Passau, Germany

On the Danube

We spent a glorious day in Passau! Sunny and in the 60's! It is a beautiful city on the border of Germany and Austria with pastel houses and narrow cobblestone streets. It is at the confluence of the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz Rivers and is "guarded" by a huge fortress up on the highest hill. We took a bus up to the entrance of the fortress and then climbed the steps to the watch tower for postcard views of the city and surrounding countryside.

St. Stephens cathedral is gorgeous and has an organ with 18,000 pipes. We were looking forward to hearing a concert but they don't start until May 1 - tomorrow!! The walking tours are all done by local guides and we have thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the history and legends of the cities. Hard to believe that most of these towns date back to medieval times and the Roman empire. And I thought the Alamo was old!

The pulpit at St. Stephens Cathedral

St. Stephens Cathedral

The altar

The ceiling fresco's 

The organ 

My favorite town so far - probably as much to do with the weather as the scenery!

Bamberg and Nuremberg, Germany

The past two days haven’t gone as expected! A series of locks on the Danube are closed for maintenance. We had hoped they would be done by the time we arrived but, since the Germans haven’t finished a church in less than 100 years we shouldn’t be surprised that they are still working on them! 

The Aegir docked in Bamberg, we took our usual walking tour, returned to the ship and spent the night at the dock. We packed up all our stuff and left it in the hall the next morning while we boarded a bus to Nuremberg. Another walking tour and lunch and we were back on the bus headed for Deffendorf. Five and a half hours later, most of it stuck in a major traffic jam due to road construction, we finally arrived at our new ship, the Embla, on the other side of the locks!

The weather in both Bamberg and Nuremberg was NASTY – on and off rain, sleet and snow storms with a wind chill in the 30’s! That is not a typo – the 30’s! – made it a particularly delightful experience!

We had the options of traveling to Regensburg or Munich today but, even though the weather is predicted to be better, we decided to remain on the ship. Unfortunately, we are sharing the dock with other Viking ships – they pull up right next to the Embla and walk through our lobby to get to town! I pulled open the curtain on our sliding glass door this morning and there was a gentleman about 4 feet away, in his stateroom, as surprised as I was!

Although the situation is not ideal, Viking has done an excellent job of smoothly rerouting us and making sure we have the opportunity to tour as we expected. The social director and the concierge from the Aegir accompanied us to the Embla to offer some continuity. Some of the other cruise lines do not have the fleet to swap ships and those guests are being bussed from city to city, and staying in hotels until the end of their “cruise.” How disappointing!

Bamberg wasn’t anything special. But they have a huge fortress that guarded the city and a town hall located in the middle of the river! They are famous for a type of smoked beer called “rauchbier” but we opted for bakery sweets and cappuccinos to warm us up!

Fortress guarding the town of Bamberg

Bamberg townhall built in the river

The white figure in the foreground is a mime

Mike & Lorraine's triple deck dessert - apple strudel on top, ice cream and whipped cream in the middle and warm vanilla sauce on the bottom!

 Roger and Mike enjoyed an added excursion, Nuremberg World War II, that took them to a museum about the rise and fall of Hitler, Zeppelin Field, and Courthouse 600 where the Nuremberg trials were held.

Glockenspiel in Nuremberg

Today dawned with a blue sky and sunshine! A glorious 60 degrees! We had a lazy morning on the ship and then walked into Deggendorf to explore. The town square was lovely and we finally had the opportunity to eat at an outside cafe and just enjoy the atmosphere!

Wurzburg, Germany

Although, Wurzburg was completely destroyed 6 weeks before the end of World War II it has been restored to its original baroque style. It is located in the Franconian region and is home to the largest vineyard in Germany. It is also home to a major university that was founded in 1582!
The walking tour this morning was brisk to say the least - I can't begin to guess the wind chill - needless to say it was not what we expected!

The Bishop's Residenz is a huge, ornate palace started in 1719 and built over the next 25 years. In those days the bishop was also the political leader of the town. Most of it was destroyed during the war but, city residents hid as many of the treasures as they could before the bombing. It reminded us of the Palace of Versailles in its "ornateness!" The main entrance is huge because they used to drive their coaches into the palace. They were able to protect the 2,000 square foot fresco in the reception hall by covering it with wood. It is amazing that the colors remain vibrant after all these years! I bought a book of pictures because no cameras are allowed.

We had a delicious lunch at a local cafe' and then meandered back to the ship. One of the great things about a river cruise is that the ships dock right in the middle of the town and it is an easy on/off. - no long piers to walk!

We have met couples from San Antonio and Austin and last night two women sat across from us - when Roger asked them where they were from one of them raised her hand like a mitten - I thought, OMG they are from Michigan - she pointed and said "Jackson, Michigan!" The world is smaller than we think!

The Fortress above the city from the bridge of saints

St. Killian Basilica - Maypole in the market square

A Catholic "Pilgrimage" church

The library

A small portion the the Bishop's Residenz

The Fortress and vineyards

Miltenberg, Germany

We haven't been able to use the sun deck today because they lowered the bridge and the railings and stowed all the chairs so we could navigate under several low bridges. Of course, we weren't using the "sun" deck anyway because it was 45 degrees! Just our luck, it has been 10-15 degrees colder than usual during this time of year! But never fear, I was prepared! "Cuddleduds" top and bottom, warm socks, slacks, a tank top, a turtleneck, a sweatshirt, a coat, gloves for my fingers, a scarf for my neck and a hat for my head and I was ready!

We are now in the Bavarian region of Germany, a major white wine producing area. Our guide for the walking tour of Miltenberg was an ex-nun and a great storyteller about the history of the town. Homes with doors opening right on the cobblestone streets and lace curtains are the norm. Window boxes were originally invented to plant fragrant flowers to help overcome the odors wafting up from the streets where everyone dumped their slop jars!

A glassblower from Weinsberg, a town famous for talented glassblowers for generations, and who studied with Chihuly, came on the ship, gave a demonstration and of course sold his creations. He told the story of how his family left their lucrative glassblowing business in Communist East Germany and escaped to West Germany during the time the East Germans were patrolling the borders. He was 5 years old and his parents and grandparents told him they were going on an adventure through the forest like Hansel and Gretel and actually taped his mouth shut as they made the last dangerous trek. They succeeded and restarted their glassblowing studio and their lives in Weinsberg.

The food is great, the social director is a hoot and the service is incredible. Lorraine says they "do everything but brush our teeth!"

One of many locks the ship navigates-they are so narrow we sometimes bumped the sides!

Golden, canola fields

Apple and cherry trees are in bloom everywhere

I loved all the different roof lines in this view from the hill

You can see the bridge and gate to the city in the background

An old cemetery

Koblenz, Germany

Koblenz is a quaint town at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers that is over 2,000 years old! We toured Marksburg Castle, the only castle in the Rhine Valley never to have been destroyed. All the castles are now owned by the German Castles Association which works to preserve them through tourism and donations.

The ship has started to navigate many of the locks along the route and sometimes if they have to wait for other ships it is a slow process so, we got off the ship, took a bus to the castle and then got back on the ship further down the river. Someone called it a "boat" and one of the guides told us not to let the captain or crew hear that term - it would be like calling your home a "hut!"

After lunch we began the beautiful part of the cruise along the Rhine. One castle after another, vineyards, quaint towns, majestic churches. The vineyards grow primarily white grapes and they are located in vertical rows on steep hillsides - can't imagine how they cultivate them! The weather could have been more cooperative - one minute it was sleeting and the next the sky was blue and the sun was shining bright! We got a lunch table up front (inside!) and held those chairs down all afternoon as we glided through what I called "castle alley!" Magnificent!

Cologne

The "Aegir" - we have a French balcony room on the main level

We arrived in Cologne on Saturday morning and took a walking tour with a local guide. They began building the Cologne Cathedral in 1248 and finished it just over 100 years ago. It is now in a constant state of repair. They employ 80 full time artisans and it is hard to get a good picture because it is surrounded by scaffolding.

Cologne Cathedral

I was surprised to learn that the Roman Empire included what is now Germany - where was I during World History? We saw mosaic floor tiles and a Roman road that were excavated when they were digging an underground parking lot.

We had to look at the mosaic floor through a window!

Remnants of a Roman road - imagine a chariot race!

We saw two weddings in the town square - a bit chilly for an outdoor wedding but, a Cologne tradition!

I read about the "Padlock Bridge" before we left so I brought a padlock for Roger and I to lock on the bridge, throw away the key and have our hearts locked together forever! I had to do it - you know what a romantic Roger is!!!

We ended the day with a brewery tour and dinner in Cologne. The most common beer in Cologne is "kolsh" and it is brewed with strict guidelines regarding ingredients so bottom line, we couldn't tell the difference between any of them! This beer is served in small, tall glasses holding about 7 ounces not in the big steins we were expecting - a good thing!

A professor, from Cologne, with economics and history degrees came on board the ship and gave a presentation about changes in Germany since 1945 that was really interesting. He explained how West Germany absorbed the East Germans when the Berlin Wall came down and many other issues since the war.
          -Germany is about the size of Montana but has around 81 million residents
          - Now add all the refugees and immigrants - they have a similar controversy as the United                     States - let them in vs keep them out.
          - Germans pay about 40% of their income in taxes - plus a 19% VAT (value added tax) on all                  items they purchase, including food.
          - Catholics and Lutherans pay a "church tax" but other religions don't and people can "opt out"             of this tax if they wish.
          - All residents, whether they were born in Germany, immigrated, or were refugees are entitled               to free health care, Social Security, housing assistance and a free college education as soon as             they arrive in the country!
       
We are amazed a the amount of cargo traffic on the river - huge barges carrying all types of goods.
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Kinderdijk

We took the “tram” or above ground railway to the Van Gogh Museum yesterday morning. A great way to see the different districts of the city. For such a talented artist, Van Gogh was certainly plagued with an unstable personality. He started painting at age 27 and shot/killed himself at age 37 (sometime in between he cut part of his ear off!) but, what a prolific painter he was during those ten years! I bought a print of his famous Iris painting – the closest I’ll ever get to being an art collector!

We returned to the city center and had lunch at a lovely, sunny café on the river. A great place to end our stay in Amsterdam!

We boarded the Viking Cruise ship, the Aegir, later in the afternoon. A big difference from the cruise ships we have been on before where we waited in long lines while they loaded thousands of people! Here the social director met us at the dock, introduced himself and escorted us to the registration desk. They quickly scanned our passports, greeted us by name and called an escort to show us to our room. By the time we arrived the porters had already delivered our luggage! Get ready to be pampered!!

We left the dock during Happy Hour and cruised down the river during dinner. A quiet, smooth ride! A good night’s sleep and we woke up in Kinderdijk. The weather is cool, in the mid-fifties, and partly cloudy.

Kinderdijk is home to 19 windmills that were built around 1738-40 and are still functioning to pump water from the land and canals back into the larger rivers and sea. A local guide - wearing the traditional wooden shoes! - gave us a great tour and explanation of how they function. He told us he wears the wooden shoes all the time but, they wear out in about 3 months from walking on the cement sidewalks. We were allowed to tour the inside of one of the mills – families actually live in and run them – small spaces and many ladder type steps! Roger wished that Duane and Bill were with us because they would have enjoyed hearing about the inner workings as much as he did. The Dutch government spends a lot of time and money controlling the water so the country doesn’t sink!

The lounge is the common area to gather and we are amazed at how content we are to sit and watch the world go by!

Amsterdam - Day 2

Our first selfie!

We toured a bulb farm and the Keukenhof Gardens today. The weather was sunny and around 57 degrees. A bus trip through the countryside took us on narrow roads with many bicycles. It's amazing the number of bikes and they are not modern but old fashioned "Mary Poppins" types that they seem to use instead of cars.
Holland exports millions of bulbs and flowers every day - about 70% of the worlds supply. The soil is sandy and wet and perfect for "bulb" type flowers. The Keukenhof Gardens is a huge park with flowers everywhere. It was a lovely day and a relaxing walk.
We finished off the day at an Irish Pub for fish and chips!

You know how I love shoes!