Way Hey and Away We Go

Following a hot, dry summer in Europe, and months of worry about whether the river levels would be high enough for our Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise, recent rains helped and we were finally on our way. It all started with a small boat trip around Amsterdam's canals, aided by a humourous history lesson from a guide, and then we were off in the afternoon on the Emerald Dawn headed to Cologne, Germany. With 150 passengers on board, including a strong majority of Canadians, we followed a wide, man made canal supporting cargo ships, south towards the Rhine River. Cologne, the 'Holy City' named for it's impressive two spire Cathedral and many churches, was a treat to walk around. The city however, is better known for it's Kolsch beer, served in a 200 ml. glass to ensure a cold, fresh taste every time (more on that below). Our ship continued heading south through the picturesque Middle Rhine Gorge with it's hilltop castles and sloped vineyards. We passed by the Lorelei, famous for luring sailors to their death. Rudesheim was our stop for the day and I opted for a hike through the vineyards to a hilltop monument with a good view of the town and valley, while my better half took in the Mechanical Music Museum to be entertained by self-playing instruments. 

Our ship then split off from the Rhine at the city of Mainz on to the Main River, passing by Frankfurt overnight. We stopped into Miltenberg for a tour of the small town and a short hike uphill to Mildenburg Castle. 30 km's later that day, we stopped into Wertheim, another small town known for its half-timber houses at the confluence of the Main and Tauber rivers. The next stop was Wurzberg, but we skipped the town tour of city that was mostly re-built following WWII, and instead took a coach tour along the 'Romantic Road' to Rothenburg. Filled with medieval homes and buildings, along with a town wall that we walked, we enjoyed meandering around the cobblestone streets for 2 hours.

The next river change we entered was the 171 km long Main-Danube Canal, completed in 1992 to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Black Sea for cargo ships. Our first stop was in Bamberg, Germany, built on 7 hills and famous for it's smoked beer.......and maybe also because of the 4 tiered Cathedral and Old Town hall perched at a fork in the river which were very scenic. In Nuremberg we took a sobering excursion to the Documentation Centre (Nazi rally grounds), Hitler's failed Colosseum remake, and the Trials Memorial which included a visit to Courtroom 600 where the Nazi officers were tried for their war crimes.

Entering the Danube, our final cruise river, our first stop was in Regensburg with its many medieval buildings preserved from war time damage. The 12th century Old Stone Bridge, crossing the Danube, was impressive, as was the on board performance of a traditional Bavarian band. Then it was on to Passau, the "City of 3 Rivers", where we walked along it's cobblestone streets and alleys in a light rain. St. Stephen's Cathedral with its ceiling frescoes, world's largest organ (almost 12,000 pipes), and baroque architecture was a highlight. A double-stop day in Melk and Durnstein, allowed for a tour of the majestic Melk Abbey and then later a one hour hike up to the Durnstein Castle ruins, with great views down to the Danube. Vienna was next, and having already been here and enjoyed the city attractions, we took a short tour to capture a bit more history and then relaxed for the rest of the day. 

We entered Slovakia along the Danube, stopping into Bratislava, the capital of the country. In the morning we did a walking tour around the old town, and some of us even walked uphill to the Bratislava Castle where there was a great view of the city. The highlight was in the afternoon when we took a coach tour to the countryside that included a home visit of a local (Jaroslav in our case). We learned more about normal life in Slovakia while tasting his home made wine and cake which were both very good. That evening we had our Farewell dinner with our Captain, as his voyage was about to end the next day.

Our final stop was in Budapest, Hungary. We did a coach tour to see the major sights around the city, followed by a walking tour in the city centre. The massive riverside Parliament Building (3rd largest in the world) was impressive, and we had a chance to see it again later in the evening when our ship made a short trip so that we could see it again when it was lit up at night. A traditional Hungarian folklore show capped off a wonderful end to our 15 day adventure. It was very entertaining with audience participation, and was the best entertainment of the cruise.

We did spend an extra day in Budapest, following the cruise, and it was a good one. We discovered that the annual National Gallup festival was taking place that weekend at Heroes Square, so we made our way there by bus and took in the festivities. They transformed the large square into a quarter mile race track and had horses from around the country participating in a full day of races (horse, carriage, equestrian) with 4 trips around the recently created race track. The stands were full and everyone was in good spirits, partially accommodated by the surrounding market stalls selling good food and adult beverages. Heroes Square was right next to the Fine Arts Museum, so we also wandered over there to take in a special Henri Matisse exhibition and some paintings by European Masters, Raphael, El Greco, Van Dyke and others.

Overall, we were happy picking Emerald Cruises for our first extended river cruise. Some intermittent rains over the last week messed up some excursions and sun deck time, but that was uncontrollable. We made it all the way from Amsterdam to Budapest on the same ship, without any bus transfers, or even temporary worries, so that was all you could wish for. The Emerald Dawn, built in 2015, was well designed, from our cabins to the pool area that was covered up in the evenings to become the movie theatre. The staff were wonderful and the 3 meals a day with choices to match the surrounding areas, along with unlimited drinks kept everyone in a good mood! The daily excursion choices were commendable, even offering a 'gentle walkers' group for those so inclined, allowing the other groups to move more quickly and have extra free time after the tour. In the end though, we both agreed that extended cruising (river or ocean) was not for us. We relish our time on the land (vs. 3-4 hours a day) with no time restrictions to visit museums, palaces or other places of interest. Staying with locals, and getting advice from them on the best places to visit and eat, including day trips outside the cities or towns, is our preferred way to roll. Maybe we will feel differently when we grow older....please don't check our birth certificates..... but for now we enjoy our freedom on extended trips, which often finds us discovering new places that were not originally in our plans.

We have now made our way to Naxos, Greece, an island in the South Aegean Sea, not far from Athens. We will spend 5 nights here decompressing and exploring the small island (40 x 30 km's) before heading over to the mainland for a driving adventure to explore some ancient history.

Our Emerald Dawn home for 15 days. It was 135 metres in length and 11 metres wide, which is standard for river cruise ships, since lock widths are only 12 metres. There were 3 levels of cabins, 90 in total. The sun deck on top had an oval walking-running track on the outside and lounge chairs in the middle.  With no waves and a slow moving ship it was a very gentle cruise all the way. 

Entering one of the many locks along the way. We encountered 68 locks in total and some of them on the Danube had drops of 10 metres. The ship was rising in every lock until shortly after Nuremberg at over 400 metres above sea level, and then we started dropping at every lock from then on as the river water drained downstream into the Black Sea.

The Cologne Cathedral with it's gothic architecture and twin spires was a sight to behold. The inside was just as beautiful and contained relics dating back to the 10th century.

While in Cologne we stopped into a popular pub to taste some mighty fine Kolsch beer. Kolsch is a preservative free beer and can only be brewed within 50 km of Cologne. It is served in the 200 ml glass to keep it fresh and cold. Your server will keep on bringing a new glass to your table, and put a tick mark on your coaster to keep track, whenever your glass is empty. This process continues until you surrender and place a coaster on top of your empty glass. Many tourists end up having an extra glass or two until they uncover the exit strategy. We were advised by our Swiss daughter in advance, so we performed like a local.

Cruising through the picturesque Rhine Gorge we encountered some morning fog and beautiful villages, with colourful homes.

While in Germany we came across many riverside castles, perched up high for protection. Some had been turned into hotels, others into museums, while many others were in ruin, a sad state of their former glory.

Moving further along the Rhine we passed several wine regions, mostly of the Riesling variety. Many of the vineyards were planted vertically, based on the theory that the vines would receive more sunlight that way. Apparently the wine pickers were not consulted, since their manual work became much tougher moving up and down the hillside instead of laterally.

This picture was taken along the cobblestone streets of Miltenberg, Germany. Special plaques were inserted for their Jewish neighbours were taken away and never heard from again. We observed similar types of memorials in many German towns.

Miltenberg, famous for it's half-timbered buildings, was a treasure to walk around.

In Bamberg we stopped into a popular pub to try out their renowned 'smoked beer', brewed by using malted barley dried over an open flame. It indeed had a smokey flavour, I would call it an acquired taste but the pub was street-full of locals drinking it. The signs above the shops were very interesting. Those with a star shape (similar to the Star of David) indicated a pub, while a cow was used for a butcher, a pretzel for a baker and so on. The signs also told stories about the shop's past history.

In Nuremberg we took a special World War II trip that was an interesting but somber experience. This particular picture was taken in Courtroom 600, the very place where the Nuremberg Trials were held, with the prisoner's docket in the centre. The attached museum documented the outcomes of each trial for those convicted of war crimes. The tour also took us to the Nazi Rally Grounds where Hitler would speak to crowds of 200,000, mostly made up of his military. Nearby was an unfinished Coloseum, designed to be twice as large as Rome's, for Hitler's speeches but abandoned when the war started.

The 900 year old Melk Abbey which we were able to tour. A former Benedictine abbey with fine Italian baroque architecture, it also had some ornate gold leaf walls and an ancient monastic library with medieval manuscripts. Hard to believe how much money and resources were spent in those times.

While strolling around Bratislava, Slovakia, we came across the Man at Work piece of art. It was very appropriate for this blue collar country where their main industry is automobile production.

The magnificent Budapest Parliament Building, which became even more magical in the evening. It would be interesting to have a look at their monthly electricity bill.

We were fortunate to catch some of the annual National Gallup Festival during our extra day in Budapest. This picture reflects the parade of horses, following behind the flag bearers, that occurred before every race. The horses raced around the permanent monuments in Heroes Square. It was short race course so it was important to have a horse that could get off to a quick start and manage the tight turns.