Viking Gullveig

[joanne2]

I'm really enjoying your trip and taking note of your tips. Thanks.

[alliecat61]

Before I begin, I have all of the Viking Dailys that I'm trying to post to this thread. I'm not sure if this is possible. Does anyone know how to post pictures into threads?

 

Also, a little bit about our room. We were on the third level with a balcony. The room was very nice and very well thought out by Viking. I was worried about the size of the room and the bathroom. Neither were a problem. One of my traveling companions is 6'6", and he did not have any problem in the shower. The amenities are top notch. There were plenty of 110 plugs for all of our electronics. The bed was comfortable; but, the pillows were not my style. The tv was great, except, it was suppose to have a map that pinpointed our location along the trip, but it never worked. The tv has a bow webcam and a lounge webcam. It was fun to watch the lounge webcam, especially at night. At the first part of the cruise, I don't think people realized that they were on the webcam. It was quite entertaining!

 

The wifi worked fine in my room and on the sundeck I did hear others on floors below us say that the wifi in their rooms did not work well. I was really surprised at how many people had tablets/computers/smartphones on the ship. Viking needs to increase its broadband.

 

Today's excursions included a trip to the Black Forest and a choice of two optional excursions in the afternoon. The optional excursions were either a WWII trip (39 euros) or a Medieval City Tour (34 euros). We decided to do the WWII optional tour and we are really glad we did it. It was one of the best excursions on the entire trip. Our guide was fantastic - he would have been a great history teacher/professor.

 

The excursion to the Black Forest was my least favorite on the entire trip. I thought it was a little touristy - it reminded me of some of the ports on ocean cruises. Plus, our guide for this portion of the tour was not very good. I heard from others on different buses that their guides were good. I guess it is just the luck of the draw when it comes to your tour guide.

 

Before getting to the touristy stop, you stop at St. Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest, Schwarzwald. You then hop back on the tour bus for a trip to a stop that includes a Cuckoo Clock store, a glass blower, and a cafe. The Cuckoo Clock store was very crowded with other tour groups. It was hard to navigate the store. Same with the glass blowing store. We decided to go down to the cafe and sampled a piece of black forest cake. It was very good. After cake and coffee, we loaded back onto the tour bus to make our way back to the Ship for lunch and the safety drill.

 

Lunch on the ship - very good. Good selection of foods - they always had three to four prepared salads plus lettuce and all the trimmings for making your own salad. Everyday there was a "hot" pasta selection too. You could also select the daily sandwich or daily soup. If you like, you could have all the wine/beer that you wanted with lunch too. Lunch was served in a come and go manner, as compared to dinner where everyone set down at the same time.

 

Optional WWII tour - very good tour, highly recommended. As I mentioned before, the guide was excellent. He definitely made the tour excellent. Tour was long - started at 2:15 and finished at 6:15, but was worth it. It followed Audie Murphy's one man stand against the Germans in the Colmar Pocket in WWII. During the tour, we stopped in a local village to enjoy a coffee/wine/beer with the locals. While this stop was brief, it was one of my favorite things on the entire cruise.

 

We returned to the Ship at 6:15 to get ready for our Welcome Cocktail party @ 6:45, daily briefing at 7:15, and dinner at 7:30 pm. The optional excursion made this day a long day, but it was really worth it.

 

The ship cast off from Breisach at 11:00 pm.

 

Regret for the day - I did not know about the optional WWII excursion before the cruise - I should have studied up beforehand.

Best part of the day - WWII excursion - just walking on the same ground where Allied forces stood decades before gave me goosebumps.

[In Retirement]

Hello,

I understand that some river cruise companies allow choice for the included tour, so you can visit either Germany or France from Breisach? I have been given the option of walking into town for the morning and taking a tour to Colmar in the afternoon. It seems that many people who fly to Europe aren't looking for a Disneyworld experience, no matter how profitable to the locals and how easily obtained by the river cruise companies. I am hoping to learn more about Colmar, see the church, visit the museum about the sculpter of the Statue of Liberty, and visit the small art museum recently described by Rick Steves. Hear anything about the "Other" Colmar tour? Were there enough people to have this tour?

 

Other questions: Location of your dock at Basel? If transferred from Lucerne, no local tour of Basel offered? Any issue with water level on the Rhine (too low or too high)?

 

Your observation about upper deck cam sounds like some fun -- thanks for the information! Will be interested to learn about if presence of french balcony (facing west) or real balcony (facing east) is of any benefit in the Basel to Amsterdam route.

 

Your postings are absolutely great, much thanks!

DJ:)

[CEV426]

As AllieCat posted, the WWII optional excursion was amazing. This was the only optional tour we did and I'm so glad that we did. We did this itinerary in reverse so it was our last night and it is indeed a long and hurried day. I felt like I was hallowed ground. The museum afterward was packed with memorabilia and findings from the French, American, German and Russian Armies.

 

Black Forrest mini hike was nice. It was like a scene in Once Upon a Time with the super green vegetation, moss and babbling brook. Not the highlight of the trip but our guide serenaded us at the end with some songs and played accordion. Don't drink alcohol at lunch or you'll be sorry!!

 

I didn't hear any super raves about the other Colmar optional ex.

[OCruisers]

Thanks so much to all of you! Your information is being a real help to me. :)

LuLu

[alliecat61]

I didn't hear anything about the other optional tour. If I was given an option between all three, I would not have selected the Black Forest.

 

We were transfered from Lucerne to Basel relatively late in the day (4:00 pm) and had no time to explore the city. I cannot tell you the location of the dock in Basel. Sorry.

 

The water level of the Rhine was low, as they did not have much snow this year.

 

We had a full balcony. I don't feel that I missed anything being on that side. If I really wanted to see something, I just went up to the sun deck.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[CEV426]

I didn't hear anything about the other optional tour. If I was given an option between all three, I would not have selected the Black Forest.

 

I think you misunderstood...

 

The Black Forest Ex was an included trip. Once of the guides led us into the the forest for a 15 min hike and the option to stay longer and find way back on our own. It was better than the commercialization of the village shops.

[alliecat61]

Day 5 – Kehl/Strasbourg (Easter Sunday)

 

We arrived in Kehl on the German side of the Rhine at 8:00 am. Our group excursion for the day departed the ship at 8:45 am for a three hour tour of Strasbourg, France. The plan was to spend 45ish minutes on a driving tour of the modern portion of the city, 45ish minutes on a walking tour of the old city, and 45 minutes of free time in the city. This tour required a lot of walking, which started with walking from the Ship to the street to board the tour buses. There were lots of stairs involved in getting up to the street from the dock, but a ramp was also available for those who did not want to take the stairs.

 

I will digress here a little bit about leaving the ship for tours…Viking requires you to have a card for re-entry onto the ship (safety reasons). You must obtain the card at the front desk before you leave. Right before leaving, the front desk gets very congested. Plan ahead. You can obtain you cards at any time before departing.

 

The first 45 minutes of the excursion visited modern parts of the city, particularly, sites of the European Union. Our bus took a little longer because our tour guide decided to stop on a street with numerous light poles, with stork nests. (These stork nests were in the other French towns we visited too.) This street had approximately 15 to 20 light poles with nests containing young storks. The tour guide let people out to take pictures. It was hard to gather everyone up again to make our way to the old city, but we finally did, albeit, a little behind schedule.

 

We started on a 45 minutes walking tour of the old city, Petite France, which was beautiful. The buildings, landscapes, and smells were out of this world. We ended our walking tour at the city cathedral. We were able to sneak inside and catch the last few minutes of the Easter Mass.

 

Afterwards, we spent our free time (45 minutes) exploring the square. Once free time was over, we walked 10 to 15 minutes back to the tour bus to return to Kehl and lunch on the ship. Lunch was served at 12:30.

 

Afternoon activities included an optional wine tour excursion (49 euros) in the Alsace region that lasted from 1:45 to 5:45, free time in the City of Strasbourg, or just hanging out on the ship. The ship activities included a cooking demonstration at 5:30.

 

We opted for the optional wine tour along with about 20 other participants. The tour took us to Molsheim and its region. Not sure if this winery is visited each time by Viking. We toured the Vins et Cremant d’Alsace. The owner, Philippe Heitz, showed us his bottling operations conducted in his home. It was very quaint and informative. We tasted four wines and were able to purchase wine to take with us. We purchased two bottles, a dry Riesling for 7.5 euros and a Pinot Gris for 8.7 euros. The wines were so good that I wish I would have purchased more. Unfortunately Philippe told us that we could not by the wine in the States, and the bottles did not last the cruise.

 

After the tour of the winery, we toured the countryside by bus and stopped by a small village. We were able to get out and explore the village as they celebrated Easter Sunday afternoon. Many of the stores in the village were closed for Easter, but each square had vendors selling items from their stands.

 

We returned to the ship around 5:45ish and went up to the sundeck to enjoy a glass of wine (on the Rhine) and an hour of sunshine before dinner. If you wanted to, you could join the daily cocktail hour and daily briefing. The ship departed for Mannheim at 7:00 pm.

 

It was nice to have a seat at the window to watch the sailing and enjoy a wonderful Easter dinner.

 

Regrets for the day - none

Best part of the day - optional wine tour

[banditoo]

Loving your review Alliecat!

[alliecat61]

The Gullveig arrives in Mannheim at 2:00 am. Interesting note – if you are on the third floor, you sometimes hear the Ship’s crew running down the sundeck to securing the Ship during docking. On a couple of nights, their activity woke me up.

 

The planned excursion was to the city of Heidelberg and the Heidelberg Castle. We left on time at 8:30 for our bus ride to the Castle. In the Daily today, Viking announced a leisurely tour. This was a nice touch by Viking who realized that a group of travelers wanted a more leisurely excursion that did not walk as far or as fast. Today, they dedicated one tour bus to this group. By the end of the cruise, this group had grown so much that two buses were needed.

 

Our bus trip to the Castle took about 30 minutes. When we arrived at the Castle, the grounds were not too busy and we were able to navigate easily through our tour. By the time our walking tour of the Castle was finishing, the number of tour groups was growing. I cannot imagine how crowded this place would be in the summer when more people are vacationing.

 

We spent approximately 1.5 hours on the Castle grounds, which was really not enough time. Exploring this place was incredible and I would have liked more time here. While we in the part of the Castle overlooking the River Neckar, I heard two travelers asking our tour guide where to meet the buses in the Alstadt (Old Town). They must have been to the Castle before and wanted to spend more time exploring Alstadt so they left the tour group. I don’t think the Viking reps were too thrilled about this, but they did it anyway. They made it back to the tour group to return to the Ship.

 

We left the Castle and drove down to the Alstadt. Our guide took us on a walking tour that took about 30 minutes and then we had free time on our own for about 45 minutes to an hour. We went through the Cathedral on the square and then found an outdoor café (which were plentiful here) to have coffee/local beer/pastries. This was one my most enjoyable times on the trip. The weather was beautiful – clear sky, temps in the high 60s/low 70s, no wind). We ordered an apple strudel from one of the coffee shops – it was outstanding.

 

Afterwards, we still had time to souvenir shop or explore before returning to the buses. We split up – two of us went shopping and the other two went exploring. The exploring group found a brewery and bought a growler filled with a local Heidelberg beer. We brought the growler back to the Ship and enjoyed it on the Sundeck another day. Interesting note about your in-room refrigerator on the Ship – the shelves come out easily for storage of wine bottles or growlers.

 

We found our tour bus and returned to the Ship at little before 1:00 pm. After the Ship dropped us off in Mannheim it cast off for Gernsheim. If you stayed on the Ship instead of going on the exploration of Heidelberg, you arrived in Gernsheim around 12:45 pm. Lunch was late that day at 1:00 pm. At 1:45 pm the Ship cast off for Rudesheim. Afternoon activities included Rudesheim Kaffee cooking lesson in the lounge or taking in the gorgeous day on the Sundeck. We did both! We were scheduled to arrive in Rudesheim at 5:00 pm, but were about 15 minutes late.

 

Today’s optional excursion was a mini-train ride and dinner in Rudesheim (59 euros). We did not participate in this excursion, but heard that the food was just ok and the entertainment was “cute”. Dinner on the Ship was earlier than normal today – it was at 6:30. The cocktail hour and daily briefing were held prior to dinner, as usual. After dinner, we were able to leave the Ship and walk into Rudesheim to explore the city.

 

At 9:00 pm, the Ship had a glassblowing demonstration by a traditional German glassblower. The demonstration lasted about 30 minutes and he brought trinkets for purchasing if so desired. That afternoon another Viking Ship docked next to us and travelers from that Ship came over for the glassblowing demonstration.

 

The Gullveig spent the night in Rudesheim that night.

 

Regrets for the day – not having more time in Heidelberg

Best part of the day – sitting in the square in Alstadt enjoying coffee, beer and pastries

[In Retirement]

Your long descriptive lists are so great as each of us can now tell when and where we will have some free time and do some individual research both through TripAdvisor and some materials in the mail.

 

Want to know if anyone walked to St. Stephan's in Breisach and if anyone had a tour within Colmar? Looks like I need to spend time looking over Strasbourg (after lunch) and just have an idea of what to do in old town Heidelberg.

 

Good to know when offered dinner out, this is a good time to stay onboard?

 

I can understand that the region is known for wine, but honestly my wife and I both take meds for hypertension and can't drink at lunch if followed by a 2-hour walk and no more than a glass with dinner. Although we can appreciate elaborate meals, for us a great meal is one we don't prepare or have to clean up after!

 

Also interested to know how much of a physical challenge it was getting around Marksburg castle, and how crowded was it? Nothing like a few well-placed hand rails to facilitate movement and avoid accidents.

 

Look forward to hearing how you used your free time in Cologne and elsewhere. We go directly from boat in Amsterdam to a 11:18 Thalys train to Antwerp.

 

Again, you are doing a wonderful service with your presentation!

Much thanks,

DJ:)

[alliecat61]

Thank you. Before I cruised I looked for detailed info on my trip on Cruise Critic and could locate any info. I decided when I returned I would write length posts on each day to help us know how to plan. I hope my rants are not too long. I'd rather leave you with more detail than leave something out. I'm have made the front page of each Daily into a picture. I would like to be able to post those in each post, but have not been able to determine if that is possible.

 

I don't know about St. Stephans in Breisach or tour within Colmar; hopefully, someone else can add insight.

 

I hope to be able to provide additional information on your other questions in additional posts.

[alliecat61]

The most anticipated day of the trip has arrived for me. After spending the night in Rudesheim, the Gullveig casts off for Koblenz at 8:30. The next 2.5 hours is spent viewing the magnificent castles and villages along the Rhine. You could participate in the viewing in a number of areas – the sun deck, the lounge, your room (if you have a balcony), or the Aquavit Terrace. We spent the majority of the time viewing the castles on the sun deck. The weather that day was cool and overcast. We needed our gloves and coats plus coffee and hot chocolate to stay warm. Even though it was rather cool, the sun deck was pretty crowded. Most observers wanted to be at the front of the Ship. If you want to be at the front of the Ship to see the castles, plan to arrive early to secure good seating.

 

There was a lot to see that morning. Viking provides a book in your welcome packet that highlights landmarks along the Rhine. I did not take it upstairs with me initially, but I soon returned to my room to find the book. I wanted to follow along with the Program Director and make notes in the book as the Program Director highlighted various items of interest. The Ship sells a good map of various locations along the Rhine and I found the map to be very handy during the presentation. It cost approximately 8 euros on the Ship. Many tourist kiosks sell it in various ports, but not sure of the cost.

 

The Gullveig arrives in Koblenz around 12:00 and lunch is served at 12:30 pm. The afternoon excursion is Marksburg Castle. Tour buses leave at 2:00 pm and return to the Ship at 4:30. I did not think that the Castle was very crowded when we toured it. However, it might be very crowded in the summer. They do break the groups down into smaller groups to tour the Castle. The climb is steep, and you do walk over cobblestones. Some of the hallways of the castle are very narrow and I do remember handrails to hold onto. It started lightly sprinkling on us at the end of the tour. The walking tour could be dangerous if it is more than light rain. Beware!

 

After returning to the Ship around 5:00ish from Marksburg Castle, you have free time to explore Koblenz before dinner. There are many beer gardens and outdoor cafés to visit. Activities on the Ship include a presentation on the European Union at 5:00 pm. The daily Cocktail hour begins at 5:30 and ends at 7:00 and the daily briefing is at 6:45 pm. Dinner is served at 7:00 pm.

 

Dinner tonight was an authentic German meal. Everything on the menu was German and fantastic. Dinner is served buffet style in three locations, including the Galley. The crew loved showing off the Galley. While all the meals were wonderful, this was a truly outstanding experience.

 

After dinner activities included a music quiz in the lounge. You could also leave the Ship to further explore the town of Koblenz. You just had to be back on the Ship by 2:45 am because the Gullveig set sail for Cologne at 3:00 am.

 

Regrets for the day – not spending more time reading about the Middle Rhine Castles before I left from the States.

 

Best part of the day – enjoying the authentic German dinner prepared by the fabulous Chef Klaus!

[In Retirement]

So nobody was observed post-castle wearing an orthopedic boot or using a pair of crutches? Somehow I have "Braubach" in my notes? Somewhat confused. I wonder which temperatures will be good estimates of river day/evening temperatures 13/20 June?

 

Although I applied too much thought to side of ship (east/west), choices by category even a year ahead were very limited, so basically had one balcony cabin (not suite) facing east (maybe shadow in late afternoon?) and one french balcony (large window at bed) facing west (on the week before the longest day of the year) could experience glare from sun or excessive heat from open window, so took the easy way out with B235?

 

Ever meet anyone who admitted to occupying those two giant suites at the back of the boat? I can't imagine how they market those two cabins?

:)DJ:)

[notamermaid]

Hello alliecat61,

 

Thank you for the great detailed posts! A very enjoyable read.

 

The booklet on the castles is available in kiosks almost everywhere in that area, 8 euros on the ship seems a little higher than in the shops. If you have not got this book by the time you are in Rüdesheim or Koblenz, respectively (i.e. before the scenic sail through the gorge) it is probably a good idea to check the local shops before buying the guide book on the ship.

 

@ In Retirement

 

Marksburg Castle towers above the little town of Braubach. I recall past Viking cruisers posting that they were dropped off in Braubach to explore the castle while the ship sailed on to Koblenz. That is if you have booked the northbound route. It was obviously different on this sailing. I wonder if Viking has changed this for all northbound sailings?

 

@alliecat61

I do not want to dampen your spirits but I am somewhat a bit sceptical about a dinner in the Galley for hygienic reasons.

 

But I am sure it was fascinating to see the Galley.

 

A lecture on the European Union sounds an usual, good idea.

 

Again, thank you for the great report.

 

notamermaid

 

It has been or felt cool in the Rhine valley, mainly because it is very windy. Rain on and off for three days. Unpleasant and quite unsettled weather for May.

[In Retirement]

Have to admit that these postings are timely, helpful, and I must admit (for once) that all of yesterday's emails had been answered as of this morning!

 

Whether starting or ending up at Basel, I'm certain that this town merits a visit, and in the broad shape of things we had considered an initial start in Zurich, but hotel rents, an absence of 4-7 night rentals, and just the complexity of it all (and the relative absence of available cabins for June 2014 on August 2013, joined forces to plan outward from Amsterdam (Belgium, Norway) than into earlier June for Switzerland.

 

The limited value of these Viking Booklets (imprinted with names and reservation numbers) because the text is posted online (thanks for directions) are the phone number and the email of the ship. I can tell you that the hotel manager on the Gullvieg answered my email the next day and provided expected dock location (St. Johannspark) and was reassuring about providing support for folks with Type II Diabetis. The location of this dock is the closest to Old Town and to our selected hotel on arrival (Hotel D, Blumenrain 19). It is useful to know that Viking either brings you from Lucern to the boat, or from the airport to the boat. Either you don't see Basel or you get to experience maybe a one night of jet lag once onboard. It has been explained to me that only 25% of Viking clients make their own pre- or post-cruise arrangements. My perspective is, when I was working and raising a family, never paid much attention to planning a vacation (just lucky to have any days for a vacation and never paid attention to the process). In contrast, since retirement I've found that the more time I spend in preparing for a vacation, the more that I enjoy it! For example, if we cross the Atlantic, I'd prefer to do it with accumulated credit card purchases and would never spend less than 3 weeks. I understand that we will only see a little of the tourism strip from Basel to Amsterdam. I also know that if you want to experience the feel of a city, you need to spend multiple days to pick up a little of the feeling of daily life (not during these 4 weeks). Was really shocked to find that people would schedule a Barcelona to Venice (12 night cruise) and go to the ship directly from the airport and leave from the ship (one overnight) directly to the airport again! This means, maybe you walk the harbor at Mykonos for 2 or 3 hours and give Venice about the same time! (Sort of like my preparation for Venice that included the purchase of a city map so that I could explain to others on our Roll Call that you don't drive anywhere in Venice!)

 

Because I received a lovely note from Basel tourism, I now fully understand the public tram/hotel arrangement. This also fits with our intend (now fact) to purchase new 25"" travelpromagna suiters with matching carry-ons. Though these 10-pound lifetime guarantee cases were purchased for train travel to Belgium, they now also facilitate tram and bus travel (and a real motivation to eat carefully and keep clothes presentable!). Understand now Swiss (not French) immigration at airport, bus #50 to Basel train station, tram #11 to hotel. Also tram 16/15 for a city tour, and back on tram #11 to arrive at St. Johannspark. Once checked in at hotel, travel pass is good for the days registered, if you use travel before, have access to hotel reservation if requested by conductor. Intend to locate restaurant with river view for dinner that night after a city tram tour (if sufficient energy). Understand that boat will provide sandwiches and will offer an afternoon walking tour as well. Our attraction to Hotel D were pictures of a modern bathroom (modern shower, great bathroom fixtures) with a hope of a therapeutic night's sleep as well as an advertised TripAdvisor special that included breakfast!

 

Thanks for pointing out that the Marksburg Castle is neighbored by Braubach. Now trying to figure out why all of my notes and this booklet describe Heidelberg and Rudesheim, while the current Viking booklet posts Heidelberg and Speyer? (Time to look at a map?)

 

Will be interested to see if the majority of our fellow travelers will be most interested in the next meal, or the next wine or beer, or will focus on the culture and history of each location. Really interested in the quality of tours, although in a couple of hours you mainly get transportation and whatever your eyes take in? We did a 5-day bus tour from Madrid and we were only satisfied with half of our tours and very unhappy for what we didn't see. My current philosophy is not to put all eggs into the same basket: if possible, learn about a location and what you can do yourself (like places in Colmar and Breisach), put together different experiences during a vacation (like our own tour of Bruges and Ghent, and several independent port days in Norway).

 

Probably can tell that I'm getting excited. Really get into resolving problems and mysteries before travel!

DJ:):)

[alliecat61]

Hello alliecat61,

 

Thank you for the great detailed posts! A very enjoyable read.

 

The booklet on the castles is available in kiosks almost everywhere in that area, 8 euros on the ship seems a little higher than in the shops. If you have not got this book by the time you are in Rüdesheim or Koblenz, respectively (i.e. before the scenic sail through the gorge) it is probably a good idea to check the local shops before buying the guide book on the ship.

 

@ In Retirement

 

Marksburg Castle towers above the little town of Braubach. I recall past Viking cruisers posting that they were dropped off in Braubach to explore the castle while the ship sailed on to Koblenz. That is if you have booked the northbound route. It was obviously different on this sailing. I wonder if Viking has changed this for all northbound sailings?

 

@alliecat61

I do not want to dampen your spirits but I am somewhat a bit sceptical about a dinner in the Galley for hygienic reasons.

 

But I am sure it was fascinating to see the Galley.

 

A lecture on the European Union sounds an usual, good idea.

 

Again, thank you for the great report.

 

notamermaid

 

It has been or felt cool in the Rhine valley, mainly because it is very windy. Rain on and off for three days. Unpleasant and quite unsettled weather for May.

I wish I would have had the map to study prior to leaving for the cruise. I like to know where I'm going and where I have been on trips. I should have had it before I left for Switzerland.

 

As to the Galley, I thought it was clean and safe to eat the food from the Galley. On that night, food was served buffet style in the Galley and two other stations in the lounge. I hope the lounge was as clean as the Galley.

[notamermaid]

In Retirement,

 

completely forgot: there is a threat for Marksburg castle. Last entered post is from 9 March.

 

There are also several older Rhine getaway threads that might give you some more information.

 

notamermaid

[In Retirement]

In Retirement,

 

completely forgot: there is a threat for Marksburg castle. Last entered post is from 9 March. There are also several older Rhine getaway threads that might give you some more information.

notamermaid

 

Did the reading, have no idea if Marksburg (now routine included tour) was ever "optional." It seems one needs to obtain the physical profile of the folks who describe the difficult walk. Just like our final dozen days in Norway, some people are afraid of a two block level walk while others talk about a 3-4 mile "hike" including "bouldering" (for me, visions of a visit to an emergency room): seems its time to visit Youtube and search "Marksburg castle"? Part of planning was my logic to center around 21 June (longest day of year) and do Rhine valley and Belgium first and end with Norway (going north as weather warms up?). I figure that last May/June was very unexpected and not to be repeated this year (unexpectedly warm spring following very wet and cold winter)? As we learn, however, predictions will be very difficult as well as logical ocean rise with melting ice caps?

 

Much thanks,

DJ:)

Look forward to hearing about Cologne, windmills and cruise into Netherlands and Amsterdam welcome!

[In Retirement]

I am spreading my effort between becoming more prepared for this river cruise, a 12-night cruise to Norway from Amsterdam, and current family life and all that preparation to relocate to Europe for a few weeks!

 

Hoping to hear how this one river cruise ended, how Cologne and the windmill visit went. Do you enter the boat on the second or third deck (the top "sun" being the fourth?)? Thanks for the information on Marksburg Castle, great to see that the steep steps come with a handrail and the uneven surfaces into the castle do not represent a substantial challenge. Look forward to standing on those ramparts to view the river and town below!

 

I have a map of Basel, with St. Johanspark indicated (told two tram stops from our hotel!), and some sort of map etc. with at least English labels for Breisach, Colmar, Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Rudesheim, Koblenz, and Cologne. Didn't think I could get anything about Kinderdijk (?) and have visited Amsterdam twice in the last few years (a wonderful city). Anything missing?

 

Looking forward to hearing more! Should I be paying attention to other threads?

My best, DJ:)

[alliecat61]

Day 8 – Cologne, Germany

 

Before describing the day, my apologies for not finishing the posts sooner, but I have been ill. Feeling better now and can continue with my journey.

 

The Gullveig sets sail for Cologne at 3:00 am. When the Ship sails this night, all is quite on the Sundeck. Breakfast is served at the regular times. Coffee, juice and pastries are set out at 6:00 am for early risers. The Terrace Breakfast begins at 6:30 am and the Buffet Breakfast starts at 7:00.

The Gullveig arrives in Cologne at 9:00 am and the shore excursion begins at 9:30 am. Getting off of the Ship this morning was difficult. You walk up the plank to a sidewalk (of sorts). It is crowded with citizens from Cologne going about their daily activities – walking and backing on this sidewalk. Then you add the passengers from the Gullveig and it becomes very, very crowded. Finally, our guide had the common sense to move our group out of harm’s way. Just be careful because the bikers are not.

 

I must admit at this stage of the tour, I'm beginning to get a little tired and need a day of unorganized activities. I thought about skipping out of the excursion, but I’m glad I didn’t. The Cologne Cathedral is something you should not miss. It is absolutely spectacular! Be careful on the plaza outside the Cathedral – our guide warned us of people trying to pick your pockets. Such a shame in such a beautiful place.

 

The guide provides a very thorough tour of the Cathedral and then you have extra time to spend inside the facility. You finish the tour at the Cathedral around 11:30 and the afternoon is yours for free time. You can return to the Ship for lunch or have lunch in the City.

 

The optional excursion today include a trip to the Working World ChemPark (39 Euros) from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and an evening trip to explore the Bierhaus culture in Cologne (29 Euros) from 8:45 pm to 10:30 pm. Initially, we signed up for the beer excursion; however, we backed out when we found out that it started so late. If this was earlier in the trip, we would have gone. I just think we were all getting a little tired.

 

So instead of doing an organized tour, we decided to do our own tour during our free time that afternoon. We went to three or four Bierhaus before settling at Bierhaus am Rhine. This Bierhaus is on the Rhine and a great place to people watch. The food and bier is not too bad either.

 

After we finished our own pub crawl, we walked to the Chocolate Museum. We decided against the tour because it was 12 Euros, but visited the gift shop and had lots of candies to bring back with us. Others on the tour went to the Love Lock Bridge, which was a short walk from where the Ship docked.

 

Activities on the Ship this afternoon a Post Cruise Extension briefing at 5:45 pm and then a Disembarkation Details briefing/Daily briefing at 6:00 pm. Dinner tonight was served at 6:30 pm. Since we had a late lunch, we decided to have a light dinner in the Terrace. It was my first time and the food was very good.

 

Quite a few number of passengers attended the pub crawl. For those that did not, there was entertainment in lounge. Tonight it was classical music by Classical Cologne. They were very good.

 

The Gullveig set sail for Kinderdijk at 11:00 pm. The pub crawlers returned to the Ship right on time at 10:45 pm. As I said in earlier posts, Viking is very punctual.

 

Regrets for the day – not being on the Sun Deck when the Gullveig set sail at 11:00 pm. Other passenger’s pictures of the Cathedral at night were awesome.

Best thing for the day – the Cologne Cathedral

[In Retirement]

Thank you for this wonderful description. A couple of questions: was the Gullveig positioned so that a walk back towards the cathedral (and the several museums near the cathedral) was a reasonable activity after lunch? When the evening of sampling beers from a number of inns was described as an optional outing, were you told that an alternative was a classical concert on the boat?

DJ:)

[alliecat61]

The Ship was positioned in a very good location. The walk to the Cathedral was not bad. In fact, I think the walking in Cologne was less than the walking in Strasbourg. When we received the sheet describing the optional excursions, we did not know about classical concert on the Ship that night. That information was provided in the Dailys left in your room the night before.

[alliecat61]

This was probably my least favorite day on the entire cruise. Your morning is basically free, as you are traversing the Rhine on your way to Kinderdijk. In the morning, breakfast is the usual – starts at 6:00 am for early risers, but the buffet begins at 7:30 am. Morning activities include a presentation on Dutch Water Management, followed by a Dutch table shuffleboard game called Sjoelen. I did not attend the talk on Dutch Water Management. After a leisurely breakfast, I decided to have quite time on my balcony with a strong cup of coffee. It was a very enjoyable morning watching the landscape sail by from the balcony.

 

I also used this free time to repack my suitcase, as our luggage had to be out at very specific times the next morning (depending upon our after-cruise plans). Viking’s plans were to leave luggage tags with the schedule for transferring bags in your room during the evening dinner. With the farewell dinner that night, I needed time to pack my bags.

 

Lunch was served at 12:30 to 2:00 pm in the restaurant or Terrace. After lunch, Ryan our Program Director, presented a talk on all things Dutch, including Dutch painters and cheeses. The Gullveig arrived in Kinderdijk at 2:15 pm. The shore excursion of the windmills began at 3:00 pm and ended at 5:00 pm. This excursion required a lot of walking. The terrain was flat, but it was a fairly good distance. I did not find the windmills that interesting and could have skipped this excursion.

 

The Gullveig cast off for Amsterdam at 5:30 pm. Evening activities included a farewell reception at 6:30 pm and farewell dinner at 7:00 pm. The reception and dinner were great fun with new friends from around the world.

 

Regrets for the day – going on the Windmill excursion

Best part of the day – the farewell dinner with new friends

[notamermaid]

Hello alliecat61,

 

Day 7 saw you in Cologne and you mention some of your fellow cruisers went to the Love Lock Bridge. There is a nice nickname for the grand old Hohenzollernbrücke! :D

 

It is actually one of the busiest railway bridges in Germany and was built - and therefore named - when there was still nobility in Germany.

 

You can walk across for great views of the city and it is lovely for the romantic at heart. If you do not mind the rumbling of the trains.

 

jbalbny commented on it in the blog of their cruise:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2026494

 

notamermaid