Join us in Switzerland for our travel journal workshop. The cruise begins in Basil, Switzerland and sails northward to Amsterdam, Netherlands. If you don't wish to do the cruise, you can easily return to Zurick then home again. But, if you have travelled this far, why not add the cruise and get even more out of your airfare to Europe! Our discount is irresistable! This will be my 6th Avalon cruise which includes these rivers: Mekong (in Cambodia & Vietnam), Ganges (India), Irawaddy (Myanmar), Saone (France), and this year the Meuse (Belgium and Holland)--all hallmark trips!

 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.”

See the cruise details beneath the workshop info section.

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. [We board our ship on the 17th.] Your workshop includes instruction and lodging with breakfasts. We will arrive on Tuesday, 14 July and lodge in Zurich until Friday the 17th when we travel one hour to Basel for our cruise.

Instruction: 4 days of instruction in Zurich with a complementary Creating a Travel Journal book written by Darla. (I am hoping to have Volume 2 with more ideas available for 2026 for those who have already received the first book). While we won't have official "classes" onboard the cruise, we can sit on the top deck 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 as soon as airfares present for our dates. You may even choose to spend extra days in Amsterdam--I may do this and you are welcome to join along. The only thing additional is the transfer cost to get us from Zurich to Basel and we'll split that among us. Also, I am thinking it would be fun to take a day trip to Lucerne by rail. (It's only one hour if we do our own rail tickets or we can book a group tour with transport for $75. We can talk about that later.)

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

The cost for 1 artist with instruction and companion sharing room: $1500

The cost for a single artist in a single private room: $1350

The cost for 2 artists sharing room: $2000 

There are 2 juniior suites reserved for us and the cost is $200 more for the room.

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!

Simply put, the workshop is $500 and then our rooming is on top of that.

Meals: Meals are not included in cost but I am booking hotels with breakfast included.

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.

The Avalon River Cruise cost depends upon the type of cabin you choose...$1500 per person discount, with gratuities included IF you book with my group through me. 

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 which applies toward the cost of the cruise--do this now!

For the workshop, directly deposit $500 to Darla for the Art Adventure Abroad Workshop/Retreat This amount is applied to the cost of your workshop retreat.---we can wait on this until definite itenerary is in place.

Spouses, a sister or brother or parent or friend are welcome to join us (andusually 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!

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!

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)

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.  

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.

For cruise: Initial deposit due 7 April 2025 (or ASAP), final balance due April 2026

The villages we visit!

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