Your travel expert on: River cruising on the Rhine

Since I was in Europe attending a conference in the South of France, then Paris, and London, I asked my husband if he would like to join me in Basel, Switzerland and take a Viking River cruise to Amsterdam to enjoy the Christmas markets. He jumped at the idea since we had done this same cruise two years ago on a different river cruise line and enjoyed it immensely.

We both arrived a day early in Basel, which is a delightful town. Switzerland is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, with more than 70 percent of its area covered by the Alps in the central and southern sections and the Jura in the Northwest. Everyone speaks English, and have the highest standards of living in the world. Basel is adjacent to both Germany and France, divided in two by the Rhine, in close proximity to the Jura Mountains and the Black Forest. It’s within an hour’s drive of Zurich, Lucerne and the Alsace region of France. Great food in all directions.

The town boasts the highest density of museums in Switzerland, more than three dozen in this small town. A university town, founded in 1460, and a lovely cathedral.

We were on Viking “Var” a longship. 199 passengers, and since the company does a lot of marketing in the United Kingdom, there were many British people on board. Each evening the Program Director gave us a briefing of what the options where for the next day. You could stay on board, take a walk on your own wherever we had docked, or take the bus tour, which was free.

We sailed at night to Breisach, Germany and then had a motor coach to see the Black Forest. The greatest icon in the Black Forest is the cuckoo clock. This is a decorative and quirky timepiece which has captured the imagination of visitors from around the world for centuries. I have one in my kitchen, and I think I have had it for 60 years. You could go see the carving of a cuckoo cloth, glass blowing, and the making of a black forest cake. This was a perfect place to buy a Christmas present. In the afternoon, you had a choice of taking a tour to Colmar City, a quaint little Alsatian town.

We sailed overnight to Kehl, Germany and took a city tour of Strasbourg which is the headquarters for the European Parliament. This is a lovely town, built on canals, unusual Christmas market, and fun to wander around. The market is a collection of wooden chalets selling spice bread, pretzels, confectionery, pastries, mulled wine, and beer. Hot food dishes, wine, and handmade crafted items like Christmas ornaments, scarfs, gloves, and usually quality items. There is usually music, choirs, and a great festive atmosphere. Since we are in Germany, of course there are sausages and sauerkraut. Chocolate stalls are plentiful also.

One of my favorite stops on the River Rhine is Mannheim. We arrived at breakfast time and took the shore excursion to Heidelberg to visit the castle, have a guided walking tour, and if you wanted to wander on your own. We have been there several times so we left the bus and wandered around the market on our own. They have the walking tours split in three groups. Stroll, medium pace and brisk walk, depending on your age and fitness. We had people from 50 to 90 years of age on board, in various stages of what we considered active.

It is so relaxing to sit on board and look at the little towns and villages pass by as you sail down the Rhine. You see many medieval castles along the route, and lots of traffic on the river. The Middle Rhine as it is called is the section with precipitous cliffs with a castle perched on virtually every hilltop and quaint villages lining the river banks.
A very popular place is Rudesheim, Germany. Another lovely historic little town, with quaint narrow streets, lots of great restaurants with music, and you had the choice of walking into town or dining with a group.

Cologne, Germany is one of my favorite places. A lot to see but I usually take the little tram and it takes you for $1 to six difference Christmas Markets around the town. There is a chocolate factory which has a museum on the banks of the river which is very interesting and lots of samples given out.

Our last stop was Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A unique town which I am going to do a separate article on.
A river cruise is good value, you only unpack once, and you can pick your river since today you have a dozen to choose from around the world.

I am going to give a couple of lectures at the agency in the next few weeks since river cruising has been the No.l. choice of clients, the first lecture will be on Saturday, February 21, at 11.a.m. at our office at 160 Main Street. RSVP 650-941-5810. I will cover all rivers of the world which has a river cruise, Europe, Rhine, Danube, Russia, Portugal, Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Yangtze and new to the world of travel, Myanmar (Burma) and your choice of boats with a review of what each can offer.

Maureen Jones

Maureen Jones is president of All Horizons Travel at 160 Main Street. Members of her staff are experts in business travel, cruises, and all types of leisure.