Viking Mimir Grand European Tour 7-1-22; "Live"

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, StartrainDD said:

We asked the hotel manager if we would have much actual 'daytime cruising' as the trip goes on and he told us yes, quite a lot, as we need to cover 1300 KM during the trip.

That is a lot. If you had asked me I would have guessed 900km. Thank you for taking us along on that journey.

 

The Rhine is definitely the busiest inland waterway in Europe, if you search you will also find the info that it is the busiest in the world. Not sure how that is measured, so will not comment. Anyway, the captain I talked to on a CroisiEurope river cruise ship called it (translated) "a bl**dy motorway".

 

I call it "my" river. Splendid weather today. Hope you have a lovely sunset on the Lower Rhine. I see that the Viking Eistla has just crossed the border. Welcome to Germany!

 

notamermaid

 

[loge23]

Terrific review - your description of a Delft Blue scene was so reminiscent of our day there some years ago - coincidentally on the Eistla as well. The power of those wind sails as we stood nearby was breathtaking. We loved the Aquavit Terrace and look forward to spending some Q-time there very soon.

Almost a week to go before we're off to Zurich for our adventure!

Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us!

[StartrainDD]

Following is the report on the remainder of our lovely day on Saturday, July 2:

 

We returned to the lounge for the 3:30 “Dutch tea.” Quite a number of guests participated and this was a very enjoyable event. We met a couple from British Columbia and enjoyed conversation over a number of small delicacies and scones.

 

At 5:00 the program manager gave a 'refresher' on German as we will be in German speaking countries until Hungary. Guten Morgan all! I took a year of German in high school. My German class name was “Wolfgang.” At the end of the year the teacher said he would pass me but told me not to take German 2! Sometime in the evening we crossed the border from the Netherlands into Germany.

 

6:30 was the Captain's and officers welcome. Nice beverages were served and everyone seems very happy to be on board. That was followed by a short overview of the next day. We will actually leave the ship at 8:45 at Köln for a bus ride to Cologne for our 9:30 walking tour. The ship won't arrive in Cologne until 12:30. There are optional tours in the afternoon and evening. A number of guests we spoke with are doing the 'pub dinner and crawl' in the evening. We hope to see the cathedral in the afternoon as being there on a Sunday of course the church has services in the morning. The program director also informed us that Cologne will be quite crowded as there is a “Pride” parade there on Sunday.

 

Dinner was very enjoyable. In fact, so far the food on this trip has been excellent. While I suppose dinners are early for most in Europe, these feel late for us. Again after dinner we pretty much called it an evening. Sunday night there will be a guest music performance in the lounge and we will try to stay up for that.

[StartrainDD]

This is the log so far today.  No fault of Viking's but Cologne has been a disappointment for us.  I just report things from our perspective and not everyone will agree and that is okay.  Here is the log:

 

Sunday, July 3: Cologne, Germany

 

Correction to previous information. The Eistla stopped at Zons for the bus ride to Cologne.

 

We woke before our alarm went off and got ready for the day. Enjoyed tea and coffee before breakfast. Breakfast was nice and I had time to sit in the lounge watching the riverside go by until we docked at Zons. We are in group “A” today. There was a bit of confusion as everyone's tour tickets said 9:30 while the actual meeting time was 8:30. 9:30 was to be the time to meet the guide in Cologne. This delayed our departure as some folks were not ready and had to rush to get out to the bus.

 

It was a pleasant enough bus ride until we were in the city. The buses couldn't get to the tour guide meeting point where the Eistla would later be docked as the roads were blocked. Finally a motorcycle police escort arrived to lead the four buses into the dock area. We all off-loaded and met our guide. We began our walk along the river, then up a bunch of steps, and over the Holenzollern Bridge, which is said to be the busiest railway bridge in the world with an average around the clock of thirty trains per hour passing over. There are walkways on both sides of the bridge, and these walkways are literally lined with “Love locks.” We enjoyed great views of the Cologne Cathedral from the bridge and would later get much closer.

 

Once over the bridge we walked down a bunch of stairs to the river level, which is now a huge pedestrian only area with lots of greenery and beer houses lining the eastern edge. At this point we began to run into many folks preparing for their participation in the “Pride parade.”

 

Our guide led us around through the 'Fish market' although fish are no longer sold there, with a stop at Peters Brauhaus, a large beer hall (not yet open for the day) where Viking had arranged for us to have a rest room break. This was certainly much preferred to using the many port a-potties which we found all over for the days festivities. We walked through the 'Alter Markt' and saw the building where Eau de Cologne was 'invented' in the early 1700's beginning the perfume/cologne business. Now you know, anytime you use Cologne, that the phrase originated with the city of Cologne. We also saw the former “4711” headquarters, the slightly more economical competitor to Eau de Cologne. That caused me to recall that my Dutch Grandmother used to use “4711” as her fragrance of choice.

 

All that said about Cologne, we found the city to be dirty and not very attractive. Near the Cathedral we saw street cleaners but smells of urine hit us a number of times during the morning.

 

After passing by town hall, and seeing the mosaic through the windows of the Roman Museum, which is under renovation. Then we walked around the outside of the cathedral and heard the bells calling worshipers for the noon service. We could not go in to this UNESCO world heritage site due to the service times. The area around the cathedral was swarming with many participants of the days festivities. We had every intention of either staying in town until the cathedral was open for tourists or returning later in the day, but with the crush of pride celebrants, once the tour was concluded we decided to call it a day and head back across the bridge to the now docked Eistla.

 

We were warmly welcomed back on board. After a through hand-washing and leaving our things in the cabin we went to lunch on the Aquavit terrace. While we were a little early for lunch we were immediately offered lunch beverages and enjoyed the wine and berry cider, as well as some great ice water! We sat near the grille and I asked the chef what he was grilling today? The answer was shrimp! So I had a terrific shrimp lunch and DW added a few shrimp to her pre-ordered salmon. Lunch was truly terrific.

 

Since we were not returning to the city, we had a chance to relax during the afternoon. Much to our surprise, the main lights in the cabin decided to malfunction just as we were getting ready for the evening. I went to the front desk and they promised to send a technician to inspect them. It's very strange, the lights are extremely dim, like 2% of what they should be. The lights by the bed and in the bathroom are fine.

[notamermaid]

Sorry to hear that. An unfortunate coincidence with the parade, but the fact that they let you "enjoy" the city where the main draw is the Cathedral when the said edifice is understandably closed is not good. That tour especially on this day should have been arranged differently with the guides. Flexibility is key. I am afraid you have walked in the footsteps of George Lord Byron who in 1815 found it crowded and dirty and made sure to get away as fast as possible to see Bonn and the castles ("the castl'd crag of Drachenfels")...

 

Hope you come back to tell us that dinner was splendid and I hope you can enjoy the sunset and lights from your position at Deutz (and docked with the Viking Gefjon).

 

Tomorrow should be quieter and definitely more scenic for you.

 

notamermaid

 

[loge23]

Interesting take on Cologne and not much different from our recollections. On our last visit there, we were going in the opposite direction, so the shock of arriving in a crowded, noisy, city was compounded by the fact that our previous week has been spent visiting blissful, quaint small towns and villages. We just weren't ready for civilization yet!

The good news for you is you're about the experience the relative calm of the Rhine and its' lovely ports. 

Smooth sailing!

 

[notamermaid]

25 minutes ago, loge23 said:

The good news for you is you're about the experience the relative calm of the Rhine and its' lovely ports. 

And I think the Main is going to be even better (overall speaking). Sundeck closed for some of the time I should think (depending on what the arrangements are among the busy crew), but I am sure Viking will make the best of that situation.

 

notamermaid

 

[StartrainDD]

Guten Morgen alle!  Following is my log for the remainder of our Sunday.

 

A technician stopped by and showed us that the push-button light switch for the main lights is actually a dimmer. By holding it in, the lights get dimmer (or brighter). We were able to make the lights brighter than they were before the 'problem!' We enjoyed the lounge and Api's piano entertainment and then the brief talk on tomorrow's plans. Same schedule as today, basically, with an 8:45 departure for our tour (by bus) up to the hilltop Marksburg Castle. While we are out, the ship will sail on, and the bus will bring us back to the ship by about noon. The afternoon will be scenic sailing on the middle Rhine.

 

After the talk the evening dinner & pub crawl tour departed. Dinner tonight in the dining room was not quite as excellent as prior meals. I had the rib eye steak which I ordered medium rare and it came out extremely rare, so I sent it back and the replacement was terrific. DW had the seared Cod but it was dry. With some added lemon it made it palatable.  Not every meal can be a "10" and the staff is taking very good care of DW's special dietary needs.

 

After dinner two local musicians, a pianist and clarinetist entertained in the lounge. This was very nice and they were terrific. While this was “Classical” nearly all the tunes I was familiar with and it was a very pleasant time. During the performance I did briefly leave to take a few photos of the sunset over Cologne, as sunset was 9:49 PM but we lost the sun to the cityscape perhaps 15 minutes earlier.

 

We were sitting with new friends from Maine and stayed in the lounge after the performance as the skies slowly darkened. I was able to get a few terrific photos of the city lights, the Cathedral, and St. Mark's church which were all lit up as the Eistla slowly departed our berth. So we were actually out and about until 11:00, which is very late for us. With a 6:30 start tomorrow that means a quick night's rest.

 

All in all, the relaxing afternoon and evening rather recovered my feelings about the day and we look forward to continued adventures!

[Canal archive]

StartrainDD we look forward to some of your photographs. I bet you never thought a river cruise would be such a learning curve. Keep enjoying!

[GoGAdawgsWin]

Great blog.  Thanks for doing this.

if you don’t mind me asking what age range are y’all?

[notamermaid]

6 hours ago, StartrainDD said:

All in all, the relaxing afternoon and evening rather recovered my feelings about the day and we look forward to continued adventures!

Lovely . Terrific day in the Middle Rhine valley. Just a tiny bit of cloud in a blue sky. Hope your trip up to Marksburg was great. Wondering where the ship dropped you off.

 

Anyway, you are enjoying the Rhine Gorge as I write, so have a great afternoon.

 

notamermaid

 

[StartrainDD]

7 hours ago, Canal archive said:

StartrainDD we look forward to some of your photographs. I bet you never thought a river cruise would be such a learning curve. Keep enjoying!

I've never quite figured out how to post photos on CC.  😞

4 hours ago, GoGAdawgsWin said:

Great blog.  Thanks for doing this.

if you don’t mind me asking what age range are y’all?

We are 64 & 63  There are folks on board from 50's into 80's that we can determine.  Perhaps one younger couple.

[StartrainDD]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Lovely . Terrific day in the Middle Rhine valley. Just a tiny bit of cloud in a blue sky. Hope your trip up to Marksburg was great. Wondering where the ship dropped you off.

 

Anyway, you are enjoying the Rhine Gorge as I write, so have a great afternoon.

 

notamermaid

 

We have been incredibly blessed with the weather so far.  Absolutely perfect for touring!

[StartrainDD]

Here is the report for July 4 so far.  Happy Independence day to all in the USA!

 

Monday, July 4 – Koblenz, Marksburg Castle, and the middle Rhine

 

What a difference a day makes! We enjoyed our usual morning routine to be ready for the 8:45 walk to the buses for the Koblenz dock. The parts of Koblenz that were actually seen appeared to be very clean and tidy. We didn't realize how close we were docked to the point where the rivers meet or we would have left the ship early to see it and take photos, like a few others did.

 

As I was boarding our bus I noticed a large building nearby with a few statues on the front. So I left the bus with the camera and walked down to take a few photos. I was not able to find on Google maps what that building actually was. I also took a few photos of the boats docked on the Rhine and returned to the bus still long before the last folks were arriving.

 

We had a quick 20 minute or so bus ride to Marksburg Castle. Named after St. Mark this is the only castle on the Rhine that claims to have never been captured or taken in battle. Rick Steve's informed me that technically wasn't true, as the Allies captured the castle in 1945, but they did so without a 'battle.' The castle is said to be original as it was in the middle ages inside. I was impressed and really enjoyed the visit. As I posted a few photos on FB, I dedicated this day to our late son Kevin, who loved all things medieval, knights, and weapons of the time. The castle included displays of many weapons and I know Kevin would have loved to see this. In a video game he helped develop, he said he was just a “Simple blacksmith” but really was a fierce warrior.

 

.After touring the castle we had time for a cup of coffee before heading back down the hill to meet the Eistla at a dock in Braubach. Reaching the dock, much to our surprise there was a different Viking boat docked, waiting for their guests. Apparently their tours were running late. We stood about 30 minutes until the dock was clear and the Eistla could pick up nearly all it's guests. We were literally the first folks back on the ship and headed straight for the Aquavit terrace where we chose a mostly shaded table for lunch and to enjoy the river views.

 

After ordering lunch the views kept getting better and better. For the 4^th of July the chef was cooking burgers and hot dogs on the grill. The afternoon just flew by as we passed castle after castle and lovely riverside towns one after the other. We saw many bicyclists, trains, and vehicles on the trails, rails, and roads lining the Rhine.

 

At 3:30 the ship offered a “German tea time.” The treats seemed to be very similar to those at the Dutch tea a few days before. We were offered a glass of local brandy in addition to tea or coffee. It was hard to break away at any time but we did take a few minutes to freshen up for the evening. Tonight we are invited, as repeat guests, to a Viking Explorer Society cocktail party at 6:15.

[need2travel1]

Loving your review so far!  Keep enjoying yourselves😎

[miltonplane88]

3 hours ago, StartrainDD said:

Here is the report for July 4 so far.  Happy Independence day to all in the USA!

 

Monday, July 4 – Koblenz, Marksburg Castle, and the middle Rhine

 

What a difference a day makes! We enjoyed our usual morning routine to be ready for the 8:45 walk to the buses for the Koblenz dock. The parts of Koblenz that were actually seen appeared to be very clean and tidy. We didn't realize how close we were docked to the point where the rivers meet or we would have left the ship early to see it and take photos, like a few others did.

 

As I was boarding our bus I noticed a large building nearby with a few statues on the front. So I left the bus with the camera and walked down to take a few photos. I was not able to find on Google maps what that building actually was. I also took a few photos of the boats docked on the Rhine and returned to the bus still long before the last folks were arriving.

 

We had a quick 20 minute or so bus ride to Marksburg Castle. Named after St. Mark this is the only castle on the Rhine that claims to have never been captured or taken in battle. Rick Steve's informed me that technically wasn't true, as the Allies captured the castle in 1945, but they did so without a 'battle.' The castle is said to be original as it was in the middle ages inside. I was impressed and really enjoyed the visit. As I posted a few photos on FB, I dedicated this day to our late son Kevin, who loved all things medieval, knights, and weapons of the time. The castle included displays of many weapons and I know Kevin would have loved to see this. In a video game he helped develop, he said he was just a “Simple blacksmith” but really was a fierce warrior.

 

.After touring the castle we had time for a cup of coffee before heading back down the hill to meet the Eistla at a dock in Braubach. Reaching the dock, much to our surprise there was a different Viking boat docked, waiting for their guests. Apparently their tours were running late. We stood about 30 minutes until the dock was clear and the Eistla could pick up nearly all it's guests. We were literally the first folks back on the ship and headed straight for the Aquavit terrace where we chose a mostly shaded table for lunch and to enjoy the river views.

 

After ordering lunch the views kept getting better and better. For the 4^th of July the chef was cooking burgers and hot dogs on the grill. The afternoon just flew by as we passed castle after castle and lovely riverside towns one after the other. We saw many bicyclists, trains, and vehicles on the trails, rails, and roads lining the Rhine.

 

At 3:30 the ship offered a “German tea time.” The treats seemed to be very similar to those at the Dutch tea a few days before. We were offered a glass of local brandy in addition to tea or coffee. It was hard to break away at any time but we did take a few minutes to freshen up for the evening. Tonight we are invited, as repeat guests, to a Viking Explorer Society cocktail party at 6:15.

@StartrainDD--Missing you guys back home in Florida

[CPT Trips]

9 hours ago, StartrainDD said:

I've never quite figured out how to post photos on CC.  😞

Want to learn? 
 

[StartrainDD]

6 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Want to learn? 
 

If you have instructions I could give it a try.  I use real cameras except for a handful of shots on my I-phone that I use for FB.

[StartrainDD]

Here are my notes from the remainder of July 4.  Today we have our fourth day in a row of incredible weather.  🙂

 

By the time we returned to the Aquavit the landscape had changed and we were leaving the mountains and castles behind. We did enjoy watching the parks, beaches, and marinas slide by while I updated this log. We stayed there until the cocktail party was over, and listened to the program director's talk on the next days schedule from our table. The cocktail party itself was nice with all the senior officers present and they circulated around the room. There were only about 20 at participants at the party. We met a couple from Pennsylvania on their third Viking cruise. Tomorrow afternoon we will again be dropped off for our walking tour and free time in Miltenburg and will rejoin the ship just in time for dinner.

 

Dinner was a very nice affair with the food being a bit less than a “Ten” tonight. I went for the German specialty of the day but the beef was too dry. Edible but the rib eye would have been a better choice. DW had a huge portion of Ahi Tuna steak and that was very good but it was too much to finish. In addition to the menu desserts, the chefs paraded around the dining room with two “Fourth of July” cakes and everyone was offered a slice, a very nice touch.

 

During dinner we went through the first of 67 additional locks the Eistla will pass through on our trip. We were approaching yet another lock as we called it a night a little after 10:00.

 

After dinner the entertainment was a game show “And the top answer is” which was based on family feud. This was entertaining and it was made more entertaining to see how some folks took this entirely too seriously  😃!

[Canal archive]

But of course 😁 these things could be life changing and people watching is the best entertainment on the planet. Also if you post on FB you’ll get with CPTs aid how to post pictures here. Mind you I don’t do FB at all, I’m still in the dark ages or is it stone!

Edited July 5, 2022 by Canal archive

[CPT Trips]

First things first . . . You need a digital image store on the device you are using to post. I assume that’s your phone.

 

Click on the “choose files” at the bottom of the reply box.

In the box that opens, go to the option that applies to where you have the photo(s) stored. In my case that’s “photo library”, but if you use another file select the “choose files” in the pop up.

 

Find your photo(s), select what you want, tap on “add,” and you’ll be set if you follow all the prompts as they appear. I’m on the Luddite side of the tech spectrum (don’t use FB, or other similar/trendy social media sites) and found that it’s a fairly intuitive process. Viel glück!

ETA - Our first river cruise was a last minute deal (different line) from Vienna to Amsterdam. I was hooked. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by CPT Trips

[ural guy]

Thanks for posting, an enjoyable read.

 

Aquavit lounge is the best spot on the ship, glad you're enjoying this.  That's my only strike against Vantage's boat design; they put the second eating place at back of ship, you lose the great view and breeze, and when docked some diesel smells can hit you.  VIking got this right, down to the rocking chairs.

[CastleCritic]

55 minutes ago, ural guy said:

Thanks for posting, an enjoyable read.

 

Aquavit lounge is the best spot on the ship, glad you're enjoying this.  That's my only strike against Vantage's boat design; they put the second eating place at back of ship, you lose the great view and breeze, and when docked some diesel smells can hit you.  VIking got this right, down to the rocking chairs.

having done only Amawaterways this does sound great, and I see why someone said they thought that the Ama restaurant was a bit dungeon like (if the window blinds are closed it definitely can be).  Their only analog is their lighter breakast/lunch buffet in the lounge (which they haven't really done the last two Ive been on the last year due to low passenger loads and probably more...covid).

[ural guy]

One of my favorite cruising moments was early morning, like 0500, sitting up front with a coffee while cruising the Main Canal.  We were heading east towards Nuremburg.  The Canal was so narrow, it seemed like we were sailing in people's back yards while the mist was rising.  Amazing they can get a 440' wide boat in some of those spaces.  And where the OP was a few days back, seeing the ships 3 wide in some places as they pass each other.  I also had no idea what a busy corridor it was.

[StartrainDD]

Tuesday, July 5, Cruising the Main River & Miltenberg Germany

 

No reason to rush out early this morning! I did go to get coffee and tea at about 7:45 and there were few folks yet out and about. We went to breakfast at about 9:30 and finished just in time for the 10:00 Live Glass-Blowing Demonstration in the lounge. The glass-blowing demonstration was a lot of fun. Of course there was an opportunity to do some shopping and we did make a few purchases.

 

Afterwards, we found a table in the Aquavit terrace and waited for lunch while taking in the scenery. Today the chef was grilling Norwegian Salmon, so DW added a slice of salmon to her salad. I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich and it was very good.

 

We were running a little behind schedule. The Eistla stopped in Freudenberg to disembark the guests for the tour of Miltenberg or one of the optional tours and we left the ship at about 3:20 PM. We had to take coaches back east a short distance to Miltenberg. We had an enjoyable enough tour showing the old buildings, some dating back to the 14^th century, as well as some newer constructs. Our guide explained how all the buildings had their lower floor replaced with stone as due to previous floods the original wood beams would eventually rot.

 

Our tour ended at about 5:00 and we were to rejoin the buses at 6:00. If we hadn't already been so well fed there were opportunities for Bavarian pretzels, ice cream shops, beer or wine. I tried to follow a sign to a supermarket but we never did find it. The historic tourist area was very clean and tidy. Once we ventured outside of that area however we found the town to be dirty with trash strewn about, like no one cared. We arrived at the bus meeting spot at 5:50 and two buses were waiting. We boarded the same bus we arrived on and found it to be nearly full. Leaving just after 6:00 we arrived at Wertheim about 30 minutes later to rejoin the ship but it had not yet arrived. At about 6:45 the Eistla arrived and by the time everyone boarded it was after 7:00.

 

We were in our cabin when the program director said the dining room was open and the port talk would be held at 9:00. We then went to dinner and found our new friends and enjoyed a very nice dinner. DW and I both had the recommended Duck entree and it was very good. My dessert with the Apple Sacher Tart which was superb.

 

The port talk about tomorrow was a bit disappointing. We are to arrive in Wurzburg at 1:00 with the tours leaving at 1:45. The main attraction is the Wurzburg Bishops Residence (Palace) and we were told that 1: they still require masks; and 2: No photography is allowed. We may just do our own thing in Wurzburg as Rick Steve's has a nice chapter on Wurzburg in our Germany tour-book.

 

Afterwards we took a few photos off the front of the Eistla as every bend in the river has more interest and called it an evening.

 

I have a few thoughts about some surprises we've encountered and I may have time to write them up and try posting a few photos tomorrow morning.