Come Sail With Me

Have you ever been asked to look at someone’s pictures after they returned from what they claim was the best vacation ever? And you were bored to tears? I’ll try hard not to be that person but won’t guarantee it while I post photos from our Rhine River Cruise.

Our wonderful excursion began in Amsterdam. We stayed in the city center or old town and walked along the canals. Bicycles are the favorite mode of transportation and are parked everywhere! A canal ride the next morning took us by Anne Frank’s house and dozens of river boat homes tied up in the canals.

After a day of cruising, our first stop was Cologne, Germany. I didn’t know the city was built on Roman ruins. An entire museum is filled with artifacts discovered over years of excavation. Photo on the right is a Roman fountain with a panel depicting Roman life and the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus in the center. The iconic Cologne Cathedral is on the left which we viewed while getting drenched in a pouring rain.

We escaped the rain for Kolsch beer tasting at two local breweries which were charming places full of local color. I wanted to burst into some kind of beer-drinking song but since I don’t know any, everyone was spared, and we simply enjoyed the brew which was very good.

The next morning we took seats on the Sun Deck for a breath-taking sail through the Rhine Gorge or the Upper Middle Rhine Valley from Koblenz to Bingen. These 65 km are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites with its castles, historic towns and vineyards and unique natural landscape. It was one castle after another–30 in all–on both banks while our cruise director provided commentary specific to a town or castle from the wheelhouse. This was my favorite day. I took a gazillion pictures.

The vineyards are amazing, planted at such steep angles on the mountainsides. When we docked in Rudesheim that afternoon and visited a family owned winery, we were told that much of the grape planting and harvesting in the smaller vineyards is still done by hand.

After our wine tasting at the vineyard of a family business started in 1630 (!) we wandered the cobbled streets (without falling I might add), shopped, and had schnitzel at a patio restaurant.

Next stop, beautiful Strasbourg, France. The entire town center has been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The building in the top picture was one of the residences of Kaiser Wilhelm II before WWI. Since many of Germany’s buildings were destroyed during WWII, Strasbourg remains as one location with surviving German architecture of this time period. Strasbourg. Is. Beautiful. Could have stayed another day.

Strasbourg Cathedral is the heart of the city. Certain stained glass windows tell the story of the Bible from beginning to end to benefit the illiterate masses of the Middle Ages.

My husband’s favorite part of the cruise was the glorious food, particularly our dinner at the Chef’s Table the second evening. The seven course meal was paired with wines and started with a beet appetizer (left), a main course of melt-in-you-mouth short ribs (right) and lasted a leisurely two hours.

The last evening was a farewell dinner gala. We now know that dressing up doesn’t mean wear a neck tie. Dick was the only one on board to wear one. Fortunately, he hardly noticed because the Riesling and food were delicious per usual.

We’re all smiles in the picture, but soon enough our gentle float on the Rhine was coming to an end. It was a fairy tale which we were fortunate to experience, and I’ve enjoyed reliving it by sharing it with all of you.

Now it’s time for me to get my keyboard clacking again and finish Lila’s Song. I’m in the home stretch of the first draft. Can I finish it before the holidays arrive? The leaves outside my window are just beginning to change color and a few are drifting to the ground. I hope your autumn is beautiful, full of happy memories as mine always is and promises of good things to come.

Until next time . . .