Join us in Switzerland for our travel art journal workshop. We will spend a few days in Switzerland learning how to make our art travel journel and then we will board our river cruise to see a different village each day as we sail along the Moselle and Rhine Rivers--it begins in Basil, Switzerland and sails northward to Amsterdam, Netherlands.This will be my 6th Avalon cruise as I have sailed with them on these rivers: Mekong (in Cambodia & Vietnam), Ganges (India), Irawaddy (Myanmar), Saone & Rhone (France) and the Meuse (Belgium)--all hallmark trips!

THE WORKSHOP--CREATING A TRAVEL JOURNAL!

I am still working on the details for our a marvelous adventure. Since we must fly into Zurich, Switzerland we will use 3 days to relax and see the sights...and begin our journals! I found an art museum with free entry while we are there and more surprises in store.

Our Workshop Schedule:

Monday, 13 July: your flight from home (If you wish to fly along with me I am flying from DFW in Dallas. Perhaps you might connect with us in DFW. Specific flights will be shared when available.)

Tuesday, 14 July: arrive in Zurich, Switzerland, settle in and begin journal instruction

Wednesday, 15 July: breakfast included at hotel, see the sights! The Kunsthalle Zürich Museum is free today as well as the family museum, Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum). There are some outstanding churches...one where Chagall created the windows! The Lindt Chocolate factory is in Zurich, but not convenient to us. (Those who wish to go on their own may...admission $53.)

Thursday, 16 July: breakfast included, day trip to Lucerne by rail and return to Zurich

Friday, 17 July: breakfast included. The Avalon Waterways has a transfer for the cruise passengers to Basil...we meet it at the airport. Once at the ship we can board and relax, or go into Basil. There is a bus through town that looks good to see the sights!

17-27 July: we are northbound from Basel to Amsterdam on Avalon Imagery II and can continue adding to our travel journal as we progress!

Instruction: Your workshop includes instruction and lodging with breakfasts. 4 days of instruction in Zurich with a complementary Creating a Travel Journal book written by Darla. (I may have Volume 2 with more ideas available for 2026 for those who have already received the first book--we'll see). While we won't have official "classes" onboard the cruise, we can sit together in the lounge on the panoramic deck or the top deck outdoors and share ideas as we continue our journals!

Transport: You are responsible for your own airfare to Zurich, Switzerland and then home from Amsterdam, Netherlands. I am flying from DFW if you wish to join me and travel along and I will send those details. You may even choose to spend extra days in Amsterdam. We dock there for a night, the following day we have a canal cruise (included with your Avalon cruise) and you will still have time to yourself. I recommend a visit to the Anne Frank and/or the Van Gogh Museum. Your additional cost is:

taxi from Zurich airport to the hotel ($51 for 2 or $53 for 3)

train to Lucerne and back (about $10 each way).

taxi to airport to catch the Avalon bus ($51 for 2) then transport to the ship $55 each

At the end of the cruise you will need to transport either to the airport from the cruise terminal or transport to a hotel.

Lodging while in Zurich, Switzerland: 3 nights with breakfast included, VAT and daily hotel city tax is included.

The cost for 1 artist with instruction and companion sharing room: $1550

The cost for a single artist in a single private room: $1400

The cost for 2 artists sharing room: $2050 ($1025 each)

There are 2 junior suites reserved for us--the cost is $250 more for those rooms.

Please understand if our rate of exchange goes whacky it might be a bit more. I have locked in the rates of our rooms but have no power to lock in the exchange rate at the time I pay for the rooms!

I will consult with my participants on types of rooms I have reserved and specific cost then they can choose the level of room they wish for our 3 days in Zurich.

Meals: Meals are not included in cost but our booked hotel has breakfast included. I am hoping for a picnic along the shore of the nearby lake.

Admission costs: Any expense for museums, etc will be added on as we progress. (The big museum in Zurich is free on Wednesdays, so we luck out on that and they have a free family museum free also.) Participants will be informed of possibilities and cost. In Lucerne there is a palace on the lake to visit

For the workshop, Feb 1 is the deadline for complete payment (directly to Darla for the Art Adventure Abroad Workshop/Retreat). The cruise payment is separate and is listed below.

Presently we have a terrific group of spouses, a sister, parents, friends. All are welcome to join us (and usually do!) on the Art Adventures.They don't pay a workshop fee when they accompany an artist unless they want the fun of making a journal, too!

ABOUT OUR CRUISE!

The cruise on Avalon's Imagery II is 17 – 27 July 2026 BUT our workshop begins before that...on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 in Zurich.    

Your cruise on the Rhine and Moselle Rivers begins in Basel, Switzerland, to explore extraordinary cities in Germany and France, as well as Holland’s capital of Amsterdam. At the foot of Kaiserstuhl Mountain on the French-German border sits Breisach—the gateway to Germany’s beautiful Black Forest. Continue your river cruise to Strasbourg, France, where a local expert will show you the red-sandstone Gothic-style cathedral with ancient murals and its fascinating astronomical clock. Visit the ruins of Heidelberg Castle, towering magnificently over the city, then sail for the charming Rhine Valley wine town of Rüdesheim.

Cruise through the dramatic Rhine Gorge for the most beautiful view of the Rhine River and see ancient castles standing majestically on cliffs 400 feet above the water. Visit Koblenz, strategically located at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers, before coming to the charming wine village of Bernkastel! Here, you’ll go on a guided walk and taste some of the famed Moselle wines. Visit a medieval castle, then sail back into the Rhine and explore the magnificent city of Cologne, Germany, which spans both sides of the Rhine River. Your river cruise vacation ends in marvelous Amsterdam. Take in the sights on a canal cruise through the elegant Grachten lined with stately homes dating back to the city’s “Golden Age.”

NOTE: If you were with us for the 2025 art workshop and cruise, we will be seeing other parts of the Netherlands on this cruise--it is not a repeat of what we saw in Belgium to Netherlands in 2025! AND if you have travelled with me in 2025 or 2024 on our river cruise/workshop...be sure to ask for your $250 Welcome Back credit!

The Avalon River Cruise cost depends upon the type of cabin you choose. We have a $1500 per person discount, with gratuities included IF you book with my group through me. And, for those of you returning from an earlier Avalon cruise, you have a Welcome Back credit you can use.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

You MUST register through Darla for your cruise discount ASAP--rates are locked-in until I have 10 registered but not actual rooms until a $250 deposit is made and room-type is declared. After our group of 8 I can add more rooms at the current rates of the time.

For the cruise, you are required to make a deposit of $250 per person which applies toward the cost of the cruise--do this now to reserve your cabin!

For those who have already done my art trip with an Avalon cruise afterwards, you have a Welcome Back credit of $250 you need to claim.

Categories P, A,B have floor to ceiling windows (above)

Category B ($6685 per person) & A ($6828 per person) are both on the deck 2

Category P is panoramic on the top deck ($6899 per person)

Category S is a suite ($8614 per person)

On the chart below the basic land cost, etc is the same across the board. The difference in price is the actual cabin type you choose which varies from $4329 per person to $8614 per person.

Single Supplement Waivers may be available, otherwise they can be requested with the guest's name and date of birth. The single supplement waiver is not combinable with the $1500 off and free $212 tips.

Travel protection starts at $359 for double occupant guests in the Deluxe Stateroom and is totally optional.  

The Deluxe Rooms are at river level and usually book up first ($4329 per person)

In the photo of the ship, the windows in the band near the water are the Deluxe rooms. This is Category D and E.

The villages we visit!

https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/the-rhine-moselle-northbound/WZH/?season=2026

Deadlines for cruise:

NOW: choose the room type you wish to have and register through Darla at darlabostickart@gmail.com to receive your discounts. At time of registration have complete passport information available as well as the name and phone number of an emergency contact person.

You will receive an email welcoming you with instructions how to make your deposit of $250 each.

After making your deposit you will receive an invoice as well as a guest acknowledgement that must be signed to confirm your room reservation.

3 months before the cruise you are able to choose any extra excursions you may wish, along with payment.

Before 18 April 2026 your final payment is due.