Castles in the air

 

The 40 mile stretch of the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with more than 28 castles, most built before 1400. Usually the ship travels at night, but we sat on the sun deck this morning while our tour director narrated the sights and stories.   

Most of the castles were destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries but there they still stand- some romantic ruins, some converted to hotels. While it looks like something from a fairly tale, the history on this strategic stretch was dangerous, dark and violent, with each greedy fiefdom lord demanding river tolls while robber barons terrorized the mariners. 

Not to mention the Lorelei, but that’s another story. 

For example. See that metal basket? The unfortunate “wrongdoer” was put up there to starve, after which the birds ate his carcass. As a lesson to all who passed by. 

Peace and plenty down in our world. It was a chilly morning and the crew brought around rich hot chocolate (with an optional shot of Baily’s Cream.) Hence the morning smile. 

Then the sun reappeared as we approached the beautiful old city of Koblenz at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel. The excursion was a walking tour led by a local retired schoolteacher (heavy on the history.)  

Yet another Roman wall, ancient churches, WWII history and so on. I saw some eyes glazing over in our group (maybe history fatigue) or just a desire to go shopping. Well, the temptations along the way are many and stores full of beautiful things. I’ve obsessively collected fridge magnets, that’s about all there’s been time for. 

After the tour, John and I took the gondola across the Rhine. The solitude was nice, also the views of the ship below. 

Only so many hours in the day, so we didn’t even get out of the car to explore the giant fortress looming over the city. It’s been blasted to smithereens many times, like all the castles on the Rhine.

As for local history, according to our tour guides, everything in Germany has been destroyed by the French at least once. These countries becoming European Union “friends” is a very recent thing. 

 

Another late dinner coming up,  then on to Cologne tomorrow. 

 

Small town, big history

 

Speyer, Germany is a quiet town on the West Bank of the Rhine with a long history. It features the largest Romanesque building in the world, an imperial cathedral, and the burial place of eight Holy Roman Emperors. 

How about that? Someone was practicing (John says tuning) the organ when we entered, making for an atmospheric experience.  

We took a walking tour from the ship that lasted about an hour. This area in Germany was the home of most Pennsylvania Deutsch. Our Bleam family ancestors.  

All the local tour guides have been terrific. And they know their history. Our guide this morning was a former Lufhansa flight attendant and now a helicopter pilot. Yes, really. The guides are all highly educated and entertaining.  

The historic dissent against the Catholic Church in Speyer gave birth to the term Protestant. This church was built around 1900 to honor the 1529 Martin Luther Protestation of Speyer. We had a peek inside but no pictures. So much gold for a Lutheran church!

Speyer has a long Jewish heritage, and pogroms were a tragic part of that history. Money lending was forbidden for Christians, but the Bishop needed money to build the Cathedral. The church offered rights and protections to the Jews that were unheard of in the rest of Europe. The town became a center of spiritual and intellectual life for the Jewish community.

We had a brief visit at Germany’s oldest “Mikva” c. 1104.

It contains ancient synagog remains and 33 feet deep ritual bath. 

Almost all of Speyer’s Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. 

The daily Viking activity sheet arrives in the cabin each evening. 

We attended the teatime and Rudeshiem coffee experience in the lounge. Dinner at 7. 

The lap of luxury

 

The ride is smooth and quiet with no vibrations or even a sense of the engines running somewhere down below. The HVAC system is quieter than most hotel rooms. The lack of motion is heavenly, if you are prone to seasickness. The rooms are sound proof, and even the gentle lapping of water goes silent when we close the balcony door.

Our cabin (I should say stateroom) is a peaceful haven. Viking cruises are intensely social affairs, from the group tours to the communal meals. You soon make new friends.

The room is cleaned twice a day with fresh towels and bottled water. A 24 hour coffee and tea station is a few steps away. Pretty much anything you want is instantly indulged.

But if you’re felling anti-social, you can watch the bow of the ship from your stateroom television.

There are many locks on the Rhine, and occasionally this is the view from your balcony.

And in Strasbourg, we were tied to another identical Viking longship. This happens occasionally on the Rhine, but most of our stops are small towns, so perhaps not as often as other river cruises, where the boats stack up in large harbors. 

This  morning in Speyer, we woke up to a riverbank scene and the sound of birds singing. So many birds in Europe. In some places, you can walk right to town.

A few words about the food. Glad I have some stretchy pants. Breakfast is a buffet with a huge selection of hot and cold foods. You can also order items like pancakes and egg Benedict from the kitchen. Lunch is casual and you can order sandwiches, soup, salads and hot entrees. Wine and beer is included at every sitting. Between meals, the bar will gladly help you out. 

Dinner is a three course meal, served by waiters, although last night we had German food buffet. The menu above was just the main course meats. Many, many more things on top of that were offered. People love buffets (we don’t) and piled their plates high. The waiter brought us each a “sample plate” right to the table which was perfect so we didn’t have to stand in line. 

And last but not least. We splurged on the laundry service (12 days is a long trip) and our clothes came back within 24 hours, perfectly folded in beautiful boxes. All John’s shirts were pressed and hung in the closet. 

Return to reality will be cruel.  

  

Strasbourg day

 

Strasbourg is a major city in northeastern France along the Rhine, known for its French-German culture and gothic architecture, including stunning Strasbourg cathedral. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and only foot traffic is allowed in the historic center during the day. 

I’m topping 12,000 steps today. 

We walked through the historic district and toured the cathedral. Highlights included the 500 year old organ and the Strasbourg Astronomical Clock, one of the largest and most complex mathematical clocks in the world. (Read the Wiki page.) 

After the organized tour, we had several hours of free time before catching the shuttle bus back to the ship. Nice! Everything is so well organized by Viking. 

A snack and coffee first. The empty plate was John’s apple strudel.

After that, we visited the fine arts museum in an old palace near the cathedral. The warm and humid galleries chock full of  masterpieces. Just a few of these paintings would make a special exhibition at Seattle Art Museum.

I got up close and personal with a most exquisite Giotto miniature c. 1320, tucked away in a corner. 

Time for lunch. Strasbourg’s cuisine is a blend of French elegance and hearty German traditions. 

By luck, we picked a restaurant called Le Tire Bouchon, known for it’s traditional and classic Alsatian food.

John had French onion soup (of course) and I had salmon and vegetables (including white asparagus) with an to-die-for Riesling cream sauce. 

The WiFi is getting finicky again.  More later on river cruising life. Hint: pretty darn luxurious.