Just Back from the Rhine on Uniworld SS Antoinette!

[jpalbny]

Yes, it was on Uniworld's SS Antoinette.

 

Robin

 

Love that ship... It's the one that got us hooked on Uniworld. The review is making me nostalgic. Looking forward to more. [emoji1]

 

 

 

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[acwmom]

First Field Trip...Freiburg!

 

The first morning, we had the option of going to Freiburg, about a 25 minute bus ride, or staying in Breisach and doing a city walk, up to the cathedral there. We chose Freiburg. Luckily for us, it was market day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, the market alternative....McCafe......we don't have any around us, so this is a novelty.....it would do well where we live.......

 

[acwmom]

For those who have been on river cruises, you know you see churches....a lot of churches. Freiburg was no exception. Fortunately for us, they offer a tower climb. Unfortunately, it wasn't open when we were there, due to construction.

 

 

 

So, we stayed with the group, and toured the inside. First, the entry doorway, with all of the intricate wood carvings.

 

 

And, the decorative ceiling above:

 

 

Next, we headed inside. On river cruise church visits, you also learn a LOT about stained glass, and how you can date the windows based on color, shape, etc. This one was particularly interesting because it paid homage to the Freiburg craftspeople (bottom center panel)

 

 

A view toward the altar, which was covered by a tapestry, for Lent.

 

 

And, looking back, with two of the three organs in view.

 

[acwmom]

Equally as impressive is the outside of the Freiburg Minster. The structure survived WWII. It is made of the region's famous pink sandstone.

 

 

 

 

The church had its share of gargoyles, as well. They paled in comparison to those at Notre Dame.

 

 

Well, except for this one. I tried to research "why," but Google failed me!

 

 

If the picture isn't clear enough, here's a close-up-yep, that's a person's butt:-O

 

 

Robin

[LTC]

Enjoying your review and pictures!

[claypot77]

Thank you for sharing your pictures! I have really enjoyed reading about your adventures and getting to see glimpses in the photo. I'm planning for my dream vacation Dec.2018 on a Danube Christmas market river cruise on Uniworld. It will be the 200th anniversary of the Christmas hymn "Silent Night" so I'm planning a special trip out to Oberndorf, about 1.5 hours from Linz, Austria, when the cruise stops there for the day as that is where the song was first sung. Can't wait, but seeing the photos is making the wait a bit easier.

[acwmom]

A few last pictures of Freiburg, including a couple of the Freiburg bächle.

 

A large one:

 

And, a much smaller one.

 

 

The Freiburg clock tower:

 

 

And, one last view of the Cathedral tower

 

 

After our busy morning (we managed to pass on the sausage trucks), we returned to the ship in Breisach, for lunch, and to fuel up for the afternoon's field trip. There were two options for lunch. The regular buffet, in the dining room, or, a lighter option on the sundeck, which consisted of salads, paninis, and meats/cheeses. Since the weather was perfect, we opted for the sundeck.

 

We were able to create our own grilled sandwich, we chose the bread/meat/cheese, and the chef grilled them.

 

 

I suppose not too many people were aware of this offering, today. We enjoyed our private outdoor dining experience.

 

 

Robin

[notamermaid]

Hello Robin,

 

glad to read you had such a great time on your cruise. I am happily following along with your review. So good that got to see Freiburg. I find it a delightful town. With the advantage of sort of knowing my way around the German internet I tried to find out about the gargoyle. The University of Freiburg has a good website for those curious about them weird stone creatures, there are 91 of them on the Minster: http://www2.germanistik.uni-freiburg.de/dafphil/internetprojekte/internetprojekte/freiburg99/b/wassersp.htm

 

They are called Wasserspeier (water spewer) in German and the quite drastic one is called the Hinternentblößer, literally the "person who exposes his butt". You can klick on the link where quite a close-up appears! Legend has it that it depicts a beggar who did not receive money from a rich guy and therefore called him an a... h... . The other explanation says that the gesture was directed at the archbishop whose palace is opposite the gargoyle.

 

Looking forward to your next posts.

 

notamermaid

[jpalbny]

Hinternentblößer. I'll have to remember that one! [emoji23] Notamermaid, your posts are so educational. Love it.

 

Robin, glad you enjoyed Freiburg. So sorry that the Münsterturm was closed! We climbed it a few years back. Beautiful view of the town and the forest. Oh well...

 

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[laverendrye]

Thanks so much for the photos of Freiburg. It's my favourite small city in Germany, likely because we lived for three years in the vicinity many years ago and visited it often. When taking visitors there, we always pointed out the Hinternentblößer to their great amusement.

[acwmom]

Thanks so much for the photos of Freiburg. It's my favourite small city in Germany, likely because we lived for three years in the vicinity many years ago and visited it often. When taking visitors there, we always pointed out the Hinternentblößer to their great amusement.

 

We really enjoyed it, and only wished we had been there a little later, so we could have eaten lunch there.

 

Robin

[acwmom]

Afternoon excursion:

 

We had the choice of Alsatian Villages, or Colmar. This was quite a dilemma for me, as I really wanted to do both. Ultimately, we decided on the Alsatian Villages. About 2/3 of the passengers on board chose this option.

 

Our first stop was in Kaysersberg. We arrived early in the afternoon, on a Monday. A good number of the shops were closed, unfortunately. There were castle ruins, which overlooked the city. At the end of our walking tour, we only had a short time to browse. A few hiked up to the castle ruins, but didn't have time to do anything else. Our wonderful cruise director, Chadd, treated us to some kugelhopf at the end of the tour.

 

 

 

You can see a glimpse of the castle above this house

 

 

 

 

[acwmom]

A few more of Kaysersberg:

 

Notice the uneven second floor, on this building:

 

 

Edited April 20, 2017 by acwmom
forgot to add all pics

[acwmom]

And, the rest:

 

 

 

 

 

And, my personal favorite. As we were walking to the bus, we saw this happy stork couple!

 

[SuiteTraveler]

Your photos are great and I love the photo of the storks - how it brings back our cruise on the SS Antoinette!

[jklc123]

Love the storks, too. We visited in the fall and so just saw empty nests.

[acwmom]

The second of the villages we saw was Riquewihr. We decided to skip the brief tour, and walk around on our own. The shops were open here. Many did wine tasting, we just explored, and took pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[acwmom]

And more:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gnome12]

I loved Riquewihr. I was there on a bicycle trip many years ago.

[SuiteTraveler]

Love the storks, too. We visited in the fall and so just saw empty nests.

 

We did our cruise in May and the storks had their chicks in the nests - so adorable. I really wish we had storks like this in Texas. I'd definitely put up a nesting platform on my house! We had a late lunch in a little restaurant in Riquewihr and we went wine tasting and shopped around. It was so lovely! The food was excellent.

 

 

BTW, if you get to go wine tasting at Castle Vollrads, go - it is amazing - and the whole story about how the original owner literally restarted the entire German wine industry - WOW!

[CutieKakes]

Loved your pictures! Thanks for sharing! You made me all nostalgic - we lived in Switzerland for a few years, not far from Colmar/Frieberg and went to both of the cities frequently. They are lovely, lovely towns...and the storks! So fun, so glad you had a chance to see them.

[acwmom]

Thanks to all for the compliments.

 

After a busy sightseeing day, we arrived back at the ship. We had about 30 minutes to sail away, and tonight was the welcome reception and dinner.

 

After such a busy day, we felt the need to decompress, so headed to the bar, then decided to go to the sun deck for sailaway.

 

The beer selection on board was excellent. My personal favorite was the Kasteels Rouge, a cherry infused Belgian.

 

 

Almost everyone else was busy getting ready for the festivities, but since Uniworld doesn't have a "fixed" time for dinner, we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and quiet time on the sun deck. We spent the time with another couple, who had similar feelings.

 

 

 

 

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[mauimary]

We are loving seeing all your photos. So fun to look at and follow you on this wonderful trip. Looks like you have had some really nice weather too. We can hardly wait for our Rhine Cruise in Sept. Thank you so much for the time and work you have done to share with all of us.

 

 

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[acwmom]

After passing through the lock, we changed clothes, and arrived at dinner around 8pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[acwmom]

And, dessert

 

Robin

 

 

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