The Woodyren's 2022 wanderings. Maldives Mallorca Malaga Mykonos and the Matterhorn plus many parts/ports in between.

[woodyren]

Of course as an old rail worker I went in search of the rail station. Mrs Woodyren rested in a shady park while I took a half hour detour.
The old Bullring is next to the station.

 

[woodyren]

Heading back to the shuttle we became a little lost. For some reason I avoid Google maps/directions and attempt to use my directional instinct, a paper city map or just ask a friendly local.

On the wanderings to get back on track we stumbled onto another beautiful Cathedral and city Square.

This trip has been a battleground between food and daily walks. Despite to multiple 20k plus steps days the food is getting the upper hand I think

 

[woodyren]

We stayed on board for our port stop in Barcelona. We have visited a number of times and were very tired from a LOT of walking in previous ports.

Next port was Ibiza. No tours just another long but interesting walk from the ship to town centre.

Having made the tough decision to pass on the "designer drug and day club for seniors combo tour" or the popular with Brits "Get a taxi to the beach and lie in the sun till you burn to a crisp" we explored the city centre on foot.

Another full and interesting port visit. This cruise itinerary has been perfect for us to get a glimpse of many new places.

 

[woodyren]

Woops. I forgot Palma de Mallorca.

The day BEFORE Barcelona. The heat is getting to me.

Long walk past billions of $$$$ worth of private yachts from the ship to the old town.
The Cathedral was the highlight.

 

[woodyren]

Last port of call on our 14 night Anthem cruise was Lisbon. A fabulous city even if it's a little rough around the edges.

Our knees are feeling the effects of the hills and cobbled or tiled streets and footpaths but it again has been perfect for DIY walking and exploring.

Our ship was docked right in the city.

First part of our walking tour took us to the Basilica. 2€ entry and 200 steps to the roof.

Every time I visit one of these amazing places of worship I can't help but ponder how much of the building was accomplished due to devotion compared to paid work or servitude.

 

[woodyren]

The next two posts are a selection of from our Lisbon wandering.

 

[woodyren]

 

[tgh]

The superb photography continues , you have an eye for a pic , well done, more…...

 

[Port Power]

I’ve really enjoyed your photos and experiences. I am inspired to follow your walks in some Spanish ports new to me next year. Unfortunately not the steps in Gibraltar! Keep those lovely photos coming.

 

[ellen10]

Loving following along on your trip. Thanks for all the great photos.

 

[woodyren]

Sail away from Lisbon under the 25 de Abril bridge.

Followed by some excellent Sardines and Clams in the buffet for dinner.

We are now heading for Southampton and will disembark early tomorrow morning. Our schedule tomorrow is train to London Waterloo. Tube to London St Pancras International. Eurostar to Brussels and then finally ICE to Frankfurt. Will be a hectic day.

 

[woodyren]

Some additional photos from the ship. We really enjoy most of the large ship activities which also luckily allows us to stretch our travel budget a little more.

Anthem of the Seas has provided as usual a consistent product with regards to food, activities and entertainment.
Many of the attached photos feature the 270 venue at the aft. It's a great venue for shows, parties,bands or just generally relaxing and watching the wake.

Apparently the tech in the venue cost more than the total cost of Royal's first ship. The sound system and projection screens are fantastic.



Cheers and thanks for following along.

 

[ellen10]

Big day of travels tomorrow @woodyren , I hope it all goes smoothly. Looks like you had a great cruise. I enjoyed all the photos and information.

 

[Notyourbag]

Loving your trip report! You have a wonderful eye of capturing the local sights and vibrancy.

I was on Odyssey of the Seas from civitaveccia in June and it was a brilliant cruise. Make sure you give the dodgem cars and indoor skydiving a go!

 

[drron]

Loved following along but we will still favour smaller ships.

 

[woodyren]

Loved following along but we will still favour smaller ships.

I certainly wasn't trying to influence anyone. Only stating that it's fortunate for us that we love the big mass market ships.
Our budget wouldn't allow us to cruise nearly as much if we wanted the smaller more luxury experience.

On a similar vein our dining choices are very low budget in general as well. It's one of the great things about those fortunate enough to be able to travel. Most tastes and budgets are catered for within reason.

 

[woodyren]

Moving day one on Sunday on our journey to Civitavecchia.

Up early and off Allure by 0700 for the train from Southampton to London Waterloo.

Then the tube to London St Pancras for the Eurostar to Brussels.

Large crowds for the three departing Eurostar trains but I will give the staff credit for the way they organised the queues for ticket check immigration and security

All went well including our tight 15 minute window to change trains in Brussels for our last leg to Frankfurt.



Well all were on time until just out of Frankfurt where some sort of police operation apparently closed the station and delayed our arrival by 90 minutes.

 

[woodyren]

After arriving at Frankfurt after dark we negotiated the somewhat seedy crowd around the station and walked to our hotel. I booked online the cheapest hotel near Frankfurt station that looked clean enough for a nights sleep. Hotel was fine at 68€.

Up early for a budget included breakfast and a 5 minute walk back the the station for our trains to Zermatt in Switzerland.

 

[woodyren]

The days train travel schedule was an ICE train to Berne. Then Swiss trains from Berne to Visp then Visp to Zermatt. Scheduled arrival just after 3pm.

ICE left Frankfurt on time and all was well until just before Karlsruhe when the driver announced something in German and everyone started shaking their heads, mumbling and making phone calls.

We managed to get assistance with interpretation by locals. The news was that due to unfinished weekend track work the train to Berne is cancelled and we are all to detrain at Karlsruhe.

Very little information on what our options were and rail staff to help were scarce.

I constantly checked for options on the excellent DB Navigator app and found a few connections to Berne and onwards in the next few hours. Finally locating a staff member I asked for confirmation they would run. He said there was no guarantee.

While waiting for the first option a local and I started a conversation and he explained to me that the Swiss do not let any train enter if it is over 20 minutes late. Guess they have their reputation for being on time to uphold. He suggested to just get the first train to Basel as we would then be in Switzerland and train punctuality and customer service would be much better.

Great advice and after 4 more trains and lots of running between platforms dragging luggage we finally arrived at Zermatt very tired and over two and a half hours late.


By the way. I still enjoyed the journey very much.

 

[woodyren]

Checked into our hotel and to our dismay found Mrs Woodyren had her wallet stolen from her bag. We have traveled together a lot and are always careful. Never had anything stolen before although we have thwarted a few attempts. It was a hectic day and I guess we dropped our guard rushing from crowded platform to crowded trains and lifting our luggage into trains and racks. We had separated our essentials so we were still ok.

I am really only mentioning this to highlight the simple process of blocking and reissuing credit cards.

We lost two credit cards and some cash. Mrs Woodyren's supplementary Amex Ultimate and out ANZ Travel Adventures card. Online chat to Amex and the supplimentary card was cancelled and a new one on the way to our home address. ANZ was even simpler. Found an option to cancel and reissue on their banking site. A few clicks and the card was cancelled, a new one mailed and a new one has replaced the cancelled one in our digital wallets.

Police report and online claim done with CBA card insurance which hopefully will cover the cash and we are back in business.

Hotel Butterfly. Our hotel in Zermatt.

Really nice hotel. Good breakfast. Sitting in the lounge right now for complimentary afternoon tea.

The Butterfly also offers 2 glasses of beer or wine for anyone who forgoes their room makeup each day. Works for me.