Rhine River Cruise 2014

2014 Rhine River Cruise—more adventure then we bargained for

Mary had been planning this trip for about a year.   She researched every firm, itinerary and costs.  In the end she concluded that an all inclusive trip was only slightly more than an al a carte approach.  We attended a few seminars put on by the companies and selected Jerry Van Dyke from Cambridge.  They offered a two week Rhine cruise with absolutely no extra costs and they were true to their word.  Our trip from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam is documented here.

Wednesday, September 24.

The Van Dyke firm normally picks you up in a limo for the trip to the airport, but in our case they paid for our hotel  room and parking in Toronto the night before.  We find driving to Toronto the day before much less stressful.  So we spent Wednesday doing some shopping in Toronto and had supper with Robert and Hong to say goodbye.

Upon arrival at the airport we were greeted by the Jerry Van Dyke family which we found unexpected but reassuring.  In fact their son Jeremy was to be our journey manager for the next two weeks.   Our Lufthansa flight was smooth and on time landing in Munich (Munchen).  After a four hour layover we flew to Zurich where Jeremy assisted us loading the bus and we were off to the boat in Basel about an hour away.

By now it was 4 o’clock German time as you lose six hours on the flight.  The crew was waiting for us with welcome food while our luggage was put in our rooms.   After initial greetings we went to our rooms and unpacked.  Later we were served dinner and Jeremy went over the basic routine and safety aspects of the ship, particularly the emergency horn.   We spent some time exploring the ship fell asleep around ten o’clock. 

I awoke at 4 am to the sound of a short horn blast and heard heavy footsteps racing down the hallway.  In seconds I heard footsteps returning and thumping footsteps on the sun deck overhead.   Mary was up and we then we heard the horn continuously and I began to smell smoke.  Then there was a ferocious pounding on the doors by crew attempting to awaken everyone.  No need, everyone was awake.  We quickly got into our street clothes as the door swung open and billows of smoke came in.  Then we realized the seriousness of the situation.  The smoke was from plastic which is horribly toxic. 

Passengers were struggling down the narrow hallway in every form of dress from pajamas to nightshirts. 

Fortunately the ship had not left the mooring and the gangway was still in place.  The crew (who were affected most by the fire) were extremely helpful and professional.  There was no panic within minutes the ship was evacuated. 

As we excited the ship smoke billowed from the aft end as we heard sirens in the distance.  Once we were off the gangway we realized that some passengers were not very mobile and Mary and I assisted two of them as we were guided up the bank and away from the ship.  The fellow I was helping was using a cane and wearing only a long nightshirt while complaining of a severe need to relieve himself.  As it was dark and we were at the rear of the line I encouraged him to just do it.  We continued up the hill to an adjacent park and I was wondering where we were going. 

When we arrived in the afternoon I observed a Viking cruise line ship in front of us and another river cruiser called the Switzerland rafted beside us.  As I looked back at the smoking Da Vinci I noticed that the Switzerland had moved off and was now rafted to the Viking boat.  After a ten minute walk with my disabled friend I realized we were headed for the Viking ship.  We were to learn later that the Viking captain initially refused us entry, but relented when the police instructed him otherwise.  Not much of a recommendation for Viking as it’s passengers were asleep and their lounge empty.  My crippled fellow passenger and I were crossing a grassy park above the Viking ship and his feet were soaked by the wet grass.  I had my shoes  and clothes on so I was fine.

As I recall the first of three fire trucks had arrived as we boarded the Viking ship.  Although the Viking people must have helped, it was our crew who ended up serving us some coffee and food that was provided by Viking.  During the four hours or so on that ship we never did see the captain our senior crew.  Pretty poor in my estimation.  That very stupid crew missed a great opportunity to earn easy browny points for Viking.  I think a firing is in order there.  It was quite a scene with most passengers sitting around in all manner of dress, but we were safe and it was apparent that our ship was not going to burn or sink. 

Around eight o’clock Jeremy informed us that the fire had been put out and we could return to the ship to repack our luggage.  Jeremy who is 43 took charge and although shaken kept his cool and we could see him beginning to make the changes necessary.  The fire department installed heavy duty fans in the ship and although the smoke smell was strong, there was no more smoke.  We took our time packing and then headed for the lounge where the crew (who had lost all their clothes) served us food and coffee.  Fortunately the galley is in the bow and the lounge (second deck) is immediately behind with the dining room immediately below that on the first deck.  The galley was unaffected and still had it’s own generator.

Apparently the fire had started in a clothes dryer and before it was put out had burned through the generator cables that supply the heavy power needed to run the ship.  Moreover the ship smelled badly as did our clothes.  By nine o’clock Jeremy (who was on the phone constantly) arrived in the lounge to update us.  The owner of the DaVinci was on his way from Holland and was expected at noon.  Jeremy  was in the process of arranging lodging and the buses would eventually come to take us there.   Mary and I spent the morning wandering the city and crossing the river so the morning went quickly.  Although we somewhat smelly we were in good spirits and physically ok.  At noon the crew served us a cold lunch and sometime later we were taken to the Ramada Hotel where we had a room on the 13^th floor.

The Da Vinci in the background.  Originally the rafted ship had been rafted to us, but quickly departed and rafted against the Viking ship which is next to the shore.  We were very impressed with the skill level and training of these river boat crews.

During the morning Jeremy indicated that there would be an optional bus trip to Lucerne on Sunday if anyone was interested.  He wanted us to sign up.  About thirty people signed up and after a nice supper and good sleep on Saturday night we were ready to start our touring.

Lucerne, Switzerland   September 27, 2014

We left the Ramada Inn in Basel early Saturday with one bus only. It took about a hour to make the journey from Basel to Lucerne, but it was certainly worth the ride. Switzerland is a beautiful country so driving around the countryside is pleasant. Upon arrival in Lucerne we drove through the downtown and arrived at the edge of Lake Lucerne. The city straddles the Reuss River where it drains the lake. There are a number of bridges and the main bridge crossing the river exiting the lake carries trams, cars and pedestrian traffic. We were let off in the small square opposite a jewellery store that caters specifically to tourists and encourages people to use its bathroom facilities which certainly increases sales. The city has a number of bridges. The most famous is the Chapel Bridge, a 204 m (669 ft) long wooden covered bridge originally built in 1333, the oldest covered bridge in Europe although much of it had to be replaced after a fire on August 18, 1993, allegedly caused by a discarded cigarette. Part way across, the bridge runs by the octagonal Water Tower (Wasserturm), a fortification from the 13th century. Inside the bridge are a series of paintings from the 17th century depicting events from Lucerne's history. The Bridge with its Tower is the city's most famous landmark. Mary and I walked across the bridge admiring the numerous sidewalk cafes on both sides of the river. Being Sunday everyone was out including thousands of locals.

An interesting aspect of much of Europe is the absence of the car in many areas. Although cars ply the main motorways through town they don’t inhabit the smaller roadways, alleys or ancient or new pedestrian ways where people shop. I suspect most towns have simply forbidden them. None-the-less any car may enter almost any area in order to drop off or pick up goods. The citizens seem to respect the spirit of the law and don’t abuse the privilege. This approach results in cities that are extremely people friendly. We found this in cities as far flung as Libon, Porto, Seville, Strasbourg, Cologne and virtual any town you visit.

After walking the river area we walked down the huge boulevard beside Lake Lucerne. The boulevard has dozens of vendors to serve you and dozens of boats to take you on a trip around the lake which is about ten miles long and hosts fantastic views of the surrounding mountains. Anytime a resident wants to go home they just walk to the edge of boulevard and catch one of the very frequent trams that facilitate easy movement around the city.


The Alps Sunday, September 28, 2014-10-15

We were beginning to get a better appreciation of Switzerland as we moved about by bus. Switzerland is not all mountains as many people believe. The Alps run more or less from east to west in the southern part of the country and the ?????? mountains run across the northern part with a huge flat area in between.

On Sunday the whole group headed for the Alps. We arrived above the town of Interlaken which lies between two lakes (hence the name) and were bused up to the town of Grindelwald. As we passed through Grindelwald we stopped to watch a cattle herder bringing his herd down the main street with bells clanging. Being fall the cattle were coming down from the summer pastures. The plan was to take the cog railway from Grindelwald up to Kleine Scheidegg where we would have a phenomenal view of the Eiger, Jungrau and M mountains.

I was surprised at the cog railway, as it is a true railway and moves along at a surprising pace considering the 20 degree slopes it is confronted with. There is a center rail with cogs in it, into which the circular cog wheel turns and pulls the train along.

On arrival at Klein Scheidegg Jeremy directed us towards the restaurant where we served a wonderful meal and drinks by staff who were very familiar with Jeremy and genuinely liked him. I sat beside a woman in her 70’s who spoke excellent English. We chatted and i discovered that she had spent two years at the Toronto Regional Library to help improve her English. She is a guide and a very intriguing person.

From Klein Scheidegg it is as if you are in a half bowl looking up at the three mountains (Eiger, Monch & Jungfrau) towering above you a few miles away. A branch of the cog railway leaves KS and heads up to Jungfrau. You can see that it twists and turns and then disappears into a tunnel that takes it very high up. From there you walk to the mountain top observation building on Jungfrau. I would have loved to have done it, but there was not enough time allowed. It would be great to go back on our own and complete the journey.

From Klein Scheidegg the railway descends to Lauterbrunnen on the other side of the pass. There we were joined by the buses for our trip back to Basel.

Monday

We  spent Saturday and Sunday nights at the Ramada Inn in Basel and now we were on the move again.  All of us had a distinct odour about us as all of our clothes were tinged with the smoke, but we soldiered on.  Today we were headed for the Alsace wine region.  Like most I had always heard of Alsace-Lorraine and how it was fought over by Germany and France.  The area we were headed to is west of the Rhine near Colmar and east of the Vogienne Massif or Vosges mountains.  To help you locate it look at a map of Switzerland, France and Germany.  The Alsace lies in the most southwest part of Germany and the northeast part of France with Switzerland forming the southeastern border.  The Rhine begins in Switzerland and separates France and Germany.   The Vosges mountains prevent moisture from crossing in to the Alsace and make it a perfect place to grow grapes. 

As we approached the area I had no idea of what we were going to see, but outstretched before us was an unending vista of grape vines covering the flat land formed by the distant Rhine and pixels of grapes extending into the distance up the gentle mountain sides where ruined castles were observing the magical scene.  We were immersed in grapes as our bus drove along the narrow road to the first of many towns surrounded by vines.

I don’t believe that I can picture the scenes we were about to see.  The towns like Equishiem and Riquewihr are just two of dozens of living museums from 500 years ago with virtually no signs of modernity from village to village.  Yet they are working wine towns with hundreds of individual wine families producing their own wines from small plots.  There are certainly larger wineries but other than modern grape picking equipment in the fields nothing belies the age of the place.  Every town is a monument to what are known as half-timbered houses where a stone first floor supports an entire wood beam structure above.   We were taken to a gorgeous little restaurant in Kientzheim for lunch.   The hotel / restaurant can be found on the internet and is called the Hostellerie Schwendi. Here we had our first wine tasting consisting of Champagne to begin and three other local wines along with quiche and other marvellous treats native to this area.^.

^{Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word‘quiche’ is from the German ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake.} 

After lunch we continued to the town of Riquewihr on the north end of the wine route.  Certainly a tourist mecca it was none the less a real working town.  It is a wonderful and romantic little medieval city once again hidden between the Vosges mountains and some of the most famous vineyards in Alsace.  A short distance away are two cemeteries from WWII.  A perfectly maintained French cemetery and a hilltop field marking an American burial place.

By the afternoon’s end we were ready for some rest and we headed for the new destination of Friebourg lying on the southwest side of the Black Forest.  Jeremy set us up in the Novatel within site of the main rail station and overpasses connecting trams from south to north.  Our guides suggested that we go out in the evening and perhaps walk up to the university.  Around eight o’clock we did that and were pleasantly surprised at the activity and atmosphere of the street.  Young people were everywhere as were the ever present trams.  The next morning we ventured out again in the opposite direction.  We crossed the pedestrian overpass past the east / west tracks in the rail station and watched at how the trams, rail, cars and people merged so well.  We were right downtown and marvelled at little children skipped their way to school on their own.  We were further surprised by a circular building next to the tramway and rail station.  The building was a bicycle parking lot, no different than a car lot except it is indoors with locking sanctions.  From any point one could see thousands of bicycles secured, unsecured or just lying about.  I wish I had taken some pictures.

The Black Forest lies in the hills east of Friebourg.  We boarded the buses and were off by 9 o’clock.  I was just beginning to get my head around where we had been over the last few days.  Frieburg is only 60 miles from Zurich and far less from the Alsace region over the Rhine in France.  In only a few days we had experienced completely different geography, regions and cultures in three countries.  As we continue you will see many of the places we hear of and have heard about like Strasbourg, Cologne and Stuttgart which are really not very far apart.

After a very nice sleep in the beautiful Novatel complex in Frieberg we were off to the Black Forest immediately east.  We climbed into the old mountain hills and quickly noticed a marked changed in the nature of the countryside.  In addition to the hills the road was narrow and the landscape very tranquil with green fields surrounding us.  A few small farms dotted the countryside and an almost immediate feeling of calm and peacefulness.  I believe we received only a sample of what the forest has to offer, but one can see that it is unique and wonderful.  We had a venison lunch at a beautiful restaurant and went on to explore a few towns and a large shop catering to the coo coo clock trade.  I had no idea there were so many types of clocks and that indeed they are made locally out of Linden wood.  I only note that because I have a Linden in my front yard.  

From there it was on to Gutach and the Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum which is the Germany equivalent of our pioneer village.  The Vogtsbauernhof dates from the year 1612 and stands at its original location in Gutach and was the origin of the museum consisting of buildings such as the storehouse, bakery and stillhouse, grain mill and sawmill can be found at the Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum in Gutach on the Black Forest Railway. Most of the buildings are open to the public, and black smoke rooms, furnished farmhouse parlours and bedchambers with painted furniture, shield clocks and tiled stoves can be seen in the houses as well as the impressive roof structures of the large farmsteads, which were used to store hay.

The visitor obtains a fascinating insight into rural life and housing and the rural culture and technology of the Black Forest. A great variety of traditional crafts are demonstrated every day. Guided tours of the museum or guided tours on particular themes are also available, e.g. the guided tour of the mill.

Without our river boat Jeremy found us the most gorgeous hotel in Baden Baden in the most wonderful setting you could imagine.  For three days and nights we toured out of Baden Baden but spent the evenings touring the pedestrian downtown only a block away from the Dorint Hotel.  This hotel prices out at $450.00 a night so he did not skimp on our accommodations. 

View from our hotel overlooking the downtown

Our first trip out was to Strasbourg, seat of the European Parliament and where the UN meets as it does in other cities in Europe.  It is a city with wonderful buildings interwoven with canals skirting the Rhine.  For the most part it was a walking tour so we were close up to very interesting sites including the pedestrian downtown complete with double decker merry-go-round and the ubiquitous multi-car trams snaking silently through the downtown.

Back in Baden Baden we spent several hours walking the people friendly shopping area.  Like so many of the cities we visited on this trip automobiles enjoy only limited access into the areas where people should dominate.  It is almost strange to see huge department stores set here and there with only people walking by.  The avenues are wide and frankly quite beautiful as the absence of the automobile makes so much more possible such as restaurants in the middle of the street and dancers holding their practice sessions in the streets where most would expect cars.

The next morning we were off to Heidelberg north of Baden Baden and bordering on the edge of the mountains to the east and the Rhine valley on the west.  In fact Heidelberg is located inland from the Rhine on the Neckar River.  Our bus entered the city driving through essentially pedestrian areas to reach the castle perched high above the city.  Heidelberg Castle is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps.

The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is located 80 metres (260 ft) up the northern part of the hillside, and thereby dominates the view of the old downtown. It is served by an intermediate station on the funnicular railway that runs from Heidelberg's Kornmarkt to the summit of the Königstuhl.

The earliest castle structure was built before 1214 and later expanded into two castles circa 1294; however, in 1537, a lightning-bolt destroyed the upper castle. The present structures had been expanded by 1650, before damage by later wars and fires. In 1764, another lightning-bolt caused a fire which destroyed some rebuilt sections.

As our tour of the castle ended Jeremy handed us tickets for the funicular to take us back down to the town.  Europe is full of funiculars ( we call them inclines ).  Many of these are exceptionally modern emulating a modern street bus.  We are used to these in Portugal, but none-the-less they are always interesting.  We spent the afternoon wandering the town visiting the wonderful Christmas store and having lunch by the river in a street cafe on a narrow winding street.  

Having lunch is Strasbourg

Heidelberg was our last stop by bus.  After the Van Dykes has reorganized the tour so we would board another river boat in Arnhem.  Arnhem of course, is in Holland and about five hours drive from Heidelberg.  We spent our last night in Baden Baden and on Friday morning we were off for Arnhem on the autobahn (freeway).

We arrived in Arnhem in the late afternoon and after boarding the Rembrandt Van Rijn we had dinner and were in bed by ten as the boat departed and headed 'upriver' for an overnight cruise to Dusseldorf.  It was the only overnighter on the whole cruise which was great as we got to see so much of the countryside during the day.

Dusseldorf was not on the original itinerary, but like Strasbourg we were pleasantly surprised with the civility of such a large city.  We arrived in Dusseldorf around seven the next morning and after a huge breakfast we were off to downtown.  Naturally Dusseldorf being a large city the downtown is very exciting.  It was the most cosmopolitan place we had visited thus far.  The downtown is a mixture of pedestrian only streets with auto avenues connecting them.   Of course the ubiquitous snaking tram was everywhere so the streets were very busy with shoppers.  Being a large city the shopping reminded me a little of Paris with its large fashionable department stores and boutique shops.  We returned to boat for lunch and departed Dusseldorf for Cologne.  The original itinerary called for a Cologne stop only on Saturday, but with the change we ended up doing a little of both Dusseldorf and Cologne.

The attached photos give you some idea of the traffic on the river.

Note the raised bridge on the barge

Everything is carried from scrap metal to liquid natural gas

Typical river cruiser, this one is French

Cologne

As most people know Cologne was pretty well bombed out of existence in WWII.  It is famous for the huge Cologne catherdral which is very near the Rhine and we got to see a night along with the fabulous Roman ruins immediately beside it.  Unfortunately my camera decided to have a hissy fit that evening and my photos are blurred.  We thought it was quite funny when some of our more conservative passengers were shocked when they saw people drinking beer right on the dock.  That's the way it is in europe.  As long as you behave no one bothers you.  The night life in Cologne was very exciting and I would love to spend more time there, but as they say "when you have oranges you make orange juice".  No sense in complaining.

Konigswinter

The romantic Drachenfels, crowned by the ruins of a castle built in the early 12th century by the archbishop of Cologne, rises behind the town. From the summit, which can be accessed by the Drachenfels cog Railway, there is a magnificent view overlooking the Rhine where we could see the river in the mist.

A cave in the hill is said to have sheltered the dragon (German: Drachen) which was slain by the hero Siegfried. The mountain is quarried, and from 1267 onward supplied stone (trachyte) for the building of Cologne Cathedral. The Schloss Drachenburg, built in 1883, is on the north side of the hill.

There is so much more to write about including the following week on another boat.  Wonderful trip in spite of an exciting beginning.

Our boat in Konigswinter.  The weather was misty and only lasted a short while.