Posts Tagged ‘cologne’

Rhine, Wine, And Castles

Saturday, July 7th, 2012

Cologne, Koblenz, and now Rudesheim. Bavarian cities that draw in the river boats and the tourist dollars. But they have such charm.

What enthralled me with the castles is that they were not for protecting the valley and river below, but for pirating the ships that needed to travel the water highway. They demanded tolls, and even stretched chains across the river so no one could pass.

The castles are in all states; some near-rubble, and some active museums or private homes (must have seen two dozen of them yesterday).

Our cruise line believes in a lot of free time, so I may not be seeing everything I should, but we enjoy the exploring on our own and feeling like that they are our own discoveries!

Certainly Seaworthy

Thursday, July 5th, 2012

Welcome to the M/S River Aria, our home for the next 14 days as we float down the Rhine and Danube with 145 strangers.

First stop, Cologne.  

They have a huge Gothic cathedral and it’s the home of ‘eau d’ cologne” (really!), and you can pull up  to the side of the city and get off your boat and see all of it.

We will be going thru 66 locks and traveling 954 miles and making a lot of friends.