As a compromise to one of us wanting a cruise and the other not, we decided to try a river cruise. We picked the Rhine as we liked the look of it, we could fly from Newcastle and it was at the time we wanted. Flew to Dusseldorf and then bussed to Cologne where we boarded the boat – and very nice it was. A decent size cabin with panoramic windows, a good restaurant, lounge and sun deck. The photographs in the carousel show where we visited – hopefully in sequence. I will add labels to the images – eventually.
The first part of the cruise was up the Rhine. To Koblenz, Mainz, Boppard and Heidelberg. This took us through the Rhine Gorge, spectacular scenery with plenty of castles. This was one of only 2 long daytime cruising periods which was good as it meant we had plenty of time to visit the towns and cities. Once we realised that we could leave the guides and do our own thing that helped – although the guide in Heidelberg was very good, a light hearted commentary but also very informative.. The food on board and the unlimited wine at dinner was good. The food was not too much and there was always a good choice, served at your table.
The furthest extent of the cruise was Strasbourg. This was combined with a coach trip to Colmar. The 2 places were my favourites of the cruise. Fabulous old buildings, waterways through the middle of the cities and so much going on. The guide here was again good. I had wanted to visit Strasbourg for a while and was not disappointed, we had a good wander around and found the good bits ! From here it was back to Rudesheim, a lovely little place and then to Cologne for the final day. We enjoyed the whole experience and will do another river cruise in a couple of years – it just needs a decision about where !
Been & Seen 