Tag: Tauck Tours

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day 1. “That Was a Long Day!”

by reissmd, posted in Stockholm, Sweden

Well seems like it was just last month that I was blogging about our trip to New Orleans for the ACP meeting.  Actually it was last month.  Today, actually last night, we left for a trip to Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.  Neither of us have ever been to these countries so it should be an interesting adventure.  We are once again using Tauck tours.  I remembered my mother talking about enjoying the Tauck vacations so we gave them a try last year when we travelled to Croatia.  That was a fun trip so we are giving them another chance.  I know some of my friends prefer to set up their own vacations so they can dictate the itinerary but that can be so much work and sometimes quite expensive.  Last year we investigated a private tour of Scandinavia and a two week trip was going to cost us an unspeakable amount of money.  I didn’t even bother to reply to the agent.  When the travel company followed up I told them they misunderstood my request, I wanted to visit Scandinavia, I didn’t want to buy it.  They offered to alter the tour to make it more affordable but we thought going to Croatia with Tauck was a better decision. 

The flight from LAX last night took us first to Copenhagen.  Our friend, Mike, was kind enough to give us a ride to LAX.  It was very fortuitous because he is quite strong and I don’t think I could have lifted our luggage into a cab.  The flight to Copenhagen was uneventful except for a brief period of severe turbulence.  Of course I was in the bathroom when it started making for an interesting excursion.  That being said the flight and service was quite good.  I guess these days if a door or window from the plane doesn’t come off and you don’t hit a helicopter when coming in for a landing it has been a good trip.  The crew of the SAS flight were very good.  I found out that SAS (Scandinavia Airline System) hires attendants from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.  The crew members all speak English but talk to each other in their native tongue.  The languages are similar enough for our Swedish flight attendant to understand her Danish co-worker even though they are speaking 2 different languages.  Apparently not that different.  

In Copenhagen we had a 3 hour layover until departing for Stockholm. Patrice occupied herself by reading her book, checking emails and Facebook, and ignoring my whining.  

The flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm was also uneventful (I am very happy to report) and we were met at Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) by our driver Sven (I made that up since I didn’t hear him say his name).  He quickly took Patrice’s luggage and carrier, leaving me to fend for myself.  

Sven or Bjorn, or whatever his name, putting Patrice’s luggage in the car while good old what’s his name brings up the rear.

We made it to the hotel and I am now chilling in our room. I need some sleep.  Our trip starts tomorrow. Something about his hotel makes me feel at home. See below.

Bar and Restaurant Reiss. How perfect of a start.

See you tomorrow, if I wake up.

Croatia, etc. Day #14 “Home Sweet Home and the Highlight of the Trip”

by reissmd, posted in Croatia, Venice, Italy

We had another wonderful vacation and I really enjoyed writing the blog much more than ever before. One of our Tauck travel partners, Steve, announced to the group how much he was enjoying my blog and the Tour Director, Gabby, sent everyone the link. I think you know how much I love to see the reader’s “Comments” and “Likes” but traveling along side of some readers made it even more special.

We had a lovely fairwell dinner last night and said goodbye to our new friends. This morning we left for the airport via water taxi at 3:35 AM. Things went very smooth at the airport because it was essentially empty. The short flight from Venice to Munich might have provided us with the highlight of the trip. Shortly after take off we saw a magnificent sight outside the left side windows. I asked the flight attendant and she confirmed we were looking at the Dolomite mountain range of the Italian Alps. The highest peak is a bit under 11,000 feet but extending through the clouds and being covered with snow presented a glorious picture of the Earth. I took some shots but again they don’t replace seeing them for yourself.

Dolotmite Mountains from our flight from Venice to Munich.

As usual, at the end of a trip, I like to post some pictures of interesting things I have seen during our excursion. I hope you enjoy them.

About 35% of adults in Croatia smoke (compared with about 11% in the USA). Hopefully warnings like this will help get their numbers closer to ours.
Messages like this might have the opposite effect. Especially in Alabama.
Lots of signs in English here to attract tourist customers. Sometimes they get creative with their spelling.
In addition to the creative spelling (exhibition) they have allowed HBO access to the monastery on Lokrum Island.
I know I have shown you this before but with my legs looking like they belong to Patrice still cracks me up.

Apparently the Croatians can only count to 55? After that they add the appropriate digits?
Is a Bloody Mary considered a soup in Croatia?
In Split, Croatia parking can be hard to find so they often park on the side walk.
All the important rooms are listed on this sign from the Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb.
This looked interesting but we didn’t get a chance to go. Next time.

And lastly, a picture of my real travel buddy. Looking relaxed while having lunch in Split, I caught this shot under the table.

What a great shot to end the blog for this trip.

Croatia, etc. Day #13 “Magical Day in Venice and Goodbyes”

by reissmd, posted in Venice, Italy

We left Rovinj at a reasonable time and took the long bus ride to Venice.  Of course we could only take the bus part way.  The last part of the trip was via water taxi. 

Patrice and Me on the Water Taxi zipping along from the bus drop off area to our hotel

We met our other tour members and our city guides in the hotel lobby, had some appetizers and then headed out on our tour of the Doge’s Palace. Patrice insisted we visited this place when we were in Venice in October of 2022. Unfortunately I had no memory of going inside. A check of my blog posts failed to show any mention of the palace so it looks like I was right for a change. Patrice had been to Venice once without me so she must have confused the two trips (Patrice here: I remember enjoying my visit of the Doge’s palace so Robert definitely wasn’t on that trip).

The palace was okay but I was tired, hot, and my back was aching so this was not a highlight for me. Here are a couple of things I did like. Statues of Hercules and Atlas.

Hercules
Atlas.

I think those muscular bodies reminded me of myself when I look in the mirror each morning. (Patrice here again. Did Robert mention he has cataracts?)

After the palace, Gabby took us to a local Murano glass blowing shop. There we saw an amazing demonstration of how these objects are made. Below is a link to a video of what we saw.

They showed us all sorts of beautiful works of art they have for sale. We decided not to buy the serving tray, decanter, and set of glasses for 1,800 Euros in spite of it being discounted down from 2,800 Euros. It was a close call. Patrice elbowed me and said, “Let’s get it”. My intestines started to roar, my heart began to race, and my pores began to pour out sweat. But then I was saved by one of our fellow travelers asking, “Can you put them in a dishwasher?” With the answer being, “No, do not put these items in a dishwasher”, Patrice said, “Forget it” and I could breathe again.

We headed back to the hotel to rest up for dinner and that is when I really began to sweat. I had given my fellow travelers the big build up and now it was time to perform my magic trick. Patrice videoed the event and although I won’t be making anyone forget David Copperfield or Doug Henning, I do think things went pretty well. Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Shortly after this we said goodbye to our 20 new friends and hopefully we will see them again very soon.

Time for me to say goodnight to my followers. Believe it or not we leave for the airport via water taxi at 3:40 AM.

Croatia, etc. Day #11 “Into the Caves We Go”

by reissmd, posted in Croatia

I’m starting to hate myself. Yes, I’ve become one of those obnoxious self-absorbed tourists.  It became evident this morning at breakfast when I told Patrice that the Eggs Royale this morning wasn’t as good as at the Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb.  Oh well, I’ll just have to adjust. 

Today we had a very early start being told to have our bags ready for pick up at 6:20 AM because we would be leaving the hotel at 7:20 AM.  Apparently an early start was necessary because Tauck Tours had a very special activity planned. I’m not from Missouri (the “Show-Me State”) but I still need to be shown the proof because I would have preferred more time in bed.  

After about one hour on the bus (Excuse me, Tauck Tours has a “coach” not a bus. This is a very high class operation) we arrived at Postojna, Slovenia. Is it my imagination but does almost every city in this region have a J in its name? Also they seem to be thrown in at random, like in Postojna and Ljubljana. In Postojna, we toured their famous caves.  They are famous to anyone who knows anything about this section of the world. Of course that would not include me. One very rewarding part of this trip has been that I have learned a lot of information that quite honestly has been soulfully lacking in my education. Back to our early start. We left early so we could enter the caves one half hour before opening and have the place to ourselves.  Our sacrifice was well worth it.  My pictures cannot do it justice.  The sights were spectacular.  It was a bit chilly and occasionally we would get hit by some water drops from above, but overall it was a great experience.  Here are some photos that won’t impress you but you should definitely add this place to your bucket list.   Before this trip I didn’t know a stalactite, or a stalagmite, from a hole in the ground.

I just read how to make it is easy to remember. If you care at all about these formations, stalacTites grow from the Top of the cave and stalaGmites from from the Ground of the cave. That should make it easy to remember.

Group of stalactites extending from the top of the cave ceiling.
Lovely stalagmites growing from the ground of the cave.

There were a series of formations that resembled some other objects. Such as a couple with one holding a baby, a kissing couple, and the one below that looks like a rooster.

Does this look like a rooster or hen to you?

At end of the tour we were treated to a series of Slovenian songs sung by a male A Capella group.  The acoustics in the cave were fantastic and made the performance unique. 

Leaving the caves we took a short ride to the town of Prašćari.  There we were the guests of the Prodan family who owns and operates a truffle farm.  I learned that truffles are mushrooms which need to be “hunted”.   Apparently they grow in the wild and are not readily apparent.  So in order to find these guys you need to use truffle sniffing dogs to locate them.  We also had a wonderful truffle-themed lunch.  Appetizers, salad, scrambled eggs, and ice cream all using truffles as a focal ingredient. 

As a little bonus I did a card trick after lunch that worked perfectly.  I had promised John and Brian for days that I would do the trick but kept forgetting to bring my cards to lunch or dinner. I finally remembered today and my travel buddies were a great audience. I’m now 2 for 2 doing magic tricks on this trip.  Dare I press my luck with my favorite trick on our last trip night?   We will see. 

After Prašćari it was back on the bus, oops I mean coach, and headed to Rovinj.  This is a small seaport town in Croatia. We had a short working tour on arrival but I was too hot and worn out to pay much attention. I will say ciao for now and hopefully have some more trip information for you tomorrow.