Taking a Ride on Train 61

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Oslo to Bergen 

By Rail

After a good nights sleep and breakfast, we were ready for our adventure in this winter wonderland to begin. A short walk from our hotel, and we were inside Oslo Central Railway Station.

Checking the departure board we found that our train's departure track wasn't posted yet.   We'd given ourselves plenty of time so that we didn't have to run through the train station to get to the platform on time.  Once the track was posted, we headed to the entrance gate.

Traveling by Rail

The European rail system is a very reliable way to travel.  The train arrived at the station on time and we made our way to car 7, stowed our suitcases, and found our reserved seats. We were off on a six hour journey through the Norwegian countryside.

Onboard the train we were able to communicate using free Wi-Fi.  When we got hungry, we purchased sandwiches from the dining car.

Winter in Norway brings lots of snow in the mountains.  We got our first glimpses at the beautiful scenery we'd be experiencing throughout the rest of our adventure.

Additional photos can be found in our album:

 

Train 61 - Oslo

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Rüdesheim Shopping

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Christmas Shop

After concluding our cable car ride, there was time for some shopping on the way back to the ship.   Right at the base of the cable car was Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas Shop.   We had a discount coupon provided by the ship, so of course there's nothing like Christmas in July.

Umbrellas to Wine

There were several quaint shops along the 20 minute walk back to the ship. What's on your shopping list?  Maybe an umbrella to help keep the rain away would be a good selection.   Or
some local Riesling wine to bring home (if you don't drink it during the rest of the cruise)? 

Life is Short ...

Eat Dessert First

Even though it was almost lunch time, there's nothing wrong with having your last course first.   There were several ice cream stands along the way.  We opted for a simple one scoop cone.

For The Railroad Buffs

The short walk back to the ship includes a section where you need to walk along the railroad tracks and then eventually cross them.  You might be lucky enough to see one or more trains before you end up at the pier.  Just before crossing the tracks, there was a bank, where we replenished our Euros from the ATM.

Our Ship Awaits

Everyone needed to be back onboard the vessel by 1:15 PM so that we could sail from Rüdesheim.  Lunch choices included the buffet in the main dining room or the Grill Lunch on the Sky Deck.  Lunch was served starting at 12:30 PM.   We opted for the buffet lunch.

Rüdesheim Sail-Away

We got back to the ship early enough so that we'd be done with lunch by the time the ship cast off from the dock.  The rest of the day we were sailing the Romantic Rhine Gorge.

We'll tell you more about that in our next post.

Additional photos can be found on our Rhine & Moselle Shutterfly page:

Rüdesheim - Return Ship

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Excursion to Mount Pilatus

Our First Avalon Excursion

We'd had a wonderful day in Zurich on our own, but now it was time to let Avalon take over with the excursions.  We pre-booked the Excursion to Mount Pilatus and had been looking forward to this tour.

We boarded a bus headed at the Movenpick Hotel  with several of our fellow passengers.  Our checked baggage was in the storage compartments and our hand luggage (mainly cameras & computers) were with us above our seats.  This is the reason why the cruise line had requested carry on bags without wheels.

Gondola Ride

Mount Pilatus (2132m / 7000 ft) presents its visitors with a thrilling ascent by cable car, spectacular summit views of the 10.000 ft. Bernese Alps (Eiger, Monk and Jungfrau) to the south and Lake Lucerne to the north, followed by the steepest cog-wheel descent in the world.
In 1868 Queen Victoria made the excursion riding on the back of a mule.

When we arrived at Mount Pilatus, we were given a card which we'd need to insert in several turnstiles  during the tour.   To make it easy to identify the group, we were also given Globus Mount Pilatus baseball caps.

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The view from the gondola was spectacular.  There had been some cloud cover, but the visibility was improving as time went on during our visit.   Once to the top, we had free time to explore from the observation deck and the caves (which we highly recommend).   There was also a restaurant and shops, all of which we visited.   You are actually inside the hotel lobby when you get off the gondola.

Mount Pilatus Caves

In medieval times, it was believed that dragons with healing powers lived in the rugged clefts and crevices of Mount Pilatus.  Read more

We spent about 30 minutes exploring the caverns taking pictures framed by the openings.  If you get chilled, you might want to bring a light jacket or sweater as it is cooler inside the passages.

Don't miss this part of the excursion.   It is also possible to climb stairways to get even a higher vantage point if you are so inclined.

 Enjoying a Snack

Our guide said that the barley soup and apple strudel were very good.  She also suggested having a cup of Swiss hot chocolate.  We took here advice and tried all three of them.  They were very good indeed.

After our snack, we had just enough time to check out the gift shop before it was time to meet for the descent via cogwheel railway.


Cogwheel Railway

The descent from Mount Pilatus isn't by gondola.  It is via the world's steepest cogwheel railway with the maximum grade of 48% and the average of 38%.  It takes approximately 40 minutes to complete the descent.

Tip:  If traveling with someone else, we'd suggest sitting across from each other so that you can take photographs in various directions, if so inclined.   The best view isn't always ahead of you, as you can see from our photos.

Next Stop - Lucerne

We boarded our bus for a short ride to the city of Lucerne for the second part of the excursion.  We'll discuss that in our next post.

This is day one of the cruise and I'm already smiling in a picture. I posed in front of the famous Lion Monument.  For those that know me, I'm not a big fan of being in pictures, so I rarely smile in them. When I do, that means I'm really enjoying the trip.

^{Additional photos can be found on our Rhine & Moselle Shutterfly page:} 

Pilatus - Gondola
Pilatus - View
Pilatus - Cave Tunnels
Pilatus - Cogwheel Railway

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Venice Cruise Terminal to Pizzale Roma

 Inexpensive Transport 

Cruise Terminal

to Airports & 

Train Station

If you've been to Venice on a cruise ship, you know that you are docked far from the center of activities and the main squares of Venice.  Typical transportation is via a water taxi (vaporetto).

While you are sightseeing via ship-provided tours, reaching the heart of Venice isn't a problem, however getting to the airport or train station on your own, when the cruise is completed, can be a daunting and expensive task.

HINT: Take Tram to Piazzale Roma

Piazzale Roma is a square in Venice, Italy which serves as the main bus terminal.  There are bus links to Venice Marco Polo Airport and Treviso Airport. The square is close to the main Santa Lucia (Ferrovia) railway station for Venice, linked by the Ponte della Costituzione, a modern footbridge over the western end of the Grand Canal.

We can tell you from experience this is the way to go as long as you are able to handle your luggage on your own, especially over the footbridge.   If you can't, you might be lucky enough to have a good looking Italian fellow assist you over the bridge (of course he'll be expecting to be rewarded for his good deed).

Short Walk to Tram

Getting to the tram is pretty easy.   Just cut through the cruise terminal and walk along the footpath for about a five-minute walk to the peoplemover tram entrance.  Tickets are vended from the machine on ground level (they’re €1 each, machines take euro coins or cash).  Take the escalator or elevator to the platform where you'll board modern cars that can accommodate you and your luggage in comfort.

Santa Lucia Train Station

The tram is a recent improvement (2010) in Venice and not widely known.  Our destination from the cruise terminal was the train station for our return to Rome (Civitavecchia) for our final post-cruise night before flying back home.  

By taking the train to and from the ship, we were able to purchase round-trip air from Rome instead of one-way tickets to Rome and from Venice, which saved us on overall cost.


Best spent €1  during the entire Mediterranean Cruise - very convenient

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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