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Uniworld, SS Antoinette – Basel to Amsterdam 3/30/14 on Tape Delay


jpalbny
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Finally getting around to starting this trip log / review – we've been back home just about a week and we are still reminiscing about what a great time we had!

 

A little background – we're mid-40s, first European River cruise (tried twice previously, we backed out once, and got flooded out another time) with our only other river cruise being on the Nile with A&K on a 30 passenger boat. We have cruised a lot on ocean ships and have worked our way up to smaller ships on more luxurious lines (our current favorite is Silversea though we like Oceania too).

 

We booked this River Cruise kind of last minute (which is odd for us) in January of this year, because we had expiring time share points to use, and we were able to convert them into a discounted cruise fare through Interval International; this was the best fit with our schedules. Whatever we gained on the cruise fare, though, we gave back elsewhere because for some reason, we got clobbered with expensive airfare... But – we were going to Europe for a week so we couldn't complain!

 

We left on a Friday night and arrived in Zurich Saturday morning, giving ourselves an extra day before embarkation on Sunday. The expensive airfare worked like a charm and we even arrived early, somewhat rested, and ready to go! We managed to stay awake the whole day and enjoyed the beautiful weather, which made the natural setting of Zurich look even prettier.

 

But wow, Zurich is expensive! Luckily, we were able to use points for the Park Hyatt Zurich because standard rooms were running about $1000 per night! Prices may have been artificially inflated because there was a huge watch and jewelry expo (Basel World) going on in Basel, and the entire city was booked full. But Zurich was a fine place to spend the day/night, and we had rented a car for the trip to Basel the next day. After an early dinner, with a surprisingly good bottle of Swiss Malbec, we slept very well.

 

Sunday 3/30

 

We slept well and were up by 8, ready to leave by 9. No breakfast today; still full from last night's dinner! We decided to head for Basel and stop at Augusta Raurica, a Roman settlement on the Rhine with a museum and several open-air exhibits. This was quite nicely done and we spent the whole morning here. The weather was stunning – again – with clear skies and bright sunshine; the trees are budding / blooming and the grass is green! So nice to see signs of Spring!

 

Here is the Roman Theater, reconstructed somewhat:

 

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And here's our first glance of the Rhine, from the edge of the settlement:

 

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After that, it was off to the Basel airport to drop off our car and get a transfer to the ship – we had to give them a phantom flight number and time in order to get a transfer. Disclosure: transfers with Uniworld are included to/from the airport on embarkation/disembarkation day – even if you buy your own airfare – which is really nice! But they are a bit persnickety about it! When I first called, I told them I would be returning a rental car to the airport at 1:00, could we join their transfer? And they said, No, only if you're flying in... So, I called again a few days later, and gave them the info for a flight that happened to land at 1:30 – problem solved!

 

We got there and of course, had a tough time finding the rental car return - “Mietwagen” in German. After a few wrong turns and backtracking, we parked the car and wandered into the arrivals hall. We had to wait a few minutes but did find the Uniworld rep, and were transferred to the ship without a problem.

 

Check-in was reasonably fast, and we were shown to our room shortly. We dumped our carry-on luggange, had some lunch on the outside deck, and were ready to head over to Basel after that – to see what we could squeeze into a few short hours. The nearest tram stop is less than 10 minutes from the ship, and I was able to use my chip-enabled Visa (and I did have to use my PIN as well) to buy tram tickets from the ticket kiosk.

 

We climbed the tower of the Munster (of course) - though we say we do it for the views, we really do it for the exercise, and to prove to ourselves that we still can:

 

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Saw picturesque architecture, beautiful bridges spanning the Rhine:

 

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And a nice renaissance-era public fountain:

 

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We enjoyed the visit – one interesting thing that was going on today was a lot of parades in the streets – it seemed every few minutes there would be another group marching by playing loud music – very festive! With the great weather, it's hard to believe that there was snow on the front lawn back home when we left on Friday.

 

There was no time to stop at any of the museums, though, which was disappointing. Back to the ship for the safety drill, welcome talk, and then dinner. So far the food has been quite nice – it reminds us of Silversea in quality, though the variety isn't quite as extensive. The included wines are local and so far, quite tasty.

 

After dinner, some dancing in the lounge with a duo that plays good dance music, and then off to bed. The dance floor is actually very spacious for a river boat – so far, this cruise has been really nice!

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JP & Chris

My wife and I are taking the same cruise in July only leaving from Amsterdam. We are both 50. Did you find you were on the young end of the spectrum? Also did you take any of the optional tours or just the provided tours? If so, do you think they were worth it? Any other information about the excursions would be helpful as I've found very little available on CC or other sites.

 

As a side note, I'm looking at a Med cruise with Oceania on the Riviera next. I see you like Oceania. My only concern is that I read review that the demographics are quite old with them. Any thoughts??

 

Brian

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JP & Chris

My wife and I are taking the same cruise in July only leaving from Amsterdam. We are both 50. Did you find you were on the young end of the spectrum? Also did you take any of the optional tours or just the provided tours? If so, do you think they were worth it? Any other information about the excursions would be helpful as I've found very little available on CC or other sites.

 

As a side note, I'm looking at a Med cruise with Oceania on the Riviera next. I see you like Oceania. My only concern is that I read review that the demographics are quite old with them. Any thoughts??

 

Brian

 

On this sailing, we were not the youngest, but certainly on the lower side of the median age. Most everyone younger than us was traveling as part of multi-generational family groups, however - with parents, and some with grandparents too. So they tended to stick with their family groups.

 

We had OBC from Amex Platinum and were able to take 2 optional excursions each with the amount they gave us. They were cheap - about E40 and E60 each - and somewhat worth it - though not so much different from the included excursions. Details of all excursions to follow with the individual days' postings.

 

The demographic of O was definitely older, though we last sailed with them in 2008. However, it was a demographic of well-traveled, very friendly people whom we really enjoyed spending time with. Even though we were still under 40, back in the day when we sailed with them, we never felt out of place and had a blast.

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Monday, 3/31 – Briesach

 

We had departed from Basel at midnight, as we only have a short distance to travel to Breisach. There are two choices for the included tour today: a visit to Collmar, or a visit to two of the Alsatian wine villages; both tours are on the French side of the Rhine. We're docking on the German side of the Rhine, in Briesach – more on this nice town later, after lunch.

 

We're excited for this because we are familiar with Alsatian wines and know the varietals well; they are similar to what's grown in the Finger Lakes back home. So we went with the Alsatian wine villages tour, even though both options look very nice.

 

We saw two very charming small towns – First is Kayserberg which is built along a small river, surrounded by forested hills – very picturesque, and so quaint. The scenery with surrounding hills is beautiful, and it looks like spring already! Look at the forsythia in full bloom, and all of the spring flowers - we still have snow on the ground at home and not a hint of spring...

 

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We looked at some of the restaurant menus and bakeries as we wandered the streets - the cuisine looks more German than French, and the wines are as well. The half-timbered houses also remind us of our trip to Bavaria last year:

 

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The history of this region is fascinating in regard to how many times it's changed hands, having been claimed by either France or Germany – no wonder it's confusing as to what country you're really in! We decided to buy some chocolate as it was still too early for wine. We sat by the fountain at the church, enjoying the sunshine and the architecture before getting ready for the next stop.

 

CC%252003a%2520Kayserberg-3.jpg

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JP, Chris and Brian, thanks JP for the great post with pics! Brian, my hubby and I are going on Uniworld, River Princess June 7 - 21st; Amsterdam to Budapest.

I am 59, hubby 61, active and tennis players. We also booked this rather suddently, and am looking forward to business class air, which we have never done and hopefully will arrive a little more rested. Did you ever take the bikes??

Did you notice any bridge players and is there a card room? I see there is a dry sauna, but saw one post of steam room. Anyone know if River Princess does have a steam room?

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Tazisrose, we never took the bikes though plenty of others did. They seemed to enjoy it, and there always seemed to be enough. They ask that you reserve them the night before so that they will be sure to have the bikes available for you - the crew will have them waiting for you at the gangway.

 

Never noticed a specific card room on SS Antoinette, but was not looking for one either.

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Monday, 3/31 continued:

 

After making our way back to the bus for a short ride, the next stop was Riquewihr – this city is built on a slope and still has a large portion of the original city wall intact - as you can see on the right side of this picture:

 

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We did a short tour with our guide, climbing to the top of the city and then we walked back down on our own. The architecture is similar here, but there isn't a river that's integrated into the town as there is in Kayserberg. The buildings seem taller and a little closer set together, with narrower streets.

 

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The post office is particularly pretty - even from the back!

 

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As it was almost noon, we decided to visit a wine shop for a tasting and ended up buying a tasty Reisling for under €10. After some more time enjoying the beautiful spring weather, and the vineyards, it was back to the bus for the trip back to Breisach and some lunch. All this hard work was making us hungry!

 

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3/31 - Part 3, Breisach:

 

Back to the ship for lunch then free time in Breisach, on the German side – which was also scenic and worth the visit. We climbed to the cathedral, and enjoyed views of the Spring landscape, with the hills of the Black Forest in the distance:

 

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There's also a guard tower in the middle of the street, looking a little out of place in this quiet town:

 

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We wandered some of the rest of the city for an hour or so, ending up along the Rhine where there's a “Rhine Palace” and a nice riverside promenade.

 

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After getting back to the boat, we considered taking bicycles out but decided to rest up for dinner instead. We relaxed in our suite, and enjoyed our bottle of Tattinger champagne that had come along with our other AMEX Platinum benefits. We sailed from Breisach around 4, and it was nice to have our open-air balcony and enjoy the scenery.

 

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We did go through a lock which was quite tight; we could reach out our window and touch the edges!

 

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Tonight was the Captain's welcome reception and dinner – it was a fancy 7-course affair with a fixed menu, but there were two entree choices for variety. The food was very well done, but the meal went on for a long time - too much wine, and more than we really needed to eat. Because we ate so much, we stayed up late dancing in the lounge with a local entertainer who's joined us for a few days. His name is Andreas, and he's playing on an acoustic guitar! An interesting way to do ballroom dance, but we figured we needed the exercise, so we went with the flow and had fun anyway! Hope we're not too tired for another day of touring tomorrow...

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JP, Chris and Brian, thanks JP for the great post with pics! Brian, my hubby and I are going on Uniworld, River Princess June 7 - 21st; Amsterdam to Budapest.

I am 59, hubby 61, active and tennis players. We also booked this rather suddently, and am looking forward to business class air, which we have never done and hopefully will arrive a little more rested. Did you ever take the bikes??

Did you notice any bridge players and is there a card room? I see there is a dry sauna, but saw one post of steam room. Anyone know if River Princess does have a steam room?

 

JPalbny - Really enjoying the review - eager for the next installment!!! Thanks so much for taking the time for this.

 

Tazisrose - we're on the River Princess on the cruise just before yours - we will be arriving in Amsterdam on the 7th so as we're departing the ship we'll pass you on the gangway as you arrive! Then we're staying on a houseboat for 4 more days in Amsterdam. Are you as excited as we are about the cruise?!

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Tuesday, 4/1 – Kehl

 

Today we're docked on the German side (again) but visiting Strasbourg in France. This is the capital of Alsace-Lorraine, and it is situated on the river Ill, which has several arms which flow through the city; these are further supplemented by manmade canals. It sounds really neat!

 

We're a little tired after last night, and still not hungry, so just some coffee for breakfast before jumping on the bus for our city tour. There are two options today for the included tour: We chose the walking tour of Strasbourg, with some free time afterward. Between the river and the canals, the city can also be visited by water – so the other tour option is a canal boat tour. In the early morning light the river is still, and the views from the many bridges are gorgeous in either direction:

 

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We started in the “little France” section which was where the leather-workers used to practice their trade – on the edge of town on a river bank (to contain the smell, and allow the waste products to be washed away easily). Though it looks idyllic now, I can imagine that it must have been pretty stinky in the olden days with the tanning hides stuffed in the attic, festering away in the heat of summer...

 

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We wandered through some narrow streets; I had to wait a while for the garbage truck to move so I could get a picture of this nice-looking restaurant. The architecture is gorgeous, and the old buildings have lots of charm - many of them are no longer perfectly straight nor square:

 

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This street was interesting; there were banners for each of the guilds. This section, with the wine makers and butchers, sound like a nice place for a break - and there's ice cream for dessert!

 

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We ended up in Place Gutenberg, where there is a statue in his honor - he's holding a book on which is inscribed, "Et la lumière fut" which is from the Old Testamant - and there was light.

 

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4/1 Kehl/Strasbourg, part 2

 

Then, through some more narrow streets to the Cathedral – which has a very tall spire, and a very complicated astronomical clock inside. I'm sure we're going to end up climbing this church tower... The question is, when?

 

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In addition to the clock, there are several organs in the cathedral; here's one of them on the right:

 

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We had some free time to wander the streets, and find an ATM which we did – lots of branches of the “right” bank in this city – BofA has an agreement with BNP Paribas where we don't pay any ATM fees to withdraw from their French branches, so we finally repleted our dwindling stash of Euros. Walking the streets here can make one hungry!

 

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The decorations and the food are very creative - this guy on the left is climbing the building while his ladle drips chocolate, and on the right, this pretzel sandwich in the shape of a turtle was pretty cute. We're finally getting a twinge of hunger, so back to the bus for the ride home for lunch!

 

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So far we've been pleased with the included tours – they all use local tour guides who speak English flawlessly, and have great insight into their home regions. The Uniworld bus is spacious and comfortable as well. We are having a great time! I'm loving Alsace-Lorraine, with its perfect mix of French and German culture, food, wine...

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I hope you had a chance to sample Tarte flambée in Strasbourg (or somewhere in Alsace).

 

Got2Cruise: it's worth going off your diet for!!!

 

Jazzbeau: why do you think we were so keen to climb the church spire?

 

Agree that it is worth going off your diet - it was really tasty... Will have to make one at home some day after I buy stock in a Lipitor factory!

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4/1 Kehl/Strasbourg, Part 3

 

After a light lunch, we caught a 2PM shuttle back to Strasbourg for some independent sightseeing - we had enjoyed the morning there and wanted to see more. There was an optional excursion to the Black Forest this afternoon but we want to visit that another time, when we can spend a longer time there on our own.

 

We didn't have a tour guide but I've come up with a way to get mobile maps – I connect my phone to the ship's wi-fi, and open Google Maps. Once there, I go to the city we're touring that day, and cache the map of that area – now I have a map with a GPS locator, so no getting lost. But, things are well-labeled in Strasbourg, so no worries!

 

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We tried to climb the spire of the church, but it was closed for 30 minutes unexpectedly, so we decided to wander. There is a nice public square (Place de la République) just outside of the old town. This statue represents a mother who has lost two sons, one fighting for France and the other for Germany. A sad reminder of how many times this region has changed hands:

 

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There were some more nice views along the arms of the Ill river - here's one of the canal boat tours:

 

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This part of town with a beautifully decorated bridge, and houses reflected in the canal, was picturesque:

 

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4/1 Kehl/Strasbourg, last part!

 

When we returned to the church the spire was open, so we climbed that for some views. It's pretty tall and the views are excellent on this gorgeous sunny day! This is as high as you can go:

 

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Now after burning all of those calories, we climbed down, looking a little hungry, I might add!

 

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We decided to wander the city looking for a tarte flambée, but most of the places were not serving as it was after 4PM, between lunch and dinner, and most of the kitchens are closed. So for a while, it looked like we'd just have to view more houses and canals!

 

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Finally we found a place to sit, have some Alsatian beer and wine, and try the local gastronomic specialty.

 

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Tarte flambée is a very thin-crust pizza spread with thinly sliced onions, lardons of bacon, and some crème fraiche. It's delicious, and was a good idea after our light lunch. Best of all, it's very low in calories (not)...!

 

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Dinner tonight was quite nice; they made some incredible lamb chops that were tender, cooked medium-rare, and not at all gamy. So far we've been really happy with the food, which is of a high quality. Lunch buffets are quite tasty, and dinner is very nice as well. The included wines are not bad either; they are all local.

 

The difference that we see between this cruise and the larger ocean cruises is in the variety of choices available. The lunch buffet has maybe 3 - 4 entrees; the dinner menu has 2 starters, 2 soups, and 3 entrees of which one is vegetarian. So far we've not had any trouble finding things we like but there is always salmon and steak available if not.

 

After dinner they had a local band onboard for dancing; they were enjoyable but we were still pretty tired so we didn't last much after 10PM. Off to bed to rest up for a full day tomorrow!

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Dear up no a buyout lovely wife. We are all enjoying your roll call blog and your pictures. You mentioned running out of euros. We are going on a 15 day from Amsterdam to Budapest. How much in euros did you project to take? Gratuities and drinks are included....but is it still customary to.tip crew more. What about guides?

Any bridge players on your trip? Helpful tips appreciated. Keep having a brand time. Hap and Erika Parkes going uniworld June 7

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Thanks, Tazisrose. We only ran out of euros because we had very few left over from our last trip. We tend to withdraw a bunch when we find the right bank, and use them on subsequent trips if we come home with extra.

 

Since we started off with only about €20 from last trip, we knew that we'd run out... You don't need tons of cash - we used it mainly when out on our own, for small food items and to climb church towers. We have a bunch left over for the next trip in 4 weeks.

 

Most all of your gift shopping can be paid for by credit card, if you'd prefer. Whatever works best for you. I doubt we used more than €150 in cash the whole trip. The all-inclusive cruise is really nice!

 

We found that nobody was expecting a tip at all. Not the staff, not the local guides, not anyone. We did not meet any bridge players, but that doesn't mean much because we weren't looking.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Forums mobile app

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We were away for the weekend but I'll get back to the trip report now!

 

Wednesday 4/2 – Mannheim

 

Today we're docking in Mannheim but visiting Speyer, and we're also taking an optional excursion to Heidelberg - for a visit to both the city and the castle. This optional excursion is €59 per person; since we had OBC of €105 per person it was a good way to use a portion of it.

 

First up for the morning is the visit to Speyer, about 30 minutes south. This looks like a really nice small town - the buildings were pretty, and it was another beautiful day - we were tempted to just go off on our own exploring...

 

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But, we stayed with the group and we felt a strange combination of being too rushed, and too slow! Because we only had about 2 hours to spend here, we would have liked a more brisk pace, yet our walking tour took an hour and didn't really see too much. Our tour guide was a retired Lt. Colonel from the German Army and he kept trying to move the group along faster, but people were taking their time today.

 

I should mention that every morning, you go by the front desk and pick up numbered tags which correspond to the group you'd like to be on for the walking tours. There are 4-5 groups, and one is designated a “leisurely” walking group. However, it's left to the honor system whether or not you pick the leisurely group or not.

 

We spent the first hour on a walking tour of the city – which covered only a very short distance. We saw the old Jewish quarter, with the ruins of the synagogue and the ritual bath:

 

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There is the Reformed church, with a really nice interior:

 

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and the Cathedral - that looks like something we'll have to climb!

 

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An interesting story about the basin in front of the cathedral. Every new bishop of Speyer has to fill the basin with wine for the townspeople, in celebration of his appointment! We are told that the current bishop of Speyer is young and healthy, so the townspeople are fervently praying that he is promoted to Cardinal soon...

 

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Wednesday, 4/2 - Speyer part 2:

 

Afterwards we decided to climb the cathedral tower in our small amount of free time, but we had to wait until 11 when the next group was allowed in – we spent a few minutes exploring the church crypt while waiting.

 

Once we got to the tower, it turned out that it was a guided tour that was shaping up to take way too much time! We explained our time constraints to the guide who let us up in the tower, so we had a few minutes to make the climb, enjoy the view, and then rush down to the bus. A little more hectic that we would have liked, but the view was really nice:

 

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It's a shame we didn't have more time here. We could have come back in the afternoon, as Uniworld was running a few shuttles here for independent touring in the afternoon. But then we would have missed Heidelberg - too many choices, too little time, I guess! It's all nice, though!

 

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