London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

To travel or not to travel, that is the question

To travel or not to travel, that is the question

My wife, Janet Quinn of Trophies N’ Tees, and I recently returned from a 14-day trip in Europe visiting Germany, Prague in the Czech Republic, Austria, Bratislava and Budapest, Hungary aboard the AmaWaterways River Cruise Ship the AmaVerde sailing the beautiful Danube River.
Upon returning I have had many people ask the question, “Is now a suitable time to travel?” I am not going to get into a debate with anyone on whether COVID-19 conditions should stop anyone from traveling, that is a personal decision. However, travel is in my blood, so to speak and I have chosen to travel whether conditions are optimal or at least doable. I have assisted Janet in the travel business as an independent affiliate of Avoya Travel for 14 years traveling through 49 of the 50 United States, and 42 foreign countries, and I can emphatically state that while travel might not be optimal right now, travel is very doable but different in many respects from pre-2019 travel.

So, “How difficult were the pre-flight, pre-trip preparations?” you may ask. To prepare, Janet and I decided to both get vaccinated and have not experienced any negative side effects. Again, I am not going to debate the current national and international vaccination disarray, and debate whether we need to or should be vaccinated as that too I feel is a personal choice. I will, however, say this - all cruise lines, including AmaWaterways are now requiring COVID vaccinations as are a lot of airlines, entry into countries, restaurants, hotels etc. so we did what we had to do to make this trip as enjoyable and stress free as possible. In addition, although the country of Germany did not require us to have a negative COVID-19 test to enter Germany, we decided to get a PCR test at Walgreens three days prior to flying just to give us peace of mind that we were healthy and COVID-free before showing up at the airport.

Our AmaWaterways cruise took us along the beautiful Blue Danube River from Vilshofen and Passau Germany to Linz, Weissenkirchen and Vienna Austria, Bratislava Slovakia, and Budapest Hungary. There were several included shore excursions in each town to choose from or you could explore on your own. Janet and I started with the City of Three Rivers Tour in Passau, the Durnstein and Melk Abbey tour near the Wachau Valley, the City of Waltzes tour in Austria, the St Martin’s Cathedral and City tour in Bratislava, and the Budapest City Tour in Hungary. Each tour was led by a professional guide who grew up in the region and spoke wonderful English and their native tongue.

AmaWaterways’ River Cruises then prepared us for our individual journey’s back home. They contracted with a local pharmacy company to come on board and administer a COVID-19 test, which is now required for entry back into the United States. All our ship’s guests’ tests came back negative. On our return transiting through Budapest Airport was a breeze, the flight to London uneventful, and our connection to Phoenix was at the same terminal we landed in so proceeding to our next gate was easy. After our 10-hour flight back home we were exhausted, but thrilled we had just sailed through one of the most beautiful parts of the world.

“To travel or not to travel is the question.” You must decide what is right for you as it is a personal choice. Traveling is the only thing that truly makes us rich. While onboard AmaWaterways, Janet and I signed up for Europe’s 7 River Cruise for sailing in August 2023. This 46-day grand river experience will take 144 guests through 14 European countries and sail along the Seine River in France, the Saone and Rhone Rivers, the Rhine, Moselle and Main Rivers from Basel and the Danube River from Vilshofen to Romania.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×