Travel Journals of Vacation Trips: Rhine River


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Personal travel stories

Rhine River Cruise - Germany, France, Belgium, Luxenbourg (p.1)


Thurs. 10/31
We docked during the night in BREISACH. After orientation we embarked on a full day excursion of the Alsace region of France, along the wine road, dotted with wine producing villages among the thriving vineyards that stretched for miles. The first, COLMAR, is a treasure trove of historic architecture, and birthplace of Frederic Bartholdi, creator of our Statue of Liberty, and also stately and austere Collegiate Church of St. Martin, begun in 1000 AD and not completed until the 1300s. A short distance away is the picturesque market village of pretty half timbered houses, RIQUEWIHR, where we lunched in an old wine cellar, AU MOULIN, and walked cobble stoned streets to the ramparts and city gate tower. There was a captain’s welcome reception in the evening.

Fri. 11/1
We are in STRASBOURG this morning. A thoroughly enjoyable barge ride on the canals encircling the old town takes us past miles of Renaissance homes, covered bridges, places of interest. Today is All Saints Day, and in the magnificent Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame we are privileged to attend a solemn high mass embellished by the sweet singing of a children’s choir. We spent the afternoon walking along the quays and in the interesting Petite France area. After a captain’s welcome dinner, an “Edith Piaf” chanteuse entertained.

Sat. 11/21
We sailed the Rhine this morning in a drizzly rain. A woodcarver was aboard demonstrating his expertise and excellent artistry. After lunch, topped of with a super black forest cake, native to this region, we docked at PLITTERSDORF and embarked by bus to BADEN BADEN, my father’s ancestral home. This attractive town, nestled within the Black Forest, is now a tourist town, noted as much for its fine shopping and casino, as the healing mineral waters that boil out of the ground and feed the various health spas. We drank some of the water which tasted something like salty soapwater, but were assured we would be healthier for it. We'll see! I'm sure this now glamorous town bears no resemblance to the birthplace of my grandparents in the 1800s. Back on the bateau, we struggled through a lesson in basic German which gave credence to the saying that the only people who can speak the German language correctly are native born and God.

Sun. 11/3
Today in dismal, rainy WORMS we are privileged to attend a Pontifical high mass in the magnificent Romanesque cathedral of St. Peter, built between 1170 and 1230. The Baroque style high altar is especially elaborate and spectacular. The bishop was here today to unveil a statue in his honor, displayed today on the church plaza. Since our mass attendance precluded the guided walking tour of the town, we returned after lunch, map in hand, to tour independently. Our stops included the cathedral again, in detail, the very inspiring Jewish Cemetery with old, old tombstones amid the giant trees, and the Martin Luther monument, on the site where, in 1521, he was summoned to defend his 95 theses. Later, a costumed lady came aboard our bateau to tell the fascinating medieval tale of DIE NIEBELUNGEN, a story of love and revenge, presented in various forms in Wagnerian operas. Tonight’s dinner was held at a local restaurant in a nearby town. Nice German food but slow service that returned us to our ship at 10:30PM.

Mon. 11/4
We are on the most beautiful section of the Rhine today. Cold but sunny, turning cloudy again by mid-morning, we passed many attractive villages hugging the shores, miles of grapevines that climbed the steep hillsides, and many impressive castles. We passed the famed Lorelei Rock without being impressed. Chalk this one up for P.R. In mid morning we celebrated “FRUHSCHOPPEN”, a snack of sausages and fat pretzels washed down with good beer as lively German drinking songs blared over the loudspeaker. The ultimate German experience! The Rhine is a very busy commercial travel route. We pass barge after barge as we sightsee the lovely countryside. We arrived in BOPPARD to learn that due to high water on the Moselle River there may be changes to our itinerary. Several preliminary plans later, it was determined that in order to pass under intervening bridges on the Moselle, we would have to abort BOPPARD and continue on. We finally were able to dock at the pretty little town of ALKEN, where we were able to disembark, walk about and shop before dark. This evening we enjoyed a good movie on our cabin TV.

Tues. 11/5
The schedule has been changed and changed again due to the flooding situation. The water level of the Rhine that was about 6 ft. above normal rose overnight to about 10 ft. over. From ALKEN we bussed back to BOPPARD over the high alpine roads. We visited the old Roman ruins in the center of town, busy marketplace and quay, and 2 wonderful churches. Twin towered St. Severinus is a 13th cent. church with an unusual triple naved interior, and a huge triumphal cross across the altar. The Carmelite church, in contrast, is a well lit simple structure, but almost a museum with religious art in statuary and paintings.

Our busses were supposed to deliver us to a point further upstream , but the water interfered again, and we finally only made contact with our vessel in the lock at ST. ALDEGUND at 2:30 PM. It was a novel experience to board within a lock, with the water still raising the boat. Everyone was in a jovial mood despite the inconveniences. After our late lunch, we were captivated by an excellent lecture on Reisling wine (with tastings), the special wine of this region. A folkloric group entertained with local dances this evening.

Wed. 11/6
This morning we are in BERNKASTEL-KUES, a romantic town in the center of the vineyards of the Moselle. With only 8,000 inhabitants it has become popular with tourists because of its market square which is considered a perfect example of German town architecture, and the ruins of the 1277 Castle LANDSHUT atop the steep promontory overlooking the town. We would like to have spent much more time in this lovely village, but time constraints limited us to a brief walk to the square and visit to St. Michael’s church, another unique example of the lovely churches of Germany. We chose to take the optional tour to LUXEMBOURG, the tiny nation covering less than 1,000 sq. mi. Unfortunately, a wet, cold, dense fog enveloped us as we visited the BATTLE OF THE BULGE CEMETARY that holds the remains of 9,000 U.S. servicemen.

The eerie weather only emphasized the solemnity of this memorial. In the city of LUXEMBOURG, we lunched at the L’Ancre d’Or. Then, under the tutelage of our very astute guide, we took an all too short tour of the Palais, government buildings, plazas, and the truly magnificent Notre Dame cathedral. While the weather had cleared somewhat, it was still bone chilling cold and windy, so we could not fully appreciate the marvelous views from the Plaza de la Constitution situated atop the high ancient city walls. We rejoined our bateau in TRIER in late afternoon. Later we played trivial pursuit in the lounge.

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This trip to the Rhine River was made October 31 - November 16, 2002 by a New York State couple.
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