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Strasbourg/Kehl


SOShrink

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Thanks for that exciting answer! I haven't checked a city map yet. What part of Strasbourg does the bridge leave you? By the way, Orchestrapal, what is the music/opera scene in Strasbourg? I can't imagine that an important European Union center like Strasbourg wouldn't have a decent symphony...

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Yes you can walk across the bridge from Kehl to Strasbourg, but you will be in the industrial port area far from the centre of the city. Strasbourg was built on the Ill river, a tributary of the Rhine. You could walk there from Kehl but it would be a long and uninteresting walk. Take the CTS bus 21 from the Kehl railway station to central Strasbourg. You could also take a train from Kehl to the Gare Centrale in Strasbourg--it's a short ride.

 

Re music, Strasbourg does have a symphony--l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and an opera company, l'Opéra National du Rhin.

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We did the Viking Rhine this spring. Viking had a shuttle bus that ran every 30 minutes (or maybe it was an hour) from the ship to city center until Dinner time (about 6 hours total). It would be a long, long walk from the ship. I would imagine the other cruise lines have something similar.

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Do the ships dock next to the bridge ( Pont de l'Europa) and the Kehl train station? Wikipedia says Strasbourg's Tram Line D will be extending to Kehl in a few years as well...

But at this point, since we will be there in December, we will cross the bridge on foot for fun to take photos, but actually take the ship's shuttle when we go to the Old Quarter or Petite France. No sense freezing for no reason!

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After the morning excursion to Strasbourg, we returned to our boat for lunch and considered taking the free Viking shuttle back to Strasbourgh. Instead, we decided to explore Kehl. It was a very short walk, and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through town, stopping in the pedestrian area at a sidewalk cafe for drinks, and absorbing the local culture. It was a Friday afternoon, parents were out shopping with their children, kids were having fun playing and riding bikes in the pedestrian area, and almost everyone was walking a dog. We had a great afternoon away from tourists.

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Thanks, Laverendrye! I will check the schedule and see if there is a performance the evening we are docked there. I like to go to concerts in Europe whenever I can. Sitting in the audience with the locals gives me a good flavor of the attitudes and cultural level of the community, and they tend to perform more avant garde pieces than the repertoire I get at home.

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Thanks, Laverendrye! I will check the schedule and see if there is a performance the evening we are docked there. I like to go to concerts in Europe whenever I can. Sitting in the audience with the locals gives me a good flavor of the attitudes and cultural level of the community, and they tend to perform more avant garde pieces than the repertoire I get at home.

 

Not sure which line you are taking, but on Viking Rhine Getaway, the boat leaves Kehl at 7pm. The last shuttle back to the boat is at 5pm.

 

We did see other lines picking up their passengers from the same shuttle pick-up point. But not sure when their boat was leaving the area.

 

We stayed and had lunch in Strasbourg after the city tour ended around 12noon. We took the last shuttle back to the boat. It was on a Monday and a lot of the shops did not open until 2pm. I think this also had something to do with it being the day after Bastille Day. It is also a good walk from the city center to the shuttle pick-up, so give yourself plenty of time. About 20-30mins at least.

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Tolok, we are on Uniworld, and I think they are docked until 10 PM which is still cutting it close for a concert, but it wouldn't be the first time I have had to leave at intermission to make a sailing. One of the small sacrifices we make by being on a cruise.

Susan, I also like your idea of getting to know Kehl, and that clearly is an advantage of river cruising by docking right in a residential area away from tourist centers....

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As Mathladyca said, the shuttle was free. It might depend on whether you are sailing Amsterdam to Basel or Basel to Amsterdam on what time the last shuttle was. I thought our last shuttle was 6pm (Amsterdam to Basel). Make sure you hit one of the bakeries in town. Our Éclair was just delicious. They sure know how to make desserts in Europe.

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beanpittsburg ~ thanks much for the reply! We'll be traveling Basel-Amsterdam. Really looking forward to Strasbourg - have a restaurant recommondation so we're hoping to have lunch there - then "do" the Chrstmas Market!!!

 

And you are SO right about the European bakeries!!!! Thanks for the suggestion - we'll be on the lookout for them!! Do you remember approximately where they were in comparison to the shuttle pick-up???

 

Thanks much!!!

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I can't remember the name of the Bakery but it was in the same square where the shuttle bus picked up/dropped off. We absolutely loved our cruise and plan on doing the Viking Bordeaux cruise in a couple of years. We tried a Caribbean cruise years ago and got turned off by that. However river cruising was just so much more enjoyable IMHO.

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beanpittsburg ~ we'll keep our eyes open for the bakeries!!!

 

Caribbean - have tried it and didn't like it! We've taken European ocean cruises - Med, Baltic, etc - and then took the River Cruise last year and really fell in love it the experience!!

 

We're taking the Bordeaux cruise next October - being wine lovers we're really looking forward to it!!!

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Fotopeg, I hope someone will write a review on the Bordeaux cruise. I see from the Viking pamphlets that they are already sold out for several of the spring/summer trips next year. We are really into wine and thought this cruise would be a natural for us. When we visited Strasbourg, we did the optional excursion to an Alsace winery (Robert Blanc) that was fun. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until after my Rhine Cruise was over that my family originated from around the Strasbourg region. Now I wish I had time to spend another day or two exploring the city.

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beanpittsburg ~ Bordeaux cruises - at least some of the October cruises are also sold out - or almost sold out! Have a friend who booked in November and she said our Oct. 4th was sold out! We booked SO long ago - I had a feeling that the new itinerary + being a wine cruise would = sold out!! And I'll be sure to post a review - hoping that others do int he spring/summer so we can get some advance hints and suggestions!!!!

 

Strasbourg - family originated from there - not you have to return!!! Too bad you didn't know before hand!! In 2008 we were able to visit the town (Lohr a. Main) that DH's grandmother (father's side) came from - what a fabulous experience!! She had emigrated to the US in 1906 as a 16 year old nanny!! Do as much research as you can and then return - things will be SO different from your family's time but still special!!!!

 

Wine Tour - if its offered in Stransbourg it'll be a hard decision since they also are reported to have a great Christmas Market - just too many things to see & do!!!!

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For the Alsace excursion, don't they go to a town (Obernai) and don't they drive along the scenic Route des Vins (wine road) or do they just take you to a winery? Pittsburgh, am I understanding you correctly that you can't see the Christmas Markets AND go on the Alsace excursion?

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SOShrink ~ I think it was me who assumed that it wouldn't be possible to do both the optional trip AND spend much time at the Christmas Market - I hope I'm wrong!!!

 

We're taking the Rhine Getaway from Basel to Amsterdam. The itinerary on line doesn't mention an optional tour in Strasbourg. Neither does the latest "Christmas Markets in Europe" booklet from Viking. As I've been reading CC comments I've been hoping that all the optional tours just aren't mentioned on the itineraries. I guess none of this will be clear until we get our final documents & booklets and know more details!!

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Obernai was the town we visited. We had about 1 hour to explore on our own. Personally, I could have skipped this part. We did not do any other excursions on our trip but the Wine excursion was one that we had planned to take from the moment we signed on with Viking.. I would think it would be hard to spend alot of time at the Christmas Market and do the excursion also. The excursion was about 4 hours (1 hour each way, hour at winery, hour in Obernai). That might be 4 hours you want to spend in Strasbourg. However, if I had spend all week seeing the various Christmas Markets in the other stops, I might want to miss one and do the excursion. I guess it should be your personal choice. I think you will have a great time no matter what you decide. We loved everything about our cruise and just the fact that we were in Europe experiencing something different than our normal day to day lives was special.

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I forgot to say that the Wine excursion was supposed to available May-October (according to our travel document). We went the last week of April and they made it available to us. There would not be as much to look at vinyard wise in December so I could see Viking not offering the trip then.

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We may end up skipping the Alsace excursion and spending more time in Strasbourg since we will be renting a car and driving the Wine Route ourselves from Colmar to Riquewihr after we dock in Basel at the end of the trip. However, if Uniworld does stay docked in Strasbourg until late, then doing both venues might be more feasible.

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