AnotherDawn

I was very pleased with the Moevenpick. It's nice and the staff seems to care. They must deal with the tourist grind day in and day out there, it is a large hotel and they churn through thousands of Viking passengers. Every employee we dealt with was polite and helpful. I have been in tourist hotels where you knew you weren't really welcome and the front desk didn't care because they knew you'd be gone in the morning.

Our room was a standard American size, with a sofa, a desk, and two beds pushed together in the middle, done in Euro minimalist decor. It was clean, comfortable, spacious enough, and we had a nice view of the city.

After dark we asked downstairs about places to eat. We wanted some place with traditionally Dutch food, but the recommended ones were further into the city than we wanted to go, and also very expensive. So we walked over to a place called Vapiano, which is a cafeteria style Italian restaurant very near the hotel. Our guide had pointed it out earlier and said it was popular with younger people. And indeed it was. It was packed, but the food and prices looked good so we got in line. The way they operate is there is a line for each type of food, salads, soups, pizza, pasta, etc. You pick a line and wait your turn to order, then carry it back to a communal table. I got a chopped salad big enough for 4, and DH got in line for a pizza. Both were very good, the pizza especially if you like traditional thin crust style. My only complaint was drinks were hard to get, as you had to wait in line, and everything was bottled. There were no servers going around topping off water glasses like we are used to at home.

Day Eight: Departure and Amsterdam

Some time in the night we arrived in Amsterdam. My first look out was at the cruise ship parked next to us. Lights on, curtains open, everything in full view. Many of the passengers there were doing what we were doing, waking up, getting dressed and packing.

Would have liked to sleep in but we had to put bags out before 7am.

The day before we had all been given a schedule, which listed room numbers, departure times, and when to be out front for our 'transfers'. Fortunately we were not among those who had an early departure, but I was glad to see they started serving breakfast at 4am for those who had to be up really early.

We ate and removed to the lounge for a couple of hours until our bus came. Viking wants you out of your room by 9am, so they can start turning them over for arriving passengers.

We opted for the extra 2 days in Amsterdam. I wasn't sure what was involved there, and didn't really care, as I had my own plans, but from what I can tell we paid for the room, a walking tour, and the advice of the Viking concierge. Oh, and the limo ride to the airport. So, if you're staying on for Amsterdam, have some idea what you want to do there, because you have a lot of free time.

Arrival at the Moevenpick was chaos. Two or three different tour groups showed up around the same time, all were trying to get registered and find their guide. The lobby is fairly large, but the guides parked just inside the entrance, which blocked up the doors...

We were supposed to have been given papers that had our itinerary and transfers, but we did not have that, so DH went off to take care of that while I guarded our bags. Viking takes your suitcases to the hotel, but they suggest you carry all valuables with you. Plus you aren't going to be able to get into a room until after 3pm, so you want to have whatever you need with you during the day. And then we had been souvenir shopping and some of the extra was in my day bag. If I had it to do over, I would force more stuff into my luggage, just for the day, instead of schlepping it all over the city.

So DH got us straightened out and we found our guide and got our radios and escaped to the street out front for some air.

The walking tour of the old city lasts about an hour, it starts at the hotel, which is about ten minutes from the city center, and ends up at Dam square. Part of the walk from the hotel goes through a waterfront area that some of the older tourists described as "pretty dodgy", but really it's just an industrial area near the highway that you walk under. DH and I went through several times, including at night, and it is reasonably safe (as much as any city can be) and lots of locals walk and bike through, too. Besides, all the druggies, pickpockets and hookers are in another part of the city.

Our guide seemed very knowledgeable both about the history of the city and modern life there. She took us up and down several streets, pointing out canals, houseboats, historic buildings, markets etc. It was pretty quick paced, and I wish it had been a little slower. Some places we barely had time to snap a picture before being hustled along. Would have liked to spend some time in the flower market, for example. By the way, if you do become tempted by the bulbs for sale there, be aware that they need to have a special inspection sticker for import into the US or customs will seize them.

We did not go through the red light district but we had glimpses of it down the side streets. Our guide explained that marijuana was NOT legal in the Netherlands, but that they have a lenient policy towards it. As long as the police don't get called, and nobody gets hurt, and it's not interrupting normal business then they look the other way. Cops got more important things to do than arrest potheads.

The guide left us in Dam square, which is huge. There's a palace, and a church and a lot of tourist shops and people, and I was too tired and hungry to care. I had seen some signs for broodjies (sandwiches) along the way, so after we handed in our radios we went in search of them. Sadly, we got a little lost --all those canals start to look alike after a while-- but I did find a frites shop and we had a snack, followed by a couple of Singapore chicken curry broodjies and an Orangina a little while later.

Ein frites wit mayo:

Do try the frites. They're not your standard american french fries.

It was still only about noon, so we decided to wander and do a little window shopping. Sometime around 1pm I decided I needed a coffee, so we asked at one souvenir shop. You've probably heard that in Amsterdam "coffee house" is slang for "pot shop", so the clerk was careful to ask us what kind of "coffee" we were looking for, which we found hilarious because we do not fit the stereotype. We found a square with several cafes, but being mid afternoon and very pretty out, the tables were all full, so we wandered a little more until I just could not stand it anymore, then and then on our way back to the hotel we stumbled into Rembrandt Square and there was an empty table.

By the time we were done there it was close to 3pm so we went back to the hotel and got checked in and went up to our room. I still had a raging head cold and had been on my feet the better part of 4 hours, so I was ready for a long nap. Which we did.

Kinderdjyk

We arrived in the village of Kinderdjyk late in the afternoon. It's a really tiny village. I would have liked to explore it a little, but was feeling fatigued from my cold.

The ship docks right at the windmill park. We were divided into our usual 4 groups, however unlike other stops each group went out one at a time instead of all at once. I learned that our group was not scheduled to leave for the tour for another 45 minutes and said 'screw it' and we just went down the ramp to see the sights on our own.

Once in port Viking does not restrict you from leaving the ship on your own, you aren't required to take the tours, you are pretty much free to do what you like as long as you are back before they sail. I even saw one couple who went overnight to visit German friends and met up with the ship at the next port the following day.

I was a little disappointed with the windmills, mostly with the 'museum'. I was hoping for some history or detailed information, but it was just one of the windmills set up like it was being lived in. I've seen the inside of a windmill and it's not that interesting, and it's cramped, too, especially with your whole tour group trying to get in at once. They charge 6 or 7 euro to get in the 'museum' if you're not with your tour group, so beware that if you go on your own.

Right off the ship there is a little cafe and gift shop, which everyone went into first, so it was crammed with people. Part of the way down the walk is another cafe and a smaller gift shop. The second one is cheaper, but carries less stuff. The first shop is where you can rent bicycles, I think it was 3 eu an hour, and several people seemed to be enjoying them.

We walked down to the end of the paved area, at the end of which is another windmill you can go into. Also from that point, if you look off into the nearby fields you'll note the water level around the farmed land is about 4ft lower than the water in the canals next to you.

There really is not a lot going on at Kinderdjyk. We took a leisurely walk, and by the time we turned around our tour group was just getting started and we had the gift shop to ourselves.

We took another nap before packing.

Dinner that night was the Captain's Dinner and farewell. I don't remember the entire menu, but it was an abbreviated one, and most people seemed to be ordering the pot roast. The pot roast was much better than the steak from the night before. Also, I'm not sure why, but dinner seemed to take an unusually long time. I think we were there 3 hours instead of the usual 2.

[i don't know what's going on, I can't get images to post, all of a sudden. ]

Thanks Mimmy, I enjoyed reading your review, too. It really helped me get a sense of what to expect on our trip. :)

Day Seven: Kinderdijk

At daybreak we were well underway and no longer on the Rhine. Some time in the night the ship had sailed into the Netherlands and their canal system. We had also been given our departing instructions, including orders to pack and have our bags ready by 7am the following morning.

It was a slow morning. We had breakfast, and lounged. Sometime during the week I picked up a head cold, along with a bunch of other people on board, so all I really wanted to do was sleep. At one point I went down for some hot tea and caught the middle of the presentation on the Dutch, followed by the cheese tasting. It was interesting, I wish I had heard all of it. And the cheese was very good. I would have liked to bring it all home in my suitcase.

Afterward we watched scenery. Sturdy Dutch horses:

Cows:

The occasional windmill or town in the distance:

Lots of ship traffic, large and small:

We had lunch from the terrace, as they were serving both chili dogs and cheese soup, some of my husband's favorites. With my head blocked up I was really in the mood for soup, I think I had about 3 bowls of it.

After lunch there was another presentation on water management in the Netherlands, which we also found interesting.

Day Six: Cologne

The morning dawned cool and foggy again, but cleared up beautifully as the sun rose during breakfast. The ship arrived in Cologne around 9am and we had our first views of the Cathedral. I was a little sad to see Cologne because I knew it would be our last stop in Germany.

The ship docked and we walked along the waterfront to get to the tour buses that would take us into the city. Once again DH and I were with the "slow" group. Unfortunately our guide was a lively young woman who walked quickly and kept leaving people farther and farther behind.

We got a short tour of the old city, starting at the Cathedral. Our guide explained to us that they have services six times a day and that they close the church to visitors half an hour before hand. At the end of our walk we would have a short time to see the interior before the service.

The Cologne cathedral plaza is much like the one in Strausburg, crowds of people, vendors, and a few gypsies. I spotted a couple hustlers moving among the tourists, fast talking and with pockets full of trinkets to sell.

My husband's camera had died the day before, so I gave him mine at the start of the tour, and three minutes later it died. So we have no pictures of the old city. The walk is lovely, it goes down along the river, you see some new buildings and some very old, and the guide took us by the public restrooms where we sorted out all our pocket change so those who needed to could see them.

After the tour we went into the Cathedral to look around. There were a lot of beautiful windows and sculptures and things to look at but we were happy just to sit in one place for a while. At this point in the trip my feet were killing me. After about 15 minutes they made the announcement that they would be closing for services and people started to leave. They also said that tourists were welcome to remain for the service but that we must be quiet and respectful and not take photos. As we left I saw that they had erected a barricade just inside the door and it was manned by several clergy members who were turning people back outside.

I went looking for help with my camera, ran into our guide again and she pointed us toward the Hohestrasse --the main shopping street -- where we found a camera shop quite easily. Ten euro and a new memory card and the camera was back in business.

We window shopped for a while -- these were mostly very high end shops-- and then got a little hungry so we bought a bratwurst from a street vendor and shared it as we walked. Ended up at a patisserie on a side street where we ordered a chocolate pastry and a couple of milchcafes and just sat and watched people for an hour.

After that we walked back to the cathedral area and got tickets to the roman museum there. It's an interest of mine and we spent a couple of hours walking around looking at the collection of monuments, busts, gravestones and items from daily life. Cologne was founded in the first century AD and would go on to become the capital of lower Germany with a massive population. It's evident, looking at the collection there that the residents were wealthy, well supplied, and comfortable there on the frontier.

If you're not that interested, there's a collection of substantial pieces of roman carvings on display outside, and a beautiful, nearly intact mosaic floor can be seen from the side of the building, in fact the tour takes you right by it. Also, the museum has a free toilet that you can get to in the lobby.

At that point I'd had enough and we walked back to the bus. They had arrangements for those who wanted to stay later in the city, to do pickups at 2,3 and 4pm.

That evening on the ship dinner was mushroom themed. There was a mushroom and bacon salad, mushroom soup, various other dishes featuring mushrooms, but the popular choice seemed to be the beef short rib and filet combo. Strangely, at our table, some people only got either a short rib or a filet. As we were the last table served, I wonder if they had started to run out. Anyway, there was plenty of food and alcohol all around, as always.

I don't see how that is possible, unless you are counting the area where the window is, and that is 5ft off the floor. How did you calculate this number?

Yes, 103 would be very easy to get to, right at the bottom of the stairs, just down from reception. The 100 level cabins are identical to the upper cabins, with the exception of the window/balcony.

Day Five was also the Taste of Germany dinner. The dining room and kitchen were set up as a buffet and you had to serve yourself. They had a variety of german meats, sausages, cold cuts, with roast pork, beef and chicken in the kitchen, as well as all kinds of vegetables, potatoes, salads, breads and cheeses and condiments. Beer and wine was on the buffet too.

They had about half the servers helping people out of the kitchen, probably because small desserts and some drinks were available in there and it meant most people ended up with two or more plates. As a result, there weren't enough servers working the tables. This meant that those of us who weren't drinking alcohol couldn't get our water glasses refilled. We were in our usual corner by the entrance, as far from the kitchen as possible, and wait staff just never made it back to us before being grabbed by another table for something or other. After being catered to for several nights, it just got really chaotic with people trying to get something for their table and not enough staff on the floor. I had to get up and go find a server to bring us water.

That said, once the initial rush on the kitchen and buffet passed, it got a bit better, but I still wish they had just brought us a pitcher of water and left it for the table if they weren't going to be able to serve. And I did ask for one.

I went around the buffet and tried a little bit of everything that looked good. It was too easy to take too much food. Most things I only had a bite or two of. There were just so many choices. It was all good. I took a 2nd plate through the kitchen and tried a little of the roast meats and vegetables from there, but I was pretty full by then.

For entertainment they had in an organ grinder and an accordion player who also sang and made the evening very festive. They did not stay long, less than an hour, which was a shame because you could feel the mood in the room fall when they left.

We were still docked with the Lif, but I do not know what was going on over there. They had their dining room curtains drawn tight.

At the end of dinner the servers came around with shots of schnapps for everyone and we knocked 'em back and slammed our glasses on the table as instructed. It was not the kind of schnapps for sipping.

Crashed hard after that, it had been a very long day. Probably one of the longest of the cruise. I took a really long, really hot shower, and wished I had a tub to soak in, but was glad at least the ship seemed to have an endless supply of hot water. Lif slipped away sometime in the night, and around 4am we cast of for Cologne.

Day Five (continued) Marksburg Castle

The tour takes you around through some areas of the castle, while the guide talks about the castle and its history. There are some great views of the river and surrounding hills.

There are multiple sets of narrow stairs to navigate.

The tour also takes you through the keep in the center of the castle, which is where the reigning family lived. They have furnished it nicely, but the rooms are a little small, and at least one of our party was having issues with it.

After the tour we had about 5 minutes to use the toilets and then it was back on the bus and back to the ship in Koblenz. Viking Lif had docked with us but their passengers were nowhere to be seen, I have no idea what their itinerary was. I also saw the Atla out in the water, I don't think she stopped in Koblenz. I looked at the Lif briefly, it's built on the same model as the Tor, but a year newer (2014) and had slight decorative differences.

There was a 4:30 walk into Koblenz which I wanted to take, but we were so tired and footsore we opted for a nap in our cabin instead. A little before 5pm we got up to go to the lounge for the presentation on the European Union. They had a grad student in who seemed very knowledgeable on the issues both past and current, who spoke for about an hour and answered questions. It was not very well attended, but it was the sort of thing DH and were interested in, and we enjoyed it.

Right after that was the Viking sales presentation, so we got out of there.

Having rested a bit we decided to take a stroll on the waterfront, over to the monument we were docked near. We couldn't quite puzzle out the occasion, but it had Kaiser Willhelm's name on it. Probably if we had taken the tour into town we would have found out more about it.

There are also a number of souvenir booths along the waterfront, you'll see them when you walk to the buses for the castle tour. They all sell more or less the same things, but some of the prices vary, so it might be worth looking on the way to the castle, and shopping on the way back. Like a lot of places in Europe they'll close up around 5 or 6pm. There is also skylift right near where the ship docked which takes you across the river to a fort that I was told was very interesting, but we did not go.

There is a little park on the peninsula near the monument, we walked through it and watched the sun setting. Then it got chilly and we went back to the ship.

Day Five (continued) Marksburg Castle

We had a short ride to the castle, perhaps 20 minutes through the suburbs and up the hillside. I am always amazed at how these tour bus drivers manage on such narrow twisty roads.

During the briefing the day before, and as the groups assemble, Viking staff continuously point out that this tour is for sturdy walkers. The walkway up to the castle is paved and even, but once you get inside the walls it becomes very rough and uneven, and there are multiple steep stairs to navigate.

At the entrance area is a small courtyard where we got our first views of the surrounding countryside. And of course, this is when the last of the fog cleared off, leaving us standing in our warm jackets in the sun as the day finally started to warm up.

There is a small cafe here that sells drinks and light food and has tables where you can sit. Also a small gift shop and toilets. Our Viking guide warned us that we had about 15 minutes to look around here before our tour and that we would be leaving immediately afterward.

If you rely on a walker or a cane or feel unsteady on your feet, claustrophobic, or can't handle stairs then this is the place to stop. The castle guide takes you inside and locks the gate. There is no turning back if you are tired or feel you can't continue on. The tour takes one route through the castle, with another group behind you by a few minutes, so once you start you have to go all the way around.

This area near the entrance is raw rock, with some rudimentary steps carved in places.

I never got a picture of it. It is similar to this one on ebay, with the brim turned up in back.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ALPINE-BAVARIAN-GERMAN-GREEN-100-WOOL-TRACHTEN-OKTOBERFEST-HAT-PINS-6-5-/331317378939?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d240dff7b

I accidentally ended up bringing home one of the earbuds, misplaced it one day and had to get a new one.

Anyway, it is a standard earphone jack. Fits in my weather radio and other devices.

You're definitely going to be more comfortable with your own, the Viking one has some rough edges and is not adjustable so it pinched a little. Also I found the cord a few inches too short to wear it comfortably at my waist.

Sorry for the interruption, I had technical problems and some RL to deal with.

Basel departure time was listed as 7pm on my schedule, just as dinner started. This was about half an hour after we boarded, the last passengers to arrive.

Day Five: Rhine Castles and Koblenz

Morning dawned chilly and misty. There were voiced concerns that we would not be able to see some of the castles, but the weather pattern had been misty in the mornings and clearing by noon, so I was hopeful.

Since there was no 8am tour this morning many people took the opportunity to sleep in or to linger at breakfast. After breakfast I took a book up to the lounge and watched the scenery for a while.

At some point that morning, maybe around 10am we entered the 'castles' part of the river valley and our program director got on the microphone and started narrating. This narration can only be heard in the lounge and the fore deck. So if you are in your cabin, like my husband was, you'll miss the show. I went and got him and the cameras.

A hardy group had already settled into the Aquavit Terrace area. It wasn't that cold out, but it was windy and a little damp being on the water. I went for a seat just inside the lounge, in the area where the continental breakfast is served, because it was out of the wind. I think most people were up on the top deck, where it was very windy, I did not venture up there.

The clouds started to break up a little, there were glimpses of sun and blue sky but the highest hills still had caps of fog, obscuring a couple of the ruins at the very top.

About 15 minutes into the program servers came out with cups of hot chocolate, which were eagerly taken up and appreciated. One of the servers even came around with some leftover Rudesheim brandy for those that wanted a little extra warmth.

The castle part of the river is pretty short, I think we had cruised through the entire area in 45 minutes or so, ending up just before noon. They served lunch early so people could get ready for the shore excursion to Marksburg Castle.

After lunch we got our tour group tags and walked in to Koblenz to the busses.

Rudesheim

The daily briefing was early because we were due to arrive at 5pm. Shortly after we pulled up to the dock the Viking Var pulled in along side us and we were invaded by Var passengers eager to get to shore. Unfortunately everybody had to wait while the ship was securely tied up at the dock.

Shortly after that our concierge, Olga, led a group of us into town to the alley where all the tourist places were. It was not a tour, she just showed us where to go and left us.

There's a lot of restaurants, but it was early so most were empty. There were a fair number of gift shops selling the same junk, and one of those christmas stores everyone goes nuts over. There is also a sky chair up the mountain to a monument, which is probably pretty scenic during the day. By the time we found it, it was dusk.

We had decided to eat in town, hearing that there were a number of restaurants, and we chose one near the top of the street called Lindenwirt. They had a variety of regional foods, the menu was in German and English, which was nice because my command of German is limited to words like "bratwurst" and "strudel". We chose the local bratwurst with potatoes and sauerkraut, and were very happy with it. I normally don't like kraut, but this was nothing like what I've had stateside. I would recommend the place and it was not expensive. The had an accordionist playing while we ate.

Except for the restaurants the town closes up around 6pm. We window shopped on our way back to the ship. There are a lot of shops and a few restaurants along the waterfront, these seem to be the better quality gift shops and it's a pity most were closed. If I could do it again I would hit the shops right by the dock first, and then go get dinner.

Back on the ship we decided to go into the restaurant and just have dessert. It was clear that many passengers had chosen to take the optional excursion dinner, only about half the tables were set.

As you're probably heard already, Viking doesn't skimp on food quality or quantity and dinner can be an extensive affair. It starts at 7pm and runs until 9pm, we were usually in our room by 9:15. I don't remember the details of every menu, but the food was similar to what others have reported. You can order whatever you want in any combination. Some nights I tried all the appetizers, let me tell you that will fill you up fast. A few other things I remember, a mascarpone and potato crusted appetizer, the celery soup, goat cheese brulee (even if you don't like goat cheese you should try that), the sour cherry mascarpone cake (better than the black forest cake), the pumpkin soup, grapefruit sorbet (even people who don't like grapefruit raved over it) and on the last night the roast beef that was so much nicer than the steak the evening before. I had the cheese plate most evenings, because I like cheese and european cheeses are just so nice. It tastes different there, and not just because you're on a cruise.

Overall I recommend that people try the food and get outside their comfort zones. It costs you nothing to experiment and they are happy to replace any dish that didn't appeal to you.

After dinner I had a quick look at the Var. Aside from some differences in artwork she's identical to the Tor, both built in 2013.

Day Four: Mannheim/Heidelberg/Rudesheim

This was an extremely busy day. It dawned cool and drizzly, but I took a chance and got on the excursion bus without my coat. Again we took the "leisure" group option for slower walkers.

The bus ride was boring, but short. Once we got to Heidelberg it got interesting watching to see if the bus would make it through the narrow twisty streets to the castle. Heidelberg has some interesting old architecture, but it's hard to get pictures on a moving bus.

The castle is mostly a shell. Our tour took us into the courtyard, with a brief visit to the cellar to see the "world's largest wine cask". The castle was destroyed by Napoleonic forces, and although a brief reconstruction was started, they ultimately decided to leave it, and maintain it in the condition it stands now.

If you want to peruse the gift shop head up the walk as soon as you get off the bus and get your radio channel number. The guides allowed us no time after the tour.

The bus goes back down the hill into Heidelberg, where there is a walking tour. Fortunately for us the weather had cleared off by this time. Heidelberg is a small town, surprisingly so considering its famous university. We enjoyed browsing a number of small shops, bought a giant pretzel at one of the bakeries and sat in the square enjoying it. The tour guide leaves you in a square with a not-very-interesting church and a lot of tourist souvenir shops. They all have the same ticky-tacky stuff, but Heidelberg had a lot of stuffed bears, for reasons unknown to me. We were also told there was good chocolate to be had from some of the shops.

We had to be back at the bus by 12:15 and right around 11:55 I started noticing people from our tour walking that direction and realized what time it was. We still hadn't seen the bridge tower or found a chocolate shop, so DH and I did a mad dash through town acting like crazed tourists, and did manage to get back in time.

Meanwhile the ship had moved on to Gernsheim, which is a small modern village with a shipyard, and the bus from Heidelberg delivered us there just in time for lunch. We were off immediately for Rudesheim.

We had our usual afternoon nap, which seemed to be what a lot of other passengers were doing, too. After all the morning walking everyone just wanted to crash in their cabins until either the afternoon tour or dinner came around. I won't say that most people were out of shape, but folks were definitely not used to the amount of walking, stairs and hill climbing we were doing on this trip.

At 3pm they presented Rudesheimer coffee in the lounge, and I happen to have woken up by then, so we sat down for the little demo and free boozy coffees. It comes in cute little cups, which of course you can buy in town, along with the liquor.

Our program director was Boris, and he was a very open approachable guy. He did the Daily Briefings and introduced the various special guests on the ship and acted as MC whenever necessary. He made the briefings fun, interesting and seemed pretty knowledgeable about each of our destinations.

Overall, we had a great crew. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to be helpful. We had questions answered and issued fixed quickly and with a smile.

The daily tour into the city left at 8:30 and it began with a walk through the park where the ship was docked, up quite a few stairs to the street where the busses were.

We had a very informative tour of modern Strasburg, which is home to the European parliament and the human rights court. Our guide was from the city, and she had a lot to say about its turbulent history. Tip: if you want to see the stork nests sit on the side behind the driver.

Then we began our walking tour of the old city, toward the cathedral. We had the option to join the "slow walkers" or "leisure" group most days and we took it. Our group had one guy in crutches, two people with canes, one woman in a foot cast, and several people like us who just wanted to go slower and take more photos. Viking had permission to take one bus close to the cathedral, as a result we missed the walking tour of the old homes along the canals, which were father out.

The cathedral is huge, and it has beautiful stained glass windows that were rescued from the Germans after WW2.

Our guide also warned us about pickpockets and gypsies in the square. They dress as to make themselves look pitiful, and sit on the stairs by the entrance so you almost have to step over them to get in or out. The police chase them off every so often, but they come back. We kept our eyes open and didn't have any problems.

After the cathedral we found the Musee Archiologique and bought tickets. They have a nice collection of prehistoric and Roman items, and on the side is a display of finds from WW1. Some knowledge of French or German is helpful, not much was labeled in English.

For Strasburg we had the option of going back to the ship after the tour or staying in the city. Viking had busses set up to pick us up at 2:30, 3:30 and 5pm. We opted to stay and explore, and have lunch. We found a cafe away from the tourist area and sat for over an hour, had a nice lunch and a glass of wine. It turned into a very warm day, probably topped 80F. We were very happy to be under an umbrella and not out on the hot cobblestones.

We also did a little shopping. Most of the tourist shops sell the same things, pins, magnets, postcards, kitschy stuff. The unique finds in Strasburg were the stuffed toy storks, which came in all sizes, and the red and white linens. If those are things that appeal to you, buy them there, because we did not see them anywhere else on the trip.

We went back to the bus at 3:30 and took a nap. I missed the Flammkuchen demo.

Day Three: Strasburg

We left Breisach after dinner and arrive in Strasburg during the night. It was still dark at 6am when we woke.

I took advantage of the mostly empty ship to get some photos of the common area. Forward, the dining room doors and stairs up. Aft, the reception desk

One of the coffee stations.

Dining room at breakfast.

Also, can I ask if the excursion to the Black Forest and clock making factory was an optional expense or was that the "tour of the day"?

It was the included tour. I think there was also a guided walking tour up to the church, but we had done that already and I wasn't paying a lot of attention.

We did not do any of the optional, additional payment required, tours.

One couple said the bus ride was very scenic, another said they thought the little villages they went through were pretty. I didn't hear anything about the clock factory other than one passenger had bought 4 clocks.

I did hear later that there had been a problem with one of the buses. Apparently one of those quaint little villages was having its annual festival that weekend and they refused to let the bus through town. So it had to back up and take another road.

I saw what looked like coffee and cherry brandy set up for returning passengers, but we were on our way to our room and by the time I got back to the lobby to investigate, it was gone.

Yes, about an hour before the meal they put out a menu in front of the dining room. I don't believe they posted a terrace menu, but it was easy to go look and see what they were putting out. They set up salvers and placards 15-30 minutes before hand.

We headed down the opposite side of the hill, on a sloping street.

Then down some stairs.

Where we found an old gate house that is now a museum.

And some interesting cobblestones in the square. The swastika has been removed from the center of the circle.

Down more steps...

After which we shortly found ourselves back at the town square where the busses from the Black Forest trip had arrived and folks were preparing to go up to the church. We wandered around in the center of town a bit, but we were getting tired and nothing was open yet (Cafes open at 10 or 11am) so we went back to the ship for lunch and a rest.

I think what I remember Breisach for is all the lace curtains.

Lunch on the ship is served simultaneously on the terrace and in the dining room. The terrace buffet usually contained 2-3 meat/main course items and/or a soup, with salad, fixings, bread and a dessert or two. The dining room had a menu with appetizers, 2-3 main courses, desserts, plus the buffet with salad, cold cuts and cheese, breads, etc. The menus are often, but not always similar.

We tried the terrace for informal dining but the seating is extremely limited. I think there are about 6 tables outside, and another 6 or 8 inside the lounge and they fill quickly. We ate on the top deck once but were bothered by wasps. After that we had lunch in the dining room when we were not eating in town.

Day Two: Breisach

Passengers on the ship started moving about 6am, as most want to get to breakfast and out the door on the daily excursions.

A cold buffet of sliced meats and cheese, bread and pastries, coffee and tea is available on the fore terrace from 7-9:30 am. Coffee, tea, cocoa, juice and pastries are available at the coffee stations on the middle deck from 6-11am. The dining room opens at 7am and that is the only place to get a hot breakfast, if you want eggs, bacon, potatoes or hot cereal. I like to start with a hearty breakfast so that is where we went every morning.

The doors open at 7 and not a minute earlier, and by 7:30 the feeding frenzy is well underway. There is a single omelet station where you can get eggs cooked any way you like, and there was always a line. Scrambled eggs are on the buffet, too, if you're in a hurry. I was impressed that the eggs were so fresh they were almost orange. You can also order a few items like french toast or eggs benedict off the menu, and then supplement that with fruit or pastries from the buffet.

About 7:45 the dining room empties out as everyone rushes to get ready for the excursions, which left at 8am most mornings. Our first day was the Black Forest and cuckoo clock trip, and we chose to skip it. I wasn't excited about a bus ride and had no plans to buy a clock.

When you leave the ship you pick up a "pass" from the front desk and if you are going on an excursion you get a numbered tag, too. This helps the staff keep track of how many people are in the tour so they can be divided up into groups, and also lets them keep track of which passengers are not on board.

They also offer a map of each port, and in some of them we had a shuttle bus schedule too, for those who wanted to stay later than the standard tour.

We got our map and walked 5 minutes into a very sleepy Sunday morning Breisach. The sun was just coming up and it was slightly hazy, cool but with the promise of a much warmer day.

St Stephen's Meunster is immediately visible on the hill overlooking the town, and that was our destination. We went up and up and around and around, admiring the view.

The church was open, but empty. There are plaquards around the courtyard, primarily in German and French (which I know a little of), and I was able to translate enough of it to get the idea this site had been a roman outpost at one time and that the church had been bombed in WW2.

The hike had made us really thirsty and we learned our first lesson. Viking offers bottled water at the door when you leave, if it is not there you only have to ask. Take it with you. We had a difficult time finding water during the trip, and when we did it was expensive and usually sparkling mineral water. In Breisach, being Sunday everything was closed, but we found a little hotel near the cathedral and I managed to pantomime enough to get us a bottle of sparkling water. We sat for a while enjoying the morning sun and then set off on the rest of the "red line" trail on the map we had.

Breisach is a cute little village with a number of old buildings. There are plaques every so often that identify historic buildings, but sadly a great many of them say something like "A very old inn stood here from 1100 until it was bombed in 1944".

Then it was time to go down the hill.

(continued)

Mimmy, the bottom sill of the window was just below eye level for me, so I did not have to stand on tip toe to see out.

Thanks for posting - I'm looking forward to more :)

 

That stinks that your luggage was that late arriving to your cabin but at least it did arrive and wasn't left on the dock! Hard to imagine other travelers not noticing luggage that wasn't theirs in their cabin until midnight since those cabins are pretty small but maybe they were in the lounge until the wee hours. Anyway, fantastic it was located!

There was a lot of wine flowing that night at dinner (and every other night, too) and things were pretty loud in the lounge when we went downstairs, so I suspect this is exactly what happened.

I figured we still had our passports and credit cards, so even if it was lost, we'd manage. :D