River Melody Cruise Review: Vienna to Amsterdam (7/12/99)

 

           |VIENNA |        |DANUBE|        |CANAL|          |MAIN|       |RHINE|

 

 

This 14 day cruise on the "Great Rivers of Europe" was one of the best vacations we have ever taken.  When the boat arrived in Amsterdam we wished we could have stayed on it for the trip back to Vienna.

 

Booking:

The only way to book this trip is through Grand Circle Travel which owns the five river vessels used for this and other river trips.  The company has long specialized in coach, rail and cruise tours for the 'elderly' (over 50) segment of the travel market.  For several years they chartered riverboats for these Europe trips but apparently they sensed a growing demand and commissioned the vessels now used.  In order to book the trip, at least one individual in the group must be 50 or over.  Of the 136 passengers on our trip the youngest passenger was a 19 year old college student traveling with her mother (who didn't look a day over 35).  They qualified for the trip, however, because they were traveling with the girl's grandfather and grandmother.  Not surprisingly, the median age of the passengers was about 70 and most had traveled extensively.  However, they seemed somewhat more energetic and active than elderly individuals on ocean cruises we have taken.

 

Unlike most cruises, the brochure price is pretty much fixed and the usual 'discounts', 'second person free', and 'cabin upgrades' are nonexistent.  Grand Circle does offer an 'early payment' discount and a 'travel credit' on future Grand Circle trips.  Also, unlike most ocean cruises there are no extra expenses for 'optional' excursions.  The only additional charges when booking are the 'additional taxes'.  A plethora of excursions is included in the price and no 'optional trips' are offered during the cruise.  The only additional expenses are tips to the crew and the program directors, bar expenses and purchases made on the boat. We did, however, choose to take the optional three day pre-cruise extension in Vienna.

 

The Boats

I'm not sure whether to call the River Melody a ship or a boat. It is registered as the M/S (Motor ship) River Melody but I'm not sure what that actually indicates.  Anyway, it and its various sister ships (Symphony, Harmony, Concerto, and Rhapsody) are 361 feet long and 38 feet wide.  They look much like a very upscale barge. The River Melody's first voyage was on April 13, 1999 so the ship was brand new!  Here is a picture of the River Rhapsody heading towards Vienna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cabins

 

The cabins are located on three decks.  Rather than using their boat names, I'll simply refer to them as the upper deck, middle deck and lower deck.  The 'roof' of the boat is called the "Sun Deck".  Even though expensive, we booked a cabin on the upper deck because these were described as having sliding glass doors with a small balcony.  We were very glad we did.  These cabins are fantastic and apparently go very fast.  When we booked almost a year prior to the voyage there were only  5 or 6 of the 15 upper deck cabins available.  At that time the brochure did not even have a deck plan so I just kind of chose a number.  I 'selected' cabin 409 which is located on the starboard side in about the middle of the boat. It was a fortuitous choice. Going from Vienna to Amsterdam most of the 'sights' are on the starboard side. And the boat frequently 'docks' heading into the current so we often had beautiful views of the river while the port side had a view of a wall.  All the upper deck cabins are the same although cabin 415 is located next to the kitchen and sometime the kitchen smells were pretty strong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cabins were larger than I expected since the brochure described them as 'small but comfortable'.  Our cabin was about 15' long and 12' wide. The balcony was pretty narrow (30 inches) but contained two sturdy aluminum frame deck chairs with fiber mesh seats and backs. While a 'hefty' person might have difficulty sitting in the chairs and moving about on the balcony we thought the space was adequate and we spent a great deal of time on our balcony just watching the scenery float by at 6 miles an hour. Our neighbors in cabin 411 were a wonderful couple from Arizona and we became good friends with them. There is a small partition/door separating the balconies but it can be unlocked and the door can be set flush against the side of the boat. This doubles the viewing area and increases the angle for viewing the scenery. We left the door open most of the time and in the afternoon had a very enjoyable 'happy hour' with our neighbors on this expanded balcony. Other passengers didn't seem to use their balconies nearly as much as we did.

 

The inside of the cabin was cleverly designed. There was a small alcove with a desk and chair. On the desk were a telephone and a hair dryer. On either side of the desk were the closets. The beds were "Murphy type" which folded up into the wall during the day. Once folded a small couch was exposed. The bed was basically a wooden frame (sort of like a waterbed)with a mattress placed inside the frame. The sole bedding was a pillow and a weird comforter. I'm not sure what they are called (Duvet ?)but they must be common in Central Europe because the bed in Vienna also had one. The problem was you couldn't adjust the temperature-- you were either too hot or too cold. Another difficulty was that the top of the bed was about 30" from the floor and the edge was rather sharp. Getting in and out of the bed was a bit unpleasant. We discovered that if you tucked a towel along the side it was much more comfortable getting in and out. Above each bed was a shelf about 2 ft wide running the length of the bed. This was a very convenient place for putting cameras, binoculars, maps, books, etc. There was also a 30" diameter table which, in the upper deck cabins, could be moved about. The bathroom had a sink, toilet and shower. A pullout clothes line was available. The shower floor was very slippery. Apparently shower mats were available but you had to ask for them. The air-conditioning controls were a little tricky but once mastered worked well. Finally there was a TV on one of the shelves above the bed. It had a ship-cam channel plus a Dutch channel, a German channel,  Europe MTV, a cartoon channel, CNN, TNN and a travel channel.  A video movie was shown once each evening.

 

The cabins on the middle deck are a bit larger than those on the upper deck because they do not have balconies. They have a large picture window but there is a rectangular table which abuts the window.  Otherwise, I think the layout of these rooms was the same.  The cabins on the lower deck have small rectangular windows right at the water line. When docked these cabins usually have views of a wall or a river bank. Cabins were cleaned daily and towels were replaced twice a day. I had no complaints.

 

The Restaurant

The beautifully decorated restaurant is located aft on the upper deck. It is large enough to seat all passengers at one sitting. Tables are available for 2,4, 6 or 8 persons. The most desirable tables are located near the large picture windows and are highly coveted. All meals are served open-sitting. With the number of passengers on our cruise almost every seat at every table was needed.

Breakfast is served buffet style from 7:00 - 8:30 am and is the same every morning. A variety of cold cereals, meats and fish, breads, fresh fruits, etc are available plus scrambled and hardboiled eggs, bacon and sausage, waffles and pancakes.

 

Lunch is also served buffet style from 1:00 - 2:30 pm but the menu changes each day. It features various cold salads, cold meats plus hot meats, fish etc. On a couple of occasions special lunches (suckling pig, roast turkey) were presented. In addition, soup, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and french fries can be ordered from the kitchen. A dessert tray with several selections is displayed. Chocolate desserts were uncommon and disappeared quickly.

 

Dinner is served at 7:00 pm and usually lasted until about 8:30. This was our first experience with 'open' rather than 'assigned' seating.  I can see advantages and disadvantages to it. On the one hand if you are assigned to sit with people with incompatible views or personalities you are stuck with them for the whole cruise. On the other hand, sitting with someone different each night forces one into an introductory 'chit-chat' mode. With assigned seating you have the same table and server each night. The server thus gets to know your idiosyncrasies. As it turned out after a few nights several groups of various sizes formed and sat at the same table every night.  Other individuals or couples became "floaters".  These groups and table preferences started to carry over to breakfasts and lunches. Eventually, a crowd would start to form about 10 minutes prior to the opening of the restaurant and once the doors opened there would be a mad rush to the buffet line and tables. We paired up with the couple from Arizona who had the cabin next to us and usually sat at a table for six. Floater couples could then join us for a few nights.

 

I am not a gourmand; in fact I am a fussy (alright, picky) eater. Consequently I will not attempt to evaluate the food. My biggest problem was that with a small kitchen and a relatively small number of passengers, the selection was extremely limited. A typical menu would feature one appetizer, one soup, one salad, a choice of two entrees, one desert or ice cream and cheeses. The entrees featured, veal, lamb, pork, fish, beef or poultry. There seemed to be a nice variety and there was a different menu each evening. Most people seemed to find the food acceptable; I didn't hear anyone really rave about it nor, with a couple of exceptions, were their many complaints. One unique feature was that wine was included with every meal. You had your choice of a house white or house red. Varietals were also available for purchase from a wine list for $15 - $20. I thought I saw some individuals bring their own wine (purchased off the ship?) but there was a $5.00 corkage fee.

The male and female servers were from many different  European countries. Although a few of them were not very experienced and, at times, forgetful of special requests they were uniformly polite, friendly and cheerful. I certainly had no complaints.

 

 

The Lounge

 

The lounge was located forward on the upper deck. It could seat all the passengers at one time but it was then crowded. It was furnished with large overstuffed couches, chairs with low tables and tables with regular height chairs. The latter seemed to be almost permanently occupied by bridge players who would occasionally (mostly when they were dummy) look out to see the scenery. There was a bar from which beer, wine and mixed drinks could be ordered and there was a small isolated section (called the pub) where smoking was allowed. (This was the only public area on the boat where smoking was permitted. To my knowledge, Grand Circle has yet to designate specific cabins as smoking or non-smoking.)

 

The lounge was used for the evening entertainment, for guest lectures and for the daily 'port talk'. Rather than publish a daily schedule, the River Melody's schedule is presented orally at 6:45 pm each evening.  One of our program hosts (there are usually three on each cruise) Heiner, Ekke or Rudi would brief us on the next day's activities. The history and major sights of the city to be visited the next day were described, and the specific times for breakfast, lunch and dinner would be given. The departure times and details for the walks or excursions would be presented. Later this information would be summarized on a flip chart located in the lobby. Because of the timing of the 'port talk', passengers were faced with an approach-approach conflict!  They wanted to hear the details of the next day's activities but they also wanted to get in line for the restaurant so as to secure a desirable table. Consequently, at the conclusion of the port talk there was a mass exodus. Program host Heiner (the senior member of the team) was extremely knowledgeable about the cities and excursions so his port talks lasted until a couple minutes before 7:00 but Ekke's and Rudi's talks often lasted only 5 minutes. Consequently, the halls of the upper deck were jammed with passengers for many minutes prior to the opening of the food pit. Our group solved the problem by having a designated port-talk note -taker. The others would be at the front of the restaurant line and be assured of obtaining a good table. Then while waiting for the appetizer they would receive a personalized port talk from the note-taker!

 

Fitness/Sauna Room

 

The floor plan now printed in the brochure shows the forward section of the middle deck as a fitness and sauna room.  In addition there is a cryptic, unlabeled circle on the diagram. Well, the circle represents a whirlpool spa. Unfortunately, it wasn't working on our trip. (I don't think it had ever worked).

The fitness equipment was an ancient stair stepper and a strange looking weight machine. I don't know if the sauna worked. The room was poorly ventilated and I didn't stay long.

 

Sun Deck

The majority of the sun deck (roof) is surrounded by stainless steel railings and contains several tables with chairs and many lounges. It's a pleasant place to sit when it's sunny and warm. On our cruise the weather seemed to vary from cloudy or rainy to extremely warm. The sun deck also contains an enclosed area with a few tables and the wheelhouse (bridge)where the captain steers (pilots?) the boat. When the river is high the boat can barely fit underneath some of the highway and railroad bridges. When a low bridge is near, the railings on the sun deck are folded down and the chairs and tables removed.

 

 

In some cases, the wheelhouse itself is lowered on hydraulic jacks and the captain peeks out through a hole in the roof.  Thus, this deck didn't really get much use until we reached the Rhine..

 

River Melody Cruise: Itinerary

 

VIENNA

 

About 3 months prior to the cruise Grand Circle sent us preliminary flight information. This was very useful for us since we must drive to San Francisco and, depending on the time the flight departs, may have to stay overnight near the airport.. Our non-stop flight from San Francisco to Amsterdam on KLM was to leave at 4:00 PM,( Friday, July 9th). The flight was 10 hours but was on-time and uneventful. We then connected with another KLM flight to Vienna and arrived about 3:30 PM on Saturday. . Since most of the passengers on this cruise were from Texas, Florida  or the East Coast they had already arrived on Delta via Atlanta. The six of us from California were met at the gate by a GCT representative who took us through immigration. Our passports weren't even checked! A minivan took us to the Renaissance Penta Hotel located in the 3rd district just outside the Ring. It was a nice, if unspectacular, hotel located in the diplomatic area of Vienna. That evening we met the Grand Circle program hosts (Heiner, Ekke and Rudi). Heiner was the leader and Ekke and Rudi were trainees. One of the most useful things they did was to lead a brief 'orientation' tour of the neighborhood. They pointed out nearby restaurants, shops, ATM machines for obtaining Austrian currency, the Billa grocery store and then showed us how to board, navigate and transfer using the tram system. There are two tram stops within two blocks of the hotel; one takes you into the ring the other takes you to the Prater (giant Ferris wheel) area.  Maps of the inner city showing the bus, tram and underground  routes were provided.

 

Vienna is a wonderful city and, once you figure out the transportation system, quite easy to explore.  I was amazed to discover that the trams, busses and underground work on the 'honor' system! You buy a ticket from a machine in the station or from a tobacco shop and validate it by inserting the ticket into a machine on the tram. From then on you simply transfer from bus to tram, etc. without anyone checking your ticket. Apparently, there are occasional times when tickets are checked and if you get caught there is a $70 fine. There are also 24 hour and 72 hour unlimited passes available.

 

An extensive buffet breakfast was included each morning. A guided city tour was also included and was given on Sunday morning. The tour featured a quick trip around the Ring and a stop at the Hofburg (the Habsburgs palace) where we learned about Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Sissi.  We took a tour of about 10 rooms; décor was baroque with lots of gilded wood and stucco.  The palace is huge and there are several additional areas that we did not visit. Later I came back and visited the Schatzkammer (treasury) and my wife visited the Lippizaner Museum.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour ended at Vienna's most famous landmark, the Stephens Dom (Cathedral).  That evening an outing to the Grinzing (wine district) was featured. It was fun albeit crowded and we met some of our fellow passengers.

 

We were on our own for the next two days although 'optional' tours were available.  One option was a bus tour which visited the Opera House, the 'Hundertwasser' building (weird architect) and the Prater (giant Ferris wheel). Another was an evening outing to hear music (Mozart and Strauss) played by musicians in cute costumes. We skipped both but people we talked to seemed to like the music trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used our trusty Vienna Michelin guide to decide what to see and how to get there. We decided to take the underground out to see the Schönbrunn palace. It was a mob scene! Fortunately, we took the Michelin Guide advice and got off the subway one stop beyond the Schönbrunn stop. We followed the signs and entered the palace near the giant greenhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 We walked around the gardens for awhile and then exited through the palace entrance where there were huge line of people waiting to go on the tour. We skipped the tour; apparently the rooms are very similar to those in the Hofburg. Besides, we knew that on the cruise we would see plenty of these baroque buildings.

 

 

 

 

Later that day we took the tram to the Prater. It's in a somewhat rundown area and I wouldn't want to go there at night. The wheel is not really a Ferris wheel at all. It has large box-like rooms hanging from the rails. Some of the rooms have tables and chairs and you can have a party or wedding, etc. in them. The basic ride is 55AS and you go around once. It's different and I guess it's worth doing once.

 

 

 

THE CRUISE (DAYS 1 - 4)

 

DAY 1:  On our last day in Vienna we had the morning free prior to the transfer to the boat via bus. Embarkation was fast and easy since there were only 136 passengers. Our room keys were ready and our baggage was there within 10 minutes. The pre-trip documents from Grand Circle very pointedly included only one luggage tag per person and indicated only one bag per person would be transported. They also indicated that the dress code would be causal. Based on this information I didn't even pack a suit. Although some men did bring suits or jackets to wear to the special dinners most everyone dressed informally.  The women wore nice but not fancy dresses to dinner. Upon boarding, a buffet lunch was available.

 

We departed Vienna about 5:00 pm  and slowly (about 15km/hour) started up the Danube! There was much excitement as we entered the first lock!  Well, it wasn't the Panama Canal but it was kind of interesting and almost all of the passengers stopped whatever they were doing to go up to the sun deck to watch the event. Heiner was on the loudspeaker and said this was the first of the 66 locks we would be using on the trip. At 6:30 we had the welcome aboard drinks and introduction of the program hosts to the passengers who had not taken the Vienna option.  There are a total of 32 crew members so they really must work hard and often must perform multiple functions.  For example, y the chef was also qualified to steer the boat!  We docked and stayed overnight at the small town of Krems.

 

DAYS 2 -4 THE DANUBE

 

Krems is at the foot of the beautiful  Wachau Valley.  It's similar to the more famous Rhine Valley area near the Romantic Road and has several nice castles and churches.  Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy with a light rain.  Later in the day it cleared a bit.  This tended to be the pattern for much of the trip except for three days when it cleared and became hot and muggy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today's main attraction was a stop at Melk to see the fantastic, gigantic Stift (Abby or, technically, founding church). It's big, it's baroque, it's Counter-Reformation inspired. As would become a typical pattern, the boat let us off in Melk and then continued upriver and after the Abby visit the busses took us to Grien where we reboarded the boat.  In order to prevent bus crowding and confusion the passengers were subdivided into three color groups (reds, blues, and yellows) each under the shepherdship of one of the program directors. A colored dot on our Grand Circle nametags provided an efficient means of identifying the groups.  Dinner that evening was the Captain's Welcome Party (beef tenderloin) and entertainment was a yodeler!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PASSAU

We arrived at Passau, (Pass-ow') Germany about 6:30 am the next morning. The river was very high due to heavy spring rains and snow melt in the Alps. Because the boat is much higher than a barge sometimes there are only a few inches of clearance between the boat and the bridges spanning the river.

 

On earlier occasions this year, the boat was literally stranded in Passau because it could not get under an especially low railway bridge at Deggendorf a few miles upstream from Passau. Once, it was stuck there for six  days! That cruise turned into a coach trip. Each day passengers would board busses to visit the various towns they were supposed to be docked at and then return to the ship each evening. Needless to say passengers were disappointed. Because of a report of higher water later that day, the Captain decided to let all the passengers go on the walking trip of Passau but he boat would continue upstream to the bridge. He would keep in touch with Heiner via cell phone to let up know if they boat made it under the bridge.

 

Passau was a wonderful little town. As would be the rule for this trip, the small towns and villages (Regensburg, Bamberg, Rothenburg) were much more interesting and fun than the large cities (Nuremberg, Heidelberg). I was impressed by the extensive information provided by the program directors. At each stop we were give a town map with highlights described and numbered. The map also indicated where the boat was docked in case you got lost! You never felt forced to go on the guided tours and the program hosts were extremely helpful in answering questions and giving advice.

 

In Passau, our guide was very impressive, she could walk backwards up the steep cobble stoned streets without stopping her narration. The Passau Cathedral claims to have the largest (number of pipes) church organ in the world. At noon each day there is a half-hour concert (4DM) played by an organist from a nearby University. It is not to be missed! The program we heard included works by Bach, Buxtehude, and Mendelssohn and the sound was magnificent.  There is also an amazing (albeit unusual) museum (Glasmuseum) in a restored hotel. The museum has a fantastic collection of Bohemian glassware. Since prices for drinks on the boat were pretty high I bought some beer (79 pfennigs) coke (69 pfennigs) and wine (6DM). Passau also has several tourist type shops as well.

 

Postcards range from a low of 40 pfennigs to a more typical 60 pfennigs to 1 to 1.5 DM. Postage for postcards is 2DM (about $1.10 !) so don't send too many. It took almost two weeks for  a postcard to get to a recipient in the US.

 

We then boarded busses to meet the boat.  On the way, we learned that the boat had cleared the dreaded Deggendorf bridge with only 2 inches to spare!

 

After dinner and entertainment (one man band) the boat continued upstream to Regensburg. From our balcony I watched the countryside side go by and watched for birds. I was surprised to see so many swans! I wish I had brought a European bird book.

 

REGENSBURG

 

Regensburg is much larger than Passau. It was very crowded and noisy because various streets and squares were being prepared for the "Burgerfest" (City Festival) to be held starting that evening. This is a big deal in these parts and upwards of 40,000 people were anticipated. Much of the preparation involved setting out tables and chairs for the "beer halls". The walking tour focused on the history and architecture of the inner city (Altstadt). One way to show how rich you were was to add a four or five story 'tower' on the side of your house. The towers really didn't have much functional use! We also visited the cathedral (mainly Gothic and Romanesque).

 

Dinner that evening was in Regensburg restaurant rather than on the ship. The city was jammed with people and various musical groups were performing near the cathedral (rock); near the market (polka) and near the river (county-western). All in all a nice experience.

 

DANUBE GORGE and KELHEIM

 

After a few more locks during the night we docked at Bad Abboch and boarded busses to visit the Weltenburg Monastery. It had recently flooded and they were still cleaning up. The church is high baroque and our guide was Father Leonard who gave us some of the history of the church and then sang a Gregorian chant. The monastery's main claim to fame is its brewery. They started making beer in 1050! Even though it was 10:30 in the morning the courtyard was full of Germans drinking the dark, bock-type beer (2.5DM for 0.5 liter mug). We were told that, in Bavaria, beer is considered a basic food group. We then took a ferry down the Danube Gorge; these heavily eroded limestone cliffs have been given cute names. Occasionally something was lost in the translation, one formation was described as the "Petrified Virgin".

 

Upriver from Kelheim the Danube is not navigable so we left the Danube there and started north, up the Altmühl River which is actually the beginning the Main-Danube Canal.

 

DAY 5 -7: MAIN-DANUBE CANAL

This was the most interesting and relaxing portion of the cruise. A guest lecturer summarized the history and economic rationale of the canal. The idea of a canal connecting the Rhine to the Danube, thus allowing goods and raw materials to go from the North Sea to the Black Sea, has been traced back to the time of Charlemagne. But only in 1992, after much controversy, was it finally completed. Unfortunately, the Kosovo/Serbia fighting has all but eliminated any barge traffic on the lower Danube. Consequently we had the canal almost to ourselves. The speed limit was about 10km per hour so the pace was leisurely and was frequently interrupted by passage through locks. Two of the locks were huge, about 60 ft elevation change. The canal initially follows the valley formed by the small Altmühl river. Then it cuts cross-country to Nuremberg, follows another small river valley and eventually joins the Main River at Bamberg. The entire 106 mile route has been straightened and lined with asphalt. It's about 70' feet wide and I'm not sure how deep. The River Melody has a draft of 5 feet.

 

Some of the controversy concerning the canal involved the effect of the canal on the riparian habitat. Engineers have devised a clever way to preserve this habitat. At frequent intervals, small ponding basins are dug at the side of the canal. As a boat passes, the displaced water rushes into and then out of the ponding basins. This aerates the water and moderates the water temperature. These basins were usually full of wildlife: swans, ducks, herons, other water birds, and fish. There were also people walking, biking and camping along the canal. I was impressed.

 

We docked in a rural area near cornfields. The banks were covered with wildflowers and after dinner (Hooray for Hollywood Theme) many passengers went for a walk in the countryside. It was all very bucolic (except for the swarms of gnats).

 

NUREMBERG

 

We crossed the highest point of the canal (1350 ft.) during the morning. That evening a 'ceremony' was held in which we received "Crossing the Watershed" certificates. I guess this was a substitute for the fact that the River Melody is unlikely to ever cross the equator.

 

We arrived in Nuremberg about noon and the dock area was jammed with people. Another festival (River Fair) was being held.  We made a brief visit to the River Fair, basically it was a series of food stands with a gigantic tent at one end. Guess what the tent contained. Yes, the beer-hall! Throughout the day various musical groups performed. One act was a male chorus which sang folk songs with the audience joining in. It was like the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" scene in Cabaret!

 

The parking lot where our city tour busses were waiting was blocked by illegally parked cars and we were trapped for at least a half-hour. The city tour was boring and, in my opinion, could be dropped. After all, the city was heavily bombed during World War II and only parts of the city walls survived.  We stopped at a reviewing stand where Hitler held Nazi rallies and the building where the trials were held. Since it was Sunday, none of the shops were open so, for many passengers, there was 'nothing to do' Actually, there was something very interesting to do: visit the National Museum! It's one of the best museums in Germany for German historical materials. Unfortunately, all the descriptions are in German so our tour makes it optional and gives you only one hour to see it on your own. I thought it was a great museum. I found an English language pamphlet for 2DM entitled "25 Highlights of the Museum" It was really helpful. But, with only an hour and with the confusing layout of the museum I wasn't able to locate very many highlights. My advice is to skip the bus tour and spend all your time in the museum.

 

BAMBERG

 

From Nuremberg the Canal follows the Regnitz River Valley north to Bamberg where the canal joins up with the Main River. The Main River makes a huge loop so the boat continued onwards while we toured Bamberg and then boarded busses to catch up with it at Hassfurt.

Bamberg is a nice little untouristy city. The walking tour points out the schism between the townspeople and the 'prince-bishop' (a recurring issue in many of these Bavarian towns). The prince-bishops built beautiful, ornate (and expensive) castles not only to defend themselves from invading armies but from irate townies who rebelled against the bishop's taxes. Bamberg has an excellent cathedral with a highly regarded tomb carved by Tilman Riemanschneider (late 15th C).  We actually got to Hassfurt before the boat and looked around this tiny little village just as another afternoon thunderstorm commenced. We docked at Schweinfurt which doesn't even get one star in my Michelin guide. However, you can walk into town and shop at 'regular' stores. The entertainment that evening was the 'crew show'. It was kind of fun because the crew is so small you soon recognize all of them. The show was reminiscent of summer camp skits and ended with a crew + passenger conga line which wound around the lounge and onto the deck.

 

DAYS  8 - 11 ON THE MAIN

WURZBURG

 

We were able to speed up a bit while cruising down the Main River. It's about 200 feet wide and has been modified to handle barge traffic. It, too has the ponding basins with abundant wildlife.  There was relatively little traffic on it until we passed Frankfurt at which point there was a noticeable increase in oncoming barges.  As we neared Wurzburg the steep hills were covered with vineyards. Almost all the viticulture must be done by hand and erosion must be a severe problem. We are now in "Frankish" Germany even though the cities are still in the State of Bavaria. There is/was apparently quite a rivalry between the two areas and "Frankishland" choose the wrong side in one of the in one of those wars (30 Years War?; 7 Years War?; Franco-Prussian War??) and was given to Bavaria.

 

Today we have a bus tour of Wurzburg city featuring a stop at the famous Residenz built about 1750 for the Bishop. Although heavily bombed in WWII, extensive restoration to the palace has been undertaken. The giant fresco on the ceiling of the entrance hall is impressive. Bring your binoculars to see the details. The tour also includes various rooms decorated in baroque and rococo style. Much anticipated by the passengers was the 10:30 am wine tasting stop at the House of Frankish Wines. (Too bad it wasn't a beer tasting stop at the House of Frankish Steins!) A long winded tour guide extolled the virtues of the wines we were to taste (N = 3) and then we had the opportunity to buy some on the way out.  The afternoon was free for shopping or exploring on your own. After dinner, the evening's entertainment was billed as "Medieval Music"; actually it was Renaissance but, nevertheless, it was most interesting. Two women from the local university played several instruments (including an authentic hurdy-gurdy) and sang songs (mostly from France).

 

ROTHENBERG

 

The boat continued down the Main to Kassfurt at which point we boarded buses which took us back through Wurzberg and south to Rothenberg. (Rote - hen - berg). Meanwhile, while the boat continued through more locks and under more low bridges. Rothenberg is extremely touristy because it is a mandatory stop on the Romantic Road for all the those coach tours of Europe (e.g. European Vagabond, European Escapade, European Whirlwind).  That said, it is really cute! It's a shopper's delight. The famous Kathe Wohlfhart Christmas decorations shop is huge! We bought a cuckoo clock from the place mentioned in the Rick Stevens book. The owners were just as described in the book! Since the savings on the VAT (Value Added Tax) is about equal to the postage we are having it mailed to us. (Hope it arrives safely.) The included lunch at a restaurant (sausages, sauerkraut, salad  apple strudel and beer) was quite good.

 

Then it was back on the bus to meet the boat at Wertheim. In order to give the boat more time we stopped for a tour of the Weikersheim palace/castle of a local duke. Many, many generations of the family lived there and there were portraits of each of them! Several interesting rooms and a garden.

For some reason Grand Circle has dropped Rothenberg from next year's itinerary. Instead, the boat will arrive a day earlier in Amsterdam and passengers will get a city tour and stay on board.  I think it's a bad trade-off. If anyplace should be dropped it's Heidelberg (see below).

 

At Wertheim we met the River Symphony which was heading upstream towards Vienna. We had the opportunity it visit her. The Symphony was the first of the Grand Circle River Boats (1998) and a few differences between her and the Melody were noted. The library is much smaller and the kitchen is on the port side.

 

WERTHEIM:

 

We chose to use the provided maps and just explore Wertheim with our friends from Arizona. It's not very touristed. It has the usual church plus a castle on a hill. As the boat continued down the Main there was an onboard glassblowing demonstration. This was a real hit with the shopping contingent. The man who gave the demo is quite an artist and brought a large collection of his wares to sell. The weather was finally sunny and cool and it was a perfect afternoon to sit on the balcony and watch the scenery.

We docked that evening on the banks of the Main at Aschaffenburg. We were literally on the bank. Before the gangway could be lowered, the crew had to cut through some dense foliage. With the high water level the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs were underwater. Directly above the landing was yet another Schloss (castle). My Michelin guide says that on the second floor is a collection of architectural models (Coliseum,  Parthenon, etc) made out of cork! There are also "Royal Apartments" and a museum in the building.  It really sounded interesting (to me). Unfortunately it was closed by the time we arrived and we left early the next morning on another bus tour

 

HEIDELBERG

 

This was the worst day of the whole trip. My wife and the couple from Arizona decided to remain on board. A few others must have also made this wise decision because the size of the red group was reduced from 44 to 37. First of all there was a one and a half hour bus ride down the autobahn to Heidelberg. The guide was knowledgeable and knew the date of practically everything we passed but she wouldn't ever be quiet. The weather was cold and rainy. The tour of the city was not especially interesting. The famous ruined castle and "grosses vat" (big wine barrel) were the highlights. The included lunch was horrible (cole slaw, undercooked spinach ravioli water or warm coke (no beer or wine) and no dessert. Then we waited around the city for two more hours until the busses left for a trip on the autobahn to Mainz. This was Friday afternoon and the autobahns were like Los Angeles freeways. We encountered several traffic jams. We were finally back on the boat about 6:30pm. Thankfully, there was a cold beer waiting for me in our cabin.

 

The boat docks right by the Mainz Hilton at which there is a casino. I walked over to check it out; it cost 5DM to enter the area where blackjack, roulette (50M minimum?) are available but the slot machines located in the lobby can be played without a fee.

 

 

DAYS 12 - 15  ON THE RHINE

 

MAINZ

 

The Main River joins the Rhine at Mainz and together make a big river! The Rhine is at least as wide as the Mississippi near St. Louis. There is a great deal of barge traffic plus power boats, water skiers and even jet skiers. Campgrounds located right on the shoreline are frequent and the small mobile homes look like they must stay there the whole summer. They are tightly clustered and there don't seem to be many 'facilities'.

 

We took a walking tour of Mainz in the morning. We visited the Cathedral.  Since the Gutenberg Museum is currently being renovated and expanded, the printing press (reconstructed) and copies of the Bible are temporarily housed in the Cloisters of the cathedral. During the afternoon the boat continued down the Rhine. The current is much stronger and we are really moving (20 -25 km per hour). Our port for the night is 'jolly' Rudesheim located at the head of the Rhine Valley along which all the castles were built. However, first we have our included dinner in the Drosselgasse. The food is pretty good and there is unlimited wine. In addition, various drinking games, sing-a-longs, and conga lines are featured. The tired but happy revelers stagger back to the boat.

 

THE RHINE VALLEY

 

It's Sunday morning and promptly at 7:00 am we leave Rudesheim for the trip down the most beautiful section of the Rhine.

 

 It's cold; it's foggy; it's windy, it's breakfast time.         It's miserable.

 

 

 

Why they scheduled this portion of the trip at this early hour is beyond me. We did finally find a use for those weird comforters; we used them to keep warm on the sun deck as we rocketed down the Rhine.  Past little towns with quaint onion-dome steeples, past the steep-sloped vineyards, around the dangerous Loreley cliff (no sirens today, too cold) and under the Hostile Brothers' castles perched impossibly on the rock spurs did we race. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahead of schedule, we reached our day's destination, Koblenz, at 10:15 am.. We docked and then spent the rest of the day and most of the night there! Even on a weekday there's not much to see and do in Koblenz; on a Sunday it's a ghost town. The main fun is to walk to the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel Rivers and look at the big statue of Kaiser Wilhelm (Second Reich). They really should have kept going down the river to Cologne.

 

COLOGNE

 

For me, this was one of the most anticipated stops on the trip. I remember  the Cologne Cathedral as one of the most impressive sights of my first visit to Europe. As one guidebook says, this is the Mt. Everest of cathedrals. It didn't disappoint me; it is breathtaking. The included city tour by bus, however, was a waste of time. The graffiti is ubiquitous and the traffic is horrendous.  My advice is to skip the bus tour and walk from the boat to the cathedral. There are so many tour groups there that you can easily join one and hear about the main features. The treasure chest containing the bones of the Wise Men (Cologne's claim to fame in the Middle Ages) is, arguably, the most beautiful thing you will see on the whole trip. Nearby are several excellent museums which I really wanted to see but they were closed on Monday.

 

We departed at 1:00 pm for Amsterdam. Today's lunch featured roast turkey! A nice idea but the lines moved very slowly and there was grumbling from the late comers.

 

As we continued down the Rhine, its banks were crowded with industrial factories strewing great streamers of smoke into the air. Quickly, the Mighty Rhine took us, at 25 km/hour past Dusseldorf, Duisburg, and Essen.  Still some pastoral areas are seen and bicyclers and sun bathers along the banks are frequent. During the Farewell Dinner  hat evening we consumed Baked Alaska as we crossed Netherlands border. No passport check! We arrived in Amsterdam about 3:00 am.

 

AMSTERDAM:

 

The area where we docked is industrial and unsightly. A passenger terminal is currently under construction but I don't think it's going to make this area any more attractive. I certainly wouldn't want to spend a day here.  About 35 passengers have elected to take the 3 night Amsterdam extension. For us, it's been a wonderful trip with a leisurely pace, beautiful scenery, a great cabin, and nice people. The small, less visited towns and cities such as Bamberg, Passau, and Regensburg were the best parts of the trip. If given a free ride we'd probably elect to turn around and go back to Vienna. But, at the same time, we're ready to go home.  Busses take us to the airport where we board the KLM plane for the 11 hour flight back to San Francisco.