Europe
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 12 min
The Black Forest and Breisach, Germany (2023)
Part 8 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
The cruise set sail and its first stop was the quaint town of Breisach, Germany. From there, we joined a tour to the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest, ate some of the namesake cake and watch wood carving masters make cuckoo clocks.
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 8 min
Bern, Switzerland (2023)
Part 7 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
D and I met up with the fam bam and crew, and the group of us took the train from Basel to Bern for some city exploring. We stopped by Einstein's flat where he wrote his theory of relativity, found bears in the city center, and had a lovely lunch in the rose gardens. A beautiful city deserving of its UNESCO World Heritage designation!
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 19 min
Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe, Switzerland (2023)
Part 6 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
Before D and I returned to Basel to meet up with my family and relatives for the Rhine River cruise, we went up to the highest train station in Europe: the Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe. We got to see a branch of the largest and longest glacier in Europe from one of the highest astronomical observatories in the world!
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 6 min
Brienzersee (Lake Brienz), Switzerland (2023)
Part 5 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
After coming down from Grindelwald First, we took a ferry across Brienzersee, or Lake Brienz, the same day. We hiked up to the beautiful Gießbachfälle (Giessbach falls) and stopped by the cute village of Iseltwald to check out a pier made famous by the K-drama Crash Landing On You.
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 13 min
Grindelwald First and Bachalpsee, Switzerland (2023)
Part 4 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
D and I hiked through the snow to Bachalpsee, a famous alpine lake near Grindelwald, only to find that it was completely covered in snow still! We also did the popular First Cliff Walk that takes you along the cliff's edge (literally) towards panoramic views of the Grindelwald valley.
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 13 min
Thunersee and St. Beatus Caves, Switzerland (2023)
Part 3 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
D and I went to visit one of J.R.R. Tolkien's inspirations for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies: the St. Beatus Caves. An Augustine monastery was built into the caves by its patron saint, who, as legend as it, expelled a fire-breathing dragon from its depths.
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 23 min
Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland (2023)
Part 2 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
After Basel, D and I took the train to Interlaken, the home base for exploring the Bernese Alps. We had an adventurous first day in Lauterbrunnen Valley, famously nicknamed the valley of 72 waterfalls: getting lost and stuck in the rain and doing an unplanned and very steep (4-mile and 2,900ft of gain!) but pretty hike from Mürren to Stechelberg.
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 15 min
Basel, Switzerland (2023)
Part 1 of my series about our Rhine River cruise with my family in spring 2023.
D and I landed in Basel a week before my family and the start of the cruise to get settled and do a short trip out to the Swiss Alps before meeting up with everyone back in Basel. We had a lot of fun walking down all the cobblestone streets, seeing the quintessential city sights, and even do some bouldering!
-
- Written:
- Updated:
- Read time: 2 min
20 days on the Rhine River (2023)
This post is a launchpad to an 11-part blog series on our trip with my family up the Rhine River in spring 2023. Our group was 30 people strong: D and me, my family, my relatives, and some family friends. We spent 8 days on a Rhine River cruise that sailed from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, the Netherlands to see the Kinderdijk Windmills and the world-famous Keukenhof Tulip Gardens (my mom's lifelong dream!).