R&R on the Rhine - Zurich to Memphis

R&R on the Rhine - Memphis to Amsterdam
R&R on the Rhine - Viking Bestla
R&R on the Rhine - Amsterdam
R&R on the Rhine - Kinderdijk
R&R on the Rhine - Cologne
R&R on the Rhine - Marksburg Castle
R&R on the Rhine - Upper Rhine Valley
R&R on the Rhine - Rüdesheim
R&R on the Rhine - Heidelberg Castle
R&R on the Rhine - Heidelberg and Speyer
R&R on the Rhine - Strasbourg
R&R on the Rhine - Black Forest
R&R on the Rhine - Colmar
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich Day 1
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich Day 2
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich to Memphis

It was time to head back Stateside and after a not-so-good night of sleep (due to combination of room temperature and bedding) I decided that I'd rather pay a bit (OK, a lot) more money and have Uber take us to the airport than to try to take the tram/train which included a changing of lines, all while lugging around our suitcases.  Fortunately there was a driver in the area and we called for him as we left the room and by the time we'd checked out he had arrived.

It was nice not to have to worry about him taking the long way to increase the bill or having to worry about a tip.  That's all included with the Uber app!  Definitely a nice thing to have.

We checked in for our flights and went off in search of breakfast.  Fortunately there were quite a few options and we found something with plenty of variety at a reasonable (for an airport) price.  We sat around enjoying our tea until shortly before it was time for my flight and then headed to my gate.  Fortunately C speaks enough German to help guide me through the PA and gate announcements.  We said our farewells and I was off to the little regional jet that would take me to Munich.

Once in Munich I was able to enjoy the business class lounge.  It wasn't anything fancy but there were free beverages and a little bit of food but since they'd served breakfast on the flight over (in addition to what I'd already eaten) I wasn't particularly hungry anyway.  Mostly I just enjoyed the relative quiet for a bit over an hour until it was time to board our flight back to the US.

I was assigned a bulkhead seat in the business class section for this leg of the flight.  Even though the seats were angle-flat instead of fully lie-flat, it was plenty good for a daytime flight.  Since I rarely go to the movies I got to catch up on some things like learning about Princesses Anna and Elsa and Olaf the snowman of Frozen.  The food was pretty good and the service was very efficient.  I had no issues communicating with the FAs and I think I dozed off a bit at the end of the flight as the long days were finally catching up with me.

Once reaching Charlotte I finally got to put my Global Entry to use.  So nice!  I loved being able to just use the kiosk to print out a piece of paper and then head straight to immigration.  I was through security & Customs way before my luggage came out!  Then it was up to the main concourse where, unfortunately, I had to go through the regular security line since Lufthansa can't print out the TSA PreCheck on their ticket stock.

I had dinner in a sports bar where I was able to watch the hockey playoffs before catching my regional jet flight home.  I was very glad to have a window seat because at that point I'd been awake for about 20 hours after not sleeping well and I was very tired.

But it was a delightful trip and I definitely want to take another river cruise.  Viking has so many routes I'd like to check out both in Europe and in China.  I'm all booked for next year's big vacation but who knows, maybe in 2016 or 2017 we'll make it happen!