Visit Europe Travel

05/09/2026

Lovely walk in London

12/08/2026

Sadly, it looks like the end for Rhine River cruises for immediate future.🛳 😔 🇪🇺

This morning the water level gauge here at Kaub measuring station showed only 16 centimetres/6.1/4 inches, and is expected to drop to single digits for the first time, making navigation along the entire length of the Rhine impossible from the middle of the week. Splitting the Rhine in two and resulting in two separate regions.

Kaub is one of the shallowest parts of the Middle Rhine, and a critical point for commercial traffic on the river, but commercial vessels won't be able to transport goods in the area if water levels fall to that level. And it would also affect day-trip boats and river cruises.

Shipping will still be possible between the North Sea ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp and the Cologne region, via the northern section of the Rhine and western Germany's canal system, and further south on the tributaries Neckar, Moselle, Main, and Main-Danube Canal.

But some German states have already made the decision to allow lorries onto the roads on Sundays, a move intended to increase road transport capacity and helping to prevent the supply chains seizing up as inland shipping becomes more restricted.

Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, standing on small rocky Falkenau Island in the middle of the Rhine near Kaub, in the heart of the Bacharach narrow valley, was constructed in 1327 as a watchtower for Kaub toll station on the Rhine's opposite bank. And a lucrative source of income for its various feudal lords until the mid-19th century.

Now it's part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley, with a small passenger ferry usually transporting visitors from Kaub to the "stone ship", but the low water levels mean it is not possible at the moment, so here is a quick impression of Burg Pfalzgrafenstein from drought free days: https://bit.ly/4zdlP44

Photo credit: Im Kaub zeigte der Pegelmesser am Mittwoch nur noch 19 Zentimeter an © Thomas Frey/dpa, via Frankfurter Rundschau https://www.fr.de

05/08/2026

And now we have "set-jetting" in Richmond, UK. Reason? The popular US TV show TED LASSO. Richmond is lovely...let's hope it isn't overrun with tourists though.

Fans of the warmhearted Apple TV show flock to Richmond-upon-Thames, which has long been a destination for visitors and film location scouts.

19/07/2026

Throwback to when we visited lovely Fossanno, Italy....complete with mimes!

From the medieval town of Fossano, you can travel to the famous cheese and wine towns of Italy’s Piemonte

25/06/2026

The Palace is for tourists, apparently.

"The palace also confirmed that Charles and his wife, Camilla, will not move back into Buckingham Palace once the renovations wrap up in 2027. Instead, the iconic residence will remain a working venue for royal functions and become more accessible to tourists." —Washington Post 6/25/2026

No surprise here—Charles III has never loved Buckingham Palace.

04/06/2026

British IT systems at their best?

Visitors from the U.S., Canada and most European countries can’t get an electronic travel authorization and are being turned away from planes, trains and boats.

20/05/2026

ETIAS remains, well, vague. "ETIAS will start operations in the last quarter of 2026...The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch."

Great. And if you are planning an autumn trip to Europe, will you need a travel authorization? And when?

16/05/2026

Feeling sad about the end of Outlander? A trip to Scotland might help. Or so might reading our novel.

is a love among the ruins tale guaranteed to capture your heart. Young Will Clachan, descended from generations of stonecutters, grew up playing in the ruins of Elgin Cathedral. Once the greatest medieval cathedral in all of Scotland, Elgin was burned to ruins in an act of revenge by Alexand...