Your favorite Rhine River stop

[Hydrokitty]

On Avalon (we took same cruise) there is an hour or 90 minute walking tour. You are broken into groups of around 20. The guide will give you implicit directions where to go to either get back to the ship or where to meet the bus. So you are on your own, but there is a safety net. Many times you are docked directly in town it's almost impossible to get lost. Even in Amsterdam. Enjoy!

 

Vantage does this as well. We'll have a local guide do an "orientation" walk so we all know what to see; where to shop; where to stop for coffee and a snack and "people watch" and where to have lunch if we want to eat locally. And then we have the rest of the day (usually) on our own if we wish. For those who don't, there's usually an excursion in the afternoon. As you said, it's usually easy to find the ship but there have been occasions where I was really glad to have the map and be able to recognize places from the walking tour. Believe it or not, Amsterdam was one of those! Due to construction, we were docked in a place that I couldn't find again if my life depended on it!

Edited April 23, 2015 by Hydrokitty

[notamermaid]

What a great thread for a local girl! It is fascinating to read what you folks like (or do not like).

 

I have read with interest that Vantage uses the small town Schweich on the Moselle as a port on their Rhine/Moselle itinerary. It is close to Trier and a convenient stop for bus trips to Trier and Luxembourg. I did not know they could accommodate large river cruise ships at that town!

 

I would love to hear from cruisers how they enjoyed the town. There are lots of small Roman remains sites in the area, but cruisers will obviously be taken to Trier, formerly also known as Treves in English. Apparently that name is not used anymore.

 

notamermaid

 

Still sunny and pleasant in the Rhine valley, but bad weather with lots of rain is forecast for the coming week. We can do with some rain, but not too much.

[painter55]

We will be on Avalon for highlights of Germany in late September. After leaving Basel we will be on our own for 2 weeks traveling through Austria, Italy and Switzerland. We love the independent trips and have added others before and after ocean cruises. This is our first river cruise., quite different, and we are very excited. 5 months to go and not soon enough.

[psb]

We will be doing an Avalon Rhine River cruise in September 2016. We will also travel for 1 to 2 weeks post cruise from Basel. We are thinking of independent travel in Switzerland and northern Italy. Would you mind sharing where in Switzerland and Italy you will be travelling? It is so difficult to choose places to visit when there are so many we would love to see.

[moesmrs]

We are on the AmaCerto July 20, Amsterdam to Basel, after we disembark in Basel we are traveling for 1 week in Switzerland independently. We start with 2 nights in Basel, using Basel as a base we will also go to Lucerne. Next we take the train to Zermatt and stay 2 nights to hopefully, if weather allows, to see the Matterhorn. Then we finally take the train to Montreux on Lake Geneva to see the lakes region. We fly out of Geneva mid day on Sunday.

We realize that this will be a whirlwind and that by taking so much travel on it probably will not be relaxing. However, this could be our only opportunity to see Switzerland and we want to see as much as possible in the 1 week we have.

We love the cruise portion but after a week of organized tours we are ready to travel on our own.

[Host Jazzbeau]

A trip I'm looking at for the future covers several parts of Switzerland by train. Start in Zurich, train to Zermatt, Gorner cogwheel railway (day trip from Zermatt), Glacier Express train from Zermatt to St. Moritz, Bernina Express day trip from St. Moritz, then by coach to Lake Como in Italy, return from Milan. This is the 10-day "Swiss Trains and the Italian Lake District" from National Geographic Expeditions, but you could take their details and DIY.

[Hydrokitty]

Can I go too, can I , can I please please please!!!!! :D

[ewizabeff]

Looking at all of these posts really makes me want to explore Western Germany. I'm thinking we'll be taking a land trip in May 2016... tentatively Dusseldorf through the Rhine Valley, then Black Forest, then past Badensee to Munich. Ah, the joy of planning.

[painter55]

After the cruise, from Basel we take the train to Zurich for 2 nights. Then to Munich to pick up our car. We leave Munich for Salzburg for 2 nights, 3 nights in Vienna. Drive to Verona to stay for 4 nights, 1 in Borolo, 1 at lake Constance, and back to Munich to fly out. We have arranged for wine tasting at a couple of places and a visit to a balsamic vinegar shop. We will take the train from Verona to Venice for the day. It's easier to do that than drive. One day we have a winery visit near lake hardship and then we'll probably drive around the lake for a bit. I'm counting down already.

[painter55]

One of our Rhine stops is Speyer. Does anyone know when the ship docks? We are on Avalon affinity in September. we are on the highlights of Germany. I have family nearby and want to try and meet them for lunch.

[notamermaid]

Hello ewizabeff,

 

Looking at all of these posts really makes me want to explore Western Germany. I'm thinking we'll be taking a land trip in May 2016... tentatively Dusseldorf through the Rhine Valley, then Black Forest, then past Badensee to Munich. Ah, the joy of planning.

 

remember, even on a land trip you can go and see the castles from the river on a day trip or even only half day trip on an of the local companies' boats. The bigger ones also have English commentary on board.

 

Lots more castles, by the way, West and Northwest of Düsseldorf. Often previously moated ones. They are just not so well known. A lovely place that has been recommended to me is the old university town Münster.

 

Have fun planning.

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Hello hostjazzbeau,

 

A trip I'm looking at for the future covers several parts of Switzerland by train. Start in Zurich, train to Zermatt, Gorner cogwheel railway (day trip from Zermatt), Glacier Express train from Zermatt to St. Moritz, Bernina Express day trip from St. Moritz, then by coach to Lake Como in Italy, return from Milan. This is the 10-day "Swiss Trains and the Italian Lake District" from National Geographic Expeditions, but you could take their details and DIY.

 

These are some of the most popular haunts for Germans. You will probably meet lots of them in Zermatt. :D

 

I like Northern Italy, I have been to the lovely Lake Garda and the valley of the Etsch river, Adige in Italian (Northern Italy is partly bilingual).

 

notamermaid

[caviargal]

I am not a big fan of Switzerland due to the expense of everything in that country.

 

I am in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Northern Italy for next October. So far the plan is to fly into Turin and explore the Piedmont region. We will also spend time in the Dolomites, which are stunning! Looking forward to a return trip to this part of Italy.

 

I am not a big fan of the Como area of Italy. Too touristy for my tastes.

[papa B me]

We spent 5 nights in Switzerland last summer at the end of our Rhine cruise. It was by far the most expensive place I've ever been. It is a beautiful country but it rained solidly the entire 5 days we were there. This is definitely a country where weather will severely dictate what you do and the experience you have. We made good use of our first class train tickets that gave us unlimited access to the trains, boats and museums. Many of the castles are actually museums so it was nice to just get off the train/boat we were on and use our pass. By the end of the trip I did wish we had taken some form of all inclusive trip through Switzerland as opposed to doing it ourselves because of cost and the constant decisions as to what I was willing to pay for. I believe I read that Tauck is offering a new itinerary pairing the Rhine with a substantial tour of Switzerland. Just thought.

[jpalbny]

...Northern Italy is partly bilingual.

 

notamermaid

 

Yes! The only reason I have heard of this, is because I like the wines from this region. There is a Pinot Nero from Südtirol that I've had that is delicious. It is so odd to read the mixture of Italian and German on the wine label, though!

 

Very strange how languages cross borders in unpredictable ways. German penetrates into Italy, but Italian penetrates into part of Switzerland. Fascinating.

 

We are planning a few days in Switzerland this fall. Agree that it's crazy expensive. We shall see what happens!

Edited May 4, 2015 by jpalbny

[capriccio]

Very strange how languages cross borders in unpredictable ways. German penetrates into Italy, but Italian penetrates into part of Switzerland. Fascinating.

 

The Sudtirol was part of the German speaking Austro-Hungarian Empire and became part of Italy post WWI fulfilling a promise made to Italy by the allies to entice them to enter the war. The Germans occupied it in WWII. Post WWII Italian and German were recognized as the official languages. There is still a strong secessionist sentiment in the area.

 

The different languages in Switzerland reflect the languages spoken in the areas that formed the original confederation of cantons in the 15th and 16th centuries.

[notamermaid]

Thank you capriccio.

 

The languages in Europe often ignore borders, it has caused great misery in history, especially in the 20th century to connect the language issue with national borders. Switzerland being, sort of, a happy exception. German is, by the way, not the only offical language of Germany. "Regional official language" status has among others been granted to Sorbian in the far east of the country. It is a Slawic language whereas German is a, well, Germanic language. In the Sorbian area street signs are also in two languages.

 

Other countries have similarly fascinating oddities.

 

I hope guides explain this to you on cruises. I for my part find it fascinating and was glad that our Hungarian guide also talked about his native language and odd language minorities because of settlements of other nationalities on the tour he did in Estergom.

 

Slightly back on topic: in the river cruise ports on the Rhine the trained ear can hear several languages and dialect areas. They vary so much, I would be struggling to understand a person speaking a broad dialect from the Upper Rhine valley. The Cologne people have a distinct dialect, called Kölsch. Different again from my own and officially classified so! Yes, there are these weird people who actually study this topic and publish books on it. :D

 

notamermaid

Edited May 5, 2015 by notamermaid

[capriccio]

The languages in Europe often ignore borders, it has caused great misery in history, especially in the 20th century to connect the language issue with national borders. Switzerland being, sort of, a happy exception. German is, by the way, not the only offical language of Germany. "Regional official language" status has among others been granted to Sorbian in the far east of the country. It is a Slawic language whereas German is a, well, Germanic language. In the Sorbian area street signs are also in two languages.

 

Other countries have similarly fascinating oddities.

 

I hope guides explain this to you on cruises. I for my part find it fascinating and was glad that our Hungarian guide also talked about his native language and odd language minorities because of settlements of other nationalities on the tour he did in Estergom.

 

Slightly back on topic: in the river cruise ports on the Rhine the trained ear can hear several languages and dialect areas. They vary so much, I would be struggling to understand a person speaking a broad dialect from the Upper Rhine valley. The Cologne people have a distinct dialect, called Kölsch. Different again from my own and officially classified so! Yes, there are these weird people who actually study this topic and publish books on it.

 

 

I find it fascinating too and will ask guides to explain linguistic differences if they don't volunteer it.

 

We lived in Belgium for 3 1/2 years where the official languages are Flemish (version of Dutch), French and German and in the area immediately south of Brussels, the official language varies from town to town. We lived in Waterloo (French speaking), many of our friends lived in Hoeilaart and Overijse (Flemish speaking). All the road signs were in both languages.

 

I also remember visiting my husband's family in Sicily in the mid-70s where I was shown an Italian/Sicilian dictionary! And while I can speak Italian, I am still totally confounded when listening to Neapolitan. Many still learn the dialect at home but all are exposed to 'proper' Italian on TV now so at least kids enter school already understanding it.

 

One last German story - German friends in Italy raised their children to be tri-lingual (Italian, English and German) and sent them to the German school. One summer (in the 1980s) they went on vacation to Bavaria and their precocious 5 year old had a melt down at their first stop: "You told me I spoke good German and I don't understand anything anyone says!" Mom and Dad had to explain that even they had to concentrate to understand the dialect.

[DrivesLikeMario]

LOL That's cute and so true. I'll never forget how well my Spanish class understood our teacher until the day we had a substitute. Her dialect was near impossible to understand. :eek:

 

And, in So. Cal., a visitor to the area would almost think the primary language was Spanish, not English. Street signs are Spanish, we have 4 main Spanish channels, and the language is offered on all California government forms. Goes right back to languages not following borders. :cool:

[CPT Trips]

In high school I had a friend who was convinced he would ace German with no work because his parents and grand parents spoke German at home. He almost failed . . . turns out they spoke Swabian. Tough to unlearn and then learn.