Farewell to the Red Group.
The trip home was on time and uneventful. The only unusual moment was really a life lesson. Never order a tall draft beer at a Wolfgang Puck Express at O’Hare. $27.50 for two brews is steep by anyone’s standards.
MISCELLANEOUS-ITIES
Way back, early in the trip, we ran across the following advertisement that had to be immortalized digitally. In Vienna, we saw a billboard for an upcoming production of Evita as well. Broadway’s divas are alive and well and thriving in Europe.
The Wachauer Nase as seen from the ship while traversing the Wachau Valley in Austria. Smell me!
Two really terrific innovations on the M/S River Adagio that should be adopted in the States.
ONE: the room key card had a chip–like the ones that are finally showing up on American-issued credit cards. Having to trudge down to the main desk of a hotel to have my room key card re-programmed because the magnetic strip has been demagnetized is a royal pain. And it happens far too frequently–thrice in Chicago just last month. It was so refreshing to never have to be concerned that my card might become inoperable. Listen up, American hoteliers. It’s the twenty-first century. At least start using twentieth century technology!
TWO: This was just really cool. When you opened the clothes closet, the hanger rod had a built-in light on the underside that lit up automatically. Too cool! And so simple an idea! You can easily see what’s hanging there. I’d love to get this at home.
ONE ADDITIONAL NOTE: Once again, European airlines come out on top. I paid to upgrade to United’s Economy Plus for more legroom on the way to Europe. On the flight home, I also paid to upgrade to a seat with extra legroom on our Austrian Airlines return flight. The cost was half what United charged–and I had far more legroom.
Also on the plus side, each seat on the Austrian Airlines flight had a USB port to provide power to devices like iPads and smartphones. United? Zip in both Economy and Economy Plus. (Don’t know about Business or First Class. ‘Spect so.) I experienced this two years ago when we returned from Germany on a Lufthansa flight. Only on that flight, there was an electrical outlet for each seat!
Just sayin’.
So, MDR, that was our European adventure for 2016. While it seemed like the day of departure would never come, it was so worth the wait.
Next: the Caribbean, Columbia and the Panama Canal! I’m counting the days.
Dutch to Deutsch: The Great Rivers of Europe 