Friends and family looked at Paul and me with bewilderment when we told them that we had booked to go on a riverboat cruise. They asked, “Isn’t that something you do when you are old?”   But this was no ORDINARY riverboat cruise.

Our Newfoundland friends, Mark and Sandra, invited us to join them and a group of their friends on a cruise hosted by musicians Alan Doyle and Matt Andersen. We were told that the cruise would be full of people our age, with plenty of active outings and the icing on the cake, a concert every day. We had already booked a trip for a month earlier to hike the Dolomites in Northern Italy and I had a trip planned with my book club to Croatia ahead of our Italy trip, however, after 30 months of staying home during the pandemic, and our pent-up passion for world travel, how could we say no to the ultimate kitchen party on The Rhine? It was Now or Never!

We started this trip with a long weekend stay in Evian-les-Baines, France, located 45 km from Geneva, Switzerland, where our overnight direct flight from Toronto landed. We were meeting our group in Basal, Switzerland one night prior to boarding the boat, yet we wanted to take a few days to get acclimated to the time change and also play some golf. Canadian golf champion, Brooke Henderson won the LPGA tournament at the Evian Golf Resort in July 2022, and we were inspired to play that course.

We booked the Royal Hotel, a remarkable jewel, overlooking Lake Geneva. The hotel’s beautiful frescoed ceilings and intricate tile floors in the main foyer made me feel like Marie Antoinette. Trying to muscle through the jet-lag and avoid a daytime nap, we quickly unpacked, put on our running shoes, picked up a map from the concierge and walked to the golf course, a few kilometres away. We wanted to see the golf course, while also confirming our tee-times and club rentals for the next two days. We then continued our hike, down the hill towards Lake Geneva and the picturesque town of Evian. At the original Evian Spring, we filled our water bottles with mineral water known for purity and healing qualities. The climb back up the hill to the hotel was a challenge for our tired bodies, but was invigorating and just what we needed to get us through to dinner, and then an early bedtime.

We loved our three days in Evian-les-Baines. The golf course was spectacular, with views of Lake Geneva and the French Alps. We were paired with an interesting couple from Geneva for our second round and had a very enjoyable day, that extended to a drink on the club’s patio. Our dinner at Les Fresques, the Michelin Star restaurant at our hotel, was out of this world. We loved our spa treatments and enjoyed floating around the indoor pool. The weeks leading up to this trip had been a whirlwind while recovering from a nasty bout of COVID, nursing my injured hand (my suitcase fell off a shelf on a train in Italy and landed squarely on my hand) and the bustle of entertaining a large family gang at our place for Thanksgiving. We were so exhausted that we were not as excited as we should have been ahead of a wonderful holiday. We loved our luxurious (“Let them eat cake!”) three days in Evian and felt completely rejuvenated and excited for the adventurous week ahead with our Newfoundland pals.

We drove our rental car from Evian to Basel, Switzerland, a scenic trip that took approximately 3 hours. We stopped for lunch in a small Swiss town outside of Bern and randomly selected a restaurant, Wirtschaft zur Traube, that was packed with locals, reasoning that it must be a good spot.  Not able to read the German menu, we asked the waiter for the two most popular items, then ate what was likely our best meal in Switzerland.  We were impressed to see so many cyclists, including young children, tackling the hilly terrain like it was nothing. I took a picture of a friendly old dog who joined his family on this pleasant patio for lunch for my Dogs of the World Collection (https://liannehill.ca/?p=78).

We checked into Hotel Marthof, located in the heart of the old town of Basal and a short and easy city bus ride away where we would board our riverboat the next day. We couldn’t have picked a better location or a prettier building exterior, however what we did not anticipate was the construction zone directly across from the hotel and the incessant church bells, that jarringly rang every 15 minutes throughout the night. The next morning, I wearily grumbled to the hotel receptionist, complaining that I had had less slept that night than I did on my overnight flight.  Without apology or compensation, she evasively explained that church bells were a charming Swiss tradition- obviously, I was not the first to complain, nor would I be the last.

A walk in the rain, some shopping and a delicious caffe latte and biscotti reenergized us in the hours before we were set to board our riverboat. At noon we ambled aboard, not sure what to expect. Our luggage was whisked away to our stateroom, we settled into the lounge, for the first of many delicious meals. As we met fellow travellers, I challenged myself to learn as many names as possible, so I could greet them like old friends throughout the week. The mood on the boat was charged- it felt like we had just arrived at a fabulous floating camp for adults. 1,2,3,4- Let’s Go!

Our riverboat was called the AmaSerena- a small ship belonging to AmaWaterways. Built in 2015, this boat is 443 feet long and 38 feet wide, and holds 51 crew and 162 passengers. It was the perfect size for our first cruise experience. Our stateroom was surprisingly large, with a wall of windows and two balconies. We unpacked for the week and stowed our luggage under the king size bed. We anticipated opening our curtains in the morning and enjoying the scenery as we cruised along. We were so surprised our first evening when we returned to our room, opened our curtains to peek out outside and we were looking directly into a stateroom on another boat that had parked next door for the night. The next morning, one of our “neighbours” had a shocking start to his day, as he opened his curtains, in the nude and saw me gazing out my window! Yikes!

Our trip began in Basal, Switzerland, close to the border triangle of Switzerland, Germany and France. Our first excursion was a bike tour along the banks of the Rhine on cycle-friendly bike paths. We stopped to take pictures as we cycled across the borders of the three countries, pausing at the Dreilandereck Border Monument, built on the point where the three countries meet. This monument was built in 1956 and the shape, that is akin to a ship’s propeller, has three flags to represent the three countries.

After our first day’s ride, we signed-up to do the bike tour each day, pleasantly surprised that we were able to get exercise every day, while touring through the beautiful towns along the Rhine River. We cycled through countryside, town squares, vineyards and busy city centres. Along the way, a local guide took time to stop and share information about the region, while we snapped pictures and did our best to absorb the historical facts. There was always a village with a quaint coffee shop, halfway through our ride, where we had time to stroll on our own. I had no interest in walking slowly through village cathedrals with a headset, listening to a flag carrying tour guide spout facts- my impression of how things usually work on a cruise ship, until now. The riverboat’s touring bikes were excellent and the weather that week was perfect for cycling. We were so lucky to have sunny skies and warm temperatures each day during the last week of October.

Our trip’s itinerary included stops in Basel, Switzerland (including a tour-bus visit to Lucerne); Strasbourg, France; Ludwigshafen, Germany; Rudesheim, Germany; Lahnstein, Germany; Cologne, Germany; and Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was incredible to get a taste of each of these cities with our bike tours and to view the gorgeous scenery along the route as we travelled along the Rhine. We felt like we were floating in a fairy tale Sea of No Cares, with storybook castles, medieval churches and quaint villages.

There were many aspects of this trip that made it so remarkable. We couldn’t have asked for better travelling companions than our contingent of gregarious and fun-loving Newfoundland friends. We greatly enjoyed sharing meals with Alan and his wife, the premier of NL and his wife and some fascinating folks from Goose Bay. We met people from across Canada and the United States who booked the cruise because they are big fans of Alan Doyle and/or Matt Andersen. Every delicious dinner aboard the ship was filled with laughter and interesting conversations. I had a Permanent Smile on My Face! Each evening we were impressively entertained by the outstanding Alan Doyle and his talented bandmates, Kendel Carson and Cory Tetford, along with performances by the amazing Matt Andersen. The days flew by: cycling, walking, eating, drinking, laughing, live concerts – repeat. We Don’t Wanna Go Home!

The most memorable day came in the middle of the week when we set sail for an afternoon cruise down the Rhine, through the gorgeous Rhine Gorge region; considered one of the most picturesque landscapes in Europe. Between Koblenz and Rudesheim, there are forty hilltop castles, giving this area the moniker, The Romantic Rhine Valley. Alan Doyle and the Beautiful Band took advantage of the perfect day and performed a concert on the rooftop deck of the boat. We pinched ourselves, as we sat out under sunny skies and 25 c, loving the music and the positive energy of the audience. There was dancing and drinking and lots of Instagram moments- we were surely the envy of all of the boats that we sailed past.

Matt Andersen was the other incredible musician on the cruise. We first saw Matt play at Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Café Christmas show at Convocation Hall in Toronto in 2009. Stuart McLean was known for championing young promising Canadian musicians, and as soon as Matt started to sing “O Holy Night” in his rich baritone, we understood why Stuart had invited him on his tour. We told Matt how impressed we were by him, many years ago, when his beautiful voice made me want to weep. We have booked tickets to see him at Massey Hall in April and I cannot wait! I hope he sings my favourites songs, Been My Last and So Gone Now.

I woke up early the morning our boat cruised into The Netherlands on approach to Amsterdam. Paul, Sandra and I sat on the rooftop at the bow of the boat, admiring the tidy tree-lined shore and flat vibrant green landscape, as the sun came up and burned off the fog. I daydreamed, lost, Somewhere in a Song.

Back to the Harbour, our ship docked in Amsterdam’s busy port where we had one more night on the boat. We took a canal cruise through Amsterdam, with a lively, knowledgeable guide and a female driver who was not afraid to shout expletives at other boat captains who were not following the canal rules. It was very touristy, but informative and fun.

We stayed two nights at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the heart of Amsterdam, pleased that we could walk to all of the sites. The weather was unusually warm, with a heat record set the day before. We took a 3-hour We Bike Tour through central Amsterdam. It was tricky navigating through the busy city, but we managed and got a feel for cycling in Amsterdam, learning to keep our wits about us, because not all cyclists follow the rules of the road. When I am Up, I Can’t Get Down!

We hired a private guide for a tour of the Van Gogh Museum with our Newfoundland pals. Our guide was a van Gogh doppelganger who turned a lot of heads as he led our group around the museum. He was an excellent guide who shared van Gogh’s life-story with us as we admired the remarkable art collection.

For our final night we ate dinner at Long Pura, an Indonesian restaurant, with our Newfoundland friends. Indonesian food is widely eaten in the Netherlands due to the two countries’ colonial history. Post WW2, thousands of Indonesians migrated to Amsterdam. The chef’s tasting menu was delicious and the perfect grand finale to an outstanding holiday. We said so long for now to our friends, with promises to travel together again soon. It was time to be on the Other Side of Good-Bye and on our way home.

What a fabulous trip! Thanks to Mark and Sandra for asking us to come along. Saying “Yes” is our new State of Mind in 2023- Let’s keep the good times rolling!

_{PS: In case you did not figure this out, the phrases in Italics are titles of songs/ words in songs by Alan Doyle and Matt Andersen.}