Drifting Down the Rhine

Out of the blue in February of this year, Regee received a promotional offer from Viking River Cruises.  They would fly us to Amsterdam for free, take us down (up?) the Rhine to Basel, fly us home for free, give us 5 shore excursions for free and throw in their Silver Alcohol Package (SAP) for free. Wait. A free SAP?  I signed up in 2.3 milliseconds! And did I mention a stateroom with a French balcony?  Not quite free but very, very reasonable.

We have just returned from 7 happy days of drifting down "Old Father Rhine" on Viking Longship HLIN.  All Viking's promises were honored. The weather was spectacular, the Rhine was heavenly, the food and wines were sumptuous, the people we met on board were charming, the local guides were encyclopedic, and the whole crew from Captain to deckhands were absolutely committed to making this the trip of a lifetime.  Viking is not paying me for this testimonial, I am doing it for free. Payback!

I can't tell you everything we saw and did during those 7 days (this is a blog not a novel) but here are some highlights along with a few photos.  In the left-hand column there are more photos of the trip in no particular order. 

You know, sometimes a stream of consciousness can summarize information and experiences better than a chronological exposition.  Forgive me for the following jumble of words but these are things that remain as hazy memories or dimly recollected information imparted by local guides in different towns and cities along the Rhine.  If none of it makes sense, welcome to my world.

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS.....

Kinderdijk windmills

......windmills at dawn, Romans marching up and down the Rhine planting vineyards everywhere, fairy-tale castles on impossible craggy slopes, soaring cathedral spires against bright blue skies, ravishing stained-glass windows casting Technicolor hues on medieval stone.....

Cologne Cathedral

.....French soldiers destroying those castles as fast as the Germans could build them during endless wars, gorgeous villages, crooked medieval houses, sweeping green hills, steep gorges, river bends and river confluences, Kaisers on horses, waterfalls, beer houses, weekend markets, dramatic sunsets with criss-crossing contrails, scary maneuvering through narrow locks at night when Longship HLIN was raised 35 to 40 feet up to the next level.....

Navigating a lock at midnight

---local guides giving you history lessons and quirky details about the town or city you were visiting, languorous lunches and delightful dinners, meeting different people at different tables every day, quiet early morning breakfasts at the prow of the boat where the misty silver Rhine stretches onwards to infinity, nightly briefings by the stern Captain Tomasz on navigational matters, the ever-present Guest Director Rene on where we were going next, and the unnaturally slim Chef Martin on what he was cooking up for dinner that night....

Yum!

.......Jeeves-type barmen, wait staff and room attendants hovering over you to ensure that everything was perfection, lots of laughter, tall stories, well-traveled people of the older and not so old variety who hailed from all over America, Canada, the Philippines, China, Thailand, Eastern Europe and places unknown, a walkable railway bridge festooned with padlocks, a Moulin Rouge on the banks of the Rhine, a roomful of cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest, and one monster cuckoo clock to rule them all.....

World's biggest cuckoo clock?

......a Black Forest cake that contained pounds and pounds of butter and cream, trams that cross back and forth to France and Germany, stunning rose windows, stumble stones set in sidewalks to commemorate those who died in the Holocaust, glass blowers, a massive astronomical clock, a pillar of angels, yellow, orange and blue vineyards along the banks of the Rhine, strange cloud formations, a statue of a naughty boy who spits water at you, the "German Corner" where the Rhine and Moselle flow into each other, two Viking Longships moored next to each other....

Ships that pass in the night?

I could go on but you get the general idea. If you can bear any more, a day by day account of some of the things we saw follows. You can just look at the photos if you feel too tired. Yes, my blogs are too long but you can never get too many photos!

SUNDAY:  We arrived in AMSTERDAM at 8.30AM from Houston (don't ask). 

Through great good fortune, Regee's sister Gracita and hubby Ivo who live in Zurich just happened to be in Amsterdam the very afternoon we arrived. What are the odds? 

They were in Amsterdam for the graduation of their daughter Nina, and also to see their other daughter Katrin my god-daughter, and her boyfriend Alex, all of whom live in Amsterdam. So, we had a very relaxed lunch at the Cafe Jakarta (below) which was quite close to where our Longship HLIN was docked.

From L to R: Nina, Gracita, Ivo, Regee, Katrin & Alex

We wandered around the canals of Amsterdam after lunch and found a cute little bakery by the side of a canal where we sat outside and had cake, ice cream, tea and ale for "afternoon tea." Amsterdam rocks.  Katrin, Nina and Alex are part owners of a boat with a few others who plow up and down the canals at the weekend.  This was the personal highlight of our trip.  At long last, after the pandemic, we had found Swiss Family Sieber again.  Perfick.

MONDAY: Overnight we sailed from Amsterdam to KINDERDIJK in southern Holland. This is an area where there are still 19 working windmills which have been beautifully preserved from the 18th century.  Kinderdijck is a small village nestled among low-lying polders--land reclaimed from the sea via the power of the windmills and surrounded by dikes. 

 

We climbed up the steep staircase (ladder?) of one windmill and learned about the families who had lived there in the old days. These windmills are now operated by people from all walks of life (teachers, doctors, artists etc) although they don't live in the cramped quarters which were home to their earlier inhabitants.  Fascinating tour with dear old John, our garrulous Dutch guide. Above is the workshop which keeps the windmills working and also makes clogs as an extra means of recycling old wood!

TUESDAY found us in COLOGNE (KOLN), the great cathedral city which was reduced to rubble during WWII.  We had heard elsewhere that the Cathedral had been spared because it was a landmark used by Allied bombers but our guide told us that it had taken over 70 direct hits.  The fact that it still stands is a testament to the medieval builders and the incredible foundations which support the whole stupendous structure.  Like an iceberg, most of the building is below!

Sunset over Cologne with railway bridge and cathedral

We had a good look around the city, the shops and beer houses, and walked back across the river to where the good ship HILN was docked.  I went back across the railway bridge later to check out some beer houses but some were a bit too boisterous for my liking. It was quieter at the Lounge Bar on board--but not by much!

WEDNESDAY: This must be the day we went to KOBLENZ, an old Roman town in the Middle Rhine area. This is the so-called "German Corner" where the Moselle and the Rhine meet.  There is an imposing memorial and statue of Prince William I which totally dominates the confluence of the two rivers.  Shouldn't there be something French to dominate the Moselle?  

Basilica of St. Castor

Koblenz has beautiful cobblestone streets, wood-beamed houses and the Romanesque Basilica of St Castor which dates back to 836.  Now that's definitely old! Our lovely guide, Homi, was of Persian origin and quite a character. Her favorite site in Koblenz was a roof statue of the Goddess of Health--you can see both of them in the left-hand column of photos.  

Speyer Cathedral

THURSDAY: The Imperial Cathedral of SPEYER (pronounced SHPYER according to our guide) is absolutely massive.  It was started in the 11th century and building continued for centuries. In the Romanesque style, it has gigantic pillars supporting the roof and four huge towers which denote the four seasons and the idea that the power of the Holy Roman Empire extends in all directions. For some reason, I have never fully understood the Holy Roman Empire--that part of European history is all too confusing. Four emperors and four kings are buried here. (There is a huge statue of them in the adjoining park but they honestly look like the Wraith Kings from Lord of the Rings, which gives them a more immediate relevance).

Approach to the Imperial Cathedral

Speyer was once a major Celtic center and then alternatively held by Romans and Huns. And every English schoolboy knows that this is where the term"Protestant" came into being at the Diet of Speyer in 1529 when free cities and Lutheran princes "protested" the Edict of Worms.  And, of course, this English schoolboy thought the Edict of Worms was some sort of dietary restriction!

FRIDAY: The real cultural highlight of the trip was STRASBOURG. The Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg is one of the world's great Gothic cathedrals. Built between 1015 and 1439, it has the highest towers of any cathedral built in the Middle Ages--you can see them almost anywhere in the city.  The old town is packed with ancient, slightly crooked and wobbly looking wood-beamed houses.  Strasbourg survived WWII because both the French and Germans thought it was theirs. 

This city has been fought over through the centuries and has been part of both France and Germany, prompting one 101-year old woman to ask whether she was French or German at the moment--or so our guide told us. The food and wine of Alsace are renowned.  When I was a law student, I spent two months here on an international law course.  Law sort of took a back seat during that time if I remember correctly.  You can catch a tram in the center of the city and cross the Rhine on a tram-only bridge to KEHL in Germany where our Longship was moored. You could also take a pedestrian bridge--no real border, no need for passports. Why on earth did the Brits leave the EU?

And several EU institutions are based here, making it a very expensive and rapidly expanding city. Our guide, Octave, said that he was "European" rather than Romanian and that sort of summed up the long journey of Strasbourg. It was now simply "Europe." I think that is rather beautiful after centuries of bloodshed. 

SATURDAY:  This was our last full day. We docked in the small town of Briesach. I took a walk around in the morning and discovered that it was market day. I bought a small glass of beer from a stall and stood at a tiny table like the locals to drink it in the market square. A guy standing at the next table said: "Morgen." I nodded and said a rather clipped "Morgen" back. I felt quite German standing there with my beer. And why not? I am probably full of Anglo-Saxon blood, with a little Viking/Norman infusion!

In the afternoon, we took a coach to the Black Forest about an hour away. On the way there, it got darker and darker. It seems that the Romans gave the forest in this region the name "Black" because the trees were so dense that there was little light.  And, of course, they avoided the Black Forest for quite some time because the locals were not exactly friendly. Today's locals are all smiles.

While some of our fellow travelers went for a hike in the Black Forest, we stayed in the small center where there was a large cuckoo clock display, a resident glass blower (amazing creations) and a Black Forest Cake baking demo.  I watched the latter in astonishment as pounds of butter and whipped cream and cherries etc were piled in.  I think you really needed to eat it near or in a hospital in case of a heart attack!

SUNDAY: We arrived at our final destination BASEL, Switzerland at about 3AM.  We had to have our bags out in the corridor for pick up by 6.00AM so we went to the small Acquavit Restaurant up front and had our last Continental breakfast.  We said our fond farewells to some dear friends and our favorite server Jess who was a Filipina and took such good care of us all through the voyage. It was sad to leave the Longship HLIN but we already know that we will be cruising down other beautiful rivers with VIKING in the future.

FRIENDS FOREVER:  I mentioned above how charming all the guests were on board.  Well, here are some of the truly charming people that we met and continue to be in touch with.  Not sure what they will make of this blog but they are hereby memorialized.

On a rainy tour with Cathy & Corky!

Regee was the Kodaker: Gayle, David, Kirk, Debbie et moi

FOOD: Three excellent meals were served each day--lunch and dinner were accompanied by some really fine wines. We were told by our hilarious Guest Director Rene that we would add, on average, a kilo per day.  What? Luckily, we had to walk 2-3 miles each day on various tours and I somehow managed to add only about 3 kilos. As everyone knows, alcohol burns up a lot of food calories.  Saved by the bar! 

Corky (left) somehow got us an invite to the kitchen! 

The food was excellent and you could choose from the Fixed Menu which always contained popular "classics" like steaks, burgers, fish, salads etc; or the "Regional Menu" which contained dishes from the areas we were passing through or international dishes from Thailand, France, Italy etc. Our last night was  a fantastic "German night" which featured the most popular dishes like bratwurst, sauerkraut, sauerbraten, white asparagus and, yet again, that sinful Black Forest cake.

One night, the Filipino Sous Chef  Michael made adobo, pancit and crispy pata for the small Pinoy contingent which we joined on several nights. They were in heaven.

And good old English fish 'n chips appeared on the menu one day--Viking was making sure that the one Brit on board was also happy!

A great first river cruise with VIKING.  I'm sure that we'll be back one day soon to sail down more rivers and go walkabout in more beautiful European cities.....