The Romantic Rhine on the AVALON Imagery II.. full trip report with lots of pix!

[Sleep7]

Oh! And how could I forget the world's smallest book..:rolleyes:

[Sleep7]

After the tour we returned back to the ship..

 

And then onto Rudesheim after lunch.

The sun came out and was shining like gold on the Rhine.

For you opera buffs.. all I could think of was "Das Rheingold."

 

[Got2Cruise]

I love all your pics! We did this same itinerary with Avalon two years ago. Two comments to those reading along. If you don't have the Avalon transfers, there is a free shuttle from airport to Movenpick. Also, I'm surprised there was no canal tour in Strasbourg, two years ago that was included. Maybe it will be reinstated next year if folks request it.

 

 

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[Sleep7]

Wagner aside..

 

Just some random thoughts about our cruise so far..

 

We just loved the friendliness and genuine warmth of each and everyone of the crew. They all made us feel so welcome.. always had a sweet smile and a hearty hello when you saw them. By day two they knew your cabin number and they knew you! It was a great feeling. From the ship's top brass to the person who polished the brass there was a feeling of unequaled togetherness.

 

BEST SELF SERVICE COFFEE MACHINE IN THE LOUNGE. PERIOD.

If I could have ripped that machine off the wall and put it in my suitcase to take home I would have.;)

 

Loved the mix of passengers. At 54 we expected to be "the kids" on the ship but actually we weren't. There was a wide range of ages and stages and we were somewhere in the middle.

 

With only 120 people or so on the ship by day 3 of the cruise everyone was like family. What a friendly, inclusive and enthusiastic and fun group!

 

Liked the upscale toiletries provided..

Some of those did end up in my suitcase.. shhh...:D

[Sleep7]

So we are up to Tuesday afternoon..

Our Imagery II docked in Rudesheim and we all visited "Siegfried's Mechanical Instruments Museum.

From their website we "embarked on a musical adventure into the world of historical automated instruments. A vast collection, dating back three centuries, of fascinating musical instruments that function like computers, ranging from tiny, delicate music boxes to an enormous orchestrion."

It was great!!

 

 

[Sleep7]

Not to be outdone by a complimentary cup of flaming Rudesheimer coffee at a local and fun restaurant.

 

 

[Sleep7]

Seeing double..

The Avalon Tranquility II was docked right next to us. I think it was cruising the Rhine southbound from Amsterdam that week, and Rudesheim is where the ships crossed in the middle.

 

[Sleep7]

OK.. no politics.. but we were up early Wednesday morning watching the election returns on CNN. Wow.. we were shocked. I think we were all shocked!:rolleyes:

 

[Sleep7]

One of the highlights of the cruise was on Wednesday morning! We sailed along the most scenic portion of the Rhine and admired the castles along the shore and up on the mountain tops.

Gusta hosted the 2 hour tour in the lounge with fascinating commentary.

Here is a map that we all received.. made it easy to follow along.:)

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

[Sleep7]

Trains too..

 

 

[Sleep7]

After the wonderful castle viewing n the morning, we docked in Koblenz after lunch and were given a choice of 3 included tours.

1. Walking tour of Koblenz

2. Visit to Sayn Manorhouse with it's butterfly garden.

3. The one we chose.. " The Volcano Experience"

We took a 30 minute bus ride in the rain to Mendig where we donned hard hats and raincoats and descended 100 feet underground into a basalt mine. Also included was a visit to the Volcano museum and if it wasn't raining a walk around the crater lake and if the road wasn't closed a visit to a Benedictine Abbey. The guide (as all the guides have been) was fantastic and added on a walking tour of Koblenz at the end in place of those two .

Being a germaphobe :eek: I was concerned about putting a dirty hat on my hair but they actually had hygienic liners that you put on your head before the hat. I almost didn't go on the tour for that reason but Gusta emailed ahead for me and asked about it. Feel free to roll your eyes at this admission.

I sent this pic to our daughters and said that now they were a "Coal Miner's Daughters!":)

 

[Sleep7]

We were provided with a beer and a pretzel at the end of the tour.. nice!

 

[Sleep7]

That evening was the crew show.. a good time was had by all.:)

 

 

[mimmy52]

I'm so glad you're sharing your experiences. You're really on top of things writing a trip report so soon after your return. All I wanted to do was sleep for a few days. I'm especially glad you're including pictures. They're great!

[ikesyd]

Great review thanks! We are booked on the Artistry II in October next year(Rhine Moselle) and our cabin is 213! This will be our 2nd cruise with Avalon.

Can you tell me if there are any other options if you do not do the trip to Heidelburg? We have already visited there and not sure if we want to revisit.

[Daisi]

Thanks for the quick response, I guess they cut the cruise out. Oh well, I think on the one we are looking at (going A-B), we have the afternoon in town, so can always investigate to see if we can do one then.

 

Really enjoying your write up, just makes our wait that much longer!

[Sleep7]

Thanks to all!:o

Got2Cruise, I'm glad I'm bringing back fond memories for you.:)

mimmy52 .. so ironic you said that about wanting to sleep for days. It's only 3pm here and I'm ready to go to bed. Will hang up my writing hat for the day.:p More on the way tomorrow.

kesyd.. Just looked at the list and that was the only excursion offered in Mannheim. Funny about the cabin number!:)

[notamermaid]

Hello sleep7,

 

Thank you for taking the time to post a detailed review with many pictures, especially so soon after your return! I am following along with great interest. For the Avalon Imagery II I have developed a sort of soft spot as I wanted to attend her christening near where I live. However, health issues prevented it.

 

It is lovely to hear that you enjoyed the ship and the whole trip so much.

 

I cannot believe they took you to Mendig! I did not know that any company included such an optional, but I am glad they do. It is so different, going to the old vaults where beer from the whole area was stored before the breweries all had refridgerators. The volcanic lake you could have walked around is called Laacher See and it still bubbles (carbondioxide - the volcanic activity). The monastery is Maria Laach, a UNESO world heritage site, that I have thought several times could easily be included as an optional on a river cruise. Nice to hear that Avalon has thought of doing that, it is very interesting and in a lovely setting in the Eifel countryside.

 

If anybody else is interested in the optionals here are the websites:

 

http://vulkan-brauerei.de/de/ there does not seem to be an English website. The German one claims that the brewery has the deepest beer cellar in the world!

 

http://www.maria-laach.de/kontakt/international/

 

Looking forward to your next posts.

 

notamermaid

[Cobbie48]

Great write up, we are getting ready to book our trip soon (as soon as the 2018 prices are up). One question, on the tour of Strausbourg, was there a canal cruse included? I've seen pics of others on the cruise and it looked really nice.

 

On our recent Rhine and Moselle tour on the Visionary we had a canal tour. The canal boat docked right behind our ship. After the canal tour we had a nice walking tour and ended with a bus ride back to the ship.

[TeaBag]

We are so enjoying this report. You make us think maybe we should have booked Avalon instead of AMA for next June. This will be our first river cruise.

 

I do so love that picture of the view you wakened up to. Lovely to lie in bed and see the scenery as you glide by.

 

PS. Neither of you look to be in your mid fifties!

[Sleep7]

Thanks notamermaid! I agree with you 100% that it's wonderful that Avalon visits the town of Mendig and it's basalt mine. It was super interesting and very different to see. The guide mentioned about the CO2 rising from the lake.:)

 

Thanks Teabag! We loved waking up to the full windows too. We didn't open them at all because it's was just too cold but in the summer it would have been wonderful. You will have such a wonderful time on your cruise!:)

[Sleep7]

OK.. good night's sleep and we are back!:)

It's Thursday and it's a cold and rainy day in Cologne.

We had the option of 2 included tours this morning.

A city walking tour or the Jewish Tour and being Jewish it was an easy choice.:)

As I have said before all the local guides have been wonderful and this one was no exception. He told us about the history of antisemitism in Germany and in Europe. It's deep seeded and always very sobering to hear. :(

We ended our tour at the Jewish Museum of Cologne which is housed in a former Gestapo prison. We toured the cells downstairs where people who had been arrested were kept for days or weeks. All of the original writings on the walls were preserved and then translated on displays outside the cells. It was just too sad to read. The tour ended there. We stayed another few minutes to see the rest of the museum but most of it was only in German and not in English. It seemed to be designed to reach out to German students that come here on class trips. I felt that was a very positive thing.. that Germany is truly trying to make up for past wrongs by educating the young.:o

 

[Sleep7]

The guide also showed us Stolperstein, or "stumbling stones," which are bricks that are installed in the cobblestone sidewalks in European cities to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. They are slightly higher than the other stones to make them more noticeable to people walking over them.

There are more than 30,000 commemorative bricks in dozens of cities and towns across Germany and over 50,000 stolperstein have been laid in 18 European countries. The project was was initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992

 

[Sleep7]

Cologne is Germany's 4th largest city and there was a lot to do and see after our tour ended. The rain started up again so we didn't walk around too much but we did see the beautiful cathedral and the headquarters of 4711 where the famous cologne from Cologne is sold.