cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #176 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) So this is THE DAY that anyone booking this river cruise looks forward to. The day of seeing all the Rhine Castles! And what was our weather forecast.... Lightning!! Apparently all day Lightning! So we look outside....see this guy going by (apparently the barges are privately owned and they travel with their personal cars aboard). Weather looks OK so far... And lots of campers along the Rhine We were just arriving in Koblenz Time for breakfast....this is the daily menu if you want to order breakfast instead of the buffet. Edited August 18, 2014 by cruisinskier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #177 Share Posted August 18, 2014 After breakfast we have 30 minutes or so to check out the area before our tours start. So off we go.... Pieces of the Berlin Wall are near by... The view up the Moselle River which meets the Rhine here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #178 Share Posted August 18, 2014 The area where the Rhine & Moselle meet is called Deutsches Eck (German Corner): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Eck You can climb the monument You can see how close the Ingvi is docked There is a cable car here is you have more time than we did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #179 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) Viking has their own buses which met us at each port. They were new, clean and comfortable (and we also were not on them longer than scheduled). And we were off.... To Marksburg Castle. While they drive up as far as they can, there is still an uphill climb to get to the castle. They do stress that you must be fully mobile to do this tour. This gives you an idea of the switchbacks on the walk up... And looking down at the next group walking up... We made it! Edited August 18, 2014 by cruisinskier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #180 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Wear good footwear this day...the ground is very uneven There was a great view of the Rhine from here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #181 Share Posted August 18, 2014 A few shots inside Apparently they were not too tall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #182 Share Posted August 18, 2014 After our tour, we had time for one of these before the buses headed back down... And the Ingvi was sailing down the Rhine to come and get us! The Captain was there to greet us when we returned Marksburg....and so far no Lightning!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted August 18, 2014 #183 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) Host jazzbeau, attending mass is definitely a bonus of arriving on a Sunday. But even to attend the mass, you would have to not take the included shore excursion. My in-laws did go to mass and skipped the tour. My point was that the bonus (on our cruise) was being able to do BOTH and not miss anything. But it sounded from your description that you could have done both, since you arrived at the Cathedral as Mass was about to begin. Edited August 18, 2014 by Host Jazzbeau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pully8 Posted August 18, 2014 #184 Share Posted August 18, 2014 thank you for an excellent blog and wonderful pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cormike1 Posted August 18, 2014 #185 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Loving your review and especially the pictures....they are bringing back a lot of memories as we did this river cruise quite a few years ago. I was really moved seeing all your "memorial" places...some are very beautiful spots for a final resting place for our Canadian troops. That is nice to see. Looking forward to the rest of your review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schub229 Posted August 18, 2014 #186 Share Posted August 18, 2014 What a wonderful creative eye you have with the camera!! Even those with a super expensive DSL camera couldn't compete with many of these shots, cruisin skier!!! Many people never see the great shots of the war fields, Leiden, Ypre, etc etc etc that you have included on this post. Thank you so much for your generous postings!! We're doing the Rhine in mid October on AMA, but are enjoying your travelogue so much. I feel lucky to have found this Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #187 Share Posted August 18, 2014 My point was that the bonus (on our cruise) was being able to do BOTH and not miss anything. But it sounded from your description that you could have done both, since you arrived at the Cathedral as Mass was about to begin. Host jazzbeau, I may not have been clear enough in my original comments. Our tour arrived at the Cathedral in the middle of our tour, the guide did a bit of talking about it and then sent us in for 15 minutes. After we came back out our guide continued with the tour telling us more about the Cathedral and the square and then took us on a tour of old town. Yes we could have attended the mass had we dropped off mid-tour....it was our decision not to. My in-laws did not do the tour and went to mass at St Martin Church as it was closer to where the Ingvi docked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #188 Share Posted August 18, 2014 thank you for an excellent blog and wonderful pictures. Thanks for following along. Glad you are enjoying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #189 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Loving your review and especially the pictures....they are bringing back a lot of memories as we did this river cruise quite a few years ago. I was really moved seeing all your "memorial" places...some are very beautiful spots for a final resting place for our Canadian troops. That is nice to see. Looking forward to the rest of your review! Hi cormike1, glad to bring back memories and yes it was very moving to visit the sites where our commonwealth troops fought for inches. I agree they did a good job in how they are memorialized. there are numerous other WW1 in the Ypres area, some specific to Britain, some to Australia, etc. May we never forget the sacrifices made for our freedom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #190 Share Posted August 18, 2014 What a wonderful creative eye you have with the camera!! Even those with a super expensive DSL camera couldn't compete with many of these shots, cruisin skier!!! Many people never see the great shots of the war fields, Leiden, Ypre, etc etc etc that you have included on this post. Thank you so much for your generous postings!! We're doing the Rhine in mid October on AMA, but are enjoying your travelogue so much. I feel lucky to have found this Forum. Pat, thanks for your kind comments and glad you are enjoying the photos. I do have a bit of a passion for taking photos, especially when I travel (I guess that is kind of obvious by now :rolleyes:). Enjoy your trip down the Rhine and happy planning! Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #191 Share Posted August 18, 2014 OK, if you are all ready, what do you say we cruise on down the middle Rhine.... This area is well known for wine, especially Reisling This looked fun.....and crazy! Boppard Everyone is ready for Castle's!! And the weather is holding off for us!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #192 Share Posted August 18, 2014 This was the map given out on-board to track the castles. The numbers are the mile markers along the river. First castle sighting....actually two if you look close. Brothers, who ended up fighting and building a wall between their castles to separate them. Family squabbles go way back....folklore indicates there may have been a woman involved. Sterrenberg Castle Liebenstein Castel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #193 Share Posted August 18, 2014 The only way into this church is through the bar in front of it!!! Speaking of bars....We haven't really talked about it but the main beer being served on Viking was Bitburger which had a bit of an aftertaste. And then we found out they also had a Kolsch beer which was included. We enjoyed it much better! And then the castles started more frequently.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #194 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Lorelei Loreley: http://www.loreley-info.com/index.php During the war there was a pact not to blow up and castles or churches. The Germans built the entrances to the train tunnels to look like them and hid all of the important art works, etc inside.....kinda smart! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #195 Share Posted August 18, 2014 We waved to those on the Uniworld River Princess Not sure I would want to have to climb those hills to pick grapes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #196 Share Posted August 18, 2014 And the castles keep coming! And then the rain started.....but we were not going to let a little rain ruin our day. While some folks headed inside, we stayed up top (although may have eventually ducked under the sun shade....which is also a rain shade!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #197 Share Posted August 18, 2014 And then it started to clear up some... Some others out touring this area of the Rhine...it is a popular area! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #198 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) And then we arrived in Rudesheim, where we docked beside the Viking Gullveig. This was the only time that we were double docked. The Ingvi was on the outside and our balcony was facing out. And the weather was overcast but not currently raining... Edited August 18, 2014 by cruisinskier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana541 Posted August 18, 2014 #199 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) Oh no all the pictures are blocked :( Sent from my iPhone using Forums Edited August 18, 2014 by nana541 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinskier Posted August 18, 2014 Author #200 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) Oh no all the pictures are blocked :( Sent from my iPhone using Forums Are they blocked for others as well? :confused: I can see them....but I know if I look at work they are blocked as we have filters to ensure employees like me don't spend all day on these and similar boards :D Edited August 18, 2014 by cruisinskier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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