Germany
My sister, Pat Ellington, and I will be heading to Europe for an Incredible Journey — a river cruise along the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Also included is an extensive visit through Bavaria and the Tirol. Since we are traveling in Fall we hope to have stunning photos, and we will be wishing for clear skies in both Hallstatt and Berchtesgaden.
I will be journaling our adventure and the November newsletter will showcase our discoveries and photos. I hope my comments will provide insight for those who want to journey the European waterways, and perhaps go to the fairy-tale lands of Austria, Bavaria and Germany.
Day 1: 10/12 Sunday Depart U.S.A. for Amsterdam
Day 2: 10/13 Monday Arrive Amsterdam — Owl Hotel
Day 3: 10/14 Tuesday Embark ship 12 night cruise Amsterdam
Visit Anne Frank’s House and Van Gogh Museum
Day 4: 10/15 Wednesday Amsterdam, Netherlands
Featured Excursion: Amsterdam city tour and Rijksmuseum
Your panoramic Amsterdam tour takes you through the canal-lined streets to view Mint Tower, Dam Square, the Royal Palace and Museum Square. Visit the renowned Rijksmuseum, which holds the most important collection of Dutch paintings in the world, including Rembrandt’s Night Watch. (BB, L, Captain’s Welcome Dinner)
Day 5: 10/16 Thursday Cologne, Germany
Featured Excursion: Cologne walking tour and cathedral visit
Start right at the pier for a guided walking tour of Cologne, the art capital of the Rhine. Old Town’s narrow streets lead to the cathedral, the city’s most famous landmark and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit inside features the Shrine of the Three Magi and the beautiful glass windows that survived WWII. (BB, L, D) (Cologne Cathedral is one of the world’s largest churches and is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe, and has the largest façade of any church in the world).
Day 6: 10/17 Friday Koblenz, Germany
Featured Excursion: Koblenz walking tour
Irresistible Optional Tour: Enjoy a visit to Marksburg Castle with wine tasting
Arrive in Koblenz, situated on the beautiful corner at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. Your guided walking tour will highlight the appeal of Koblenz — its romantic narrow streets and historical squares, the picturesque alleyways and fountains in the old quarter and the 12th-century churches of St. Florin and Our Lady. (BB, L, D)
WE ARE ON OUR OWN TODAY! Burg Eltz Medieval Castle is a must see!! The hike from Moselkern runs through a magical pine forest and takes about 90 minutes to reach the castle.
Day 7: 10/18 Saturday Cochem, Germany
Featured Excursion: Visit to Reichsburg Castle and wine tasting hosted by the village vintners at their private estates
Cochem is an architectural gem typical of the Moselle region. Your guide takes you through Cochem’s narrow alleys with its lovingly restored half-timbered houses, and also up to gothic Reichsburg Castle. To top it off, we take you to local vintners who proudly present their treasures at a their private wine estates. (BB, L, D)
Day 8: 10/19 Sunday Trier, Germany
Featured Excursion: Trier panoramic city tour
Trier is the site of one of the oldest Roman outposts along the Moselle and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A panoramic view from Petrisberg Mountain is the perfect introduction to your guided tour. You’ll drive by the ruins of the Roman Imperial Baths, and visit Constantine’s throne room. See the well-preserved fortified Roman gate called Porta Nigra. (BB, L, D)
Walking tour of Trier
Day 9: 10/20 Monday Wasserbillig (Luxembourg), Trier
Featured Excursion: Luxembourg and World War II Cemetery
Our half-day excursion starts with a panoramic drive to the independent sovereign state of Luxembourg. Your guided tour includes Our Lady Cathedral, the Archduke’s Place and a visit to a World War II cemetery, the resting place of General Patton. (BB, L, D)
Day 10: 10/21 Tuesday Bernkastel, Germany
Featured Excursion: Walking tour and wine experience
Your day in Bernkastel—with more than 500 years of wine-making history—includes a tour of Old Town, where you’ll see many of the famous half-timbered houses, the Slate Tower and the Market Square—one of the most picturesque in Germany. Cap the morning off with a wine tasting of the area’s fine Rieslings. Sit back and enjoy the vistas of the meandering Moselle while cruising in the afternoon. (BB, L, D)
Day 11: 10/22 Wednesday Scenic Cruising Moselle and Romantic Rhine, Rüdesheim
Featured Excursion: Gondola ride to Niederwald Monument
Irresistible Optional Tour: Rüdesheim evening with dinner and entertainment
In the morning as you sail to Rüdesheim, you’ll enter the most beautiful section of the Rhine River Valley, the scenic 40 miles of the Middle Rhine Valley, a classified UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its vine-filled slopes, its 40 or so castles strung like pearls along the river banks, and the famous Lorelei Rock, this is the perfect example of the romantic Rhine. While in Rüdesheim, a celebrated wine town, you’ll enjoy a gondola ride to the Niederwald Monument, commemorating the unification of Germany (BB, L, D)
Visit Drosselgasse — known as the most famous street in the world!
Day 12: 10/23 Thursday Speyer, Germany
Featured Excursion: Speyer walking tour
Irresistible Optional Tour: Half-day tour of Heidelberg with lunch
Enjoy a walking tour to the Old Town and the grand Speyer Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the final resting place of German emperors. (BB, L, D)
Day 13: 10/24 Friday Strasbourg, France
Featured Excursion: Strasbourg canal cruise
Irresistible Optional Tour: Hot air balloon ride, or Haute Königsburg Castle
See Strasbourg in the way it has been seen through the centuries—on a canal cruise. In addition to viewing the town’s covered bridges and medieval watchtowers, you’ll see Petite France, a picturesque district that seems as if it has been lifted from the pages of a fairy tale. (BB, L, Captain’s Farewell Dinner)
Strasbourg — Cathedrale Notre-Dame, completed in 1439 it is the tallest Gothic medieval structure in Christendom. At 12:30PM every day the clock displays a scene from Christ’s passion.
Day 14: 10/25 Saturday Breisach (Colmar), Basel, Switzerland
Featured Excursion: Half-day tour of Colmar
Colmar is so quaint you may feel you’re on a film set. Follow your guide through its cobblestone streets, which are lined with brightly colored half-timbered houses, and see the well-preserved canal quarter, known as Petite Venice. (BB, L, D)
Day 15: 10/26 Sunday Basel (disembark), Switzerland, train to Lindau, Germany via Zurich
Disembark the ship and transfer to the train station.
Arrive at Lindau HBF
Hotel Schreier am See
Day 16 and 17: 10/27 Monday Pickup car in Lindau, Germany
Monday 10/27 — Wednesday 10/29 Two nights Fussen, Germany
Gastehaus Weiher Bed and Breakfast — double room with balcony view of Neuschwanstein and breakast daily 56EUR for two
First day — Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.
Royal Crystal Baths - If it is a nice day bike ride around Forggensee Lake (20 miles).
Second day — Explore the sights of Fussen, if not enough time to do gondola ride, or boat ride above do it today.
Day 18 and 19: 10/29 Wednesday Drive to Hallstatt, Austria
Visit Schloss Linderhof, stop at Oberammergau which is along the way to wander among the half timbered houses.
Wednesday 10/29 — Friday 10/31 Two nights Hallstatt
Braugasthof Hallstatt
Day 20, 21, 22: 10/31 — 11/03 Three nights Salzburg, Austria
First day - Königssee lake first, then back to Berchtesgaden to catch tour for Hitler’s Eagles Nest. Konigsee take boat ride to Church of St. Bartholomew. Obersalsberhand Hitler’s Eagles Nest — includes three parts: Nazi Documentation Center Museum; Bunker system; and the Eagle’s Nest.
www.nationalpark-berchtesgaden.de
www.seenschifffahrt.de
Friday 10/31 — Monday 11/03 Three nights Salzburg Hotel Wolf-Dietrich Alstadhotel and Residenz
Second day — Tour Salzburg walking tour
Third day — Sound of Music tour.
Day 23 & 24: 11/03 Monday — Wednesday 11/05 Two nights Munich, Germany
Hotel Bavaria
First day
Marienplatz and Pedestrian zone
Hofbrauhaus — must see it is the world’s most famous beer hall.
Viktuallienmarkt — open air market in downtown Munich.
Second day
Dachau Concentration Camp OR
Deutsches Museum — main branch is the louvre of technical know how.
Day 25: 11/05 Wednesday Depart MUC for U.S.A.
