Viking Lofn

The Viking Lofn, our cruise ship, holds 190 passengers and the ship for this cruise is completely full. On this trip there are 4 people from Australia, 2 people from Canada, 1 person from Spain, and 183 people from the United States. We boarded the ship at 5 p.m. The ship left Amsterdam at 11:30 p.m. As with all cruises, the food has been excellent. Some of the people we've met so far: Quentin and Anne from Hilton Head South Carolina; Gail and Bob, a surgeon, from Bradenton Florida, who we had a nice conversation with about the Pirates, who hold Spring training camp there; Carolyn and Ed from Seattle who are retired, travel around the country living in their RV, volunteering at National Parks; Paul and Diane from Minneapolis who spent many years living in Australia; and Carol from Massachusetts who is a big Patriot's fan (boo). The weather has been excellent. This time of year, the temperature is usually in the mid to upper 40's, on average, and rainy. We've been having temperatures in the low to mid 60's, and mostly sunny. The first river that we are cruising is the Rhine. People here don't call it the Rhine River; it's the River Rhine. We are cruising up the Rivers Rhine and Main, and down the River Danube. We seem to be moving at a pretty good speed - Joe estimated maybe 25 miles an hour. We are surprised that the river is not wider than what it is. There is a lot of traffic on the river - lots of barges, etc. We've seen a few ships carrying vehicles, hundreds of them amazingly fitting on a ship. There is such a peaceful feeling as we glide down the river, and we are thoroughly enjoying the serenity. Hmm, maybe we found that feeling that only a river can give - and we're just getting started!