24 June
This morning, we cruised through the spectacular Rhine Gorge. Around almost every bend, there were stunning vistas of castles perched above steep, vineyard-covered slopes.
Rhine Gorge – Rüdesheim
A day in Cologne
23 June
We had some free time on board before arriving in Cologne. Founded by the Romans and one of Germany’s oldest cities, Cologne is famous for its magnificent World–Heritage listed Gothic Cathedral.
Amsterdam Cruise
21 June
Reaching the MS Emerald Sky
The coach from Paris took us directly to our river cruise ship the Emerald Sky in Amsterdam. The ship was built by Shipyard De Hoop. We were greeted by the Captain at a cocktail reception, which was followed by a buffet dinner.
Paris Escape, 18-21 June
18 June
Crowne Plaza
The Crowne Plaza was a familiar brand to us, having stayed at properties in Hong Kong, Beijing and the US before. This hotel is at 10 Place de la République.
UK, 12 to 18 June
12 June
Paris to Heathrow
We went to Terminal 2A at CDG to catch BA307, leaving at 10:55 am, arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 11:15 am (there is a time zone difference of one hour). Continue reading
Singapore 7 to 11 June
The flight, 7 June
We flew on Singapore Airlines flight SQ338, which left Melbourne at 10:25 a.m. and landed in Singapore at 4:20 p.m. the same day. The flight was part of the river cruise package, although we were flying out much earlier to stop in Singapore and the UK before reaching Paris.
Changi Airport SIMs
We bought Starhub prepaid “Happy” SIMs for SG$50, which included $50 credit for voice, text and free data. (That $50 product isn’t on their website for some reason.) Given the amount of free Wi-Fi around, it was more than enough. There is also an SG$18 SIM that would suffice for anyone who only wants data but no voice. If you return to Singapore within six months, the number and credit will remain usable. Today, I would rather roam at $5/day on my Vodafone SIM.
Continue reading
Our European River Cruise
This site documents our European river cruise from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Budapest in Hungary in 2014. We recorded our memories as we did for a car drive in New Zealand from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
Nuremberg Tour
28 June
Today, we took a sightseeing tour of the historic city of Nuremberg. We saw the storybook 900-year-old ramparts, the Imperial Castle and the Justice Palace, where the War Crimes Tribunal sat in 1946.
