Rhine River Cruise
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Cruising the Rhine- a Wonderful Way to Travel
In May of 2004, my husband and I took a river cruise that went from Basel, Switzerland to Antwerp, Belgium.
It was a great way to see that area of the world. We only had to unpack one time and we were able to tour cities in Switzerland, France, Germany, Holland, and Belgium.
Since many cities were built right along the banks of the river we were able to walk off the ship and into the center of each town. On many of the stops we would take a walking tour of the city and then would be on our own to explore. It was definitely our type of trip.
In this lens I will give you the highlights of each days stop and show you some photographs taken on the cruise.
Day One
Arrival in Basel Switzerland
Embark River Cruise Ship
Viking River Cruises
a great way to travel
The people at Viking cruise lines made our trip especially nice. They believe in great customer service and it showed throughout our trip.
When we arrived in Basil, they met us at the airport and helped us to get our luggage and make our way through customs. When we arrived at the ship we were greeted by the wonderful staff and made to feel welcome. Throughout the cruise everyone on board the ship was very helpful.
The food on the ship was great and there were several choices at each meal.
We also like the fact that the ship was small. With only 140 passengers on board we got to meet everyone and enjoyed making friends with people from all over the world.
If you are interested in a Viking Cruise you can find more information at their website Viking Cruises
Day Two
Tour Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg, France
French and German influence
On our first full day on the river cruise we docked in Strasbourg, France. Strasbourg is a wonderful old city that is very well preserved. It is was said to be one of the richest medieval cities in Europe.
In Strasbourg we took a walking tour of the old part of the city and visited the cathedral. This photo was taken to show some of the interesting detail in the houses around the square.
Strasbourg, France
beautiful city
Day Three
Walking tour of Speyer, Germany
Speyer, Germany
Old Town Gate
In Speyer we took a walking tour of the city. It was a beautiful city with an immense cathedral that was founded in 1030.
This photo shows the Old Town Gate which dates to 1176. At 180 feet, it is one of the oldest and tallest town gates in Germany.
Day Four
Heidelberg - Morning
Mainz-Afternoon
Heidelberg City View
beautiful city
In Heidelberg we took a coach tour and visited the castle. It was up a very steep hill and the views were beautiful from the top.
This photo was taken from the castle grounds looking down on the city.
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY by YOGI_1
Make a Magnet at zazzle
Visit these lenses about Germany
Day Five
Rudesheim - Morning
Koblenz- Afternoon
Visiting Rudesheim and Cruising the Rhine
beautiful castles
After visiting the museum we strolled the streets visiting the shops and slowly making our way back to the cruise ship.
The afternoon was spent cruising the Rhine and enjoying all the sites the cruise manager pointed out. There were many castles on the hillsides and the ship also passed the Lorelei a legendary rock rising 440 feet above the river.
It was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon!
Rudesheim
Cruising the Rhine
views of the shoreline
Cruising the Rhine- Castles on Hill
Day Six
Cochem - Morning
Cologne- Afternoon
Cologne at Night
wonderful old cathedral
Castles of Germany
a wonderful tour of castles
Although I was able to see many of the castles on the Rhine River Cruise, I really only got up close to the Heidelberg castle. These lenses give you some views inside the castles and some great information on the history of the castles.
German Castles
Read about Germany before you Go
guidebooks are a great way to prepare for your trip
There have been many times when I've got back home and wished I had taken in a certain site. I always say "If only I'd known". I now try to prevent that by reading up on each area before I leave on the trip.
Frommer's guidebooks are a good source of information about an area.
Day Seven
Amsterdam, Holland
Amsterdam
a great city to visit
The tour ended at the Rijksmuseum and we went on a tour of the museum. It holds a great collection of some of the great Dutch and Flemish Masters.
Amsterdam Art Poster
Day Eight
Rotterdam
View from Top Deck of Cruise Ship
approaching the bridge at Rotterdam
Rotterdam is Holland's great port city. Rotterdam was bombed twice during the last World War and is now a thoroughly modern city.
We took a bus ride in Rotterdam and stopped to visit the Jenever Museum which is dedicated to the juniper brandy that is popular in many Dutch households. We got to sample some of the brandy at the end of our tour.
Holland Windmill
windmill note card
Day Nine
Delft
Delft, Holland
great Delft pottery
The city of Delft is also the birthplace of the famous painter Jan Vermeer. We took a walking tour of the city and I was delighted with the wonderful canals and the historic buildings. I had just read the book Girl with The Pearl Earring that takes place in Delft and I could just picture the events of the book taking place along the streets that I walked.
Canals in Delft
The Girl with the Pearl Earring
historical novel
It is a delightful book, and visiting Delft made me appreciate it even more.
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Deluxe Edition
Amazon Price: $4.74 (as of 06/04/2012)
Day Ten
Bruges, Belgium
Antwerp & Bruges
We spent the day exploring the town with it's beautiful historic buildings, walking past the canals, and eating at a restaurant right on the town square.
The next day we took a bus to the airport in Brussels for our long trip home.
We have a lot of wonderful memories from our trip and we hope we can go back and take another river cruise some day.
Have your ever taken a cruise?
I'd love to hear your comments
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WilliamPower
Apr 1, 2012 @ 5:48 pm | delete
- Yes we have! The Rhine River daytrip from Cologne to Bingen by train then on the cruise ship thru the gorge and castles back to Cologne. It was our 25th wedding anniversary. Stayed in Cologne across the street from the Cathedral. Also was in Belgium, Holland, Germany and France. This September 2012 will be our 60th wedding anniversary. It's been a while!
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poddys
Mar 18, 2012 @ 4:14 am | delete
- I haven't done much cruising, but the closest to this would be when we finished university, and 15 of us rented 2 motor boats and toured the Norfolk Broads, a large area of wetlands in Eastern England. It was a great 2 weeks, but the sun only shone 1 day. I would love to visit Germany, it's so different to the USA, and even to England. You must have wonderful memories of this trip.
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Have2Cruise
Jul 4, 2011 @ 1:06 am | delete
- What an awesome trip!
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ShamanicShift
Feb 14, 2011 @ 9:15 am | delete
- I drove near most of these places -- cruising would have been more relaxing -- blessed by a SquidAngel!
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puzzlemaker
Jan 23, 2011 @ 6:58 am | delete
- This looks like such a wonderful adventure. The places are beautiful. Your lens is very helpful for letting folks know what to expect on the cruise. This is now on my want-to-do list.
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by mbgphoto
I am a retired grandmother of four beautiful little girls. I enjoy photography, lighthouses, nature, baseball and reading good books. Squidoo is a gr... more »
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