Europe 2010 Cologne Germany Day 16 Saturday 12June 2010

We cruised from Koblenz and arrived at the impressive city of Cologne at around 2 pm on the day before Germany played Australia in the Word Cup. World Cup fever had hit the city and many people had arrived in Cologne to party and watch the match on big screens. It certainly was not a day to go into a German beer hall and yell 'Aussi, Aussi, Aussi, Ohi, Ohi, Ohi!'. The city was decorated in Germany's colours and everyone was wearing clothing supporting the German team.

We were treated to a walking tour of the city and despite the showers we were dodging we saw many of the sights including the excavation of some Roman ruins discovered when preparing foundations for a new building and the Roman sewerage system for the city. During our tour we stopped at a brauhauser (or beer hall) to sample the local Kolsch beer.

Our tour ended at the magnificent cathedral or dom with its beautifully proportioned Gothic interior. Cologne Cathedral contains the golden Shrine of the Magi, a large gilded sarcophagus dating from the 13th century which is traditionally believed to hold the remains of the three wise men. Also notable is the Gero-Kreuz, a large crucifix carved in oak which is the oldest large crucifix north of the Alps and the earliest-known large free-standing northern sculpture of the medieval period (dated from around AD 976).

Before we made our way back to the ship, we visited Cologne Central Station, one of the most important stations in Germany and indeed Europe. Many cities such as: Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich have direct services leaving from this station and indeed we did see the famous ICE train departing for Paris.In the evening we attended the Captain's farewell reception and dinner and met many of the crew who had worked so hard to make our cruise enjoyable.

This was our last night in Germany as we sailed towards the Netherlands.

Europe 2010 Day 15 Friday 11 June Rudesheim Am Rhein

We really enjoyed our next stop, Ruedesheim Am Rhein, a pretty little town located on the right (east) coast of the Rhine River. As we cruised up to our destination we passed pretty little towns and vineyards. Up stream the vast expanse of water (about a mile wide in places) acts like an enormous mirror reflecting and magnifying the sun's heat onto the south-facing slopes of the north bank, the Rheingau which produces some of Germany's best wines.

When we disembarked we were ment by a local guide and taken by a little road train to one of the town's major tourist attraction, Siegfried's Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments, where we had a magical tour and enjoyed going back to our childhood. It was a 'feel good' experience. The collection is housed in the 16th century Bromserhof which is a delight to view in itself.

After our tour the afternoon was at leisure and after enjoying some lunch in one of the little cafes, we used our gondola tickets to visit the impressive Niederwalddenkmal in the Niederwald Landscape National Park high above the town. The Neiderwaddenkmal is a statue of Germania built to commerate the unification of Germany in 1871 under Kaiser Wilhelm 1 and the first German Chancellor Otto Von Bismark. From the park you have unforgettable views over the town, the Rhine River and the vineyards.

Before we returned to the ship we browsed through some of the quaint shops including the Kathe Wolfahrt Christmas shop a treasure trove of Christmas ornaments and cheer.

We sailed at 3.15 on a beautiful sunndy to travel through the famous Rhine Gorge. The crew had set up the shade sails and deck chairs on the sundeck and we had an ice cream party as we floated past the many castles on the river bank. It was very usefuld that we were given maps and information on each castle that we passed, and our cruise director, Tanna, gave us an informative commentry during our entire voyage through the gorge. It was perhaps the best way ever to view these marvellous sights including: the Mouse Tower, Solzenfeis, Marksburg Castle. Castle Serrenberg, Castle Liebenstein, Katz Castle and many others. We sailed past the famous Lreley which narrows the valley at a sharp bend in the river creating dangerous shipping conditions for the unwary sailur, hense the legend of the mermaid whose songs lured sailors to their grave. After a marvellous day we anchored at Koblenz for the night.