the best way to get to Terminal 3 early the next morning and were recommended to take a taxi. We said we would and reception called and reserved a taxi for us at 7:15 am.

We went up to our room, dumped our bags, freshened up and went down for something to eat. An apéritif didn’t go amiss before our meal either.
 
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BillB

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It was up for an early start so it was a quick shower, breakfast, checkout and then wait a few minutes for our cab. He turned up bright and cheerful, loaded our bags and drove us to Terminal 3. We felt that our gremlins had been left behind in Luxembourg. Then we got to the KLM check in desk.

Our bags were weighed and then the young lady said, “Do you have your PCR test certificate?”We handed them over. She read each one carefully. People in the line behind us began to fidget. Finally, she “Just a moment, please “ and went off with our certificates. We waited. She came back, reading our certificates. She told us she couldn’t accept them. Why? we both said, simultaneously. “It doesn’t say it’s a PCR test,” she replied. I pointed to the extremely large EU logo on our certificates. That is the standard EU format, used by all the EU countries,” I replied. “You may have to take another test,” she stated baldly. “NO!” we both stated firmly. I went on, “I paid €169 each for those in Luxembourg. They are genuine, highly expensive proof that we have had our PCR tests. On my phone I have proof that the notification I received, as soon as the test was done, was negative.” I showed her the message, which actually mentioned my PCR test as negative. “Now, if your airline wants to receive a serious letter from the European Commission, I will see that one is sent.”

She looked a bit put out and said, rather sulkily, “You may be called back for another test.”

“I’ll face that if it happens,” I muttered grimly. And we moved off, to be left in peace until we boarded the plane and relaxed.

We landed in Amsterdam without further incident and having business class tickets and a couple of hours to kill we adjourned to the KLM lounge where we had tea, coffee and a snack.

We knew that we would be spending our first night at the Budapest Intercontinental Hotel instead of our ship as there was work currently being carried out on the first lock after Budapest so our ship was already downstream of that. We were the only Viking passengers on our flight so we had a taxi to oursleves to the hotel and as it was our first flight into Budapest we saw a different part of the city.

A Viking representative greeted us in the lobby, saw us checked in and had our bags taken up to our room. We had a drink in the bar while she told us the arrangements for the rest of the day for the passengers (Viking had arranged a buffet in the restaurant for us all). She went on to explain the next day’s travel to Bratislava where our ship awaited us, and gave us details of our daily Covid test once we were on board.

Dinner was enjoyable and we got talking to a Canadian couple who sat next to us. We found that we shared a sense of humour. Another couple joined our table and the meal turned into a great social occasion for the six of us.

Breakfast next morning was followed by an excursion to see some of the historic buildings of Budapest. We had visited a few of them previously, but there were still a couple of places that were new to us.

This trip was followed by the bus journey to Bratislava where our ship awaited. We had never done this road trip before, so the scenery was all new to us.

There was a bit of a surprise when we arrived and embarked to discover that there were only 33 passengers on a ship that usually accommodates 190. It seems that many people are still self-isolating, even though Viking had gone to considerable expense to protect us. We had to show our vaccination certificate, our PCR test and our passport. In addition, a daily PCR test had been arranged for every passenger and crew member. Every ship had changes made to the air conditioning system. No air was recirculated and each cabin’s incoming air was fresh and return air was vented outside. We were totally satisfied with the consideration for our health we experienced.

After we were all checked in, baggage delivered to our staterooms and a quick freshen up, lunch was served in the restaurant. The ship was underway already as our next destination was Vienna and we were due to arrive in time for a concert of music by Mozart and Strauss at a small concert hall in the city.

After lunch Kane, the ship’s Program Director, gave a talk about Mozart, a composer he had become greatly enthusiastic about. He recounted Mozart’s life and highlighted how his genius had captivated the European capitals and yet hadn’t made the fortune one would have expected. He was scathing about the film Amadeus, telling us that there were only three facts that were true and during the course of his talk he recounted these three facts.

There was an early dinner as the concertgoers had to board their bus almost as soon as the ship arrived at its mooring in Vienna. We were dropped off close to the theatre, and were soon in our places. Jackie and I were lucky to have front row seats for what appeared to be a small orchestra, judging from the number of music stands on the as yet empty stage.

When the concert began I think most people in the audience, like Jackie and myself, were surprised at the rich sound of the orchestra and the high standard of the musicianship. The programme was varied, including a soprano who sang pieces from Mozart’s works and a ballet dancer who appeared to perform one of the dance pieces Mozart had written.

At the end of the concert (several encores were played in response to the audience’s enthusiasm) we were driven back to the ship where some of us sat around in the bar discussing the concert, but I have to confess that a busy day soon drove the pair of us to bed.
 

BillB

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633
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There will now be a short intermission as Jackie and I are off to Paris to celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary. We take the TGV tomorrow morning and will be gone for a week. I've been a bit dilatory in finishing the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise and I promise I'll finish it and write up the anniversary trip as soon as I can on our return.
And thank you, Keesha, for your message.
 
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Keesha

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Bill and Jackie, many congratulations on your 60th wedding anniversary and I hope you both will have a wonderful celebration with all the trimmings. What a great achievement. Please do let us know what are the secret to a good and long successful marriage.
 

BillB

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I'm not sure I can give you a straight answer on this, Keesha, as Jackie and I more or less made it up as we went along. To start I married someone I was very much in love with. So did Jackie. Yes, I still love her and she tells me and shows me that she loves me. That's a good start. When we disagree on anything, there is a point beyond which we don't go - we try never to lose our tempers, never to insult each other and to put it behind us as quickly as possible by finding common ground. We always treated any big purchases (house, car, furniture) as joint operations and talked them over before committing ourselves. We always respected each other's opinions, even when we didn't agree. When one of us mishandled the situation of a misbehaving child by we would never disagree in front of our boys, but we'd talk it over when we were alone and out of earshot of them.
Most crucial in any relationship is that neither of us conducted an affair outside our marriage. I felt I had too much to lose to go down that road, and Jackie is too faithful a person to wander off. Importantly, we still enjoy each other's company and still manage to surprise the other from time to time. And we still enjoy the company of our sons, whenever they can get away.
I'm sure there are lots of smaller things that help us keep our relationship on an even keel but if I continue I'll be writing War and Peace all over again.
Hope that answers some of your questions, Keesha, but if you have any more you can ask it here or as a PM.
Best regards.
 

Keesha

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1,261
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I'm not sure I can give you a straight answer on this, Keesha, as Jackie and I more or less made it up as we went along. To start I married someone I was very much in love with. So did Jackie. Yes, I still love her and she tells me and shows me that she loves me. That's a good start. When we disagree on anything, there is a point beyond which we don't go - we try never to lose our tempers, never to insult each other and to put it behind us as quickly as possible by finding common ground. We always treated any big purchases (house, car, furniture) as joint operations and talked them over before committing ourselves. We always respected each other's opinions, even when we didn't agree. When one of us mishandled the situation of a misbehaving child by we would never disagree in front of our boys, but we'd talk it over when we were alone and out of earshot of them.
Most crucial in any relationship is that neither of us conducted an affair outside our marriage. I felt I had too much to lose to go down that road, and Jackie is too faithful a person to wander off. Importantly, we still enjoy each other's company and still manage to surprise the other from time to time. And we still enjoy the company of our sons, whenever they can get away.
I'm sure there are lots of smaller things that help us keep our relationship on an even keel but if I continue I'll be writing War and Peace all over again.
Hope that answers some of your questions, Keesha, but if you have any more you can ask it here or as a PM.
Best regards.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your honest reply to my question. I get the picture now that your relationship with Jackie has been one of honesty, love, respect, commitment and most of all you both enjoy life and travel. On top of that you both are compatible and that is a good foundation for a good and lasting partnership.

I wish you everlasting joy on your travels and keep us on the loop on whatever adventure you are up to.

“Live life to the fullest because it only happen once.”
 

BillB

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Thank you, Keesha, reading your post has made me realise the strongpoints of my relationship with Jackie. Your beautifully expressed wishes are precious to us.
We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. And may all your dreams come true.
Regards.
Bill
 

BillB

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Our first excursion in Vienna was similar to one we had done before, called Panoramic Vienna, but there are always differences and this one turned out to have quite a number of differences. We took a different route to start so we experienced walking past palaces and churches that we hadn’t even known existed. We also learned a lot about the wife of Emperor Franz Josef I, Queen Elizabeth, known as Sisi.

It seems she was very popular among her subjects as she introduced a number of reforms which improved their lives and they repaid her with devotion. Palaces where she had resided at various stages of her life were plentiful, but time and Covid restrictions meant that entrance was restricted at the time.

Sisi, sadly, was assassinated in Geneva by an Italian anarchist who stabbed her in the chest with a file. She died of internal bleeding shortly afterwards.

We strolled along, coming to the Spanish Riding School, knowing we were among a small group who would be going for a tour behind the scenes at this renowned home of Austrian equestrian skills.

We had some free time at the end of the tour so Jackie and I adjourned for a coffee, seeing as how our legs are no longer what they were. We had to show our vaccination certificate which we had made sure were in order and relaxed for a while.

After lunch the tour behind the scenes of the Spanish Riding School was limited to a small group, assisted by the fact that there were only 33 passengers on the cruise when normally there are around 190.If I remember correctly there were no more than a dozen people on the tour.

Our introduction was first to the performance arena where riders take their horses through their routines in front of an audience. It’s also the site of training and rehearsals. The arena itself is a thing of beauty, with crystal chandeliers, two galleries of boxes for the audience, with pillars supporting the upper gallery, two pillars to each box, where honoured guests sit. We were conducted behind the arena where saddles, bridles, bits, blankets, reins, etc., are hung. Each piece of equipment belongs to a specific horse - there’s no mixing, and each rider is responsible for his horse’s saddlery being stored under the horse’s name.

After touring the storage areas we were led into the courtyard where the horse boxes are to be found around the walls. Once again each horse has his own box exclusive to himself. The upper half of the doors were open and at each one a beautiful, pure white Lippizaner watched us curiously.

Lippizaners are bred in Lippiza, Croatia, and each colt is born black, turning pure white over the early years. A few years back, when our boys were small, we took a holiday in Croatia and visited the stud farm where the horses are bred. We learnt that one in a thousand colts is born black and stays black and one in a thousand is born white and stays white.

The horses were in a large pasture, most of them pregnant mares who grazed gently on the grass and eyed us visitors who walked among them in a benign manner. Our youngest son, who was 3 years old at the time, was totally unafraid, and would gently stroke them. I still have a film of him, small enough to walk under the horses without disturbing his hair, reaching up and stroking their distended bellies almost with reverence.

Following the visit to the horses stalls in the yard we went into the interior where we discovered that the stalls were much larger than we imagined from the outside. These horses are not kept in cramped quarters - each stall gave the horse plenty of space to move around to reach their food, to see what the other horses are doing or to turn and poke their heads out to watch the activity in the yard. They are very well cared for, their diet is plentiful, they are groomed and exercised daily. In fact they have a life I wouldn’t mind having myself.
 

BillB

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I don't think it has struck home to me yet, but my hands are still shaking and my knees are knocking. Why? you may ask. Fate has banged on my door and the impact it has made on me is still being taken in. At around 2 a.m. this morning I became a great grandfather. Me! a great grandfather. The woman I sleep with has become a great grandmother! Give me time to get over the shock! This beautiful little 7 lb baby girl is going to change our lives. Let's hope we can cope.
 

Keesha

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Messages
1,261
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I don't think it has struck home to me yet, but my hands are still shaking and my knees are knocking. Why? you may ask. Fate has banged on my door and the impact it has made on me is still being taken in. At around 2 a.m. this morning I became a great grandfather. Me! a great grandfather. The woman I sleep with has become a great grandmother! Give me time to get over the shock! This beautiful little 7 lb baby girl is going to change our lives. Let's hope we can cope.


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Well done Bill and Jackie for the latest addition to your family. You are truly blessed. Enjoy your time with the little one.