What a treat to be on a Viking River Cruise! It’s been quite wonderful from the first moment we boarded. Our stateroom is quite spacious (for a boat), with a king bed, desk, 2 chairs and plenty of storage for our clothes, plus our own veranda with 2 more chairs & a small table. The boat is 463’ long with 3 decks plus a sundeck (we’re on Deck 3). There’s a large lounge where we meet for briefings and entertainment, and a dining room that easily accommodates all 190 passengers.
We were surprised to learn that almost everyone is from the United States, with a few others from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. That’s it. There’s a staff of 53 from 13 countries and everyone is very friendly. The very first night we had dinner with a couple and her mother, from Monument, CO (just north of Colorado Springs, where I went to Colorado College), and we’ve already “adopted” each other, often dining together…lots of good conversations and much laughter. We’re enjoying many others as well.
Below is the route of our Cruise. It’s about 1200 miles from Amsterdam to Budapest and in the catalogs it is called “The Grand European Tour.”
We didn’t leave Amsterdam until 11pm (Day 1), and it was a delight to see this city at night from the canal. AND, we were so excited to be back on a boat again that we found ourselves out on our veranda off and on for several hours, watching the landscape and lights go by. We didn’t get our usual 8-10 hours of sleep, but happily went on our first “shore excursion” early the next morning (Day 2). We walked to a vintage barge in the small town of Kinderdijk and, as we cruised past the iconic windmills, we learned how important “water management systems” are to the Netherlands, where more than half the country is at or below sea level. Most of the windmills we saw were built in 1738-1740 and were used exclusively to pump water. We also got to take a guided tour of the oldest one (below, built in 1640), with the “miller” who lives there and maintains it.
To manage the levels of the water, powerful pump stations have taken the place of windmills, but these windmills have been preserved through the years for all of us to enjoy. When not in use, the “wings” on the windmills were used as signals. For example, a wing positioned to the right of the center door meant there was cause for celebration—a birthday, an anniversary, an accomplishment; positioned to the left meant there was a death. And the mourning period was always 1 year + 1 month + 1 week + 1 day. It’s fun to learn these tidbits!
Day 3 we did a walking tour of Cologne, the 4th largest city in Germany. The highlight was the magnificent gothic Cologne Cathedral, which took seven centuries (yes, centuries!) to build. With its towering twin towers (550’ high) and 1700 spires, the foundation stone was laid in 1248 and it was finally completed in 1880. This renowned monument is quite plain inside, but there are 11,000 square feet of stained glass windows that are very moving. One is quite modern, using small squares of all 73 colors that appear in the other more traditional windows (below, right). A large and magical gold box was on display, supposedly containing the bones of the Three Wise Men—the Magi. We also enjoyed the sidewalk art in front of the Cathedral reminding us that we are One Human Race. As we left Cologne that evening, we were able to capture the Cathedral at night, and that’s an image we’ll remember for a long time.
Day 4 was a day of rest for Gary, but I had a wonderful time touring the mighty fortress of Ehrenbreistein (below), an excellent example of Prussian military fortifications built in the early 19th century to protect against the French. Our tour guide was a delightful costumed actor who took us back 200 years to describe the walls, buildings, tunnels and moats of this fascinating citadel, with its strategic doorways and windows for canons and rifles. Set high on a hill, we also enjoyed the magnificent views of Koblenz at the confluence of the Rhine & Moselle Rivers and a fun “sky glide” (gondola) back down to river’s edge. Two gondolas can be seen on the lower right of the river view.
In the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and we spent a wondrous 3 hours lounging on the sundeck as we cruised down the famous Rhine River Valley. We were in awe not only of the variety of castles and beautiful river towns, but of the hundreds of vineyards scattered on the very steep, rocky hillsides. How in the world they tend to and harvest these vines is a mystery, but they certainly are beautiful. The Rhine Valley is known best for its Reissling wines. That evening we found out the sundeck would be closed for the next 5 days (to go under many low bridges and through many locks), so it made this sundeck experience all the more appreciated. Not only are all the deck railings and canopy posts hinged so they can be flattened, but even the wheelhouse has a hydraulic lift that allows it to be lowered as well. There has been quite a bit of barge traffic, and we’ve been a bit surprised by the number of campers parked alongside the rivers.
Day 5 was the first day we didn’t have to set an alarm for a tour—a nice break. AND, we were very excited to watch a scheduled glass-blowing demonstration in the lounge at 10am. We were fortunate to have front-row seats because Gary got selected as the glass-blower’s apprentice and I was able to capture part of it on video (below). Gary was gifted with the beautiful glass ornament that he had blown into form (also below, together with some of the artist’s “masterpieces.”). This artist is a 6th generation glass blower and he only works with the very durable pyrex glass, so hopefully it won’t ever break. What a treasure! (Excuse the extra space here–we’ve had some issues inserting photos.)
For the first time, our shore excursion was in the afternoon—a walking tour of the charming little town of Miltenburg, which is in the state of Bavaria. It was the day after Easter (a national holiday in Germany) so shops were closed, but we followed narrow, cobble-stoned streets past medieval houses, breweries and a variety of Easter decorations in windows and the town square. It had quite the fairy-tale atmosphere. Note the fountain below, decorated with eggs and flowers.
The scenery both day and night has been beautiful and much of it quite rural, which we love.. We especially enjoy the early morning reflections (above) and listening to a variety of birdsongs. The natural beauty (often seen from our veranda) is very soothing as we continue to wend our way on the Main River (pronounced “Mine”) toward the Main-Danube Canal.
As you can see, there is a lot to share about this cruise, so we’ve decided we’d better divide our blog posts into several parts. Next time we’ll tell you about our experiences in Wurzburg, Nuremberg and beyond. In the meantime, thank you again for cruising along with us. We hope you are enjoying it as much as we are. Blessings always!
Cruising with Gary & Annie 