Viking Rhine Getaway - Our photo intensive review on the Viking Ingvi, Summer 2014

[cruisinskier]

A while later, just before heading to bed, we happened to open our door to the balcony and saw a wall....

 

 

We had entered a lock

 

 

 

 

 

And we were off again. And we were off to bed....

 

[cruisinskier]

While there were theme nights, Viking also prides itself on using fresh, local ingredients. There were one or two days where we stopped for 10 minutes at a Viking dock to load dinner supplies and offload trash.

 

At the daily briefing that night, I believe the chef said that it was the peak of mushroom season and that all the dishes included them. Not necessarily a theme (like welcome dinner or taste of Germany) vs. using what was fresh.

 

Jerry -- where did you see the explanations of dinner items and the "manners" card. We never saw anything like that. I, too, took pictures of the menus, but never thought about the food!

 

Sorry Jim, just realized I had not replied to your question.:o

The cards discussing the dinners items and "manners" were on our table each night. They did duplicate throughout the week but there were maybe 4 nights of different items with interesting tidbits of info. You would have thought they would be on all tables but apparently not.....

 

As far as pictures of food, I did take them most nights but apparently other nights my stomach won out over my review.... :confused::)

[cruisinskier]

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

Well, after almost two weeks of high paced touring, we decided that this morning was going to be a little quieter for us. We chose to skip the tour to the Black Forest (which sounded like it was a longer bus ride) and decided to spend a relaxing morning sleeping in, enjoying an empty boat and a little walk through Breisach where we were docked. So Jim or anyone else who did the tour, feel free to add your experiences.

 

We awoke to swans just off our balcony

 

 

 

 

And went down for a leisurely breakfast. Here are some shots of the breakfast buffet which was similar each day...

 

 

 

The omelette station

 

[cruisinskier]

Always fresh fruit, and the bottle to the left of the grapes was sparkling wine for those wanting to start their morning with a mimosa.

 

 

Various meats and cheeses

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2014 by cruisinskier

[cruisinskier]

After enjoying an hour or so up on the sun deck (which we had to share with another couple :D), we decided to wander through Breisach for an hour or so with the goal of adding another church visit to our collection from this trip...

 

 

Meanwhile, across the river a family had shown up to feed the swans....apparently the swans are used to this...

 

 

Into Breisach we went...

 

 

[cruisinskier]

We had done no research on Breisach given it was a last minute decision to not do the Black Forest tour, so we were really just out for a walk....we turned right off the main street and found a long stone wall

 

 

And then old stairs going up

 

 

And we ended up walking alongside a vineyard

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2014 by cruisinskier

[cruisinskier]

And then we found an old stone lookout...

 

 

 

Which had a great view across the town

 

 

Zoomed in on St Stephan

 

[cruisinskier]

Next we walked across town and started our ascent to the church

 

 

 

 

The lookout we had just left is in the upper left corner

 

 

This area was a real combination of old and new

 

[cruisinskier]

This was interesting...

 

 

You can see the Ingvi hiding behind the trees

 

 

St Stephansmunster

 

 

 

And what goes up must go back down again....

 

[cruisinskier]

We headed back to the boat and enjoyed an empty sun deck....

 

 

[cruisinskier]

The tour buses started returning from the Black Forest and it sounds like everyone enjoyed that trip. At this point, an unfortunate event happened and I want to talk about how well Viking handled it. One of the guests either tripped or fainted, injuring herself. Within seconds, Sasha, the maitre d', was running off the boat to assist her (we learned later he was one of three on-board trained with first aid). Other staff had called for an ambulance and the paramedics arrived within 3 minutes or so. The guest was assessed and needed to go to the hospital. What really impressed us is that Barbara, the concierge, went with the patient and her family to assist in translation and to keep in touch with the boat.

 

We learned from talking with Sasha later that this is Viking's policy, that they will always send a staff member with an injured guest. The way this event was handled was very professional. And the guest was able to rejoin the boat later that day. If she happens to read this, I hope all went well and you are now fully recovered!

[jpalbny]

cruisinskier, really enjoying your cruise log! It is a ton of work - appreciate your effort! Looks similar to ours in many ways, yet subtle differences, so finding it very interesting. We really enjoyed Alsace. Sad to see it coming to an end tomorrow in Basel.

 

We found Breisach charming as well. The statue of the bull breaking out of the pavement - yeah, we were puzzled by that as well... And we viewed your lookout tower from the Churchyard but didn't go there, so thanks for sharing the view!

[Bet & Peg]

Breisach - St Stephen's Courtyard - statue of the Bull with Europa breaking out of the ground is symbolic of the beginning of the European Union. If I remember correctly, the city of Breisach was the first to ratify (?) the proposal. So it was chosen as the location of the statue.

 

Jerry ~ looks much different in the summer - but still stunning views from St. Stephen's!!!

[jimsohio]

The service at all of our meals was excellent...and food quality was very good.

 

Ceresela with the gang

 

 

Jerry!!!!! I am right behind you in the maroon striped shirt! How did we not meet in the week on board LOL

[jimsohio]

Jerry --

 

I will try to fill you in on the Black Forest trip... at least as much as I could remember.

 

I believe this was the longest excursion of the trip, lasting almost four hours. We boarded our buses and had about an hour drive to our first stop. The tour guide was pretty good (I found they varied in quality) and pointed out much of the history of the area and some of the sights to see. Note: I think some of the guides tried to be funny sometimes and told a lot of corny jokes.

 

The first stop was the Abbey of St. Peter's in Schwarzwald. It was another beautiful church in a small village.

 

(https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2RV4BNiDZNsNVR2VlI2b2luYUU&authuser=0)

 

The plaza had a large chess set on it.

 

(https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2RV4BNiDZNsZ2s3aV9GWk5aY3c&authuser=0)

 

After a few minutes in the qaint town, we boarded the buses again and headed to the main attraction for the day, the cuckoo clock workshop. Also at this stop were demonstrations on clockmaking, glassblowing and black forest cake. There was a cafe there, which of course sold slices of cake among other things. The stop was about 50 minutes, which could make you rushed if you really wanted to shop for a clock. My wife and I were first off the bus, walked briskly to the gift shop and were able to get what we wanted in time. We saw the cake demo at the designated time and got back to a big cuckoo clock just as it went off (the buses were timed to get everything done).

 

Countryside between stops: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2RV4BNiDZNsM2U2OGpuR25RUzA&authuser=0

The clock we bought (shameless plug): https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2RV4BNiDZNsTHNjcWR0WUN1VFk&authuser=0

Cake assembly: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2RV4BNiDZNsNjExaWYwdnJwVlE&authuser=0

Building-size clock: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2RV4BNiDZNsNjExaWYwdnJwVlE&authuser=0

Looking back at the Black Forest: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2RV4BNiDZNsX3dOQVVrNW9EMGs&authuser=0

 

We returned to the ship for a quick lunch, then headed out for the Colmar WWII Tour. I can document those if you like, but let me comment on the emergency.

 

This happened from our bus, so we had somewhat of a firsthand account. The bus dropped us off in front of the boat in a fairly tight area. As the masses walked toward the bus, there was a crash and a woman fell. I was about 10 feet ahead, but it appeared that she missed the step off the curb and fell face first into the street. As people gathered around, it appeared she may have been knocked unconscious.

 

Since I was at the front of the line, I ran ahead onto the boat and grabbed Sasha, who sprinted up the road to attend to the woman. I later learned that only the Maitre'D, Captain and Hotel Manager are first-aid qualified. Some locals at a dock cafe called the ambulance and it came quickly. I did not know that about Barbara, but it doesn't surprise me. The couple (and Barbara) were at the dock when the ship stopped to pick up the optional tourists. She had her wrist in a soft cast and we heard later it was a possible concussion.

 

It was a stark reminder to those of you going that there are many walking areas on tours that have cobblestones, uneven sidewalks, gravel roads and other obstacles. While this should not deter people going out and about, you need to wear comfortable/sensible shoes, take things slow if needed and pay attention to where you are walking.

[RBull]

Jerry, thank you very much for this incredible journal of your trip. Both your pictures and commentary were great. I really enjoyed the 2 1/2+ hours it took me to review this thread.

 

We have been thinking about doing a river cruise but didn't know much about them. Your post was quite insightful and whetted our appetite further.

 

I lived in Germany as a youngster, and we have since also traveled 6 countries of Europe nearly 10 years ago. We're doing a Med cruise from Rome soon but hopefully over the next few years can get on the river.

 

G/L with your next adventure. :)

[cruisinskier]

cruisinskier, really enjoying your cruise log! It is a ton of work - appreciate your effort! Looks similar to ours in many ways, yet subtle differences, so finding it very interesting. We really enjoyed Alsace. Sad to see it coming to an end tomorrow in Basel.

 

We found Breisach charming as well. The statue of the bull breaking out of the pavement - yeah, we were puzzled by that as well... And we viewed your lookout tower from the Churchyard but didn't go there, so thanks for sharing the view!

 

Thanks (JP and/or Chris). I followed along on your review so I know that you are fully aware of the effort that goes into these reviews...thanks again for yours as it helped with our planning! Yes it is time consuming but I felt there was a lack of reviews, especially for Viking's new Longships, and I know there are lots of first time river cruisers like myself who have lots of questions. Hopefully I have answered a few of those questions along the way....

 

Glad I was able to help you relive your trip! Happy planning for your new adventure.

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Breisach - St Stephen's Courtyard - statue of the Bull with Europa breaking out of the ground is symbolic of the beginning of the European Union. If I remember correctly, the city of Breisach was the first to ratify (?) the proposal. So it was chosen as the location of the statue.

 

Jerry ~ looks much different in the summer - but still stunning views from St. Stephen's!!!

 

Peg, it is always great when I continue to learn things from my own review :D You are a wealth of knowledge and it is that willingness to share information that makes these boards such a great resource for everyone.

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

.

 

Jerry!!!!! I am right behind you in the maroon striped shirt! How did we not meet in the week on board LOL

 

Jim, that is so funny....so close and yet somehow we missed each other....

 

Thanks for filling in the details for the Black Forest tour and for adding links to your photos (great shots!), we needed a few hours of down time that morning, especially knowing we had another week of touring post cruise.

 

Jim I know you did a few different optional excursions than we did so feel free to add that info as well if you wish. Thanks and happy planning for your future travels!

[cruisinskier]

Jerry, thank you very much for this incredible journal of your trip. Both your pictures and commentary were great. I really enjoyed the 2 1/2+ hours it took me to review this thread.

 

We have been thinking about doing a river cruise but didn't know much about them. Your post was quite insightful and whetted our appetite further.

 

I lived in Germany as a youngster, and we have since also traveled 6 countries of Europe nearly 10 years ago. We're doing a Med cruise from Rome soon but hopefully over the next few years can get on the river.

 

G/L with your next adventure. :)

 

Thanks for following along and glad I was able to show some insight into what a river cruise is all about. Enjoy your Med cruise!!!

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

OK, back to the review....time for lunch which I did not take any photos of...

 

 

And then we were off on our optional tour to Colmar. On our drive, we went past one of the replica versions of the Statue of Liberty. Colmar was the hometown of Bartholdi who designed the statue of Liberty which is actually called "Liberty Enlightening the World"

 

 

 

Upon arrival in Colmar, we had an option between a walking tour and the tourist train. We chose the train as we felt we would see more and it would show us where we wanted to visit over the next few hours.

 

 

[cruisinskier]

After our train tour, we all walked to see the House of Heads

 

 

There are a total of 106 heads on the facade of this building

 

 

And we spent the next few hours wandering in Colmar....

 

 

There was a market here as well...

 

 

We saw a stork in their nest high up on the rooftops.

 

 

[cruisinskier]

Colmar was a scenic city and well worth the visit

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

 

The shopping areas were busy with tourists....