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Viking Sankt Goar and Lorelei Rock tour cancelled


OneSixtyToOne
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We are booked on the Viking Paris to Swiss Alps cruise.

I just received notice from Viking that the visit to Sankt Goar and Lorelei Rock is cancelled because of construction:

 

Renovation work at the Lorelei Visitors Center has caused us to cancel our visit to Sankt Goar in Germany. Instead, we will now visit Koblenz, Germany where you will be able to participate in the included walking tour, Historic Koblenz, featured below.

 

Historic Koblenz

Take a leisurely stroll around Koblenz and explore its historic past. You will meet your guide and begin your tour at Deutsches Eck, the city's famed German Corner. Jutting into the waters like the prow of a ship where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers meet, this public park is home to a popular equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I. After time to admire the sculpture, continue your walk among the narrow streets. Visit Jesuitsenplatz, or Jesuit Square, in the heart of the Old Town and named after the religious order of the same name. Admire the beautiful old school that sits on the eastern side of the square, and has been used as Koblenz City Hall since 1895. As you explore, your guide will point out influences from ancient Rome, the Middle Ages and the Napoleonic era.

 

While the Lorelei Rock included excursion will no longer be available, the Lorelei Rock will still be visible during scenic cruising on the Middle Rhine and through the Rhine Gorge. Please note, final documents for guests sailing in 2017 may not reflect this change.

Personally I think I prefer the extra time in Koblenz. We docked there for the Grand European Tour but the stay was very short. We almost immediately (30 minutes) boarded buses to take the tour of Marksburg Castle and never returned. I'm looking forward to exploring the city.
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Sorry to read that, OneSixtyToOne, but I am glad you are now looking forward to time in the town.

 

The renovation work had been in the planning for a while and I had mentioned it in this thread dealing with the itinerary: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=51724504&highlight=LOrelei+building+works#post51724504

 

According to the German website (the English one is lurking around somewhere in desperate need of an update (get on with it guys up there :() construction will run into 2019 and there is now no access for cars and busses. Hence the fact that Viking has to cancel all excursions.

 

Koblenz is a nice town to explore, a guided tour is good and if you have time you could take the cable car up to Ehrenbreitstein fortress for some great views (superior to Lorelei rock views I find actually, depends on whether one likes landscape or townscape).

 

 

When are you going?

 

notamermaid

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Hello three4rd,

 

Gershwin laid his hands on the Lorelei song!? Uahhh... On the hill there is a documentation centre, a shop and a viewing platform. There is also an amphitheatre (modern) for concerts. As it will all be refurbished you can only walk along there now on the hill. No direct access for cars.

 

Perhaps OneSixtyToOne had been given some info but I tend to think only past cruisers can say us what they had offered up to the closure.

 

notamermaid

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We are booked on the Viking Paris to Swiss Alps cruise.

I just received notice from Viking that the visit to Sankt Goar and Lorelei Rock is cancelled because of construction:

 

Personally I think I prefer the extra time in Koblenz. We docked there for the Grand European Tour but the stay was very short. We almost immediately (30 minutes) boarded buses to take the tour of Marksburg Castle and never returned. I'm looking forward to exploring the city.

 

You are lucky. Those were by far and away the least interesting parts of the whole trip. We did this cruise this past July.

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We had to miss Rudesheim on this itinerary a couple of years ago (low water) and Koblenz was the substitute. The Viking guides gave very good town tours. There is lots to see and do. The Lorelei pass by with the Lorelei song playing is just as good as going there.

Edited by tvmovielover
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Interesting...what sort of tour is offered for the Lorelei Rock? We sailed past it and one of our tour guides offered commentary as we did so (and they played a Gershwin arrangement of the song as we drifted by LOL)

 

Not an arrangement of the classic Lorelei song at all, but a new song by George and Ira Gershwin from their 1933 musical "Pardon My English" telling the old story in their inimitable fashion. Here's a great version by Renée Fleming with the Staatskapelle Dresden.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA-6CQ-Uohw

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Hello three4rd,

 

Gershwin laid his hands on the Lorelei song!? Uahhh... On the hill there is a documentation centre, a shop and a viewing platform. There is also an amphitheatre (modern) for concerts. As it will all be refurbished you can only walk along there now on the hill. No direct access for cars.

 

Perhaps OneSixtyToOne had been given some info but I tend to think only past cruisers can say us what they had offered up to the closure.

notamermaid

 

Interesting info...thanks.

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Not an arrangement of the classic Lorelei song at all, but a new song by George and Ira Gershwin from their 1933 musical "Pardon My English" telling the old story in their inimitable fashion. Here's a great version by Renée Fleming with the Staatskapelle Dresden.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA-6CQ-Uohw

 

Yes....correct. Totally different song. I guess my use of the term 'arrangement' was based on the fact that both songs share the same title. We heard the Liszt version on a music box in Rudesheim, at "Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet"....totally amazing place!

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