Hello from Uniworld's River Queen!

[hiccups]

The day in Speyer started with the vinegar tasting. It was about a 20 minute drive, and then we toured the cellar with a guide before the tasting. We tried five vinegars, and the guide told us a story with each one. It was really interesting and the vinegars were wonderful! They also had chocolates for us to try that had also been made with vinegar, and a puff pastry sprayed with one of the vinegars. I was very surprised at the number of flavors available. Unfortunately they can't ship to the U.S., or they would have had a lot more sales! I liked all five I tried, as did most people. I think about 40 of us attended.

 

The afternoon was free time in Speyer. I mentioned the trip to the cathedral, and then we went to the Technical Museum (I mistakenly called it the Industrial Museum in my earlier post). It was a "big boy" playground, with ships, planes, a U-boat and even a Russian space shuttle to explore. It was another warm day, and going inside all of those exhibits was stifling. There were also lots of cars, motorcycles, firetrucks, etc. If you're interested in the history of things with engines, it's a good place to visit. The entrance fee was 14 Euro PP, which I thought was a little steep, but this was the only thing DH has requested the entire trip so of course we needed to go.

 

Today we are in Strasbourg. We are docked outside of town, which I guess is typical of at least Uniworld ships. The tour options were a canal boat tour or a walking tour. We chose the walking tour, but had a guide that seemed to have difficulty talking and walking at the same time. She was knowledgeable, of course, but we weren't pleased with all the standing around. I'm sure that varies by tour guide, though.

 

The tour ended at the cathedral, and this time DH decided to climb it with me. This one had 330 steps, but the circular stairwell is very narrow. While it wasn't a difficult climb in terms of the steps, the narrowness made it harder than the towers in Cologne and Speyer. When we got the top, there was a family there with two small children, about 3 and 4, and the mother was nursing a baby! Later she strapped the baby into a front carrier and down they went. We were just behind them, and going down actually took longer than going up because of course she was being very careful, watching not only herself with the baby but the two little ones, although I'm sure Dad was helping with them. I hope, anyway!

 

We did a bit of walking around, and I stopped into a candy store and bought caramels to bring back for my co-workers. We were to meet the bus at St. Nicholas church, but it wasn't marked well, and we hadn't driven past it on the way to Petite France for the walking tour, so we went right by it and missed the bus. Luckily there was another one half an hour later, and we discovered we weren't the only people on the walking tour not able to find the church (people on the canal tour had sailed past it and so knew what they were looking for).

 

Tomorrow is our last day, docking in Breisach. We are doing the Alsatian villages tour in the morning, and then will take the shuttle into Colmar so we get to see all three places. We'll be on our own in Colmar, but I'm assuming Uniworld will provide the usual maps with highlights noted.

[KarlS]

The day in Speyer.

hiccups,

 

Thanks so much for continuing to post about your daily adventures. Brings back memories from when we were there cruising with Uniworld. Cheers!

 

...Karl

[hiccups]

I tried to post earlier, but the ship had internet problems the last day or so of the cruise. Frustrating when we wanted to check in for our flights!

 

We really enjoyed the Alsatian villages and wished the excursion last longer. Our dining companions and I agreed that we would have been happy to have paid for our own lunch if it meant we could have spent more time in Riquewihr. I went into the Christmas shop and wanted to buy a few ornaments, but gave up after waiting in line because it was taking too long (only one cashier was working). We didn't even get to see the entire village because I poked along too much in the Christmas shop. Our Riquewihr tour included a sampling of the tarte flambee. DH liked it much more than he expected!

 

We decided against going into Colmar in the afternoon because the ship was only running one departure and return--it left the ship at 2 PM and returned at 5 PM, and I didn't think I wanted to spend that much time in Colmar. Instead I finished up our laundry, packed, worked out and had tea. I didn't indulge in tea time too often because some days we were on tours, and others, I didn't want to tempt myself too much! Each day included finger sandwiches, fruit and an assortment of mini pastries/baked goods. One day they had a very extensive spread that included a cake decorated with the ship's course on it, and a chocolate fountain. That was one of the days I avoided the lounge. They also had a nice tea menu, but on the days I indulged I usually just grabbed a treat and left--I kept forgetting about the tea! On the day we were in Rudesheim, I ran in from the Rudesheim tour, grabbed a few French macaroons and then ran out to join the bicycle tour. I could have eaten my weight in those macaroons, especially the chocolate and caramel flavors.

 

Our dining companions had posed the question that's often asked here, which route would be "better, " Amsterdam to Basel or vice versa. They preferred Amsterdam to Basel because as has been said, some of the last stops are the prettiest. For me it would be a toss-up, but I think I liked Cologne and some of the earlier stops more than they did. They didn't climb the steps :)

 

The last evening was the Captain's Farewell Dinner, which was filet mignon, and baked Alaska for dessert. That evening's menu wasn't the greatest for me, as I can't eat seafood and most of the items included seafood (the kitchen left the prawn off the filet mignon for me). There was a vegetarian menu, of course, but that evening those selections contained items I don't like, such as avocado.

 

When we awoke on Thursday, we were docked in Basel. The docking area was disappointing, because as it was in Strasbourg, it was industrial. But I'm sure the ships don't really have a say in that!

 

Our transport wasn't until noon, so we had breakfast and lunch on the ship. As we waited in the lounge, various crew members stopped by to wish us a safe trip home. It was such a busy day for them--all the hustle and bustle of one group leaving and another coming on board! They really do handle it well.