Books for European River Cruises

[Been There, Planning That]

We're both avid readers and for us, half the fun of a trip is the pre holiday reading.

 

I'm suggesting a thread of recommended reading for European River Cruises.

 

Now our favourite country/city travel books are the simple Eye Witness ones -- great pictorial content and good as basic references. Because they have a longer shelf life than most travel books they're not good for hotel or restaurant suggestions but we enjoy them very much. We used to bring them along on a trip, but of late with all the weight restrictions, we leave them at home for pre and post trip reading. In fact we frequently have to refer to them with help identifying the scores of pictures we take.

 

A book we picked up for our Viking Danube cruise is Blue River, Black Sea by Andrew Eames (2009). He makes the journey by bicycle, horse, boat and on foot. Right now it's armchair reading for us, but this fall we hope to see this part of the world on our 14 day cruise. It's a 400+ page delightful read, which even has a great index for quick checking. It was first published in Great Britain but we picked it up here in the colony.

 

Any other readers out there?

 

Ruth

 

Obviously I struggle with colours -- don't know how to revert to blue.

[alexandra cruiser]

sorry,forgot author,,,but a couple buys a river barge and sails with their dog thru France...being a dog owner and cruise lover,,,really enjoyed it....

 

I always get Rick Steves guides,if avail...like Frommers for hotel and restaurants,,Eyewitness for pictures,,,get them from library,then order if I liked them...always take them and leave in library on ship for others...

 

I love travel books of any kind,,can take trip without leaving home,,and find places you MUST see before you die...a bucket list...:D

[nordski]

Hi

 

Like you, I find half the fun of a cruise are the reference books that develop context whether contemporary or historic.

 

On our last cruise in the Eastern Med, we discovered that there are some excellent iPod tours that, on a Touch or Nano, provide pictures and audio background which are not only excellent guides at a site, but also provide opportunities for preview, review and correctly labeling photos. The obvious added bonus is the relative weightlessness and other services the iPod provides.

 

We will continue to expand our iPod library and I'm looking for travel uses for our new iPad.

[Been There, Planning That]

Nordski, we've yet to get an I Pod. My husband's so attached to his huge collection of antiquarian books he's just learned to enjoy paper backs. Yes, I exaggerate. But our daughter-in-law gets great pleasure in showing us all hers can do. We're considering a Sony for reading books when we travel -- right now that's space age enough for us!

 

Alexandra, it's Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington and it's priced right on Amazon right now. Even though we're not dog lovers, it sounds great. Our library seldom has the most recent travel books, but it's a good place to check out older versions before purchasing a more up-to-date edition.

[lionfish]

I am reading The Occupied Garden: A Family Memoir of War-Torn Holland by Kristen den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski. This book was recommened on this forum for anyone who is traveling in the Netherlands. I am truly enjoying it. It is historic instead of "travel info" but it gives a different view of Holland during WWII.

 

I broke down and got a Kindle before Christmas since I knew I couldn't take as many books as I would want to for the 3 weeks we will be in Europe. I did not know if I would like an ereader instead of holding a book, but I do like it. It really is easier to travel with and I can read it at night without it bothering DH.

[Been There, Planning That]

Lionfish, thanks for a great recommendation; I just checked it out and see there's a Canadian connection too.

 

It's on my wish list.

[nordski]

I am reading The Occupied Garden: A Family Memoir of War-Torn Holland by Kristen den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski. This book was recommened on this forum for anyone who is traveling in the Netherlands. I am truly enjoying it. It is historic instead of "travel info" but it gives a different view of Holland during WWII.

 

I broke down and got a Kindle before Christmas since I knew I couldn't take as many books as I would want to for the 3 weeks we will be in Europe. I did not know if I would like an ereader instead of holding a book, but I do like it. It really is easier to travel with and I can read it at night without it bothering DH.

Hi lionfish

 

I was the poster who, last year, recommended The Occupied Garden and therefore am extremely pleased you enjoyed it. For us, it certainly made our visit to The Resistance Museum in Amsterdam much more meaningful. I'm interested in your Kindle comments and I've seen them used onboard ships. I hope the iPad will be just as useful.

 

New Beginner

 

I too am a biblliophile like your husband, in fact we have an entire room devoted to book shelving. It's a sacrilege to disacard the darn things. Therefore, there is always a possibility that your husband may some day make peace with the digital world as I have, albeit as an adjunct never a replacement for books themselves

 

Indeed, as you point out, The Occupied Garden has an Ontario connection both in terms of Post-War immigration and the expansion of the Reformed Churches here. If you enjoy military history, Cinderella on the Left by Terry Copp provides an excellent background on the liberation of the Netherlands by the Canadian forces. A great preparation for a "Tulips and Windmills" cruise.

 

As an aside, I apologize for not being able to figure out how to italicize or underline book titles.

[cassie cruiser]

Hi

 

Like you, I find half the fun of a cruise are the reference books that develop context whether contemporary or historic.

 

On our last cruise in the Eastern Med, we discovered that there are some excellent iPod tours that, on a Touch or Nano, provide pictures and audio background which are not only excellent guides at a site, but also provide opportunities for preview, review and correctly labeling photos. The obvious added bonus is the relative weightlessness and other services the iPod provides.

 

We will continue to expand our iPod library and I'm looking for travel uses for our new iPad.

 

 

Nordski, how do you find these iPod tours? Is there a particular website?

[gnome12]

Try the iTunes website, and look for travel podcasts. There are other sites, but this is a good place to start.

[nordski]

Nordski, how do you find these iPod tours? Is there a particular website?

Hi cassie cruiser

 

As gnome12 points out, some are available through iTunes.

 

We used Discoverywalks tour of Dubrovnik and thought it was excellent. They have a number of choices at their website. Even better, were Rick Steves' guides to sites in Rome. He also has Paris guides and promises more cities to come but I wonder if his guide friends will welcome this and, as of yet, he has not added any.

 

As one who is never quite certain where and to what a large group guide is drawing our attention, I really enjoyed the Podcasts. Using them as a preview, they also allow you to skip over sites that may have limited interest or focus on those that do. But the real benefit to me was the ability to review what we had seen and to undertake further research. I once had an amazing guide on a jet-lagged tour of the Louvre, but the next day my poor befuddled brain remembered little, except that she was excellent.

 

Hence my love of podcasts. Others may never suffer my problems.

[alexandra cruiser]

and authors name,,,Terry Darlington also wrote about this barge trip in Florida,,,great too,,and dog STILL there,,ahaha...

Also, see you re from Canada,,so not sure if they do this there,,but in US,,can order a book from other libraries,,in county,,etc...just ask them,,I get a list,,some need small fee,,others not..and they can get almost ANY book I want,,,use Amazon,get list ,and get them free...what a deal,,,can check yours???

I do break down and buy SOME,,but get paperback versions,,then leave on boat for next person,,,

Will get The Occupied Garden,,,missed that one,,,sounds very inte ersting,but already have been to Amsterdam..

Have not got a Kindle,,,just love the feel and look of REAL books,,so old fashioned,,,I KNNNOOWWW....:D..

[lionfish]

I too did not want to give up the feel of a real book and turning pages, but I found the Kindle to be more "booklike" than I thought it would be. I still have and read books, but I live out in the country and our little library does not have many books. Yes, they can "borrow" from different libraries, but it takes forever. My house is filled with books that I cannot part with. Those books that I can give away I take to the Dialysis Center or send to our troops oversea.

 

I am looking at the "dog travel" books now, they look very interesting. I am glad that this thread was started.

[Jesterscourt]

I have found a book I have used for all our River cruises. It is called: Great River Cruises-Europe & The Nile by Insight Guides from the Discovery Channel. It has helped me tremendously on our Rhine, Danube, Main, and Elbe River itineraries. The pictures, maps, and sections on the ports of call are amazing. If for nothing else, flipping through the pages and seeing incredible photos of the boats docked in some of the towns will whet your appetite before your trip. I keep the thing on my nightstand just to look at where I've been or to dream about future trips! I also like it because it is compact and easy to travel with. I got it in 2008, but haven't seen it in a bookstore in awhile so they may have to order it for you.

[nordski]

Hi

 

Just listened to a Rick Steves' Podcast in which he interviewed Nancy Pearl, a librarian, who has produced a well-known series of books that identify recommended reads on selected themes.

 

Her lastest is Lust To Go, a volume which suggests a number of fictional accounts that provide context and culture for a wide-ranging number of locales. I haven't personally checked, but they may well include areas frequented by river cruises.

 

Highly recommended on Amazon and worth a look, especially as one saves up money for the next adventure.

[gnome12]

Hi

 

Just listened to a Rick Steves' Podcast in which he interviewed Nancy Pearl, a librarian, who has produced a well-known series of books that identify recommended reads on selected themes.

 

Her lastest is Lust To Go, a volume which suggests a number of fictional accounts that provide context and culture for a wide-ranging number of locales. I haven't personally checked, but they may well include areas frequented by river cruises.

 

Highly recommended on Amazon and worth a look, especially as one saves up money for the next adventure.

 

It is actually called "Book Lust to Go"

[nordski]

It is actually called "Book Lust to Go"

Thanks for the clarification.

[cassie cruiser]

Nordski and gnome12, thanks for the info on the podcasts. I am a newbie to the iPod as I just got one for Christmas and I didn't realize iTunes would have things like travel podcasts. I found several by Rick Steves and others.

 

Thanks! :)

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We used a Rick Steves podcast in the Louvre and because an elevator was inoperable we count not use it for the whole tour. We could not follow the podcast.

 

Nordski and gnome12, thanks for the info on the podcasts. I am a newbie to the iPod as I just got one for Christmas and I didn't realize iTunes would have things like travel podcasts. I found several by Rick Steves and others.

 

Thanks! :)

[nordski]

Nordski and gnome12, thanks for the info on the podcasts. I am a newbie to the iPod as I just got one for Christmas and I didn't realize iTunes would have things like travel podcasts. I found several by Rick Steves and others.

 

Thanks! :)

You're welcome!

 

Podcasts certainly aren't perfect, but we have found them very useful.

[nordski]

We used a Rick Steves podcast in the Louvre and because an elevator was inoperable we count not use it for the whole tour. We could not follow the podcast.

That must have been very frustrating. The Louvre is daunting enough without that problem and certainly a human guide would have been more useful in those circumstances.

 

I thought the podcast were farly flexible in terms of order and/or skipping certain sites (works of art in this case) but I must revisit that belief. Perhaps I was too optimistic

[Sorilla]

I like iPad for reading books and I use iTunes and Amazon (I use Kindle for iPad app) to download them. I save on space and $ as some reads on Amazon are amazing and below $3. What not to like?!

[HDS]

Uniworld and Viking provided me with recommended reading (not just guidebooks) prior to our Danube, Ukraine and Russian river cruises.

 

I read as much as our small provincial library could borrow in for me in the time before the cruise. That certainly enriched my travel experience.

[Been There, Planning That]

HDS, like you we're still book people but I think at some point we'll have to join the majority and purchase an Iphone or some such electronic gadget. I wonder how long travel guide books will continue to be published. Encyclopedias are a thing of the past.

 

For anyone doing a cruise to Russia, I'm really enjoying a 2009 A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova. It's her story growing up in Russia in the 60s.

[alexandra cruiser]

called The Cork Boat...by John Pollack,,,about man that builds a boat out of cork...and goes down Douro river in Portugal...having been on that river,,,its spectacular...best scenery in Europe,,,IMO....rolling hills,grape and olive trees...fine wine,,of course...one of my favorites....:D

[Been There, Planning That]

Lionfish, I just rec'd my copy of The Occupied Garden: A Family Memoir of War-Torn Holland by Kristen den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski and have really enjoyed it as preparation for our extended stay in Amsterdam.

 

Because of scant family details before the war it's well padded with a light and painless overview of the history of the time.

 

Thanks for this suggestion.

 

Ruth