Friday, November 30, 2018: More details

We are getting flights finalized. The trip utilizes two tour companies, Tauck for the Switzerland tour and Seabourn for the subsequent Baltic cruise. We have booked the flights from and back to the US using the Seabourn packages. I will have separately booked a flight on Swiss Air from Zurich (where the Tauck tour ends) and Copenhagen (where the Seabourn cruise begins).

The flight over will be from Houston (IAH) to Paris and then on to Geneva on Air France.

IAH to Paris

Paris to Geneva

At the end of the Switzerland tour, I will fly from Zurich to Copenhagen on Swiss Air.

Zurich to Copenhagen

Tuesday, November 6, 2018: Plans

Last week I came to the realization that my July 2019 Seabourn Baltic cruise was only 8 days long. While it will be exciting, it is a long way for such a short visit. Over the past few days, Maxine and I have kicked around several options, including motorcycling through Norway.

We ended up with another Tauck tour through Switzerland. This decision was, in no little way, helped by the fact that I just received a partial refund from Tauck for our recent river cruise AND a travel voucher for a future Tauck trip. I will travel alone. The tour begins on July 7 in Lausanne and ends in Lucerne on July 17, 2019.

We are still working on the flight arrangements. I had originally planned to fly into Geneva on July 5/6 and spend an additional night in Lausanne before starting the tour. However, it appears Seabourn will provide air flights at a fantastic price, if I agree to fly Air France to Geneva on July 6/7. I will stay the night of July 17 in Lucerne and fly out of Zurich to Copenhagen on July 18.

I have booked a Swiss Airline flight from Zurich to Copenhagen on July 18. I will stay the nights of July 18 and July 19 in Copenhagen before joining the Seabourn tour on July 20. One of the open questions is whether I will start the trip home on either July 28 or spend an additional day in Stockholm and head home on July 29.