On the River: Day 4 Rudesheim

River Cruise

Day 4 Rudesheim, Germany

After our journey through the Rhine Gorge and lunch we docked at Rudesheim, a wine-making town with about 10,000 people living there. Most of my notes for this stop have been posted here. This is a place that sets out to welcome tourists and everyone we encountered spoke English well.

We enjoyed our few hours there and could happily have stayed much longer and explored more.

Back on the boat we had signed up for the first of the Bistro Food tasting meals. A small group of passengers sit together upstairs and eat many tiny samples of local food the chef has prepared. They offer more if you like it, but there is already so much to taste that you would struggle to have seconds.

A sample of what we ate follows below- recorded more for the memory of local food from the Rhine than a foodie guidebook! Not recorded are the cheeses and the wines.

Notes were supplied daily by Isabel, the Cruise Director, to keep us informed and on time. Click on the links below to open and read.

City Overview

Daily Programme

On the River: Day 4 Rhine Gorge

 River Cruise

Day 4 Rhine Gorge, Germany

With Sally, a teacher from Wairarapa, NZ

One of the benefits of travelling in this way are the many extras included. On Day 4 we travelled through the Rhine Gorge and our camp mum (Cruise Director) brought us a live commentary over the speaker system as we glided by romantic castle after castle. So from the comfort of our deck chairs, with supplementary notes and cameras in hand, we were able to absorb the history and significance of what we were seeing. What a privilege.

This was a photographer’s delight and certainly an ABC (Another Blimmin Castle) segment of the journey. I have embedded the map I made of the locations below and will save most of the photos for the pinpoints on it. One of my favourite places had to be the Mauseturm (Mouse Tower) with it’s fairytale story which can be read here.

The significance of this water way and the way the rulers in these castles use their location to demand taxes and tolls from people who needed to use it became apparent as we travelled through the gorge.

And like everywhere we went in Europe, the Romans seemed to have been there first!

Notes were supplied daily by Isabel, the Cruise Director, to keep us informed and on time. Click on the links below to open and read.

Rhine Gorge Overview

On the River: Day 3 Cologne

River Cruise

Day 3 Cologne, Germany

This was our first extended period of sailing during the day and we really enjoyed it.  Being on a river meant no waves and no splashing so although our cabin was almost at water level we could open the sliding doors right up without ever getting wet. It was extremely peaceful in our cabin with the doors folded right open and the countryside gliding by. 

We divided our time with sitting on the top deck where a 360 degree view was to be had.

The slow pace and opportunity to read, relax and sunbathe was welcome. The endless supply of food was a guilty pleasure. I located the fitness centre and realised that a reduced number of passengers combined with the demographic profile of most guests meant there would be a high chance of finding free machines to use to counteract the eating!

At afternoon tea time we made landfall in Germany. Our first experience of arriving in a country without having to pass through border controls and homeland security procedures and we loved it.

This was also the first city we had arrived at by water and we all were captivated by the sight of the Cathedral on the horizon. We were to see many more sights like this, but the towering gothic cathedral in Cologne is impressive and it is easy to see why it is Germany’s most visited monument.

We docked close to the chocolate museum and joined our tour group. While the guide was hugely knowledgeable we discovered the pace was sedentary and the tour did not include entering any of the buildings we passed. 

After a while peeled off and went on a self guided tour of the cathedral, followed by a walk through the main shopping streets. Locating the place where 4711 Eau de Cologne began was a highlight. 

We stopped at the Roman Pretorium, which in modern times is the Town Hall of Cologne.  The sight of a bridal party caught my eye and it was hard to resist being nosey. What a setting for wedding photos! We only got to look at the buildings from the outside, but a search on the internet shows that it would be easy to spend hours exploring inside.

Those who went on the Jewish heritage tour came back saying it was sobering but they were very pleased they went.

After dinner the first of the local entertainers we were to experience came onboard; “Groove Band”. They did their groove thing and then departed at 10.30pm as we were about to set sail for Rudesheim.

Notes were supplied daily by Isabel, the Cruise Director, to keep us informed and on time. Click on the links below to open and read.

City Overview

Daily Programme

Cathedral Notes

More Cathedral Notes