Viking Grand European AMS-BUD Aug 2016 photo journal with pre-cruise Amsterdam

He pointed out the recently opened Roman Praetorium when we passed it, but when I wanted to find it later in the afternoon, I couldn't remember where it was. He had recommended that over the Roman-German Museum.

At the old Rathaus

Right next to the Rathaus, almost up against it, is an archeological dig of the old Jewish settlement. He continued leading us through the city until we finished at the cathedral. Our tour ended there and we had free time for the rest of the day. It was Sunday and services were being conducted, so no touring inside the Dom until later.

Behind the Dom.

They had to put a leash on one of the gargoyles.

I decided to walk back to the ship for lunch, but first I stopped at the train station hoping to find a store and pick up some Coke Light. I walked all along one arm of the station, but when I saw how huge it is and how many shops are in it, I gave up.

Today I ate lunch on the Aquavit Terrace. There isn't as much of a variety as there is in the restaurant, but they always have sandwiches, soup, and fruit. One day they had fajitas, another hot dogs, and another hamburgers. One of the sandwiches today was a tuna melt which I had with fries. They often had fries on the Aquavit Terrace.

Then back toward the cathedral

Farina 1709 museum and store. Since it was Sunday, the shops were closed unless they were part of a museum or souvenir shops.

I walked along a shopping street that would have been busy on any other day. Wouldn't you know, in one of the shop windows I saw a lovely pendant that was beautiful and affordable. Oh well. So I bought a pretzel. It was good but not any different from a pretzel I'd buy at home at the mall.

Eventually I made my way back to the Cathedral. I bought a brochure for one euro that had a floor plan with the location of important artifacts and a description of them. A few of them:

The Schmuckmaddona

Floor mosaic

St. Engelbert's tomb

Shrine of the Three Magi, dating from about 1190-1225, a time when every cathedral wanted saintly relics.

I didn't find an explanation for this casket, but I think it also held saintly bones.

The lower part of one of the stained glass windows.

The dom was dark, so this was the best picture I was able to get of the interior

From there I went to the nearby Romisch-Germanisches Museum

The Roman mosaic floor. You can look through the window from the outside and see this.

There was an extensive collection of glassware

On the second floor

By the way, the cost of the museum was 9 euros, cash only, no credit cards.

There were a lot of cemetery markers on the second floor

After a cathedral and a museum, it was time to relax. I'd had Kolsch beer when I was in Cologne previously, and I like it. I wanted to stop at Fruh, but the outdoor area was packed and there were people waiting, so I continued on. I stopped to have a Goffel Kolsch.

Taken from my seat at a table

I didn't know this when I ordered the beer, but I could have requested a smaller glass. I enjoyed sipping beer and watching people walk by, especially the women who were negotiating the cobblestones in very high heels with varying degrees of success.

On the way back to the riverfront. It was that kind of lazy day that had gone from sunny and warm to sunny and hot.

One more stop to make before I went back to the ship. I'd toured the Chocolate Museum two years ago, but I wanted to buy some candy from the gift shop. The gift shop is quite large and there's no cost to enter (only a cost to exit when you buy something).

An antique market was just closing as I got there.

On the way back to the ship with my chocolate purchases, I did manage to get a picture of the entire Viking Vili.

Across the river from where we're docked. Tour guide Marcus had said it's a great place to sit in the evening for a nice view of the city.

There had been other Viking-related activities that day. From 1:45-5:45 there was an optional excursion to see Bruhl UNESCO Palaces. And at 2:30 there was a presentation called "Germany Today" given by Marcus, our tour guide from this morning.

The daily briefing was at 6:45. PD Sam tells us about what we can expect tomorrow. Dinner followed at 7:00. Sam always introduced chef Johnny to tell us his recommendations for dinner. There was another optional tour at 7:00, Cologne's Beer Culture Dinner Tour. I took the tour two years ago when it was a visit to four brauhauses. This year it costs a little more but includes dinner and three brauhauses. Instead, I joined my friends in the dining room.

Buzz told us if we weren't hungry we could place a half order. Dee, El, and I sometimes did that with mixed results. At times it was a half order; other times it seemed to be a full order. Tonight I ordered swordfish as a half order, which it was, and it was very good. Topped off with a delicious cheese plate for dessert.

A quick trip to the top deck still trying to capture a sunset.

From there to the lounge at 9:00 for the onboard entertainment, "A Journey in Classical Music," performed by musicians from Cologne's Academy of Music and Dance and WDR Symphony Orchestra. It was an "ensemble of German, European and international classics in their amusing, inimitable style."

The piano player is barely visible behind a pole. They were fantastic. They played Oppenheimer, Mozart, Strauss, classical pieces that most people would recognize, if not by name. Then they played a little modern music. They were so good Dee and I bought their CD.

Cast off was at 11:00 pm, and as I left my room to go to the top deck, I met the 90 year old man who was happy to have found where the ice machine was. He looks a lot like Matlock. We discovered that he enlisted in the military the year I was born.

Last photos of Cologne from the top deck.

I previously mentioned how the night before when I was on the top deck I saw a fireworks display and a blue bridge that became purple. Dee sent me the photos she took from their balcony.

I like this one because it shows one of the boats that were out to see the fireworks.

A photo of the blue bridge in Wesel from the internet

And Dee's picture after we'd passed under it.

Koblenz and castle viewing

The Vili arrived in Koblenz while I was at breakfast. The dining room was slow to fill up this morning. Probably late nights for most plus the first tour doesn't start until 9:45. It was another bright, sunny day. The first tour to leave was the optional tour to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. The included tour to Marksburg Castle left at 10 am. We were warned that there are a lot of cobblestones and uneven ground, so you should be in good physical condition to participate in this tour.

The Deutches Eck where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers join. The statue of Wilhelm I looks over all.

The light is not good, but the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress is on the opposite bank, high above. A gondola provides one form of transportation to it.

A very brief walk through town led us to the busses that will take us to Marksburg.

At Marksburg, we were led up (and up) a switchback to the top. One woman who used a cane had to stop about halfway to rest. Once at the top there were picnic tables and a gift shop.

We had a great view from there.

I was there.

Waiting our turn

Our group was the second to enter the castle. A big key unlocks the castle door.

Once inside, we were given an explanation of the various families who owned the castle. Their crests were along the wall.

We had a steep walk up to the next level.

The walk up led us to where there are cannons

Walking along the outside of the castle wall

More great views

We could see the Viking Vili. We'd be boarding it in Braubach.

Looking up at the castle. The dark part is the garderrobe, or toilet. It was supposed to empty right into the river, so at one time I guess the river was a little closer. If it were in use now, you wouldn't want to walk under it.

The wine making room

We saw the kitchen

A bedroom

The doorways were a little low

Tapestries

The chapel

We climbed a narrow spiral staircase, then down another staircase to get to the room that had a museum of armor, showing armor through the ages. Our castle guide stands in the corner telling us about it.

We also saw a room containing instruments of torture. Then it was time to leave.

We were walking toward the switchback to go back down to get to the busses when some of us spotted the staircase. It was a much faster way to go down.

We got back on the busses and were driven to Braubach where our ship was waiting. We were offered a small drink they called "Summer Breeze," like fruit punch. Everyone headed right to the dining room (or the Aquavit Terrace). One of the couples at our table had a river map of the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise that they'd purchased at reception. It showed towns, some mile markers, and locks. I bought one and was very glad I did. It was easy to follow and interesting to see where we were on the map.

One of the lunch offerings today was fettuccini with mussels. A chef was cooking it up right at the buffet table and you could order there or ask your waiter to get it for you. There were many lunches after that featuring a special pasta.

Time must have gotten away from us while we were talking at the table because suddenly we were starting the castle viewing. It was on the schedule for 2:30 to 3:30, but it must have started as soon as we sailed from Braubach (but without commentary) since Marksburg Castle would have been the first.

I keep comparing with the Rhine Getaway I did two years ago. Then castle viewing was in the morning and lasted for three hours. We were also given a map of the castles so we could follow along. I didn't see any castle maps this time, but I might have missed them. The program director two years ago had a lot of amusing stories in between castles and she had named every castle. Maybe PD Sam was not that interested in castles.

This was the first I saw but I don't know which one it is

In addition to the castles, there were a lot of interesting small towns we cruised past.

It was beautiful weather, although the chairs in the shade under the canopy were snapped up quickly. No shade in front of the wheel house but the best viewing.

PD Sam talking about castles

So loving your review and pictures. Brings back great memories and some places our cruise didn't cover.

So loving your review and pictures. Brings back great memories and some places our cruise didn't cover.

Thanks, Got2Cruise. I agree that planning a cruise is fun, although I don't know that I'd say it was half the fun.

We're coming up to a castle.

I think this is Maus Castle

Castle

Here is Katz Castle

The Loreley statue

The Vili made a brief stop for supplies

Then castle viewing continued. Commentary had ended though. PD Sam worked hard and often seemed to be in two places at once. My only disappointment was with the castle commentary, since castle viewing is one of my favorite things.

At 3:30 when the commentary ended, a demonstration on making Rudesheim coffee started in the lounge. Enough people left that I was finally able to take a seat in the shade to continue my viewing.

Something I wondered about when we passed these hilly vineyards was how in the world people could work in them without falling down the hill.

Pfalz Castle. It's on a little island.

Beach fun

And campers

Sooneck Castle

I was enjoying the scenery too much to see what was offered during German Teatime at 3:30. I wanted to stay on the top deck until we passed Rudesheim, but at 5:30 I decided I had to get ready for dinner.

My entrée tonight was turbot with mashed potatoes and broccoli and the cheese plate for dessert.

A couple we hadn't sat with before joined us for dinner because they wanted to be in Buzz's station. Toward the end of dinner, we started going through the first lock (at least the first day time lock). Dee and El invited me to their balcony to see the lock. I accepted with delight since I'd been curious about their room. Their cabin had enough room for a table and a chair with two chairs and a table on the balcony.

Looking down at the lock from the balcony.

When I got back to my room, I saw Viking had given me a shot glass as a gift for being in the Explorer Society (a repeat customer) and an invitation to an exclusive cocktail party on the Aquavit Terrace. Unfortunately, it was for 6:15 pm today so I missed it. I don't know how I missed seeing the invitation earlier. It would have been interesting.

About 11:00 we started passing through Frankfurt. I took a few pictures of lighted buildings or monuments, but they're blurred. Guess my camera was as tired as I was.

Chairs, tables, etc. on the top deck have been dismantled, the rails are down, and while we are on the Main River, we won’t be able to sit on the sun deck. Too many low bridges when we go through locks. We went through a lock while we were at breakfast. We were slowly being raised.

I joined other passengers on the third deck balcony and took a few pictures while we were in a lock.

After that I went into the lounge where I sat with Dee and El in comfortable seats with a good view. It was an interesting morning going through locks and seeing all the campers along the side of the river. Most of my photos of the campers have reflections from the window, but a couple are okay.

Almost all of the campers had satellite dishes.

Last night there had been a trivia quiz in the lounge and this morning at 10:00, Sam had organized a line dancing class. There was good participation, but I have a better time looking at the scenery as it rolls by.

Rolling hills, a vineyard, and sheds

Before lunch, I had to go out to the "public" balcony to see another lock.

It was a nice, leisurely morning, but naturally we were all ready for lunch. The appetizer offerings for lunch today.

The minestrone soup. The soups that I tried were on the watery side.

As we were nearing Miltenberg, we passed this resort.

We were scheduled to arrive in Miltenberg at 2:00 with the included walking tour set for 2:30, but we arrived early.

Coming in to Miltenberg

Our tour guides are already there waiting.

Lowering the gangplank

It was announced that we were leaving on our walking tour immediately, although since no one had been prepared, I don't think we were all assembled on shore until the stated tour time anyway. Our ship has to go through six locks to get to Wertheim where we will meet it. We were told that from Amsterdam to Budapest, the ship will go through 67 (or was that 68?) locks.

On shore, waiting for the groups.

Our first stop was at the flood wall where our guide pointed out the high water mark.

She also pointed out the rest rooms. I liked the sign.

A quiet start

We hit the main street. It became busier quickly.

Gasthaus Zum Riesen, the oldest inn in Germany

Entrance to underground well, only one left of many

The old Rathaus

An interesting fountain in the town square

Cherubs on the fountain, but one is being naughty and isn't facing us