The Viking Atla

Our Rhine River cruise on the Viking Atla was a spectacular way to see the cities and villages of several Europe countries.  This is the first in a series of blogs about one of the best vacations I have ever taken.  Our journey started out with a Delta nonstop flight from Boston to Amsterdam.  The flight was over night so with a movie and a little rest before we knew it we were in the Netherlands.  When we arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport it was like stepping off the plane into a huge shopping mall.  There was every kind of store you could imagine.  So if you have time while you are waiting for your connecting flight there is plenty of shopping to be had.    After shopping it was now time to board our flight to Basel, Switzerland.  We were on a KLM City Hopper flight.  Since the Schiphol airport is so large, you take a bus to the waiting plane and board the plane from the tarmac.   The KLM flight was very nice and the flight attendants’ dressed in their sharp robin blue uniforms were very accommodating.

It was a short flight to Basel, Switzerland’s airport which is the Euroairport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg since it is actually located in French territory and is operated by both Switzerland and France.  The Basel airport is an extremely easy airport to navigate since it is small.  There was no security check point to go through, the only thing you have to be aware if you are departing to Basel you need to be sure you depart through Swiss customs and not through French customs.  The baggage claim for all flights is the same for all guests whether or not their destination is France or Switzerland.

It was a very short ride with our driver to the river cruise port in Basel.   It is great to have a private driver pick us up from the airport, especially when we were tired from the overnight flight.   When we arrived at the port, the Viking crew was there with a nice welcome and happy to take our bags so we could board the Viking Atla ship without carrying them.  We were directed to the lounge and Aquavit Terrace for a nice lunch waiting for us.