Setting
SAIL ON DREAMS
Mark and Caroline McLaren were the lucky winners of a Viking competition and set sail on a
15-day Grand European Tour river journey in November last year. The McLarens take us
through the awe-inspiring moments of their journey on some of Europe's great rivers.
Words and photos Mark and Caroline McLaren
52
VIKING
W
hen we retired, our
thoughts quickly turned
to thinking about where
in the world we wanted to
visit and a European river journey was right
at the top of our list. A busy afternoon
babysitting our grandkids was interrupted
by a phone call and the unbelievable news
that we had won a Viking Grand European
Tour. Dreams really do come true!
Several months later we set off to
Europe to enjoy this trip of a lifetime.
From the moment our taxi pulled up at
the dock in Amsterdam, to the end of the
journey, we were treated like royalty. We
always felt that we were in good hands
with experienced and professional crew
taking care of us, especially our Program
Director Petra who was always on hand to
sort out any queries we had and to offer
assistance any time of night or day.
Every day was a new adventure or total
relaxation, if that was your preference.
e included tours were always
informative, as Viking use local guides
who live in each area, and they provide
a valuable insight into every village,
cathedral, palace and historical area that
we visited – and there were many of them!
e longship experience was new to us,
and we thoroughly enjoyed travelling with
a group of like-minded people. We met so
many other passengers and every day there
were interesting conversations and funny
anecdotes we shared over dinner and a few
drinks.
e itinerary was well chosen and the
places we visited were simply amazing.
We did a couple of extra tours – visiting
Salzberg (the hills are alive!), a classical
music concert in Vienna and beer
tasting in Cologne. We would definitely
recommend these options to anyone.
e food options were delicious and
plentiful and we enjoyed a fine dining
experience every meal. e waiters always
remembered what we liked to drink or
what our breakfast preferences were and
nothing was too much trouble.
e most common question our
friends asked us on our return was "what
was your favourite place?" Honestly, there
simply is no way to answer this. Was it
the Christmas markets in Cologne, the
windmills of Kinderdijk or Nuremberg
with its dark past in contrast with the
beauty of the city today? ere was not
one place that we visited that we didn't
enjoy.
We are still coming back down to
earth, but rate our Viking voyage as one
of the best life experiences we have ever
had. We are already looking at options
for our next Viking voyage – will it be
France, Egypt or the Mississippi? ere
are so many options with Viking.
Bamberg
Melk
Würzburg
Wertheim
MAIN
RHINE
DANUBE
DANUBE
MAIN–DANUBE
CANAL
Cologne
Koblenz
Nuremberg
Vienna
Budapest
Passau
Regensburg
Prague
Kinderdijk
Amsterdam
HUNGARY
AUSTRIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
GERMANY
THE NETHERLANDS
–
Cruise
•
• Overnight in Port
GETTING THERE: The 15-day
Grand European Tour river
voyage from Amsterdam to
Budapest or vice versa starts
from $8,695pp in Standard
Stateroom. Return Economy
Flights included.
VIEW
VOYAGE
