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At this point in the cruise, the Rhine starts to become much more scenic. Beautiful villages and vineyards can be seen in all directions. Rüdesheim is a touristy town known for its wineries and historic center, called the Drosselgasse. Viking doesn’t offer an included tour here, so I explored on my own. However, since we docked in the late afternoon, time felt even more limited here than in Speyer.
Flights & Our Pre-Trip Experience
If you’re wondering how we made it to Basel, we flew from Chicago into Zürich and then booked a private car transfer. Zürich Airport is the nearest major international airport to Basel, and the drive is about an hour. There are also frequent trains that run between Switzerland’s largest city and its gateway to the Rhine.
Viking River Cruises Review
I never did any of the Optional Excursions, so I can’t say if they were better or worse than the included tours. Since we spent the first half of Day 5 cruising, the city of Koblenz was another half-day stop. However, our time here didn’t feel as rushed as the whirlwind tours on Day 4. Koblenz is a tourist hub that’s noticeably bigger than Speyer and Rüdesheim. I walked all over the Altstadt (Old Town), which is right next to the Viking River Cruises Dock. Strasbourg is a fascinating city that’s much larger than Breisach.
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If you want to see the castles up close and personal, pack a pair of binoculars. You may be wondering is it worth getting a balcony on a river cruise and I can definitely say it was amazing! However, if it’s not in your budget, the French balcony cabins with their floor to ceiling doors that can be opened to catch the breeze are wonderful too. I took 8 million photos so it’s impossible to share them all in one post. I’ll break up this trip into two posts so stay tuned for part two next weekend.
A couple nights during the week, Viking hosted either singers, dancers or local activities. River cruising is a much more intimate experience, with unreserved seating at meal times so you get to mix and mingle with almost everyone on board by the end (if you want!). Because of this, they have the flexibility to turn each propeller a full 360 degrees for precision and smooth sailing so you shouldn’t experience any seasickness on board. We did a fun tour of the wheelhouse and learned from the Captain that Viking ships utilize four propellers instead of a traditional rudder. One thing I liked about sailing with Viking is how leisurely the day to day pace is.
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Coffee flows all day long on a Viking river cruise ship, and the crew’s main mission is to make everybody happy. Viking offers both pre and post extensions, which are a fun way to see more of Europe and combine the best of both worlds (guided group tours with individual trips). The number one reason why I like river cruises so much is because you get to see many small towns and sights in a leisurely fashion. Viking introduces the definitive way to explore the world in comfort. We call them Ocean & River Voyages, an innovative marriage of our award-winning river and ocean cruises.
From here your epic Viking river cruise continues along the Main before joining the Danube and ending in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. We dock this morning in Kehl and disembark for a guided tour of Strasbourg. See the European Parliament and tour the interior of the city’s famed cathedral. Dine aboard and enjoy free time this evening in the amiable little city of Kehl.
I’m spilling all the details, including what they don’t tell you in the brochure, so you can make an informed decision. I’ll take you from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland along the Rhine River with lots of stops at charming old towns and villages in between. This Viking River cruise Rhine review is chock full of information that is helpful in planning your own Rhine getaway cruise. We toasted and drank hearty, dark Kostrizer beers as we sailed along the Middle Rhine River streaming by the famous Lorelei rock and oh-so-many castles.
Vivid vistas, wine & Rhine culture
Visiting the fortress was interesting, but there didn’t seem to be much signage in English, so I don’t feel like I learned a lot about its history while I was there. Neuf-Brisach is a sleepy little French town that is surrounded on all sides by a visually stunning series of fortified walls. These walls were designed by French architect Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban to help protect border outposts from invasion. You can’t make out the geometry of the walled city from the ground level, but you can explore the city streets and get some sense of their architecture.
Today’s shore excursion takes us to Kinderdijk which is a UNESCO World Heritage site with 19 enormous windmills. It is such a spectacular sight to behold and straight out of a fairytale. Our local guide took us into a working windmill where families still live today. This is common on river cruises no matter which company you choose but it’s definitely something I want you to know before you go.
I did this completely on my own; it wasn’t a part of the Viking itinerary at all. This cruise began in Basel, a quaint little town in Switzerland right on the border of both Germany and France. If you can spend a day or two in Basel before your cruise, I highly recommend it.
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We were so inspired by the fabulous views and tasty beers that we plan to return and spend one week in the Rhine Valley so that we can explore the area more fully. As an extra bonus, we loved unpacking our bags and feeling ‘at home’ during the length of the Viking Rhine River cruise. Since we use packing cubes when we travel, it only took us a few minutes to settle into the room and start enjoying the cruise. As part of Viking’s generous offer, we were able to select a European riverboat cruise that appealed to us. After pouring over the many options for cruises in Europe outlined on the Viking website and studying the photos and videos, we ended up selecting the Rhineland Discovery cruise. Longtime readers of my blog will know that I don’t shy away from giving my honest opinion when it comes to travel.
Our family group enjoyed game nights and musical performances, but you could also attend things like a glassblowing demonstration or a Q&A session with the captains of the ship. Viking offered a short included tour, then we had about an hour or so to explore on our own. There are some other interesting churches a little further inland, or you could check out the many side alleys that branch off of the Maximilianstraße. After two long years of pandemic restrictions, Europe is fully open again!
As you leave Rüdesheim, the Rhine River goes from picturesque to spectacular. This day of voyaging through the Rhine Valley is the centerpiece of the entire trip. I loved seeing the patchwork of vineyards on the steep mountainsides, but the coolest part of the day is seeing all the castles.
Quieter and narrower than the Rhine, the tributary winds through wine-growing regions that were first cultivated in Roman times. You will stop at Cochem, the prettiest town on the Moselle, where the old town is filled with half-timbered houses. Perched on a 300-foot promontory is Cochem Castle, the highest fortress on the Moselle which dates back more than 1,000 years. To see Cochem from another perspective you can take a guided bike tour along the riverbank or join an evening excursion celebrating the wine, music and legends of the Moselle. You will sail along the Rhine to Marksburg, where the remarkable 13th century castle is the only one on the river never to have been damaged or destroyed.
In any case, don’t end up disappointed – travel insurance will help when you need it most. Another advantage to booking airfare through Viking is they also include round trip transfers. When I went on my cruise to Cuba, we received a group number each evening for the next day’s stop.
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