Our Upcoming Viking River Curise Down The Rhine

Kenyon brought up the idea of a river cruise several years ago when we were thinking about future vacations.  I had only know of ocean cruises and that is the only type of cruise I’d be on.  Since Kenyon isn’t a fan of large crowds, the smaller ship size and less people appealed to him.  Plus, with a smaller boat, you are able to get closer to the shore and basically explore the scenery right off the balcony of the ship.

We were looking at both Viking and Avalon Waterways and eventually chose Viking because of the reduced airfare as part of our booking.  Since we have been using a travel agent, we haven’t had any issues with Viking and from what I hear, the staff aboard the ship, tour guides, ships and ship amenities are all wonderful.  We will know more once we actually arrive to board our cruise here in a few short weeks.

There are many river cruises destinations to choose from and while we would have loved to have taken a longer cruise, money is a factor.  We chose The Rhine because we want to see the many castles that lay along the shoreline.  We are really excited about our itinerary while on our Viking River Cruise.

We start in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where we board our Viking longship. 

Our first stop is Kinderdijk, The Netherlands.  This is a South Holland village and has 19 windmills built in the 18^th century.  These are working windmills and our excursion will be to visit them and tour the inside.  I am really excited for this part of our cruise.  There is just something so magnificent about a windmill.

Our next stop is Cologne, Germany.  Cologne is Germany’s fourth largest city.  We are going to take a Cologne walking tour.

Next is Koblenz, Germany.  We will be visiting Marksburg Castle and if time permits, I want to take the cable car to Ehrenbreistein Fortress.  I’m not sure that we will explore the fortress but I really want to take the cable car.

Our third stop is Heidelberg, Germany.  Heidelberg is home to Germany’s oldest university, founded in 1386.  Here we are going to explore panoramic Heidelberg.

Next is Strasbourg, France.  Strasbourg has a blend of French and German cultures.  We are going to take a tour of the town’s highlights.

Our fifth stop is Breisach, Germany.  This is the gateway to The Black Forrest and another stop I am super excited for.  We are going to visit Schwarzwald and see how cuco clocks are made.  I’m planning to purchase one to be shipped home.  We will also learn how black forest cake is made, Kenyon’s favorite, and piece (or two) will be consumed I’m sure.  We also added a second tour Medieval Village of Colmar, which looks very charming and quaint and has been dubbed “Little Venice”.

And lastly, we end our cruise in Basel,Switzerland.  This is the town where French, German, and Swiss borders.  It just so happens it will be a national holiday similar to Christmas, so we might not be able to do much during our overnight stay.  But I just can’t imagine coming all this way and missing out on Switzerland. 

There is going to be so much to do/see/experience that I already feel overwhelmed.  I am so excited for this trip and I can’t wait until the time comes to board our ship.  I am also really happy to be going on this trip with my very favorite travel partner, Kenyon.