Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn on Viking Star

April 4, 2023 by

Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

In Barcelona

From the Viking website, this is the included tour:

Discover Barcelona’s most iconic landmarks on a relaxing drive and a leisurely walk around this impressive city. You will pass the Columbus Monument and Port Vell, the seaside cultural and shopping complex. Admire the Arc de Triomf, a stately remnant from the 1888 World’s Fair. Take in the breathtaking Parc de la Ciutadella, once home to the garrison that protected the city. Next, you will alight from your motor coach and walk into the historic center, stopping to view the stunning neo-Gothic Barcelona Cathedral. The facade of this 14th-century marvel is adorned with many sculptures, including a wide range of animals and mythical gargoyles on its roof. After enjoying free time and an opportunity to take a short walk through the Gothic Quarter, you will return to the ship.

Our included tour was scheduled from 0830 to 1230. We revisited much of the route we took on the Pre-Extension Included Tour, drove past a few of the Gaudi houses, then stopped at Sagrada Familia for a tour of the exterior only. One could look at this church a hundred times and still see something new, so we welcomed the opportunity to visit again.

After looking at Sagrada, we were ushered across the street into a “gift shop that has free restrooms.” The gift shop stocked the typical tourist souvenirs though we did find a few trinkets for our younger grandkids and a nice assortment of postcards.

The allotted time for Sagrada plus gift shop stop was about an hour with a disproportionate amount of time given to the gift shop/restroom stop. We notified the tour guide we would be momentarily leaving the group and he told us the departure time and location. With that info, we headed to a small cafe and enjoyed a cappuccino. I should not be surprised at the length of time it takes for 50 or so adults to use the facilities, nor the frequency that is deemed necessary for doing so; give me another 10-15 years and likely I’ll be looking for the loo, too!

If you’re curious we stopped at Trabucaire for our treat. Just a few doors from the already noted, and nameless, gift store. Sit down, terrace service. 6€ for two cappuccinos and biscuits.

Once we were on our own, we wandered the crooked, narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter and stopped whenever a shop caught our fancy. We checked out stores that carried walls of espadrilles, a one-aisle grocery/liquor store, and a stationary shop. Plus the obligatory stop at a bakery for nibbles. We remembered to look up when we passed under the arches — always saw a few carvings, to our delight.

We eventually ended up at the Barcelona Cathedral. Wow! Interesting in that there was reconstruction taking place high in the spires and steeples, and a huge advertisement billboard for a cell company was plastered on the work area. One way to pay for maintenance! The exterior of the church was spectacular; the square in front of the church was a convenient place to sit and have a bite to eat. We did enter the cathedral, but we took no photos inside the cathedral as we arrived during a liturgy — a super High Mass, the blessing of Chrism (the holy oil that will be used in the sacraments for the coming liturgical year).

The Mass was concelebrated by the Cardinal of Barcelona and attended by all of the Diocesan priests. Quite astonishing to attend this Mass amidst such grandeur. Mass in Italian was also an interesting experience. We knew what was going on, but we still felt a little confused without the familiar English.

Our last stop in the Gothic Quarter was the Picasso Museum. Ooh, la la! What a city! Miro, Gaudi, and Picasso. Part of the fun was getting incredibly turned around in the narrow passageways that crisscross the old quarters. (Also nerve-wracking. Be sure you have maps if you’re here; we lost GPS often amidst the tall stone buildings.) We took the long way from the Barcelona Cathedral to the Museum and were doubly glad we had purchased online tickets. The ticket line wound into the street, but we walked right in at our appointed time.

Our tickets for 2 seniors without audioguide were 15€. If we had added the audio it would have been 25€ for both of us. Tickets are timed; you enter during your 15-minute window. (It always pays to compare. Viator offered a skip-the-line ticket with audio for 44€ for two; more costly and no advantage.)

The Picasso Museum is housed in a set of architectural wonders. From the museum’s website:
The Picasso Museum occupies five large townhouses or palaces on the street Carrer de Montcada. The original palaces date from the 13th-15th centuries, undergoing major refurbishments over time, the most important in the 18th century. The palaces are a good example of Catalan civic gothic style. They have a common structure surrounding a courtyard with access to the main floor via an outdoor open stairway.

The first floor of the museum, accessible without a ticket, offers a few benches for resting, an extensive gift shop featuring high-quality art and other art-related goodies, large accessible restrooms, and pay lockers. No backpacks, even tiny ones, are allowed in the museum so allow time for the bag check if you have a timed ticket. I do recommend this art museum, especially if you have an interest in art or architecture.

My favorites? His series of pigeon paintings. He painted them in a couple of days, looking out from his window in Barcelona, whiling away time as he awaited inspiration to complete a larger piece. My 2-year-old granddaughter would love these as they are similar to chickens and she loves chickens. The palaces are a perfect setting for an art museum. Just look at the exquisite detailing in the room featuring his ceramic work!

By the time we toured the museum and spent a few € in the gift store, we’d walked 5 miles and were a bit weary. Plus hungry, as we’d grabbed a pastry instead of lunch. (May or may not have been a mistake!) We lucked out and caught a taxi near the entrance. The driver spoke minimal English but easily understood we wanted to return to the “cruise port.” 8€. I had my photo of the port’s location just in case…

We were back on board close to 1700 and the Viking Star pulled up anchor and sailed a bit after 1800. Just before we left, we watched the Viking Jupiter pull out of the harbor ahead of us.

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Boarding the Viking Star

April 3, 2023 by

Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn
Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

Here is the description of today’s itinerary from Viking:

On your final day, embark on a panoramic drive past the Olympic Port and Forum Park before enjoying free time to explore scenic Ciutadella Park. Board your motor coach and continue your drive past the Arc de Triomf en route to the viewpoint on Montjuïc Mirador, where you will admire sweeping views of the city and sea. Afterward, you will transfer to your awaiting ship.

In the hotel lobby at 0830 to begin our transfer to the Viking Star and we ended up standing in the longest line we would encounter on our entire 28-day trip. After an hour, we finally boarded the bus and eventually left for the included panoramic tour and drop-off at the ship. Here’s a timeline, because I was going through photos and used the time stamps to check the times!

  • Left the hotel at 0940.
  • Passed Miro’s Woman and Bird sculpture at 0943.
  • A brief stop to see the skyline of Barcelona from in front of the National Art Museum (Montjuïc Mirador) from 1000-1020. (Museum entrance not included. Folks asked and were disappointed. Nothing is ever included on tours unless it specifically says it is.)
  • A bus window view of Calatrava’s Flame from the 1982 Olympics at 1023.
  • Placa de Catalunya at 1042.

A second stop, this time to walk around Parc de la Ciutadella (restroom stop for some) and to see the Arc de Triomf, constructed for the 1888 World’s Fair (1105-1140).

  • A quick drive past the Columbus Monument and Port Vell around 1150.
  • Finally arrived at the port at 1155, docked at Adossat Pier. (85% of cruise ships dock here.)
  • In the security line at 1200. 30 minutes to go through security.
  • Showed our boarding passes and passports to staff (1235) and answered Covid questions. We had done the pre-boarding passes as recommended on MVJ, the travel portal for Viking cruisers, so no need for photos.
  • Safety drill upon boarding followed by buffet lunch (1245-1320)

Drinks at Pool Bar at 1330. In our room (PV1) at 1405. Our luggage was inside our room when we arrived.

All in all, it was a seamless transition from hotel to ship. 2.5 hours on a pleasant bus tour — obviously the buses have staggered arrivals so as to avoid bottlenecks at the cruise port. A two-hour transition from cruise port drop-off to us relaxing in our stateroom. And while we were waiting for our room, we enjoyed our lunch and drinks.

Shuttles go every 30 minutes from the ship to Barcelona’s World Trade Center. From there it’s a 10-minute walk to the beginning of La Ramblas. We walked La Ramblas for about 20 minutes. Enough to say we’d been there. Probably not our thing — touristy, overpriced and mediocre food, overpriced drinks, tourist gimmicks and souvenirs. Still, it’s a bucket list sort of thing when visiting Barcelona!

Back on the ship and we dressed up for dinner at the Restaurant. Hubby likes his sports coat and I like flowy and silky, so we enjoy delicious food even more when we dress for the occasion. And a monthlong trip to the Mediterranean is occasion enough for us! Your mileage may vary.

Sitting at a window table, we watched the sun drop below the horizon, and then twinkling lights lit up the hills. A rising full moon finished the evening in grand style.

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Barcelona: Viking Cruise Pre-Extension, Day 2

April 2, 2023 by

We took a taxi to Park Guell from Hotel Nobu. Initially, we’d planned a walking route from Nobu to Guell, but the Viking host disabused us of that plan. Though it didn’t sound far — a little more than a mile — I hadn’t considered the topography. As in, all uphill! The taxi got us there in 30 minutes — had to detour around a half dozen garbage trucks on their early morning routes — and cost 10€. Well worth the money. We had timed-entry tickets (10€ per senior over aged 60) purchased two months prior to our visit and arrived just in time to enter during our 30-minute window. (Walk-up tickets were still available for the early entry hours, nothing after 1200.)

While at Park Guell, we took the opportunity to visit Gaudi’s Home (5€ per adult). I loved the view, the details, and especially his private oratorium (prayer room). I never pass an opportunity to visit artists’ homes and I was not disappointed in the house Gaudi designed and built for himself and two family members.

The reward for all that walking and stair climbing? Chocolate croissants in a little bakery on our walk from Guell to Sagrada Familia church. We had ticketed access to the church’s interior beginning at 1515 so we walked around the exterior. I bought a woven palm cross for 2€ from one of the many women selling their homemade creations; it was Palm Sunday and there were all sorts of weavings from the palm leaves offered for sale — and waited.

Finally! Time to enter Sagrada Familia. Security was required for entrance — xray detectors like those found in airport security — and we were required to store our small backpack in a locker. From the end of the line to our entrance into the church took about 20 minutes. Then, finally, we were inside.

We then took the Tower Tour at Sagrada Familia scheduled for 1645. First, we rode an elevator halfway up the Passion Tower, then we climbed several flights of stairs toward the top and took in the views. Then came the fun part. Descending around and round and round, the steps are deep but there is a sturdy steel handrail for most of the descent. Loved the experience, but my legs weren’t happy the day after. If you are not claustrophobic and you can handle perhaps 100 uneven ascending steps followed by 400+ descending steps, this additional tour is well worth your time and money.

Sitting in the midst of ALL the light, I spent lots of time just sitting and watching the light and color shift in the interior of La Sagrada Familia. Gaudi’s masterpiece. The exterior was breathtaking in its grandeur. Still under construction, it’s due to be finished in 2027. But the inside is all organic form and stained glass and color and light.

We chose to not take a guided tour as I wanted to explore/take photos on my own timetable. I did order the self-guided audio tour and we used our Bluetooth headphones to listen to descriptions of the various areas. (We abandoned this halfway through. I’d done my research before going and the guide became a distraction. However, I do think many folks would appreciate the guide.)

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Our Sagrada tickets — entrance, audio tour, and Tower tour for two seniors — were 56€. I purchased them online about 10 weeks prior to our visit. A note: morning sunlight lights up the cool blue and green windows on the east side of the church: afternoon/evening light illuminates the warmer colors — oranges and yellows. If this matters to you, choose tickets accordingly. Next time we go, I’ll try and do a cool colors morning visit.

We took public transit back to the hotel. (Train station is across the street from Sagrada, then across the street from Hotel Nobu.) Super convenient, but a bit confusing. If you enjoy exploring that way, I recommend the experience.

There was an optional Viking walking tour offered in the late afternoon. $59 per person. We didn’t go since we’d planned an independent visit including Park Guell and Sagrada Familia reservations, but there was enough interest that Viking organized several tour groups. (If you want to see specific major highlights, plan on getting advanced tickets and going on your own. Folks were disappointed to find out that main attractions such as Sagrada and the Gaudi Houses were at full capacity. Research prior to your trip unless you’re satisfied with Viking planning and providing their Barcelona experience package.)

One of the Viking hosts recommended a nearby restaurant, Asador de Bierzo, for our second dinner in Barcelona. Not as quaint or cozy as our first dining adventure, but the food was fine. Snails. Catalan tomato bread. Iberian ham. Codfish and lamb for our main courses. A local bottle of wine. More expensive than Brases and I wasn’t a fan of the big screen TVs playing nonstop in a nicely appointed dining room. The staff did their jobs, though perfunctorily. If we could get a do-over, we’d choose differently and find a more intimate local place.

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Barcelona: Viking Cruise Pre-extension, Day 1

April 1, 2023 by

We did take advantage of Viking’s Barcelona pre-extension because we were using a free airfare promotion and it made sense in this instance. Not always the case. We usually book our own flights, but we always consider our options. $599 per person for the pre-extension at the Barcelona Hotel Nobu was still pricier than if we’d done it on our own, but not by much. For our money, we got transfers from the airport to the hotel, a decent hotel very convenient to transportation, breakfast (which we ate only once in 3 days though many folks took advantage of the “free” buffet), and an included bus tour of the city on our way to the ship for embarkation. Viking hosts were available for questions from early morning to late evening. There were 331 passengers from both the Star and Jupiter at the hotel and Viking had all moving parts coordinated nicely.

Barcelona, while large and urban, is relatively easy to negotiate. Taxis were readily available at the hotel, though not as easy to hail from the streets. (We took a cab three times and only one driver spoke enough conversational English to answer our questions. Prepare ahead with written notes or be willing to use hand signs!) The train station was across the street and provided easy access to not only Barcelona but the surrounding region. We walked from the hotel to restaurants, coffee shops, the pharmacy, and a grocery store — all within a few blocks of Nobu.

We dropped our carry-on baggage in our room, took a quick shower, then headed out to do some sightseeing. I ordered online tickets to the Miro Fundacio though tickets were available at the entrance. Senior admission was half price, 7€ per person. It was a 20-minute taxi ride on a Saturday afternoon. 10€. I highly recommend this museum if you enjoy Miro. Designed by the artist himself, the Foundation has the most extensive Miro collection in the world. 200+ paintings, over a hundred sculptures, plus pencil sketches and more.

The museum is situated high above the city in the Montjuïc area and offers incredible views of the Barcelona skyline with a tiny Sagrada Familia rising from the horizon, plus the Mediterranean Sea glimmering in the sunlight. We ate at the museum’s outside garden cafe — one beer, one juice, and two sandwiches for 30€. Convenient and a lovely setting, decent food. Popular on a Saturday mid-afternoon, we waited about 40 minutes to order and get our food. But after the overnight flight, we were happy enough to sit and linger.

After our Miro visit, we walked through Mediterranean gardens on our way to the National Gallery of Art. It was a free community day so the museum was packed. Security screening was required for all belongings, a minor inconvenience. We walked through a few exhibits before admitting that we were too fatigued to negotiate the crowds, so we returned to the outside gardens. We enjoyed the folks, the music, the views. (Don’t bother with the gelato — awful and expensive.) Then we walked down, down, down, plus escalators, and eventually returned to our hotel.

A late afternoon nap revived us, and we went looking for dinner around 7 pm. (Early for Europe, but jet lag.) Found Brassos Bier. Friendly servers, excellent drinks, local food, English, and a convenient 3-block walk from the Nobu. Recommended. 60€ for one very large gin and tonic, a decent bottle of red wine, a shared bread and tomato appetizer, three tapas, one dessert, two coffees, and two after-dinner liqueurs. The liqueur was a yellow fruity ‘Herbs of the gods” per the server and was on the house.

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April in the Mediterranean — First Step, Chicago O’Hare

April 1, 2023 by

VIKING STAR Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn Ocean Cruise
Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

PRE-EXTENSION IN BARCELONA APRIL 1-2
POST EXTENSION IN ATHENS APRIL 24-28

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” ~ Pico Iyer

Chicago To Barcelona

We had United/Lufthansa flights, Chicago O’Hare to Frankfurt Germany to Barcelona. We had a tight 1:35-minute connection in Frankfurt and a delay in Chicago cut that to 55 minutes. Still, we had enough time to make our connection. Be advised: there is a long flight of stairs going up from the airplane to the terminal, then there is a 15-minute walk to security. Once through security, there is another 15-minute walk to the regional jets. We arrived at 5:30AM so the airport was not crowded — I’m sure that made a difference. We had only had carry-on luggage — hard for the stairs, but otherwise worked fine—thus there was no need to worry about transferred luggage. Lufthansa was checking the weight of economy baggage and refusing those bags weighing more than 17 pounds. If you were in business class, no worries. Plenty of room for carry-on in Business.

UNITED TERMINAL, OHARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Hotel Nobu Barcelona
Easy to find Viking representatives at the luggage carousels. Just follow the luggage/exit signs. Small vans were there to take us to the hotel. Our FRA-BCN flight was delayed 30 minutes due to airspace restrictions because of the French air controller strikes. We arrived in BCN at 10:00 and were in our hotel room by 11:15. Nobu has Viking down to a science. There were 331 passengers from both the Star and Jupiter for the extensions. Four reps handled questions, made reservations, and offered restaurant recommendations for the Star, another set of reps served the Jupiter passengers. There was an optional Viking walking tour of Barcelona late afternoon of the day before embarkation. $59 per person. We didn’t go since we’d made Park Guell and Sagrada Familia reservations three months ago. (If you want to see the highlights, get advanced tickets. Folks were disappointed to find out main attractions were sold out. Research before you hop on your flight unless you’re satisfied with Viking planning and providing your Barcelona experience. The hotel is lovely and very modern, the staff is helpful. Included breakfast is what you’d expect. Basic buffet with paid options such as omelets and special order eggs. We ate there the first morning, otherwise went in search of local places. Found a great Catalan dining spot three blocks from the hotel. Brassos Bier.

The train station is right across the street from Nobu — underground connections for regional trains/trams and the metro. (Barcelona Sants) We bought a 48-hour Hola travel card for about 16 euros each and took the metro to and from Sagrada Familia, and busses to museums. Recommend using public transportation if you are a seasoned or adventurous traveler and you are mobile. Stairs departing and arriving, not all stations provide services for reduced mobility folks. It worked for us but we had some moments of confusion. An accommodating attendant smoothed the way, but it took some perseverance to find an English-speaking attendant when we ran into issues with the machine refusing our ticket! The train station across the street from the hotel also has many stores — think clothing, luggage, food market, and more. Also, a well-stocked Pharmacy (Farmacia) if you need any last-minute medical stuff. Remember, the pharmacies in Spain are more like urgent care in the States.

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