Day 7 - 11/22/2017 - Amsterdam & Home

Overnight we sailed down the Rhine Canal and very early in the morning on Wednesday, November 22, 2017, we docked in Amsterdam next to the Mövenpick Hotel located at the cruise ship terminal that we docked at last year when we sailed to Amsterdam on the Koningsdam. I put our luggage out at 4am and we got up and prepared to disembark the River Empress for the last time this trip.  

The ship provided a continental breakfast for the 15 of us who had a 5am departure to the Schiphol Airport. It was a quite early morning 30 minute ride to the airport and we were deposited at the Lufthansa gate where we joined the check-in line. It took over an hour to get checked in. This very slow checkin has been our experience at the Frankfurt airport as well. Once we were checked in, there was a second line to clear security. After that, we walked out to our gate. Lufthansa has a strange boarding process in that they board certain priority groups (1st and business class, the elderly, and those with children under 2) and then everyone else. There was no sense of priority for the main cabin passengers. But we all got on for an on-time departure for the brief one hour flight to Frankfurt.

Once we arrived in Frankfurt, we deplaned, cleared immigration, and then had the long walk to our gate. And I do mean it was a long walk. After a brief wait, once again we followed the Lufthansa boarding process to fill our 747-900 for the direct flight to Seattle. The flight itself was nice and 9 1/2 hours later, we landed at SeaTac. Since we had Global Entry, we passed a line of some 1,000 people for a quick entry back into the USA. And our one week river trip was finally over.

IMPRESSIONS & REVIEW

This is the first river cruise that we had taken. Everything about it was simply well executed by UNIWORLD. The ship was in very good condition. The crew were friendly and helpful. The food was first class and the menus varied by region with nice wine pairings. All drinks, tours, and gratuities were included in the fare. We enjoyed all of the stops although the last one in Cologne could have been longer.  

In short, it was a wonderful cruise and we'd like to do another. We'll see how that pans out as we have a number of ocean cruises planned for the next several years.

Day 6 - 11/21/2017 - Cologne

Very early in the morning we arrived in Cologne and tied up to our mooring point. This location was also an ideal location from which to tour the old city. Today's weather was a bit warmer, but also a bit damper so umbrellas were the order of the day.

Our guide led us on a serpentine route through the old part of the city and we ended up at the main Cathedral. Surrounding the Cathedral, the Christmas market preparations were in full swing. This Cathedral was lightly damaged in WWII, although much of the rest of Cologne was destroyed. The cathedral was fairly plain inside but had a more recent pipe organ installed.  

Afterwards our tour went over to a local brew house to sample some local Cologne beer called Kölsch. It was a bit bitter for my taste, and we opted to leave the group and make our way back to the ship independently. Our route took us down Hoh street which is a long pedestrian mall. Along the way we sampled traditional pastry and window shopped. Our goal was to make it to the chocolate museum which was near our ship. We made it to the chocolate museum's gift shop and purchased some local chocolate and then reboarded the ship prior to our 12:30pm departure. It was too short of a time in such a large city.

Following lunch we positioned ourselves in the front of the ship in the main lounge where we watched the industrial scenery of the Rhine go by throughout the afternoon.  We used the Quietvox headsets which provided periodic commentary on significant items.  There was a large Ford Motor Co. plant as well as a number of chemical and other industrial plants along the river. A number of river boats passed us on their journeys upriver. It's a busy commercial waterway. We also passed under a number of very pretty suspension bridges.

At 4pm there was a special tea time with all sorts of chocolate desserts being served including a Chocolate fountain. Afterwards the pre-dinner cocktail hour was held including the Captain's farewell toast. Promptly at 7pm the farewell gala dinner was held. We ate with Annie and Micky from Taiwan and had a lovely dinner with them sharing travel adventures. This dinner, like all the rest, took two hours. As we had to be up by 4am to get our ride to the airport, we excused ourselves to finish packing and get to bed early. And finally our Castles Along the Rhine trip would be over.  

It was a wonderful voyage packed with all sorts of cultural and historic locations and memories. We'd highly recommend it, and we're thinking of how we might do another river cruise. Perhaps it would be on the Danube or the Mosel. Time will tell. In the next and final installment of this trip report, I'll do a mini review and summarize our trip home. Stay tuned .

Day 5 - 11/20/2017 - Koblenz

We left Boppard sharply at 8am to continue our sail down the Rhine River to Koblenz which was about 2 hours away. During that time we saw a few more castles including the Marksburg Castle which we ended up touring in the afternoon. We also listened to an enrichment lecture by a young German historian, Marc Holtzheimer, on the German identity through the ages. It was quite good.

Once we arrived in Koblenz, we were met by our tour guide for a couple hour walking tour of Koblenz. We saw Roman walls, ancient churches, multiple town squares and many more Christmas markets being set up. Following a light lunch, we headed off to do a tour of the Marksburg Castle. It was really informative and it definitely had a commanding view of the Rhine River! I'll post pictures to my photo sharing site after we return home. To do this tour, one really needs to be in good shape as there are steep grades and lots of stairs and uneven surfaces.

After the tour we made our way back to the ship where we had a brief disembarkation talk by Chad, started sailing to Cologne, and then a sumptuous 2 hour dinner before retiring for the night.

Day 4- 11/19/2017 - Rüdesheim to Boppard

We awakened in Rüdesheim at 8:05am after an overnight sailing from Speyer. Since we had a walking tour scheduled for 8:30am, it was a bit of a scramble to get ready, but we made it! Chad, our Cruise Manager, led us on a short narrated walk into town. We encountered a number of Asian tourists, and we ended up at the mechanical clock museum. There we took an optional private tour (7.50€) and it was wonderful. Afterwards we went to the Schloss Vollrads castle and estate for a Reisling wine tasting and tour of the Castle.

Back on board the ship we enjoyed a German themed lunch and then Chad narrated a couple hours of scenic cruising down the Rhine past many castles until we reached Boppard which would be our moorage spot for the night. Chad then took us on another short narrated walk into town and ending at some Roman wall ruins. Afterwards we wandered around the city, mailed a letter, and purchased a book on Rhine River castles. We walked back to the ship in the dark, but discovered a statute of Engelbert Humperdinck, the famous German composer of the Hansel & Gretal opera.

Dinner tonight was enjoyed with Margaret and John from Scotland. Afterwards we were entertained by Toni and Florina, local very accomplished musicians. Tomorrow the plan is to sail to Koblenz for a day of touring.

Day 3 - 11/18/2017 - Strasbourg, France to Speyer, Germany

At 1am, less than 2 hours after we left Strasbourg, we were docked at Speyer (pronounced Spire). It was just a 10 minute walk into the town which has a large and prominent twin spired roofline.  

I had a great deal of trouble with my audio guide which detracted from our morning walking tour. Our tour included a visit to the cathedral which was among the most plain inside that we've ever seen, a stop in the ancient Jewish quarter with a trip underground to see where the ladies took monthly ritual baths to remove their uncleanliness following menstruation. At the city hall we were warmly greeted by the mayor and also met his mother. We visited the Protestant Church which had much more interior decor including many ceiling and wall paintings depicting major bible events. On the main avenue in front of the Protestant Church was a bronze statue of Jakob Spilger doing a pilgrimage walk to the Santiago de Compostelo.

The main shopping avenue was like a miniature version of the one found in Heidelberg which is about 10 miles away. We found a post office to purchase some stamps and then made our way back to our ship for some lunch and replacement of our defective audio gear.

After a quick lunch, we boarded buses to go to a vinegar tasting event at a nearby farm located 20 minutes away. This was by far the most unusual shore excursion tour we've ever done. We donned monk like brown robes and descended into the dark cellar lit only by over 300 candles (for atmosphere for the tourists) where the vinegar is created in oaken barrels. The vinegar smell was initially quite strong. The owner proceeded to explain the process of making vinegar and its history and medicinal qualities. The process he uses is entirely done by hand with no machines. He sells only to those who come to him and a few local chefs. I was very impressed by how seriously he takes his craft. At the end of the tour we sampled 5 different types of vinegars, and they were excellent. We plan to come back next summer when we are in the area. I should mention here that there was an optional extra fee tour to go to Heidelberg for a tour of the famous castle.

Back at the ship, we dropped off our purchases and shed a few clothes before walking about 10 minutes to the huge Technik museum which has a trademark Lufthansa 747 on display outside on tall pillars above the building's roofline. There are many other airplanes similarly displayed including a Concord, F84, F4, anearly Blue Angels plane, a submarine, and much more. There are two principal buildings. The larger main museum displays steam engines, a giant merry go round, a caliope, lots of fire engines, two small submarines, aircraft hanging from the ceiling, cars & trucks & tractors, motorcycles and motorcycles and much more!

In the second building which was a tad smaller, the major attraction was a huge Soviet space shuttle which looked astonishingly similar to a US space shuttle except that it was powered and could take off like an airplane. There were lots of additional space related displays, a racing truck display, and a HUGE collection of racing motorcycles, a smaller display of more cars.

We only had a couple hours to spend in the museum, but it was worth it. I may have to return for another more leisurely visit next summer. It was a very brisk walk back to the ship in the dark. It's certainly been chilly on this trip.

Back on board we enjoyed a leisurely dinner with Bill and Charlene followed by a tour of her suite. It has quite a bit more room than our stateroom and comes with a butler who's quite charming. My body hit the proverbial wall and I was in bed and asleep by 9:45 while my wife stayed up and watched Monument Men.

We're looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

Day 2 - 11/17/2017 - Breisach, Germany to Strasbourg, France

Overnight we sailed to Strasbourg and arrived about 1am. After another lovely breakfast, there were two tour options today: a walking tour or a canal boat tour (the city was built on an island). We opted for the walking tour. Our shuttle dropped us in town and Veronica, our guide, led us on a wander through the former leather tanning district to the Notre Dame cathedral. The cathedral was her home church and an interesting factoid was that the stained glass windows with the exception of the altar stained glass were removed at the start of the Second World War and hidden in Southern France. They were discovered by the Nazi's and rehidden by them. Finding and returning them became the story of the Monument Men which was turned into a major motion picture. The altar stained glass was damaged in the war and replaced by new glass while all of side stained glass were the originals saved and returned by the Monument Men.

Outside the cathedral, setting up the Christmas market was in full swing. Strasbourg is the home of Christmas markets and they take it very seriously. There are many kiosks and even a very cool merry go round. Since our walking tour was over, we decided to check out whether we could do an independent canal boat tour. We could and after paying our 13€ fare per person, we were on the 11am ride.

Since the heart of Strasbourg is on an island, the canal boat was a great way to see parts of the city we wouldn't be able to see just walking around. There was English, French, and German pre-recorded narration. After the tour we wandered the narrow streets, and I enjoyed a hamburger served on a 12" baguette roll. It was 6.50€ for the burger, fries, and a soda.

Continuing our wandering, we found a stature of Gutenberg, founder of the printing press here. We then headed to our pickup point for the shuttle back to our ship. I should mention it was again a bit chilly and a little sprinkly while we were in the city. Temperatures were in the mid 40's.

Back on board the ship, I took a two hour nap (first in a long time) and we met up with the couple (Jennifer and David) that we ate dinner with the previous night for a pre-dinner drink and ordourves and learned about the wine pairings for dinner and listened to the Port talk for the next day's stop in Speyer (pronounced spire) which is very near Heidelberg where we store our motorcycle.

Following a prime rib dinner with Jennifer and David, we listened for an hour to a couple of French musicians who were brought on board as entertainment. The older fellow, Armand Jehle, played an accordion and pretty young black haired woman sang. After their musical set was completed, the ship set sail, passed through yet another set of locks, joined the main river channel, and we drifted off to sleep.  

And so ended another wonderful day.

Day 1 - 11/16/2017 - Basel to Breisach, Germany

It turned turned out to be a very long day for me. I awakened at 1:30am and couldn't get back to sleep. I was under the influence of jet lag. So I used the time to update my blog. Precisely at 6am, the engines came to life and the captain maneuvered the ship into its way into the channel and backed down the river a mile or so to a turnaround basin.

Our first breakfast in the Main Dining Room was well stocked and we enjoyed great conversation with a couple from Minnesota. Afterwards there was a demonstration by the pastry chef of the making of a Black Forest cake followed by the requisite sampling! Chad, our cruise manager, gave a talk on all of our upcoming ports and the shore excursion options. One can take one of the free ship shore excursions, book a special one for a fee, or just go walking or use one of their bicycles to tour.

Around noon, after passing through 4 sets of locks (very cool and there are 14 in total for the entire trip), we arrived in Breisach and tied up next to the Edelweiss, another cruise ship. We ended up needing to walk across their ship to reach the shore. After a hearty lunch in the Main Dining Room, we scanned off the ship and boarded our buses for our walking tour to two small Alsatian villages. I should mention that it was just above freezing and it was lightly foggy outside. My Long Johns came in handy!

This is wine country and the Alsatian area has been under the control of either the French or Germans over the past few centuries. Many of the place names are German, but French is the spoken language as it's under French rule now. In the first little village, Kaysersburg, we were led around on a walking tour and then allowed to wander on our own for about 45 minutes. We saw storks and the town is in the final preparations for the annual Christmas market. My wife was in her element as a German teacher with all the decorations and architecture! We found a few souvenirs, and got some euros at an ATM. All to soon we reboarded our bus, and were whisked off to Riquewihr, which was a smaller village surrounded by a medieval wall with guard towers and gates. There was even a large Christmas store that was interesting to walk through.  

Back on board, we were served an amazing peach tea at the gangway. It was formal night and I found the laundry area to iron my dress shirt and met a fellow traveler who was doing the same. We ended up spending the evening with he and his wife. It turned out their relatives were from the same area as my wife. Much of our dinner conversation was about family names and where those people lived along with a bit of motorcycle talk. It's a very small world. There was also a captain's toast, and Chad gave a short presentation on the next day's port of call: Strasbourg. It's the capital of the Alsatian region and we're planning to do a walking tour there. Throughout the evening we passed through at least 4 more locks on our way down the Rhine.

Just after 9pm we finished dinner and my body said it was time to go to bed. So I did and it felt wonderful. I slept through for 9 hours!

More adventures await us for tomorrow!

Day 0 - 11/14-15/2017 - Seattle to Basel

We have wanted to do a European river cruise for some time, but the cost has always been a stumbling block. However when our travel agent, travelwithalan.com (TWA) sent us an offer to cruise the Rhine River for 8 days from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, Holland on the Uniworld luxury boutique ship, River Empress, at a very good price for a last minute sailing, we jumped on it. When we received our paperwork, we were even more impressed that our fights would be on Lufthansa through Frankfurt, Germany. It's the way we typically fly to and from Europe and we like the direct Seattle to Frankfurt flight of around 9 hours.

The flight to Frankfurt departed on time at 2pm and was smooth and comfortable with the airplane being about 80% full. Once we arrived in Frankfurt (the following day around 8:30am), the plane was parked out on the tarmac and we were bused in to our terminal 1, A8 gate where it was a lengthy walk to the immigration passport check. From the immigration passport check it was another even longer walk out to our gate A68 in Terminal 1 where we had a 4 hour layover. We enjoyed that time chatting with and meeting other TWA tour members. About 45 minutes before our scheduled departure, there was a gate change and we had to walk some distance back to gate A52. At the appointed hour, we passed through check in (using the Lufthansa app on our phones made that easy), boarded another bus and were taken a long ways out on to the tarmac where we boarded our Lufthansa Canada Air regional jet for the 30 minute flight to Basel. If our little group of about 40 weren't on that flight, it would have been a pretty empty flight.

The snack for this flight was a yummy chocolate wafer cookie and they even served beer, wine, water, or soft drinks in the brief smooth 30 minute flight.

Upon arrival at the Basel airport which is actually located in France, we cleared immigration once again, collected our luggage, and were greeted by a Uniworld representative and shown to our bus which would take us to the ship that was docked only about 10 minutes away at the St. Johann pier.

As you'll see from the pictures, I'll post, these ships are long and skinny and not very tall so that they can get under the many bridges crossing the river (note the bridge in the background that we need to pass under tomorrow morning!). Check in went smooth and we were able to enjoy a very nice lasagna and salad lunch before heading off on our own on a little walking tour of Basel. We could see the downtown area from our ship, and we had enough time to do some sightseeing before being back on the ship by 6pm for the Captain's mandatory safety briefing.

We have a class 2 stateroom midship on Deck 3 on the port or left side with a nice sized picture window. The room is compact and elegantly furnished. The closets are quite ample although we wish we could have more drawer space. There are lots of 110v and 220v outlets. There's a flat screen TV and a compact bathroom with a small shower.

We donned warm clothing as it was about 38°f, scanned our boarding cards (RFID enabled) to exit the ship, and we were off on a very pleasant walk along the river. There were 3 bridges between the ship and downtown, and the Middle Bridge was originally built in 1225, but replaced in 1905. It looks like a Roman era bridge. We used an app called GPSMYCITY which allowed us to have a downloaded detail map (so we wouldn't need internet access away from the ship) plus suggested walks. The APP is free and I paid $4.95 to upgrade it so I could have a Basel map and suggested routes. It was terrific and easy to use.

We saw some impressive church steeples from a distance and decided to make those our goal for this brief 2-3 hour walk. The first church was Basel Münster. We couldn't go inside, but the architectural detail on the outside was impressive. There was a full face analog clock plus a sundial on the front of the building plus detailed sculptures and other ornamental detail. This was labeled as a 'must see' in our guide and it certainly met the criteria. From there, the other church that was labeled as a 'must see' was the Elizabethankirche. We found our way to that church and while it wasn't quite as impressive on the exterior, we were able to go inside and the stained glass over the altar was among the most detailed we have seen in our world travels. We were at the apex of our time availability, so we started our walk back to the ship through the center of town and found the town square (Marktplatz) with a very scenic Rathouse (town hall). Continuing our walk back to our ship, we found the Predigerkirche which was built in the 13th century and one of the first built of the Gothic style in the upper Rhine area.

Back at the ship, we scanned ourselves aboard, went the room, unpacked, and made our way to the Captain's safety talk. We learned from Captain Janos Varga that we can tour the wheelhouse while in the locks or docked. The important takeaways were that there are no life jackets in our stateroom (they are on the top outside deck), and most importantly, there are no lifeboats! We're not at sea! His talk was followed by an introduction of the Hotel Director, Ivan Oktavec, followed by the Cruise Director, Chad Briggs, who explained in summary what to expect on our cruise. Tomorrow at 10am he'll give an upcoming Port talk as we cruise down the Rhine. All shore excursions are included in the cruise price, and we signed up for the Alsatian wine villages tour for the next day. We'll be in France for that portion of this trip.

These presentations were followed by dinner at 7pm in the main dining room ( I skipped the entree as I had a large salad at 3pm). We shared a table with a couple from South Carolina and it was leisurely 2 hour dinner and our server was from the Cape Verde Islands. By the end of the dinner time, my biological clock was hitting the proverbial wall as I had been up over 24 hours and the time here is 9 hours ahead of Seattle time. Back at the room, sleep came instantly! And so ended the beginning of what looks to be a wonderful trip.