Viking Sun Rhine Getaway review August 2014

[ashvb]

Great review. I love the photos! Is it possible to go out in Cologne at night on your own, and do your own "beer tour?"

[mimmy52]

Great review. I love the photos! Is it possible to go out in Cologne at night on your own, and do your own "beer tour?"

 

I think you could do your own beer tour. You'd have to watch the time of your ship's departure closely though. We left the ship at 8:30, returned at 10:30, and the Viking Sun departed at 10:45. If your ship was going to be docked in Cologne overnight, you could do a great beer tour on your own.

[mimmy52]

The last day of the cruise. I hate to see it end.

 

 

We cruised through the night and were still cruising when I woke up. There's no hurry this morning, no shore excursion until 2:00. It was foggy when I went up onto the top deck.

 

The fog lifted quickly, and I spent some time on the top deck taking photos.

 

Not many other passengers were on the top deck today.

 

Program Director Ria talked to those extending their trip in Bruges and Amsterdam, and I went to the library and filled out my cruise evaluation. At 11:00, Ria began her "Going Dutch" presentation, dressed for the part in orange and wooden shoes.

[mimmy52]

 

I learned that all gin is made from jenever but it can be called jenever only in Holland and Belgium. We were all given a sample. Ugh! Ria said she likes to see our faces when we taste it. We also got to sample Dutch cheeses, and they were so good!

[mimmy52]

After her presentation, we could try on some of the shoes she had.

 

I stuffed myself at lunch. For appetizers we had smoked trout and Dutch cheeses. I had one of each.

 

The Creamy Dutch Cheese Soup was very good. It contained grapes and walnuts.

 

The Penne alla Gismondi (smoked salmon in a tomato sauce) also sounded good, so I had that too.

 

And this was dessert. What a life!

[mimmy52]

The waffle thing was called a Dutch strooper waffle. They were also available on the snack table. They tasted more like a cookie than a waffle.

 

I left that table and went to the top deck when I saw we were arriving a little early in Kinderdijk (pronounced Kinderdyke).

I see windmills!

 

I went to my room and had a shock when I walked in. I thought a stranger was in my room.

 

She was tying the ship to that post which was in front of my room. I had to run back up to the top deck to take a picture from there.

 

After a foggy morning, then rain at lunch, it was now sunny. Fortunately, it was also windy since windmills need wind to turn. Kinderdijk is a UNESCO world heritage site because of its working windmills. There are 19 at the site and most of them were visible from the ship. We had a very enthusiastic guide for Kinderdijk. He knew a lot about windmills and was eager to share his knowledge. He said if we had been there on a weekday, the windmills would not have been turning. People volunteer to live in them, and they have day jobs during the week. They are not paid for their windmill work.

 

Windmills, here we come.

 

 

I know I took a picture of this for some reason. Is it a museum? Someone here must know and will tell me.

[ashvb]

I think I am most excited for Kinderdijk - being Dutch. I love seeing all of your pictures!

 

For Cologne, are the breweries fairly close to the boat's dock?

[mimmy52]

I think I am most excited for Kinderdijk - being Dutch. I love seeing all of your pictures!

 

For Cologne, are the breweries fairly close to the boat's dock?

 

Glad you're enjoying the pictures. How close you'll be to the breweries In Cologne depends on where your ship docks. Some are only a few blocks away. Ours was the farthest, so they had shuttles. You could still walk, but it would be a long walk.

[mimmy52]

The river at this point is higher than the land, so the job of the windmills is to keep the land from flooding. They pump water into holding ponds, then at some point, gates are opened and the water flows back into the river.

 

Here our group is walking along the path toward the windmills.

 

 

 

People really do wear wooden shoes. They're helpful in the soggy land.

[mimmy52]

I wish I had thought to video the windmills. They were so impressive.

 

The windmill keeper must adjust the blades to whichever way the wind in blowing. Our guide demonstrated.

 

We were able to go inside one.

[mimmy52]

 

The living quarters are cramped. I might have missed seeing indoor plumbing, but I did see a TV. The was a lineup of wooden shoes near the entrance.

 

 

Up another ladder or two.

[mimmy52]

We walked around outside a little more.

 

 

We went into the workshop where more was explained about how windmills work.

 

Our guide was thrilled that he could take us into the steam room which usually isn't open to visitors.

[mimmy52]

By then I was on windmill overload. I don't remember much of the explanations in either the workshop or the steam room. We had time to stop at the gift shop.

 

I didn't get wooden shoes but instead a pair of squishy bedroom slippers in the shape of wooden shoes that are very comfortable. Then it was time to head back to the ship. This sign caught my eye. Hershey's kisses anyone?

 

The ship must have been on a tight schedule. We were back on the ship at 4:30 and at 4:45 Ria announced two room numbers and asked that they turn in their boarding passes. Just a few minutes later, the ship was moving. Goodbye, windmills.

 

I liked the play of shadows from the top deck.

[mimmy52]

The weather was so beautiful, I stayed on the top deck until I needed to get ready for the Captain's Dinner. We were invited to the lounge at 6:30 for the Captain's Cocktail Party and a farewell toast. At that time all members of the staff were introduced, except for those who had to stay working in the kitchen. There are 50 total. And Ria told us that after this season, the Viking Sun and Viking Helvetia will be up for sale. I was sitting far back in the lounge and wasn't able to get photos.

 

By 7:00, we were downstairs in the restaurant for our Farewell Dinner. Our amuse bouche was tomato and mozzarella.

 

The appetizer choice was salmon tartare.

 

Or we could have chosen crisp tandoori chicken and parmesan foam. Those who ordered that said it wasn't what they had expected.

 

This was followed by the soup course, mushroom soup with bacon. I asked for mine without bacon and they accommodated. Here I am happily lapping it up.

[mimmy52]

The next course was pumpkin mousse ravioli with lamb loin. They were able to bring mine without the lamb.

 

We had two choices for the main course: Deconstructed beef Wellington or pan-fried prawns. I asked if it was possible to just get vegetables and the server seemed uncertain. But they did manage to come up with a decent veggie plate. I hadn't realized that tonight's meal choices would be so different from other nights.

 

Dessert was delicious as usual. I passed on the homemade apple strudel with vanilla ice cream and enjoyed the dark Valrhona chocolate tart.

 

Then they brought a special treat to the table.

[mimmy52]

While we were eating, we went through another lock. We were already sitting so low, we thought we raise up, but instead we went even lower. The week went by so fast! All those I ate dinner with agreed that we wished we could stay on the ship and do the trip in reverse. This time we wouldn't do the included shore excursions but would visit the towns on our own. I could only wish. And it was time to pack.

 

When I woke up the next morning, we were in Amsterdam and it was totally dark in my room. That was because another ship was right next to us. And it was raining. After breakfast, I went up on the top deck. The rain had stopped for a while.

 

 

I wish I'd been able to do an Amsterdam extension, but I didn't. So what I saw of Amsterdam was from the top deck.

 

 

My departure time from the ship was 10:00, but we had to vacate our rooms by 9:00. Some passengers weren't flying out until later that afternoon. Ria had arranged a canal tour for them if they chose, otherwise they were welcome to stay in the lounge and to have lunch there. It was close quarters in the hallway when luggage was set out, and some had already been taken away.

[mimmy52]

I spent my last hour in the lounge watching passengers departing and this man fishing.

 

He was prepared for rain.

[mimmy52]

It had to end some time.

 

Even as we were leaving, others were arriving.

 

We had to identify our luggage before it was put on the shuttle.

 

And that's it from me, other than to say the Amsterdam airport was a madhouse. I hope at some time I can take another river cruise. This one was so much fun.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Interesting that they're selling those 2 ships. Must mean they'll have more new ones coming out next year.

 

Thank you so much for a fantastic review! Really enjoyed it!! :)

[mimmy52]

Thank you, DrivesLikeMario. Glad you enjoyed it.

[AnotherDawn]

Thank you so much. We are leaving Friday to do this trip in reverse, and very much looking forward to it. Knowing what to expect is an immense help in planning our days on shore.

[mimmy52]

Is it possible to edit one's own posts? Last night when I finished up my review, the photos were there. Now instead of photos there's a square about photobucket and bandwidth. Is there a way to delete photos from Photobucket?

[AnotherDawn]

It's a photobucket thing. http://support.photobucket.com/hc/en-us/articles/200724014-Bandwidth-Exceeded-Look-Who-s-Popular-

[mimmy52]

It's a photobucket thing. http://support.photobucket.com/hc/en-us/articles/200724014-Bandwidth-Exceeded-Look-Who-s-Popular-

 

Thank you, AnotherDawn. I thought the limit had to do with storage space, not the number of people who viewed your photos. On my way to fix it.

[jpalbny]

Thank you, AnotherDawn. I thought the limit had to do with storage space, not the number of people who viewed your photos. On my way to fix it.

 

You're too popular for your own good! :) It's a great statement about how good your review is!